Anglo-Saxon Riddles

Four dilly-dandies

Four stick-standies

Two crookers

Two lookers

And a wig wag.

Who am I?

• A cow

• A chimpanzee

• A sword

• A man

My home is not quiet but I am not loud.

The lord has meant us to journey together.

I am faster than he and sometimes stronger,

But he keeps on going for longer.

Sometimes I rest but he runs on.

For as long as I am alive I live in him.

If we part from one another

It is I who will die.

Who am I?

• A fox

• A fish

• A man

• A bird

I am all on my own,

Wounded by iron weapons and scarred by swords.

I often see battle.

I am tired of fighting.

I do not expect to be allowed to retire from warfare

Before I am completely done for.

At the wall of the city, I am knocked about

And bitten again and again.

Hard edged things made by the blacksmith's hammer attack me.

Each time I wait for something worse.

I have never been able to find a doctor who could make me better

Or give me medicine made from herbs.

Instead the sword gashes all over me grow bigger day and night.

• An axe

• A knight

• A shield

• A horse

I am a faithful vigilant guardian, always watching the house;

In the deep night, I walk through the unseeing shadows,

For I do not lose the sight of my eyes, even in black caverns.

Against the hateful thieves who ravage the stores of grain, I ambush, I silently set a snare of death.

A roaming huntress, I invade the lairs of wild beasts,

But I do not wish to chase fleeing herds alongside dogs who bark and bring cruel war against me.

Who am I?

I am noble, known to rest in the quiet

Keeping of many men, humble and high born.

The plunderers' joy, hauled far from friends,

Rides richly on me, shines signifying power,

Whether I proclaim the grandeur of halls,

The wealth of cities, or the glory of God.

Now wise men love most my strange way

Of offering wisdom to many without voice.

Though the children of earth eagerly seek

To trace my trail, sometimes my tracks are dim.

Who am I?