Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 23, 1912.djvu/495

Rh to the clothing of the deceased, and is communicable even by cloths which she has woven long before.

All the clans to which I have referred, except the Shans, are very closely connected, and one would have expected to have found greater uniformity in their ideas. As yet I have no explanation to offer of the cause of the differences pointed out, but perhaps some reader may be able to suggest one.

social gatherings amongst Armenians, proverbs and riddles are sometimes repeated for the entertainment of the company, and the following are translations, with answers, of favourite riddles used for such a purpose:

1. I tie it; it goes a-roaming; I loose it; it stays a-homing. (A shoe.)

2. A dark house; a snug sleep. (The grave.)

3. There's a deep, deep well; All there is betwixt heaven and hell Falls therein. (The ear.)

4. The more I hew it, the longer it grows; The more I smooth it, the thicker it grows. (A well.)

5. I grasp it; I cast it; It dieth a year; then again doth appear. (Wheat sowing.)

6. Unstrung pearls; unwound thread; The Lord threads them; man unthreads them. (A pomegranate.)

7. Flint above; no rock is it; Grass it eats; no sheep is it; Eggs it lays; no fowl is it. (A turtle.)

8. A snow-white field I own; With my hand it is sown; With my lips it is mown. (A letter.)