A Riddle! A Riddle!
1. Riddle me, riddle me, what is that, Over the head and under the hat?
It’s just like a cup;
It’s yellow, as yellow as butter, And they call it
A riddle, a riddle, as I suppose, a hundred eyes and never a nose.
Old Mother Twitchett had but one eye,
And a long tail, which she left fly;
And every time she went over a gap, She left a bit of her tail in a
trap.
- Long legs and crooked thighs, Little head and no eyes.
hair
a buttercup
a potato
a needle and thread
a pair of tongs
3. Red within and red without, With four corners round about
2. Black within and red without, With four corners round about.
1. A house full, a hole full, And you cannot gather a bowl full
4. From house to house he goes, A messenger small and slight; And
whether it rains or snows, He sleeps outside in the night.5. Higher than a house, Higher than a tree; Oh, whatever can that be?
1. smoke or mist
2. a chimney
3. a brick
4. a lane
5. a star
- First they dress in green,
Then they change to brown;
And some will even wear
A red or golden gown!
- Four stiff-standers, Four dilly-danders, Two lookers, two crookers,
And a long wiggle-waggle.
3. Runs all day and never walks, Often murmurs, never talks;
It has a bed and never sleeps; It has a mouth and never eats.
1. leaves
2. a cow
3. a river
2. Twelve little figures around me, One pale face to guard;
Two hands crossed on my fair white breast Can you guess me? I am not
hard.
1. Little Nancy Etticoat, With a white petticoat, And a red nose;
She has no feet or hands, The longer she stands The shorter she grows.
3. Two brothers we are, great burdens we bear, On which we are bitterly
pressed;
The truth is to say, we are full all the day, And empty when we go to
rest.
1. a candle
2. a clock
3. a pair of shoes
- 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 bring
back one leg.
- As I was going to St. Ives,
I met a man with seven wives,
Each wife had seven sacks, Each sack had seven cats,
Each cat had seven kits: Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, How many were
there going to St. Ives?
“Two legs” is a man, “three legs’ is a stool, “four legs” is a dog,
and “one leg” is a leg of lamb.One or none, depending upon how the question is read.
Harry the Dirty Dog
by Gene Zion
Harry was a white dog with black spots who liked everything, except…
getting a bath. So one day when he heard the water running in the tub,
he took the scrubbing brush … and buried it in the backyard. Then he
ran away from home.
He played where they were fixing the street and got very dirty.
He played at the railroad and got even dirtier.
He played tag with other dogs and became dirtier still.
He slid down a coal chute and got the dirtiest of all.
In fact, he changed from a white dog with black spots, to a black dog
with white spots.
Although there were many other things to do, Harry began to wonder if
his family thought that he had really run away.
He felt tired and hungry too, so without stopping on the way he ran back
home.
When Harry got to his house, he crawled through the fence and sat
looking at the back door.
One of the family looked out and said, “There’s a strange dog in the
backyard … by the way, has anyone seen Harry?”
When Harry heard this, he tried very hard to show them he was Harry.
He started to do all his old, clever tricks. He flip-flopped and he
flop-flipped. He rolled over and played dead. He danced and he sang.
He did these tricks over and over again,
but everyone shook his head and said, “Oh, no, it couldn’t be Harry.”
Harry gave up and walked slowly toward the gate, but suddenly he
stopped.
He ran to a corner of the garden and started to dig furiously. Soon he
jumped away from the hole barking short, happy barks.
He’d found the scrubbing brush! And carrying it in his mouth, he ran
into the house. Up the stairs he dashed, with the family following close
behind.
He jumped into the bathtub and sat up begging, with the scrubbing brush
in his mouth, a trick he certainly had never done before.
“This little doggie wants a bath!” cried the little girl, and her father
said, “Why don’t you and your brother give him one?”
Harry’s bath was the soapiest one he’d
ever had. It worked like magic. As soon as the children started to
scrub, they began shouting, “Mummy! Daddy! Look, look! Come quick! It’s
Harry! It’s Harry! It’s Harry!” they cried.
Harry wagged his tail and was very, very happy. His family combed and
brushed him lovingly, and he became once again a white dog with black
spots.
It was wonderful to be home. After dinner, Harry fell asleep in his
favorite place, happily dreaming of how much fun it had been getting
dirty. He slept so soundly, he didn’t even feel the scrubbing brush he’d
hidden under his pillow.
Did you enjoy meeting Harry? If so, you can join him on other adventures
in Harry and the Lady Next Door, Harry by the Sea, and No Roses for
Harry, all by Gene Zion.
