Riddles – Nursery Rhymes

Old mother Twitchett

All Nursery Rhymes — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 07:15:33 +0000

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)

In Marble Walls as White as Milk

All Nursery Rhymes — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 07:08:02 +0000

This fun riddle was first published in the 1921 book Children’s Literature, A Textbook of Sources for Teachers and Teacher-Training Classes written by Charles Madison Curry and Erle Elsworth Clippinger.

Riddle:

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.
(click on the riddle to find out the answer)

Flour of England, Fruit of Spain

All Nursery Rhymes — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 07:05:49 +0000

This riddle is one of the many collected in Leslie Brooke’s 1916 nursery rhyme collection.

Riddle:

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.
(click on the riddle to find out the answer)

As Soft As Silk

All Nursery Rhymes — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 14:19:24 +0000

This children’s riddle was first published in Leslie Brooke’s collection of nursery rhymes from 1916.

Riddle:

As soft as silk, as white as milk,
As bitter as gall, a thick wall,
And a green coat covers me all.
(click on the riddle to find out the answer)

Humpty Dumpty

All Nursery Rhymes — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 16:12:01 +0000

Usually represented by an egg, “Humpty Dumpty” is a famous character in an English nursery rhyme.

It also appears in literature works and other popular culture such as Through the Looking-Glass, by Lewis Carroll, Mother Goose in Prose by L. Frank Baum, The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin, and the Jasper Fforde’s novels The Well of Lost Plots and The Big Over Easy.

Humpty Dumpty dates back to the early 19th century. At its origins it was a riddle, and the egg was probably the riddle’s answer.

In 17th century “humpty dumpty” was the name of a kind of brandy (source: Oxford English Dictionary) and the term was also used as a slang to describe a dull person. Exactly like an egg, if such a clumsy person would fall down from a wall, this would be an irremediable thing.

The riddle was first published in Gammer Gurton’s Garland in 1810. Before that it was found in a manuscript of Mother Goose’s Melody, 1803. The last line was the only difference between it and the modern version: “Could not set Humpty Dumpty up again”

“Humpty Dumpty” Lyrics

Lyrics now:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

“Humpty Dumpty” Original Lyrics

First printed vesion:

Humpty Dumpty sate [sic] on a wall,
Humpti Dumpti [sic] had a great fall;
Threescore men and threescore more,
Cannot place Humpty dumpty as he was before.

Riddles – Nursery Rhymes

Old mother Twitchett

Riddle:

In Marble Walls as White as Milk

Riddle:

Flour of England, Fruit of Spain

Riddle:

As Soft As Silk

Riddle:

Humpty Dumpty

“Humpty Dumpty” Lyrics

Lyrics now:

“Humpty Dumpty” Original Lyrics

First printed vesion:

“Humpty Dumpty” Video