Riddles 59 In marble walls as white as milk, 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, 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 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! 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 sack had seven cats, 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; 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; Proverbs 61 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; THEY that wash on Monday 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, HEARTS, like doors, will ope with ease And don't forget that two of these, IF wishes were horses, Beggars would ride; I'd wear one by my side. FOR want of a nail, the shoe was lost; For want of the rider, the battle was lost MARCH winds and April showers EVENING red and morning gray 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; 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; The devil will have you the whole of the week. MONDAY'S child is fair of face, Saturday's child works hard for its living, 63 |