Page:Anglo-Saxon Riddles of the Exeter Book (1963).djvu/48

 I waxed into life with my alien fellows. My friend and protector nourished me then till I grew and grew able to go forth by myself. Because of this now her own dear children, sons and daughters, were fewer, alas.

Cuckoo certainly. The pleasure is not so much in guessing&mdash;we are not asked to guess&mdash;as in following the double meanings.

Silent is my garment when I tread the earth or dwell in the towns or stir the waters. Sometimes my trappings lift me up over the habitations of heroes and this high air, and the might of the welkin bears me afar above mankind. Then my adornments resound in song and sing aloud with clear melody &mdash;when I do not rest on land or water, a moving spirit.

Swan.

I speak through my mouth with many voices. Skilfully I sing with many modulations, loud and strong, with various tunes. I sing as I must, unhampered, unhindered. I am the nighttime songster of old. I bring joy to the men who dwell in the towns. When I sing out with my flexible tones they sit at home silent. Tell me my name who brightly imitate professional singers and loudly foretell many welcome tidings.

Various answers have been proposed (see pp. ff. above), but the most plausible (though it is hard to resist Nightingale for