1917.] Riddles Current in the District of Sylhet. 125 



Answer. — c The Teeth.' (Compare this with the Sylhet riddle 

 No. 11 supra). In France, as we read in the ' Recueil de Calem- 

 bours/ the people ask : ' What runs faster than a horse, crosses 

 water, and is not wet ? ' Answer. — c The Sun.' The Samoans put 

 the riddle : ' A man who stands between two ravenous fishes ? ' 

 Answer. — ' The tongue between the teeth.' Again, ' There 

 are twenty brothers, each with a hat on his head ? ' Answer. — 

 1 Fingers and toes, with nails for hats.' This is like the French 



un pere a douze fils? 9 — 'Van.' A comparison of Holland's 

 4 Devinettes ' with the Woluf conundrums of Boilat, the Samoan 

 examples in Turner's ' Samoa,' and the Scotch enigmas collected 

 by Chambers, will show the identity of peasant and savage 

 humour." l 



1 Custom and Myth. By Andrew Lang. London : Longmans, Green, 

 and Co. 1893. p. 14. 



