Nursery Rhymes: Riddles
I WENT to the wood and got it;
I sat me down and looked at it;
The more I looked at it the less I liked it;
And I brought it home because I couldn't help it.
[A thorn.]
~ ~ ~
On the king's kitchen door;
All the king's horses,
And all the king's men,
Couldn't drive Hick-a-more, Hack-a-more,
Off the king's kitchen door!
[Sunshine.]
~ ~ ~
As bitter as gall, a thick wall,
And a green coat covers me all.
[A walnut.]
~ ~ ~
Little head, and no eyes.
[Pair of tongs.]
~ ~ ~
ARTHUR O'BOWER has broken his band,
He comes roaring up the land;—
The King of Scots, with all his power,
Cannot turn Arthur of the Bower!
[A storm of wind.]
~ ~ ~
In a narrow lane;
Says this king to that king,
"Where have you been?"
"Oh! I've been a hunting
With my dog and my doe."
"Pray lend him to me,
That I may do so."
"There's the dog take the dog."
"What's the dog's name?"
"I've told you already."
"Pray tell me again."
[The dog's name is "Take."]
~ ~ ~
Lined with a skin as soft as silk;
Within a fountain crystal clear,
A golden apple doth appear.
No doors there are to this stronghold.
Yet things break in and steal the gold.
[An egg.]
~ ~ ~
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.
[A plum-pudding.]
~ ~ ~
She wades the waters deep, deep, deep;
She climbs the mountains high, high, high;
Poor little creature she has but one eye.
[A star.]
~ ~ ~
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.
[Currants.]
~ ~ ~
(Wikipedia: Humpty Dumpty)
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.
[An egg.]
~ ~ ~
Now they tramp, now they champ, now they stand still.
[Teeth and gums.]
~ ~ ~
To tie two tups to two tall trees,
To frighten the terrible Thomas a Tattamus!
Tell me how many T's there are in all that.
[Just 2 ("all that").]
~ ~ ~
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.
[A needle and thread.]
~ ~ ~
In a white petticoat,
And a red rose.
The longer she stands
The shorter she grows.
[A candle.]
~ ~ ~
Employed while others sleep;
What few would like to give away,
Nor any wish to keep.
[A Bed.]
~ ~ ~
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?
~ ~ ~
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.
[A cherry.]
~ ~ ~
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.
[One leg is a leg of mutton; two legs, a man; three legs, a stool; four legs, a dog.]
~ ~ ~
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.
(700 words)
