SEVENTH CLASS--RIDDLES.
[ANN.]
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THERE was a girl in our towne, Silk an' satin was her gowne, Silk an' satin, gold an' velvet Guess her name, three times I've tell'd it. |
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And he that made it did it bring; But he 'twas made for did not know Whether 'twas a thing or no. |
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I met mister Rusticap; Pins and needles on his back, A going to Thorney fair. |
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TWO legs sat upon three legs, With one leg in his lap; In comes four legs, And runs away with one leg. Up jumps two legs, Catches up three legs, Throws it after four legs, And makes him bring back one leg. |
[A BED.]
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FORMED long ago, yet made to-day, Employed while others sleep; What few would like to give away, Nor any wish to keep. |
[A CINDER-SIFTER.]
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A RIDDLE, a riddle, as I suppose, A hundred eyes, and never a nose. |
[A WELL.]
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AS round as an apple, as deep as a cup, And all the king's horses can't pull it up. |
[A CHERRY.]
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AS I went through the garden gap, Who should I meet but Dick Red-cap! A stick in his hand, a stone in his throat, If you'll tell me this riddle, I'll give you a groat. |
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ELIZABETH, Elspeth, Betsy and Bess, They all went together to seek a bird's nest, They found a bird's nest with five eggs in, They all took one, and left four in. |
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AS
I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives, Every wife had seven sacks, Every sack had seven cats, Every cat had seven kits: Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, How many were there going to St. Ives? |
[THE HOLLY TREE.]
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HIGHTY, tighty, paradighty clothed in green, The king could not read it, no more could the queen; They sent for a wise man out of the East, Who said it had horns, but was not a beast! |
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SEE, see! what shall I see? A horse's head where his tail should be. |
[AN EGG.]
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HUMPTY DUMPTY sate on a wall, Humpty dumpty had a great fall; Three score men and three score more Cannot place Humpty Dumpty as he was before. |
| [The allusion to Oliver Cromwell satisfactorily fixes the date of the riddle to belong to the seventeenth century.] |
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PURPLE, yellow, red, and green, The king cannot reach it nor the queen; Nor can old Noll, whose power's so great: Tell me this riddle while I count eight. |
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PEASE- porridge hot, pease-porridge cold, Pease-porridge in the pot, nine days old. Spell me that in four letters. |
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AS I was going o'er Westminster bridge, I met with a Westminster scholar; He pulled off his cap an' drew off his glove, And wished me a very good morrow. What is his name? |
[From MS. Sloane, 1489, fol.16, written in the time of Charles I.]
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THERE
were three sisters in a hall, There came a knight amongst them all; Good morrow, aunt, to the one, Good morrow, aunt, to the other, Good morrow, gentlewoman, to the third, If you were my aunt, As the other two be, I would say good morrow, Then, aunts, all three. |
[From the same Manuscript.]
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CONGEAL'D water and Cain's brother, That was my lover's name, and no other. |
[TEETH AND GUMS.]
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THIRTY white horses upon a red hill, Now they tramp, now they champ, now they stand still. |
[COALS.]
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BLACK we are, but much admired; Men seek for us till they are tired. We tire the horse, but comfort man: Tell me this riddle if you can. |
[The man had one eye, and the tree two apples upon it.]
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THERE was a man who had no eyes, He went abroad to view the skies: He saw a tree with apples on it, He took no apples off, yet left no apples on it. |
[CLEOPATRA.]
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THE moon nine days old, The next sign to cancer, Pat rat without a tail, And now, sir, for your answer. |
[A CANDLE.]
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LITTLE Nancy Etticoat, In a white petticoat, And a red nose; The longer she stands, The shorter she grows. |
[PAIR OF TONGS.]
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LONG legs, crooked thighs, Little head and no eyes. |
[A HORSE-SHOER.]
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WHAT
shoe-maker makes shoes without leather, With all the four elements put together? Fire and water, earth and air, Ev'ry customer has two pair. |
[CURRANTS.]
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HIGGLEDY piggledy Here we lie, Pick'd and pluck'd, And put in a pie. My first is snapping, snarling, growling, My second's industrious, romping, and prowling. Higgledy piggledy Here we lie, Pick'd and pluck'd, And put in a pie. |
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THOMAS A TATTAMUS took two Ts, To tie two tups to two tall trees, To frighten the terrible Thomas a Tattamus! Tell me how many Ts there are in all THAT. |
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KING
Charles walked and talked Half an hour after his head was cut off! |
[STAR.]
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I HAVE
a little sister, they call her peep, peep, She wades the waters deep, deep, deep, She climbs the mountains high, high, high, Poor little creature she has but one eye. |
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TWELVE
pears hanging high, Twelve knights riding by; Each knight took a pear, And yet left eleven there! |
[A NEEDLE AND THREAD.]
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OLD
mother Twitchett had but one eye, And a long tail which she let fly; And every time she went over a gap, She left a bit of her tail in a trap. |
[AN EGG.]
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IN
marble walls as white as milk, Lined with a skin as soft as silk; Within a fountain crystal clear, A golden apple doth appear. No doors there are to this strong-hold. Yet things break in and steal the gold. |
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THERE was a king met a king In a narrow lane, Says this king to that king, "Where have you been?"
"Oh! I've been a hunting
"There's the dog take the dog." |
[A PLUM-PUDDING.]
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FLOUR of England, fruit of Spain, Met together in a shower of rain; Put in a bag tied round with a string, If you'll tell me this riddle, I'll give you a ring. |
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EVERY lady in this land Has twenty nails upon each hand, Five and twenty hands and feet, All this is true without deceit. |