Well try these on for size!!!! Answer all of these riddles and fill out the free form below. The winners will be posted after June 30, 1998 and June 29 is the cut off date. Those who have a webpage may get an award to post if i get it done *G*

They are judged on the correct answers but also on creativity!!!! *G*

Riddle #1:

One fine summer day two fathers and two sons went fishing at their favorite lake. They fished and talked all morning long and by noon everyone had caught one fish. As the two fathers and two sons walked back home, everyone was happy because each had a fish even though only three had been caught. How can this have happened?

Riddle #2

Long ago in India judges traveled from village to village. One day a judge stopped at an inn to rest, but the innkeeper was very upset. Someone had just that day stolen his daughter's gold ring. The judge told him not to worry and had all the guests gather so that he could question them. When he could not figure out from their answers who the thief was, the judge decided to use some old magic. He told them all he was going to have to use the sticks of truth. "These are magic sticks," he explained, "that will catch the thief." He gave each guest a stick to keep under the bed that night. "The stick belonging to the thief will grow two inches during the night. At breakfast, we will all compare sticks and the longest stick will be the thief's." The next morning the judge had all the guests come by his table and hold their sticks up next to his to see if they had grown. But none of them had grown any longer. Then suddenly the judge called, "This is the thief! Her stick is shorter than all the rest." Once caught, the woman confessed and the ring was returned. But all the guests were confused about the sticks of truth. The judge had said the longest stick would be the thief's, but instead it had been the shortest stick. Why?

Riddle #3

Once there lived an old man who had three sons. When he grew old and ill and knew he soon would die, he called all three sons into his room. "There is no way I can divide the house and farm to support all three of you. The one who proves himself the cleverest will inherit the house and farm. There is a coin on the table for each of you. The one who can buy something that will fill this room will inherit all I own." The eldest son took his coin, went straight to the marketplace, and filled his wagon full of straw. The second son thought a bit longer, then also went to the marketplace, where he bought sacks and sacks of feathers. The youngest son thought and then quietly went to a little shop. He bought two small things and tucked them into his pocket. That night the father called them in to show what they had bought. The eldest son spread his straw about the floor, but it only filled one part of the room. The second son dumped out his sacks fo feathers, but they filled only two corners of the room. Then the youngest son smiled, pulled the two small things out of his pocket, and soon filled the room. "Yes," said the father, "you are indded the cleverest and have filled my room when the others could not. You shall inherit my house and farm." What had the youngest son bought and with what did he fill the room?

Riddle #4

Yasohachi worked as a farmer on a rich man's land. One spring the landlord came by and told all his farmers to get busy and smooth out the land in their care. Yasohachi's land was full of clumps and stones, but instead of working in the field he went home to rest. Day after day the landlord threatened him, but always Yasohachi just went home to rest. Then one day when the landlord was in the village he noticed people talking about a newly posted sign that read:

COME TO MY FIELD ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND WATCH ME CLIMB TO HEAVEN ON A BAMBOO POLE. ---Yasohachi

The landlord was furious. He went straight to Yasohachi and said, "You can't get to heaven on a bamboo pole. Now get busy and get to work." "I will," said Yasohachi. "But I have other things I have to do." And he went home and rested. On Sunday afternoon people from all the surrounding villages gathered on Yasohachi's field to see if he was silly enough to try it. And in case it could be done, they wanted to say they'd seen it. Yasohachi came out with a bamboo pole, stuck it in the ground, climbed to the top, then fell down to the ground with a crash. Some people gasped and others laughed. But Yasohachi just got back up and tried it again, sticking his bamboo pole in another spot, and crashed back down again. He tried for hours as the villagers followed him from place to place and laughed each time he fell. But after a while people began to leave convinced he could never do it. By evening only the landlord and Yasohachi were left int he field. "Now get busy and smooth out this land," yelled the landlord. "Or you won't be working for me anymore." How did Yasohachi keep his job?