Scholarly
Riddles
Read my riddle, I pray. What God never sees,
what the king seldom sees, and what we see every day. What is it?"an
equal"
What demands an answer, but asks no question?"a telephone"
We try to kill what we save.: "time"
The man who makes it sells it. The man who
buys it never uses it. The man who uses it never sees it. What is it?"a
coffin"
Feed me and I live, give me a drink and I die.
What am I?"fire"
This is as light as a feather, yet no man can
hold it for long. What is it?"one's breath"
What builds up castles, makes some blind,
helps others to see?"sand"
What lives in winter, dies in summer, and
grows downward with it's roots upward?: "an icicle"
There is a thing that nothing is, and yet it
has a name. It's sometimes tall and sometimes short, joins our talks, joins our sport, and
plays at every game. What is it?"a shadow"
This thing all things devours, birds, beasts,
trees, flowers; gnaws iron, bites steel; grinds hard stone to meal, slays king, ruins
town, and beats high mountains down. What is it?"time"
What goes with a train, and comes with a
train, and the train doesn't need it, but can't go without it?"noise"
What is it that was given to you, belongs only
to you, and yet your friends use it more than you do?"your
name"
What's the difference between a gossip and a mirror?"one
speaks without reflecting and the other reflects without speaking"
What is it that you cannot hold for half an
hour, even though it's as light as air?"one's breath"
What is too much for one, enough for two, and nothing at all for three?"a
secret"
What is it that you must give before you can
keep it?"a promise"
Say, what's in a mousetrap? What can be seen
in a bed, in a watch, and a new trampoline? It's there in your step and it quenches your
thirst, and it always recurs though it's never rehearsed."spring"
I am the outstretched fingers that seize and
hold the wind, wisdom flows from me in other hands; upon me are sweet dreams dreamt, my
merest touch brings laughter. What am I?"feathers"
My first master has four legs, my second
master has two. My first I serve in life, my second I serve in death. Tough I am, yet soft
beside, 'gainst ladies cheeks I oft reside. What am I?"fur"
Metal or bone I may be, many teeth I have and
always bared, yet my bite harms no one and ladies delight in my touch. What am I?"a
comb"
I weaken all men for hours each day. I show
you strange visions while you are away. I take you by night, by day take you back, none
suffer to have me, but do from my lack. What am I?"sleep"