Riddle Me This

Complete the activity below to earn your Thomas Stone National Historic Site Virtual Junior Ranger badge! When you finish, download and print your badge to add to your collection!

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"Sly as a fox" is an idiom - a saying that isn't meant literally but is common enough to be generally understood. The image above is personification - giving a human quality to something not human. Foxes are known to be sly creatures and the image of the fox is personified writing the riddles below.

New York Public Library Digital Collection

Activity

Riddles were seen as entertainment and being able to solve the riddle was a way of proving that you were educated. Can you solve the following animal riddles using the facts and clues presented?

Riddle One

In many stories or movies I’m called clever or sly
But in fact I’m just like any other cool guy
My coat color’s red, my cousin’s coat’s gray
And my long poofy tail is in need of hairspray!
Who am I?

Riddle Two

I come out at night, so I am rarely seen
I’m a natural survivor; it is in my genes
I hunt rabbits and mammals of the small sort
And my tail is fuzzy and striped, but short
Who am I?

Riddle Three

I’m a nimble rodent found throughout most of the world
I have big dark eyes and a tail bushy and curled
For nuts, fruits, seeds, and tree bark I frequently scout
Thank goodness my front four teeth never wear out
Who am I?

Slide Left for Riddle Answers!

Left image
Slide left to reveal answer

Right image
Answers to Riddles