Chapter 8 GUESS-ME-QUICKS

Riddle me, riddle me, riddle me ree,

Perhaps you can tell me what this may be.

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 stronghold,

Yet thieves break in and steal the gold.

Thirty white horses upon a red hill,

Now they tramp, now they champ, now they stand still.

Black within and red without;

Four corners round about.

Little Nan Etticoat,

In a white petticoat,

And a red nose;

The longer she stands,

The shorter she grows.

As round as an apple, as deep as a cup,

And all the King's horses can't pull it up.

Long legs, crooked thighs,

Little head, and no eyes.

Higher than a house, higher than a tree,

Oh, whatever can that be?

Down in a dark dungeon I saw a brave knight,

All saddled, all bridled, all fit for the fight.

Gilt was his saddle, and bent was his bow;

Thrice I've told you his name, and yet you don't know.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;

Not all the King's horses, nor all the King's men,

Could set Humpty Dumpty up again.

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.

As soft as silk, as white as milk,

As bitter as gall, a thick wall,

And a green coat covers me all.

As I went through the garden gap,

Whom 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.

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.

There was a girl in our town,

Silk an' satin was her gown,

Silk an' satin, gold an' velvet,

Guess her name, three times I've tell'd it.

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 going to St. Ives?

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.

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?

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.

I had a little nut tree, nothing would it bear

But a silver nutmeg, and a golden pear.

The King of Spain's daughter came to visit me,

And all was because of my little nut tree.

I skipped over water, I danced over sea,

And all the birds of the air, they couldn't catch me.

There is one that has a head without an eye,

And there's one that has an eye without a head:

You may find the answer if you try;

And when all is said,

Half the answer hangs upon a thread!

Christina G. Rossetti.

Do You Guess it is I?

I am a little thing;

I am not very high;

I laugh, dance and sing,

And sometimes I cry.

I have a little head

All covered o'er with hair,

And I hear what is said

With my two ears there.

On my two feet I walk;

I run too with ease;

With my little tongue I talk

Just as much as I please.

I have ten fingers too,

And just so many toes;

Two eyes to see through,

And but one little nose.

I've a mouth full of teeth,

Where my bread and milk go in;

And close by, underneath,

Is my little round chin.

What is this little thing,

Not very, very high,

That can laugh, dance and sing?

Do you guess it is I?

Eliza Lee Follen.

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