RIDDLES

RIDDLES...

What has roots as nobody sees, Is taller than trees, Up, up it goes, And yet never grows?		Thirty white horses on a red hill, First they champ, Then they stamp, Then they stand still.
Voiceless it cries, Wingless it flutters, Toothless bites, Mouthless mutters.		It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.
A box without hinges, key, or lid, Yet golden treasure inside is hid.		Alive without breath, As cold as death; Never thirsty, ever drinking, All in mail never clinking.
This thing all things devours: Birds, beast, trees, flowers; Gnaws iron, bites steel; Grinds hard stones to meal; Slays king, ruins town, And beats high mountain down.		You feel it, but never see it and never will.
You must keep it after giving it.		As light as a feather, but you can't hold it for ten minutes.
Has a mouth but does not speak has a bed but never sleeps.		Runs smoother than any rhyme, loves to fall but cannot climb!
You break it even if you name it		It passes before the sun and makes no shadow.
You feed it, it lives, you give it something to drink, it dies.		A red drum which sounds Without being touched, And grows silent, When it is touched.
Two horses, swiftest travelling, Harnessed in a pair, and Grazing ever in places Distant from them.		A harvest sown and reaped on the same day In an unplowed field, Which increases without growing, Remains whole though it is eaten Within and without, Is useless and yet The staple of nations.
If you break me I do not stop working, If you touch me I may be snared, If you lose me Nothing will matter.		All about, but cannot be seen, Can be captured, cannot be held No throat, but can be heard.
I go around in circles, But always straight ahead Never complain, No matter where I am led.		Lighter than what I am made of, More of me is hidden Than is seen.
If a man carried my burden, He would break his back. I am not rich, But leave silver in my track.		My life can be measured in hours, I serve by being devoured. Thin, I am quick Fat, I am slow Wind is my foe.
Weight in my belly, Trees on my back, Nails in my ribs, Feet I do lack.		You can see nothing else When you look in my face I will look you in the eye And I will never lie.
I am always hungry, I must always be fed, The finger I lick Will soon turn red.		Three lives have I. Gentle enough to soothe the skin, Light enough to caress the sky Hard enough to crack rocks.
Glittering points That downward thrust, Sparkling spears That never rust.		Each morning I appear To lie at your feet, All day I follow No matter how fast you run, Yet I nearly perish In the midday sun.
Keys without locks Yet I unlock the soul.		Something wholly unreal, yet seems real to I Think my friend, tell me where does it lie?
I am so simple, That I can only point Yet I guide men All over the world.		A beggar's brother went out to sea and drowned. But the man who drowned had no brother. What was the relationship between the man who drowned and the beggar?
Man of old, it is told Would search until he tired, Not for gold, ne'er be sold, But what sought he was fire. Man today, thou mayst say, Has quite another aim, In places deep, he did seek, To find me for his gain!		For our ambrosia we were blessed, by Jupiter, with a sting of death. Though our might, to some is jest, we have quelled the dragon's breath.
Colored as a maiden tweaked, time was naught when I began; through the garden I was sneaked, I alone am the fall of man.		Early ages the iron boot tread, with Europe at her command. Through time power slipped and fled, 'till the creation of new holy land.
One thin, one bold, one sick, one cold. The earth we span, to prey upon man.		One where none should be, or maybe where two should be, seeking out purity, in the kings trees.
He who makes it does not keep it. He who takes it does not know it. He who knows it does not want it. He who gathers it must destroy it.		One tooth to bite, he's the forests foe. One tooth to fight, as all Norse know.
This creature, part man and part tree, hates the termite as much as the flea. His tracks do not match, and his limbs may detach, but he's not a strange creature to see.		The part of the bird that is not in the sky, which can swim in the ocean and always stay dry.
Dead and bound, what once was free. What made no sound, now sings with glee.		The root tops the trunk on this backward thing, that grows in the winter and dies in the spring.
Touching one, yet holding two, it is a one link chain binding those who keep words true, 'til death rent it in twain.		A house of wood in a hidden place Built without nails or glue High above the earthen ground It holds pale gems of blue.
Inside a great blue castle Lives a shy young maid She blushes in the morning And comes not out at night.		I have legs but walk not A strong back but work not Two good arms but reach not A seat but sit and tarry not
I can be touched But I hurt those who touch me I move swiftly through a dry forest But die in a mountain stream Where I pass I leave a black shroud.		He who makes it needs it not He who buys it wants it not He who uses it feels it not
In marble halls 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 stronghold, Yet thieves break in and steal the gold.		The beginning of eternity, The end of time and space, The beginning of every end, The end of every place.
Robbers came to our house And we were all in. The house leaped out at the windows And we were all taken in.		Though I dance at a ball, I am nothing at all.