Riddles
Which flower
Once long ago there lived two Rulers of different lands famed for their wisdom as well as their beauty.
The Queen of Sheba and King Solomon.
Upon his visit to her land the queen decide to test King Solomon’s wisdom by a series of tests in riddles.
He passed each one with ease until she led him into a room filled with flowers of every shape and colour.
The Queen had the finest craftsmen and magicians in her land construct the flowers so that they look exactly like the real flowers from her garden. “The test” she told King Solomon “is to find the one real flower amongst the thousands of artificial ones”.
King solomon looked carefully from flower to flower and back again, searching for even the smallest of difference.
He looked for any sign of welted leaves or petals but found lifelike leaves and petals in all conditions on every flower. And fragrance was of no help as well for the room was filled with fragrances.
“Please” King Solomon pleaded “the room is so warm. Could we open the curtains and let in a breeze? The fresh air will help clear my head for thinking”
The Queen of Sheba kindly agreed and within minutes after the curtains opened King Solomon new which of the many flowers was the real one.
How did he know?
Show Answer
When the curtains were opened a bee flew in the window and immediately went to the real flower
The clever bride
There was once a bride who lived with her husband and mother-in-law. The bride was very fond of chick peas. The mother-in-law had a barrel full of chick peas in the kitchen. Every couple of days the bride would steal some chick peas and roast them in secret. Eventually, the barrel became half-empty and the mother-in-law became suspicious of the bride because she was new to the household and no one had ever taken the chick peas before. The bride knew of her suspicious. Once when they were cleaning the kitchen, the bride found a chick pea on the floor. She said three words to the mother-in-law that made the mother-in-law think she didn’t take the chick peas. What were they?
Show Answer
“What is this?” If she didn’t know what a chick pea was, why would she steal them?
The cleverest son
Once there lived an old man who had three sons. When he grew old and ill he knew that he would soon die. He called all three sons into his room.
“There is no way I can divide the house and Farm to support all three of you. The one who proves himself the cleverest will inherit the house and Farm. There’s a coin on the table for each of you. The one who can buy something that will fill this room will inherit all I own”.
The eldest son took his coin, went straight to the marketplace in filled his wagon with straw. The second son thought a bit longer, then also went to the marketplace with his coin, where he bought sacks and sacks of feathers. The youngest son thought and then quickly went to the shop he bought two small things and put them into his pocket.
That night the father called them to show what they had bought. The oldest son spread his straw but it filled only one part of the room. The second son dumped his sacks of feathers but they filled only two quarters of the room. Then the youngest son smiled, pulled out two small things from his pocket and soon filled the room.
“Yes”, the father said, “you are indeed the cleverest and have filled my room when the others could not. You shall inherit my house and farm”.
What had the youngest son bought and how had he filled the room?
Show Answer
The two things he bought were a match and a candle. He filled the room with light.
One word solves a mystery
A local merchant was preparing to go on a selling trip. After loading his boat he waited on board for his servant. Seeing the merchant waiting alone the boatman decided it would be easy to kill him and steal his goods. The boatman quickly attacked and drowned the merchant and took the goods to his own house. Then he created an alibi. He went to the merchant’s house and asked why he had not come to the boat. The merchant’s wife had all her servants go looking but they could find no trace of him. In time the investigation reached the magistrate who send everyone out the room except the merchant’s wife and asked her for an exact description of the event at the time when the Boatsman first came to ask about her husband.
“My husband had already been gone quite a while”, said the wife, “when the boatman came to our gate and called: mistress why hasn’t the merchant come down yet“.
Next the magistrate talked to the boatman who repeated exactly what he had said when he went to the merchants House.
“That’s it”, the magistrate told the boatman, “The merchant was killed and you are the killer. You just confessed”. “What confession?” protested the boatman.
Do you know what confession?
Show Answer
When the boatman went to the merchant’s house he called only for the Mistress, because he knew that the merchant would not be at home, but dead.
Left alone, I’m a word with five letters. I’m honest and fair, I’ll admit. Rearranged, I’m of no use to trains. Again, and I’m an overt place, warm and well lit. What am I?
Show Answer
A LIAR
Each of the lines is a lie.
Left alone, I’m a word with five letters – The word is actually 4 letters
I’m honest and fair I’ll admit- Obviously, a liar is the antithesis of honest and fair.
Rearranged, I’m of no use to trains– RAIL, an anagram of LIAR, is an incredibly important facet to the function of trains.
Again, and I’m an overt place, warm and well-lit – LAIR, another anagram of LIAR, is a hidden, dark place, the opposite of the adjectives provided.