The Ridere of Riddles.
by Joseph Jacobs · from Collected Folk Tales
Adapted Version
Once upon a time, there were two brothers. They lived with their father, the king. The king married a new queen. She was a wicked stepmother. She wanted her own son to be king. She made a bad drink for Big Brother. Little Brother heard her plan. He warned his brother. "Do not drink it," he said. Big Brother did not drink it. The next night, she tried again. Little Brother warned him again. Big Brother kept the bad drink in a bottle. "We must leave," he said. Little Brother agreed. They took two horses and ran away.
They rode far from the castle. Big Brother wanted to test the drink. He put a drop in his horse's ear. The horse fell asleep. They rode on the other horse. Big Brother tested it again. The second horse fell asleep too. They took a blanket from the horse. It was almost night. They slept under the trees.
In the morning, twelve ravens came. They ate some of the sleeping horse. The ravens fell asleep. The brothers took the sleeping ravens. They went to a town. They gave the ravens to a baker. "Please make twelve pies," they said. The baker made the pies. The brothers took the pies and walked on.
They walked into a dark forest. Four and twenty robbers stopped them. "Give us your food!" the robbers said. The brothers gave them the pies. The robbers ate the pies. They all fell asleep. The brothers took the robbers' gold. They had money now.
They came to a big house. It was the Riddle Knight's house. Big Brother had a plan. Little Brother pretended to be his helper. They went inside. Big Brother spoke to the Riddle Knight. "I have a riddle," he said. "One put two to sleep. Two put twelve to sleep. Twelve put twenty-four to sleep. But two stayed awake." The Riddle Knight could not guess. He gave them a nice room to stay.
The Riddle Knight had Clever Girl. She wanted to know the answer. She asked Little Brother. He would not tell her. She asked Big Brother. She was very nice to him. He told her the answer. She told her father.
The Riddle Knight was upset. "You told my daughter," he said. Big Brother was clever. He told a new riddle. "My helper shot a sleeping hare. He took its skin and let it go. He did this twelve times. Then I shot a sleeping hare. I took its skin and let it go." The Riddle Knight understood. His daughter had tricked them. He gave them a big treasure. They were all friends.
Little Brother went home to be king. Big Brother stayed and helped people. He carried a white shield and helped people. He became Hero Big Brother. He helped with some giants. He was brave and kind.
Many years later, Little Brother traveled. He came to a new land. He saw Hero Big Brother. They did not know each other. They played a fun game. They pushed and pulled. Then they stopped to rest. They talked and remembered. "It is you!" they said. They were so happy.
Little Brother went home. He found his wife and sons. They were a happy family. Being loyal and clever helps you solve problems and be happy.
Original Story
THE RIDERE OF RIDDLES.
here was a king once, and he married a great lady, and she departed on the birth of her first son. And a little after this the king married another wife, and she too had a son. The two lads grew up tall and strong. Then it struck the queen that it was not her son who would come into the kingdom; and she set it before her that she would poison the eldest son. And so she sent advice to the cooks that they should put poison in the drink of the heir; but as luck was in it, the youngest brother heard them, and he told his brother not to take the draught, nor to drink it at all; and so he did. But the queen wondered that the lad was not dead; and she thought that there was not enough of poison in the drink, and she asked the cook to put in more on the second night. It was thus they did: and when the cook made up the drink, she said that he would not be long alive after this draught. But his brother heard this also, and told him likewise. The eldest thought he would put the draught into a little bottle, and he said to his brother—"If I stay in [211] this house I have no doubt she will do for me some way or other, and the quicker I leave the house the better. I will take the world for my pillow, and there is no knowing what fortune will be on me." His brother said that he would go with him, and they took themselves off to the stable, and they put saddles on two horses and they took their soles out of that.
They had not gone very far from the house when the eldest one said—"There is no knowing if poison was in the drink at all, though we went away. Try it in the horse's ear and we shall see." The horse did not go far before he fell. "That was only a rattle-bones of a horse anyway," said the eldest one, and they got up together on the other horse, and so they went forwards. "But," said he, "I can scarce believe that there is any poison in the drink; let's try it on this horse." That he did, and they went not far when the horse fell cold dead. They thought they'd take the hide off him, and that it would keep them warm at night which was close at hand. In the morning when they woke they saw twelve ravens come and light on the carcase of the horse, and they were not long there when they fell down dead.
They went and lifted the ravens, and they took them with them, and the first town they reached they gave the ravens to a baker, and they asked him to make a dozen pies of the ravens. They took the pies with them, and they went forward on their journey. About the mouth of night, and when they were in a great thick wood, there came four and twenty robbers who bade them to deliver up their purses; but they said that they had no purse, but only a little food which they were carrying with them. "Good is [212] even meat!" said the robbers, and they began to eat it, but had not eaten much when they fell hither and thither, all stone dead. When they saw that the robbers were dead they ransacked their pockets, and got much gold and silver. They went forward till they reached the Knight of Riddles.
The house of the Knight of Riddles was in the finest place in that country, and if his house was pretty, his daughter was prettier, and she had twelve maidens with her only less fair than she. Her like was not on the surface of the world, altogether so handsome was she; and no one would get her to marry but the man who could put a question to her father that he could not solve. The brothers thought that they would go and try to put a question to him; and the youngest was to stand in place of gillie to the elder brother. They reached the house of the Knight of Riddles and this was the question they put to him—"One killed two, and two killed twelve, and twelve killed four and twenty, and two got out of it"; and they were to be kept in great majesty and high honour till he should solve the riddle.
They were thus a while with the Ridere, and try as he might he could not guess the riddle. On a day of days came one of the maidens who were with the knight's daughter to the gillie, and asked him to tell her the question. He took her plaid from her and let her go, but he told her nothing. The same thing happened to the twelve maidens, day after day, and the gillie said to the last one that no creature had the answer to the riddle but his master down below. One day after this came the knight's daughter to the eldest brother, and looking her finest and [213] handsomest, and she asked him to tell her the question. And now there was no refusing her, and he told her, but he kept her plaid. The Knight of Riddles sent for him, and he gave him the answer of the riddle. And the knight said that he had two choices: to lose his head, or to be set adrift in a crazy boat without food or drink, without oar or scoop. The elder brother spoke, and he said—"I have another riddle to put to thee before all these things happen." "Say on," said the knight. "Myself and my gillie were one day in the forest shooting. My gillie fired at a hare, and she fell, and he took her skin off, and let her go; and so he did to twelve, he took their skins off and let them go. And at last came a great fine hare, and I myself fired at her, and I took her skin off, and I let her go." "Indeed thy riddle is not hard to solve, my lad," said the knight, and he knew the lad knew he had not really guessed the riddle, but had been told the answer. So he gave him his daughter to wife, to make him hold his peace, and they made a great hearty wedding that lasted a day and a year. The youngest one went home now that his brother had got so well on his way, and the eldest brother gave him every right over the kingdom that was at home.
Now there were near the march of the kingdom of the Knight of Riddles three giants, and they were always murdering and slaying some of the knight's people, and taking spoil from them. On a day of days the Knight of Riddles said to his son-in-law, that if the spirit of a man were in him, he would go to kill the giants, as they were always bringing such losses on the country. Well, so it was, he went and he met the giants, and he came home with the three giants' heads, and he threw them at the knight's feet. [214] "Thou art an able lad doubtless, and thy name hereafter is the Hero of the White Shield." The name of the Hero of the White Shield went far and near.
Meanwhile the brother of the Hero of the White Shield had wandered afar in many countries, and after long years had come to the land of the giants where the Hero of the White Shield was now dwelling, and the knight's daughter [215] with him. His brother came and he asked to make a covrag or fight as a bull with him. The men began at each other, and they took to wrestling from morning till evening. At last and at length, when they were tired, weak, and spent, the Hero of the White Shield jumped over a great rampart, and he asked the stranger to meet him in the morning. This leap put the other to shame, and he said to him, "Well may it be that thou wilt not be so supple about this time to-morrow." The young brother now went to a poor little bothy that was near to the house of the Hero of the White Shield, tired and drowsy, and in the morning they dared the fight again. And the Hero of the White Shield began to go back, till he went backwards into a river. "There must be some of my blood in thee before that was done to me." "Of what blood art thou?" said the youngest. "'Tis I am son of Ardan, great King of the Albann." "'Tis I am thy brother." It was now they knew each other. They gave luck and welcome to each other, and the Hero of the White Shield now took him into the palace, and she it was that was pleased to see him—the knight's daughter. He stayed a while with them, and after that he thought that he would go home to his own kingdom; and when he was going past a great palace that was there he saw twelve men playing at shinny over against the palace. He thought he would go for a while and play shinny with them; but they were not long playing shinny when they fell out, and the weakest of them caught him and shook him as he would a child. He thought it was no use for him to lift a hand amongst these twelve worthies, and he asked them to whom they were sons. They said they were children of the one father, the brother of the Hero of the White Shield, who had not been heard of for [216] many years. "I am your father," said he; and he asked them if their mother was alive. They said that she was. He went with them till he found the mother, and he took her home with him and the twelve sons; and I don't know but that his seed are kings on Alba till this very day.
[217]
Story DNA
Moral
Loyalty and cleverness can overcome great dangers and lead to deserved rewards.
Plot Summary
Two royal brothers flee their home after their wicked stepmother repeatedly tries to poison the elder. They discover the poison's potency by testing it on animals, then use poisoned raven pies to defeat robbers and gain wealth. Arriving at the Knight of Riddles' house, the elder brother proposes a riddle to win the Knight's daughter, but she cunningly extracts the answer from him. Facing death, the elder brother presents a second riddle, exposing the daughter's deceit and forcing the Knight to grant the marriage. The elder brother becomes a hero, defeating giants, and later reunites with his younger brother, who returns to rule his kingdom and establish his own lineage.
Themes
Emotional Arc
danger to triumph
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Jacobs' collections aimed to preserve British and Irish folklore, often adapting them for a younger audience while retaining core elements. The concept of riddles as a test of worthiness is common in many folk traditions.
Plot Beats (12)
- An elder prince is targeted for poisoning by his stepmother; his younger brother warns him twice.
- The brothers flee their home, taking two horses, and test the poison on both, confirming its deadly nature.
- They observe ravens dying from the poisoned horse carcasses, then bake the ravens into pies.
- They encounter robbers, offer them the poisoned pies, and the robbers die, leaving the brothers wealthy.
- They arrive at the Knight of Riddles' house, where the elder brother, disguised with his younger brother as his gillie, proposes a riddle to win the Knight's daughter.
- The Knight's daughter and her maidens attempt to extract the riddle's answer from the gillie (younger brother), who refuses, but the daughter eventually gets it from the elder brother.
- The Knight, having learned the answer, confronts the elder brother with a choice of death or banishment.
- The elder brother proposes a new riddle, subtly exposing the daughter's treachery, which the Knight understands.
- To save face and ensure silence, the Knight gives his daughter to the elder brother in marriage.
- The younger brother returns home to rule, while the elder brother, now called the Hero of the White Shield, defeats three giants.
- Years later, the younger brother, wandering, encounters the elder brother and they engage in a wrestling match, eventually recognizing each other.
- The younger brother returns to his own kingdom, finds his wife and twelve sons, and establishes his lineage.
Characters
Eldest Brother ★ protagonist
Tall and strong
Attire: Period-appropriate noble attire, later peasant/traveler's clothes
Cautious, resourceful, brave
Image Prompt & Upload
A young man in his early twenties with short, dark brown hair and a strong jawline. He wears a practical, forest-green tunic over a linen shirt, brown leather trousers, and sturdy boots. A simple leather belt holds a sheathed short sword at his hip. He stands tall and confident, one hand resting on the sword's pommel, his expression calm and determined, looking directly forward. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Youngest Brother ◆ supporting
Tall and strong
Attire: Period-appropriate noble attire, later peasant/traveler's clothes, then gillie's attire
Observant, loyal, adventurous
Image Prompt & Upload
A 12-year-old boy with a kind, determined expression. He has tousled, dark brown hair and wears a simple, earth-toned tunic over brown trousers, with sturdy leather boots. He stands with a straight but relaxed posture, one hand resting on a wooden walking stick. His clothing is slightly worn but clean, suggesting a humble yet resourceful nature. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Queen ⚔ antagonist
Unknown
Attire: Royal attire, likely a gown and crown
Jealous, murderous, cunning
Image Prompt & Upload
A middle-aged woman with a stern, cold expression, high cheekbones, and pale skin. She wears an elaborate dark purple and black gown with intricate gold embroidery and a high collar. Her hair is pulled back tightly into a severe bun, adorned with a dark crown. She stands tall with a rigid posture, one hand resting on a scepter. Her eyes are sharp and menacing. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature
Knight of Riddles ◆ supporting
Unknown
Attire: Noble attire, possibly with knightly accoutrements
Proud, intelligent, bound by his own rules
Image Prompt & Upload
A knight in his late 30s with a thoughtful, enigmatic expression, his brow slightly furrowed in concentration. He wears polished silver armor etched with intricate, labyrinthine patterns and glowing faintly with soft blue light. Over the armor, he wears a deep blue tabard embroidered with a golden question mark. His helmet is tucked under one arm, revealing short, neatly combed dark hair. He stands in a relaxed, contemplative pose, one gauntleted hand resting on the pommel of his sheathed sword, the other holding a small, glowing geometric puzzle that hovers above his palm. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Knight's Daughter ◆ supporting
Exceedingly handsome and pretty, her like not on the surface of the world
Attire: Finest and handsomest dresses, period-appropriate noble attire
Charming, persistent, beautiful
Image Prompt & Upload
A young woman in her late teens with a determined yet gentle expression, her auburn hair neatly braided and coiled at the nape of her neck. She wears a practical, fitted tunic of deep green wool over a cream linen shift, with sturdy leather breeches and scuffed boots. A simple leather belt cinches her waist, holding a small pouch and a sheathed utility knife. Her posture is straight and poised, one hand resting lightly on the hilt of a shortsword at her hip, the other holding a worn leather-bound book against her chest. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Hero of the White Shield ★ protagonist
Strong and able
Attire: Knightly attire, including a white shield
Brave, honorable, strong
Image Prompt & Upload
A young adult male protagonist with a determined expression and short, tousled brown hair. He wears polished silver armor over a deep blue tunic, sturdy leather boots, and a flowing crimson cape. He stands tall in a heroic pose, holding a large, gleaming white shield in one hand and a ready sword in the other. He is in a sun-dappled forest clearing. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Locations
The King's Palace
The royal residence where the king, his sons, and the wicked queen live. It has a stable.
Mood: treacherous, dangerous
The queen attempts to poison the eldest brother, leading to the brothers' escape.
Image Prompt & Upload
Grand castle of pale stone with soaring towers and stained glass windows, set against a stormy twilight sky. A well-maintained stable with a thatched roof is nestled against the outer wall. Thorny rose bushes climb the base of the castle. A cobblestone path leads to the massive, iron-studded oak gates. The atmosphere is foreboding, with the last light of day casting long shadows and illuminating the palace in a cold, purple and gold glow. Edge-to-edge illustration, no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Thick Wood
A dense forest where the brothers encounter robbers.
Mood: perilous, wild
The brothers are ambushed by robbers and use the poisoned pies to defeat them.
Image Prompt & Upload
A dense, ancient forest at twilight, where gnarled oak and ash trees form a near-impenetrable canopy. Shafts of fading amber and violet light pierce through the thick foliage, illuminating swirling mist and patches of damp, green moss on twisted roots. The undergrowth is thick with ferns and shadowed brambles. A narrow, muddy path winds between massive, shadowy trunks, disappearing into the deep gloom. The atmosphere is hushed, heavy, and foreboding, with a palpable sense of hidden watchers. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration
House of the Knight of Riddles
A beautiful house, described as being in 'the finest place in that country', where the Knight of Riddles and his beautiful daughter reside. It has a rampart.
Mood: challenging, elegant, later celebratory
The eldest brother solves the riddle and marries the Knight's daughter; later, he fights giants and his brother.
Image Prompt & Upload
A grand, elegant stone manor house with a fortified rampart, nestled in a sun-drenched, idyllic valley at golden hour. Warm, late afternoon light bathes the honey-colored stone walls and the slate roof. The rampart is adorned with climbing roses and ivy. Surrounding the house are perfectly manicured topiary gardens, a serene reflecting pool, and ancient oak trees. Rolling emerald hills and a distant, misty forest frame the scene under a soft, peach and lavender sky. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration
Land of the Giants
A region near the Knight of Riddles' kingdom, inhabited by three murderous giants. Later, it becomes the dwelling place of the Hero of the White Shield.
Mood: dangerous, wild, later settled
The eldest brother slays the three giants; later, he reunites with his younger brother here.
Image Prompt & Upload
At twilight, a vast, rugged valley stretches under a bruised purple sky. Towering basalt cliffs, scarred with ancient marks, frame the scene. In the foreground, a massive, weathered stone table lies abandoned, its surface cracked and overgrown with thick, thorny vines. Colossal, roughly hewn stone pillars, remnants of a giant's longhouse, stand like silent sentinels in the middle distance, draped in moss and lichen. A wide, shallow river, reflecting the last amber light, winds through fields of oversized, wild grass and thistle. The air is still and heavy, filled with the deep shadows of coming night. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
