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Riddles

59

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. (An egg.)

Little Nanny Etticoat,

In a white petticoat,

And a red nose;

The longer she stands,

The shorter she grows. (A candle.)

Long legs, crooked thighs,

Little head and no eyes. (A pair of tongs.)

Thirty white horses upon a red hill,

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

Formed long ago, yet made to-day,

Employed while others sleep;

What few would like to give away,
Nor any wish to keep. (A bed.)

Lives in winter,

Dies in summer,

And grows with its root upwards. (An icicle.)

Elizabeth, Lizzy, Betsy and Bess,

All went together to seek a bird's nest;
They found a nest with five eggs in it;

They each took one and left four in it.

Thomas a Tattamus took two T's,

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!

Old Mother Twitchett had but one eye,

And a long tail which she let fly;

And every time she went over a gap,

(The teeth.)

She left a bit of her tail in a trap. (A needle and thread.)

As I went through a 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.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;

All the king's horses and all the king's men

(A cherry).

Cannot put Humpty Dumpty together again. (An egg.)

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? (One.)

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 drop one leg.

(A man, a stool, a leg of mutton, and a dog.)

PROVERBS

SEE a pin and pick it up,

All the day you'll have good luck;

See a pin and let it lay,

Bad luck you will have all day.

A man of words and not of deeds,

Is like a garden full of weeds;
For when the weeds begin to grow,
Then doth the garden overflow.

Proverbs

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HE that would thrive

Must rise at five;

He that hath thriven

May lie till seven;

And he that by the plough would thrive,

Himself must either hold or drive.

A SWARM of bees in May

Is worth a load of hay;

A swarm of bees in June

Is worth a silver spoon;
A swarm of bees in July
Is not worth a fly.

THEY that wash on Monday
Have all the week to dry;
They that wash on Tuesday
Are not so much awry;

They that wash on Wednesday

Are not so much to blame;

They that wash on Thursday,

Wash for shame;

They that wash on Friday,

Wash in need;

And they that wash on Saturday,

Oh, they are slovens, indeed.

NEEDLES and pins, needles and pins,

When a man marries, his trouble begins.

FOR every evil under the sun,

There is a remedy, or there is none.

If there be one, try and find it;

If there be none, never mind it.

TOMMY's tears, and Mary's fears,
Will make them old before their years.

HEARTS, like doors, will ope with ease
To very, very little keys,

And don't forget that two of these,
Are "I thank you" and "If you please."

IF wishes were horses,

Beggars would ride;
If turnips were watches,

I'd wear one by my side.

FOR want of a nail, the shoe was lost;
For want of the shoe, the horse was lost;
For want of the horse, the rider was lost;

For want of the rider, the battle was lost
For want of the battle, the kingdom was lost;
And all from the want of a horseshoe nail.

MARCH winds and April showers
Bring forth May flowers.

EVENING red and morning gray
Set the traveller on his way,
But evening gray and morning red,
Bring the rain upon his head.

RAINBOW at night

Is the sailor's delight;

Rainbow at morning,

Sailors, take warning.

OLD SUPERSTITIONS

CUT your nails on Monday, cut them for news;
Cut them on Tuesday, a pair of new shoes;
Cut them on Wednesday, cut them for health;
Cut them on Thursday, cut them for wealth;
Cut them on Friday, cut them for woe;
Cut them on Saturday, a journey you'll go;
Cut them on Sunday, you'll cut them for evil,
For all the next week you'll be ruled by the devil.

MARRY Monday, marry for wealth;

Marry Tuesday, marry for health;

Marry Wednesday, the best day of all;

Marry Thursday, marry for crosses,

Marry Friday, marry for losses,

Marry Saturday, no luck at all.

Old Superstitions

SNEEZE on a Monday, you sneeze for danger;
Sneeze on a Tuesday, you'll kiss a stranger;
Sneeze on a Wednesday, you sneeze for a letter;
Sneeze on a Thursday, for something better;
Sneeze on a Friday, you sneeze for sorrow;
Sneeze on a Saturday, your sweetheart to-morrow;
Sneeze on a Sunday, your safety seek-

The devil will have you the whole of the week.

MONDAY'S child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,

Saturday's child works hard for its living,
And a child that's born on the Sabbath day
Is fair and wise and good and gay.

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