The Riddles
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| *Gollum: | What has roots as nobody sees,
Is taller than trees, Up, up, up it goes, And yet never grows?  Mountain |
| *Bilbo: | Thirty white horses on a red hill,
First they champ, Then they stamp, Then they stand still. Teeth |
| *Gollum: | Voiceless it cries,
Wingless flutters, Toothless bites, Mouthless mutters. Wind |
| Bilbo: | An eye in a blue face
Saw an eye in a green face. "That eye is like to this eye" Said the first eye, But in low place, Not in high place." Sun on the Daisies |
| Gollum: | It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,
Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter. Dark |
| *Bilbo: | A box without hinges, key, or lid,
Yet golden treasure inside is hid. Egg |
| Gollum: | Alive without breath,
As cold as death; Never thirsty, ever drinking, All in mail never clinking. Fish |
| Bilbo: | No-legs lay on one-leg,
two-legs sat near on three-legs, four-legs got some. Fish on a little table, man at table sitting on a stool, the cat has the bones. |
| *Gollum: | This thing all things devours:
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers; Gnaws iron, bites steel; Grinds hard stones to meal; Slays king, ruins town, And beats high mountain down. Time |
~As recited by Bilbo and Gollum (The Hobbit - Ch. 5 "Riddles in the Dark")
~*Asterisked riddles are recited by Gollum & Bilbo (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Scene 27: Riddles in the Dark), although the final riddle is shortened as follows:
| Gollum: | All things it devours:
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers; Gnaws iron, bites steel; grinds hard stones to meal. |
Last updated: February 26, 2022