Riddle 24
english translation
Riddle 24
I am wonderful and rare— I can lay aside
my own speech for another’s!
At times, I hound-bark, goat-bleat,
goose-honk, or sharply shrill like a hawk.
Sometimes, I mime the eagle’s long scree,
the gray soldier’s keening cry; sometimes,
the call of the kite. Sometimes, the gull’s water-song.
As I gleefully sit, singing, I am actor-glad.
My letters are P, A, and G—and I. I also have
an M and an E. Say what these six letters mean!
- ‹ previous
- 12 of 112
- next ›
original Anglo-Saxon poem
Riddle 24 — Anglo-Saxon Original
Ic eom wunderlicu wiht— wrΦsne mine stefne,
hwilum beorce swa hund, hwilum blΦte swa gat,
hwilum grΦde swa gos, hwilum gielle swa hafoc,
hwilum ic onhyrge ζone haswan earn,
guξfugles hleoζor, hwilum glidan reorde
muζe gemΦne, hwilum mΦwes song,
ζΦr ic glado sitte. G mec nemnaξ,
swylce E ond R O fullesteξ,
H ond I. Nu ic haten eom
swa ζa sieξ stafas sweotule becnaζ.
- Login or register to post comments
- Email this page
- Printer-friendly version