Riddles is a good game to play. You throw brain teasers at your friends to test their intellectual faculty; if they answer, they are winners, if not, then losers. Simple. But for Bilbo and Gollum, it was a deadly game. Know more about these riddles from "The Hobbit – Riddles in the Dark" with their answers.
Gollum never gives up his intention of eating Bilbo in the first and revised edition, so he remains true to his slimy-skinny-bad-ass image. But the interesting twist is- in the first edition, Gollum wagers his precious ring on the riddle game and decides to reward Bilbo with the ring if he wins, oh boy!
The world will forever thank J. R. R. Tolkien for creating the gloopy little character of Gollum. Gollum to some may appear as a cantankerous hag with split personality and scarce hair. Gollum’s English can be a likable and associable aspect to those who like hissing their already hissing sibilants for a greater effect, My Precioussss. Ah and yes, Gollum is also known for his unusual wobbly, ear-grating voice which can be put to good use to scare children with twisted eyes. We can just go on and on about Gollum, but let’s get serious about this life-changing riddle game. But before that, a little more on the background and premise.
What many wouldn’t know is that Tolkien modified the fifth chapter of his legendary book, The Hobbit for it to align with its super successful successor, The Lord of the Rings. Riddles in the Dark is that important fifth chapter that monumentally shaped the ensuing stories.
Here comes the plot. Bilbo wakens from unconsciousness and soon realizes that he is all by himself without the company of Gandalf and tiny toodly dwarves. So he begins crawling the network of tunnels and reaches a lake where he alights upon, tadaa – Gollum! So Gollum is happy to spot Bilbo as Bilbo was a different kind, hence delicious meat. But Bilbo finds him weird, quite natural, with that appearance and self-twaddling, we don’t blame him. But Bilbo was carrying a weapon and Gollum was smart enough to not rush into anything. So he decides to handle the matter at hand subtly and challenges Bilbo to get into some kind of riddle battle. There are two possible outcomes to this – If Bilbo wins, Gollum shows him the way out and if Gollum wins, he is let to snack on Bilbo.
Let’s know, what these riddles were, and of course, their answers too through the slideshow given below.
Answer: Mountain
Answer: Teeth
Answer: Wind
Answer: Sun on the Daisies
Answer: Dark
Answer: Eggs
Answer: Fish
Answer: Fish on a little table, man at table sitting on a stool, the cat has the bones
Answer: Time
Answer: The Ring
Free your brains from other mortal worries, as the following riddle battle is going to pose some serious challenge to it-
Gollum’s Riddle to Bilbo
What has roots as nobody sees,
Is taller than trees,
Up, up it goes,
And yet never grows?
Answer:Mountain
Well, this is easy-peasy, even we could guess. Bilbo’s pronto answer kind of shocked Gollum who only thought of Bilbo as a delicacy. Well done Bilbo!
Bilbo’s riddle to Gollum
Thirty white horses on a red hill,
First they champ,
Then they stamp,
Then they stand still.
Answer:Teeth
Well, this was pretty obvious for Gollum to guess. We can warrant that Gollum had already imagined how he was going to season our little Bilbo.
Gollum’s Riddle to Bilbo
Voiceless it cries,
Wingless flutters,
Toothless bites,
Mouthless mutters.
Answer:Wind
Some people just have food on their mind all the time and they are gourmets and Gollum. But Bilbo wasn’t just ready to be his meal, he racked his funny wig and came up with the answer.
Bilbo’s riddle to Gollum
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.’
Answer:Sun on the Daisies
Bilbo was almost growing smug when he saw the bamboozled Gollum. But Gollum had retentive memory and voila, he knew the answer. Bilbo’s smugness soon palled.
Gollum’s Riddle to Bilbo
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.
Answer:Dark
We really thought Gollum was easy on Bilbo; it must be like one of those things when you are captured by some weird tribal people and then they decorate you, bow before you, break into weird dance, give you ample to eat. ONLY TO EAT YOU. Perhaps Gollum knew of this concept and thought he will let Bilbo win, since with the ring he could vanish and eat Bilbo anyway.
Bilbo’s riddle to Gollum
A box without hinges, key or
lid,
Yet golden treasure inside is
hid.
Answer:Eggs
This took long for Gollum to figure out. Poor thing couldn’t even rack his brains like Bilbo not because he didn’t have any but because in the process he would have scratched it hard and injured himself. Lol. Anyways, he remembered what he used to lift from the nests and gave the right answer.
Gollum’s Riddle to Bilbo
Alive without breath,
As cold as death;
Never thirsty, ever drinking,
All in mail never clinking.
Answer:Fish
This one nearly had Bilbo! Bilbo was more of a landlubber and wasn’t a specialist at nautical riddles. So naturally he just couldn’t guess it initially. But Gollum’s hunger was growing and he began inching toward Bilbo. Just then a fish sprung on Bilbo’s feet and he rightly guessed the answer. Gollum is so going down, people.
Bilbo’s riddle to Gollum
No-legs lay on one-leg,
two-legs sat near on three-legs,
four-legs got some.
Answer:Fish on a little table, man at table sitting on a stool, the cat has the bones
Bilbo had come extremely close to being Gollum’s special Sunday Dinner, but he somehow managed to get back into his element and posed a riddle he thought Gollum wouldn’t be able to tell. But Gollum decoded it right away.
Gollum’s Riddle to Bilbo
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.
Answer:Time
The battle was getting intense and riddles were getting more convoluted. Bilbo was taking exceptionally long time to guess this one. The crackle in Gollum’s eye grew brighter with each passing moment. There was immense pressure on Bilbo. He could now imagine Gollum’s teeth, which were like rows of bombed houses digging mercilessly into his skin. Panicked Bilbo asked Gollum for more time, and then he suddenly got the much-needed epiphany and gave the correct answer. Hurrey!
Bilbo’s riddle to Gollum
What do I have in my pocket?
Answer:The Ring
Well, not a riddle though but a question that really stumped Gollum. How on earth is someone ever supposed to know the answer to that one? Never mind. But Bilbo was gracious enough to grant Gollum three guesses. But poor Gollum got all the guesses wrong.
And then…you thought we would give it all away? We don’t play spoilers. To know what ensues from Bilbo’s possession of the ring, you will need to read the book or just watch the movie, which we are sure most of you will do.