This nursery rhyme and riddle was first recorded in England in the 19th century.
Below you will find the most popular version of the riddle as well as a more recent version.
Riddle:
Old mother Twitchett has but one eye,
And a long tail which she can let fly,
And every time she goes over a gap,
She leaves a bit of her tail in a trap.
(click on the riddle to find out the answer)
Answer: a needle and a thread.
This is a variation of the riddle titled “Old Mother Needle” and it was published this way in A History of Nursery Rhymes by Percy B. Green in 1899.
Old mother needle had but one eye,
A very long tail which she let fly,
Every time she went through a gap
She left a bit of her tail in the trap.