1)
A young man wants to have me,
but when he has me he no longer wants me.
Blade in hand he attacks me
and does his best to remove me.
Yet he knows that it is all in vain.
What am I?

2)
While I was walking down the road,
I saw something all alone;
It had four fingers and one thumb,
And was neither fish, flesh, fowl or bone.
What was it?

3)
The man who made it sold it.
The man who bought it didn't want it.
The man who used it didn't know it.
What was it?

4)
I'm a slippery fish in a cloudy sea;
Neither hook nor spear will capture me;
With your hand you must hunt and seize this fish,
To see that it ends up in the dish.

5)
What do we see every day,
Kings see rarely,
And God never sees?

6)
What has rivers but no water,
forests but no trees,
and cities but no buildings?

7)
This thing runs but cannot walk,
sometimes sings but never talks.
Lacks arms, has hands;
lacks a head but has a face.
What is it?

8)
I am emeralds and diamonds,
lost by the moon.
I am found by the sun,
and picked up soon.
What am I?

9)
It cannot be seen,
cannot be felt,
cannot be heard,
cannot be smealt.
It lies behind stars
and beneath the hills.
It ends life
and kills laughter.

10)
Sometimes it glitters, but often not;
May be cold, or may be hot!
Ever changing though the eye can't measure,
Concealed within are many treasures.
Some find safety beneath its gate,
While some may die beneath its weight!
Old and broken, it brings forth life.

11)
Two bodies have I,
Though both joined in one.
The stiller I stand,
The faster I run.

12)
My first displays the wealth and pomp of kings,
Lords of the earth! their luxury and ease.
Another view of man, my second brings,
Behold him there, the monarch of the seas!

But, ah united, what reverse we have!
Man's boasted power and freedom, all are flown;
Lord of the earth and sea, he bends a slave,
And woman, lovely woman, reigns alone.

13)
I am always hungry,
I must always be fed,
The finger I lick will soon turn red.
What am I?

14)
With no wings, I fly.
With no eyes, I see.
With no arms, I climb.
More frightening than any beast,
stronger than any foe.
I am cunning, ruthless, and tall;
in the end, I rule all.

15)
I can't hear you, but I can touch you,
You can feel me, but you can't see me,
I can't see you, but I can kill you,
You can't kill me, but you can hear me.

16)
My life is usually measured in hours,
I serve by being devoured.
Thin, I am quick.
Fat, I am slow
But whether thin or fat,
The wind is my foe.
What am I?

17)
I am nothing really at all,
Yet I am easily found;
Ignore me at your own peril,
And you might end up crowned!
What am I?

18)
We are few to the wise;
We are abundant to the drunken;
We can calm the beast and are precious to the child;
We can devour the heart, without piercing the skin.

19)
In marble halls as white as milk,
Lined with skin as soft as silk,
Within a fountain crystal clear,
A golden apple doth appear.
No doors are there to this stronghold,
Yet thieves break in and steal the gold.
What am I?