What are Russian folk riddles? Russian folk children's riddles. Outdated riddles. Forms

What do they hammer the nail into?
In a hat

The hut is coalless,
The people living in it are crazy.
Hive

Face the wall
And with your back to the hut
Axe

It’s heavy, not heavy, but you can’t throw it over the hut.
Feather

One father, one mother,
And neither one nor the other is the son?
Daughter

My dear friend
In the tea trust the chairman:
The whole family in the evening
He treats you to tea.
He's a burly and strong guy:
Swallows wood chips without harm.
Although small in stature,
And it puffs like a steam engine.
Samovar

There's a hole in the sky
There's a hole in the ground
And in the middle are fire and water.
Samovar

Hands on hips like a boss
He gets up on the table before everyone else,
Your own stove and kettle -
He'll brew it himself, pour it himself.
Samovar

Two brothers are arguing -
They won't argue
They fight with each other -
They won't disperse
Millstone

Two godfathers of Abakum,
Two godmothers of Avdotya,
Six Phaleleys,
Yes, nine Andreevs.
Sled

Both us and you have a pig stuck
Wedge

The ankle shakes, it is easy to bow.
Axe

I’ll stand taller than the horse,
And I’ll lie down lower than the cat
Rocker

Chicken - on chicken,
And the Little Russian is on the street.
Izba

Here is Asya, lying down,
If only she stood up
Got the sky!
If only I tied the thief's hands,
If only my legs had caught up with the horse,
If only my eyes had seen it!
As if the language - told!
Road

They run without legs
They scream without a mouth,
They don't know the roads
And others are escorted
Skids

Why can’t you surround the hut?
Water in a sieve

It’s standing tall, the barrels are pecked
Izba

What can’t you get kicked out of the hut?
Dust

A stick through the wall.
Suchek

A goat is lying in a hut.
And the horns are in the yard.
Matica

One hundred guests, one hundred beds,
Everyone has felt.
Logs and moss

Selected horses stand on the field on Romanov,
They drink rainwater and eat marsh grass.
Logs and moss

He doesn't walk, he walks.
It walks on the same runner day and night.
Door in the hut

Two walk, two wander.
The two will come together and kiss.
Swing door

What is there in the world that is more violent?
Wind and water

What's not faster?
Eyes

Little black cow, iron horns,
That's why it's useful; in winter, twice a day,
One day the summer one milks a pebble,
There is no inter-milk movement.
Flint

I slept in stone, I stood up on iron,
He walked up the tree like a falcon flew.
Fire

I'm not on my own, but the strongest
And the worst thing is, and everyone loves me,
And everyone is ruining me.
Fire

What does each village stand on?
On a righteous man

The ram is in the barn,
And the horns are in the wall
Bracket

A little boy is looking at everyone's feet.
Threshold

It stands like a pillar, burning with fire;
No heat, no steam, no coals.
Candle

Turchen flies to storbuchen
And a stroke into the hole.
Lock and key

A little red cockerel is running down the street.
Fire

I'll put it in a golden bowl,
I'll beat you there and turn back.
Poker

A black hen sits on red eggs.
Bowler

The black sheep is all on fire.
Trivet

Three legs, two ears,
Yes, the sixth belly.
Lohan

Not sewn, not cut, but covered in scars
Valenok

No arms, no legs,
It leans in all directions.
Zybka

I was on the Kopanets, I was on the Hlopans,
I was at a fire, I was at the market;
He was young - he fed people,
He became old and began to swaddle,
Died - my bones are worthless
They threw it into a hole, and the dogs didn’t bite.
Pot

I was at the market and found myself on fire.
Pot in the oven

There is a mountain, in the horn there is a hole,
There is a beetle in the hole, and there is water in the beetle.
Furnace and boiler

Little pot-bellied one.
And he protects the whole house.
Lock

What can’t you get out of the hut?
Bake

There is no warmth in winter,
Summer doesn't get any colder
Stove

Yaga stands with horns on his forehead.
Stove and Voronets

There's a bear's paw under our bench.
Log

The little black dog lies curled up;
Doesn't bark, doesn't bite.
But he doesn’t let me into the house
Lock

Neither the light nor the dawn has gone,
Bent over from the yard
Rocker

Two brothers want to fight
Yes my arms are short
Rocker

Two jackdaws sitting on one stick
Buckets and rocker

Two are bathing, the third is lying around;
Two came out, the third hung
Buckets and rocker

Forty floor - one hem
Roof

He dragged the intestine through the ceiling.
Pipe on the roof

How much have you lived in your belly?
9 months

Where are the water and the horns?
Where does the cow drink?

What can produce good and evil?
Money

The old man and the boy walked
The boy was asked: What kind of relatives are you, old man?
He answered: His mother is my mother’s mother-in-law.
What kind of family is this?
Uncle

Not a bird,
Doesn't sing
Who goes to the owner -
She lets you know.
Dog

I'll go out on a prank
I beckon to little ones,
A jacket is running towards me.
Hen and chicks

The king walks around the city,
Wears honor on his head.
Rooster

Pan Panoval fell into the water,
But he didn’t muddy the waters.
Sheet

I'll go out into the forest without an ax, without a chisel,
I will carve two driving boats,
two floorboards,
A lid for the pot, a handle for the ladle.
Acorn

In our hut the grandmothers are red.
Spoons

The cow is in the stable, and the tail is in the stable.
Spoon in a cup

Without arms, without legs - he crumbles noodles.
Knife

The body is lying there: the head is missing, but the throat is intact.
Shtof

Never eats, but only drinks;
And when it makes noise, it calls everyone together
Samovar

What is sweeter in the world?
Bread and salt

Little black one, little one,
She ran around the whole field and had lunch with the king.
Pepper

I’ll take the dusty one, I’ll make it liquid;
If I throw it into the fire, it will be like a stone.
Pie

Sits on a spoon, all legs
Noodles

On the Nogai field,
At the Tatar border
There are chiseled pillars,
The heads are gilded.
Rye

Stooped, hunchbacked,
There's a gag on the front.
The whole field will be afforested,
He'll come home
It will go through the cracks.
Sickle

The longest one
Long nose
And the hands are small.
Scythe

He won't eat as much
How much will it trample?
Mortar

Baba Yaga is standing,
Spreading the leg,
The whole world feeds
She's hungry herself.
Sokha

The old man is on the mountain,
And the old woman is under the mountain;
The old man was holding on,
Yes, he clung to the old woman.
Burdock

Between the mountains
The Kholuyan bird sits between the pits,
Laying eggs is a gift from God.
Potato

On the stamen there is a town,
There are seven hundred governors in it.
Poppy

What animal in
Wasn't there Noah's Ark?
Fish

Knocking, spinning,
He is not afraid of the fear of God;
It is our age that counts, not man.
Clock on the wall

Why can’t you put it to the hut?
Way to go

What is more expensive in the world?
Friend

I do the same job day and night.
I breathe

Partially taken from the site http://presspull.ru

What do they hammer the nail into?
In a hat

The hut is coalless,
The people living in it are crazy.
Hive

Face the wall
And with your back to the hut
Axe

It’s heavy, not heavy, but you can’t throw it over the hut.
Feather

One father, one mother,
And neither one nor the other is the son?
Daughter

There's a hole in the sky
There's a hole in the ground
And in the middle are fire and water.
Samovar

Hands on hips like a boss
He gets up on the table before everyone else,
Your own stove and kettle -
He'll brew it himself, pour it himself.
Samovar

Two brothers are arguing -
They won't argue
They fight with each other -
They won't disperse
Millstone

Two godfathers of Abakum,
Two godmothers of Avdotya,
Six Phaleleys,
Yes, nine Andreevs.
Sled

Both us and you have a pig stuck
Wedge

The ankle shakes, it is easy to bow.
Axe

I’ll stand taller than the horse,
And I’ll lie down lower than the cat
Rocker

Chicken - on chicken,
And the Little Russian is on the street.
Izba

They run without legs
They scream without a mouth,
They don't know the roads
And others are escorted
Skids

Why can’t you surround the hut?
Water in a sieve

It’s standing tall, the barrels are pecked
Izba

What can’t you get kicked out of the hut?
Dust

A stick through the wall.
Suchek

A goat is lying in a hut.
And the horns are in the yard.
Matica

One hundred guests, one hundred beds,
Everyone has felt.
Logs and moss

Selected horses stand on the field on Romanov,
They drink rainwater and eat marsh grass.
Logs and moss

He doesn't walk, he walks.
It walks on the same runner day and night.
Door in the hut

Two walk, two wander.
The two will come together and kiss.
Swing door

What is there in the world that is more violent?
Wind and water

What's not faster?
Eyes

Little black cow, iron horns,
That's why it's useful; in winter, twice a day,
One day the summer one milks a pebble,
There is no inter-milk movement.
Flint

I slept in stone, I stood up on iron,
He walked up the tree like a falcon flew.
Fire

I'm not on my own, but the strongest
And the worst thing is, and everyone loves me,
And everyone is ruining me.
Fire

What does each village stand on?
On a righteous man

The ram is in the barn,
And the horns are in the wall
Bracket

A little boy is looking at everyone's feet.
Threshold

It stands like a pillar, burning with fire;
No heat, no steam, no coals.
Candle

Turchen flies to storbuchen
And a stroke into the hole.
Lock and key

A little red cockerel is running down the street.
Fire

I'll put it in a golden bowl,
I'll beat you there and turn back.
Poker

A black hen sits on red eggs.
Bowler

The black sheep is all on fire.
Trivet

Three legs, two ears,
Yes, the sixth belly.
Lohan

Not sewn, not cut, but covered in scars
Valenok

No arms, no legs,
It leans in all directions.
Zybka

I was at the market and found myself on fire.
Pot in the oven

There is a mountain, in the horn there is a hole,
There is a beetle in the hole, and there is water in the beetle.
Furnace and boiler

Little pot-bellied one.
And he protects the whole house.
Lock

What can’t you get out of the hut?
Bake

There is no warmth in winter,
Summer doesn't get any colder
Stove

Yaga stands with horns on his forehead.
Stove and Voronets

There's a bear's paw under our bench.
Log

The little black dog lies curled up;
Doesn't bark, doesn't bite.
But he doesn’t let me into the house
Lock

Neither the light nor the dawn has gone,
Bent over from the yard
Rocker

Two brothers want to fight
Yes my arms are short
Rocker

Two jackdaws sitting on one stick
Buckets and rocker

Two are bathing, the third is lying around;
Two came out, the third hung
Buckets and rocker

Forty floor - one hem
Roof

He dragged the intestine through the ceiling.
Pipe on the roof

How much have you lived in your belly?
9 months

Where are the water and the horns?
Where does the cow drink?

What can produce good and evil?
Money

The old man and the boy walked
The boy was asked: What kind of relatives are you, old man?
He answered: His mother is my mother’s mother-in-law.
What kind of family is this?
Uncle

Not a bird,
Doesn't sing
Who goes to the owner -
She lets you know.
Dog

I'll go out on a prank
I beckon to little ones,
A jacket is running towards me.
Hen and chicks

The king walks around the city,
Wears honor on his head.
Rooster

Pan Panoval fell into the water,
But he didn’t muddy the waters.
Sheet

I'll go out into the forest without an ax, without a chisel,
I will carve two driving boats,
two floorboards,
A lid for the pot, a handle for the ladle.
Acorn

In our hut the grandmothers are red.
Spoons

The cow is in the stable, and the tail is in the stable.
Spoon in a cup

Without arms, without legs - he crumbles noodles.
Knife

The body is lying there: the head is missing, but the throat is intact.
Shtof

Never eats, but only drinks;
And when it makes noise, it calls everyone together
Samovar

What is sweeter in the world?
Bread and salt

Little black one, little one,
She ran around the whole field and had lunch with the king.
Pepper

I’ll take the dusty one, I’ll make it liquid;
If I throw it into the fire, it will be like a stone.
Pie

Sits on a spoon, all legs
Noodles

On the Nogai field,
At the Tatar border
There are chiseled pillars,
The heads are gilded.
Rye

Stooped, hunchbacked,
There's a gag on the front.
The whole field will be afforested,
He'll come home
It will go through the cracks.
Sickle

The longest one
Long nose
And the hands are small.
Scythe

He won't eat as much
How much will it trample?
Mortar

Baba Yaga is standing,
Spreading the leg,
The whole world feeds
She's hungry herself.
Sokha

The old man is on the mountain,
And the old woman is under the mountain;
The old man was holding on,
Yes, he clung to the old woman.
Burdock

Between the mountains
The Kholuyan bird sits between the pits,
Laying eggs is a gift from God.
Potato

On the stamen there is a town,
There are seven hundred governors in it.
Poppy

What animal in
Wasn't there Noah's Ark?
Fish

Knocking, spinning,
He is not afraid of the fear of God;
It is our age that counts, not man.
Clock on the wall

Why can’t you put it to the hut?
Way to go

What is more expensive in the world?
Friend

I do the same job day and night.
I breathe

Partially taken from the site http://presspull.ru

You can play while sitting or standing, on the go or in transport. riddles. Here's to a fun and productive time.
Guessing riddles brings undoubted benefits. This is the development of intelligence, memory training, and a fun way to learn a lot about various subjects.
Guessing riddles is a kind of test of human intelligence.
Welcome to the world of mysteries, where so many incredible discoveries lurk!

Riddles.

Definition.

What is it riddles? If you give them a traditional short definition, then it could be like this. Riddles- this is an allegorical image of objects or phenomena of reality that are proposed to be guessed. And in fact, for example, in riddle“The matryoshka stands on one leg, wrapped up, tangled,” cabbage is allegorically represented. But, of course, all mysteries cannot be subsumed under this one definition. After all, the material that we perceive as riddles is much richer. For example, in the riddle about the river “It flows, it flows - it will not flow out, it runs, it runs - it will not run out” there is no allegory; it contains a description of the river, but there is no image of an object that would allegorically remind of the river. There are other types of riddles. For example, such as: “What can’t a person live without?” Answer: "No name." Or: “What is the softest thing in the world?” It turns out it's a palm. These are riddles that require extraordinary thinking from the guesser. After all, it is necessary to give one out of a huge number of possible answers, but one with which everyone would agree. You never know, for example, what a person cannot live without! And without water, and without air, and without food. But still, the unexpected answer - “Without a name” - will probably satisfy everyone. Indeed, not only humans cannot live without water, air, food... But only humans (everyone!) receive names.

This example demonstrates another feature of such riddles. The answer should be original, unexpected, often causing a smile. And there are many riddles that have comic answers. Well, for example: “Which month is the shortest?” The usual answer: “February.” But the correct one is “May” (only three letters!). “What stones are not in the sea?” - “Dry.”

These types riddles could be called this: allegory riddles, description riddles and question riddles. But there is another type riddles: riddles-tasks. They are very similar to problems from school textbooks, if not for one circumstance. For example, here is one of these riddles: “A flock of geese was flying, one goose met them. “Hello,” he says, “a hundred geese!” - “No, we are not a hundred geese. If only there were so many more, and half as much, and a quarter as much, and you, goose, then there would be a hundred of us geese.” “How many geese were flying?” Answer: “36 geese.” The problem is purely arithmetic and requires the guesser to be able to count. But there are other tasks. For example: “A hunter was walking. I saw three crows on a tree and shot. I killed one. How many are left on the tree? The “reasonable” answer is purely arithmetic: there are two crows left on the tree. But no! He killed one, and the rest flew away... Or: “A flock of geese was flying, the hunters killed one. How much is left? Of course, one was killed.

We see that riddles-tasks, like riddles-questions, are extraordinary, they are really tests of intelligence, they develop and activate our mental activity. And this combines riddles-questions with riddles-tasks; they undoubtedly have similarities in this with riddles-allegories, riddles-descriptions. After all, the tasks proposed in allegorical riddles and descriptive riddles require ingenuity and non-standard thinking: to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, and the ordinary in the unusual.

Thus, all these small forms of folklore are united in their vital purpose: they are educational in nature and contribute to the development of human mental activity. That's why we study them at school.

However, it is not only life purpose that unites these types riddles It is impossible not to notice that they are all built on a paradox. Translated from Greek, “paradox” means an unexpected phenomenon that sharply contradicts common sense and diverges from generally accepted opinion. We have seen that riddles are built on unusual comparisons, the answers expected in line with common sense and generally accepted opinion turn out to be false, and the correct ones are the most unexpected, but the only correct ones.

The similarity of these four types of riddles lies in their construction. The composition of all riddles without exception is two-part: the first part is the question, the second is the answer. This is very clearly seen in the example of riddles-questions and riddles-tasks. The question form is veiled in riddles-allegories and riddles-descriptions. However, the question does not have to be expressed in words. After all, the riddle existed and truly exists only in oral form, and the question can also be conveyed through intonation. In addition, the interrogative nature of the first part of allegorical riddles and description riddles is indicated by the need to answer only their first part. The answer suggests the existence of a question.

But that's where the similarities end. Some differences have already been discussed, but let us note one more important one. Riddles-allegories and riddles-descriptions differ from riddles-questions and riddles-tasks in that they are created on the basis of poetic imagery and surprise us with poetic pictures and artistic details; But riddles-questions, riddles-tasks are strong in their logic, a game not of imagination, but of the mind. I think this is why in literature classes at school there is a clear preference for allegorical riddles and descriptive riddles. And they always enjoyed great success among the people. We know thousands of them, while riddles-questions and riddles-tasks are little known.

Thus, riddles- this is an allegorical image of objects and phenomena of reality or their description, which is proposed to be solved.

Riddle game 1.

You can tell each other riddles, but you can also play riddles together, like other games.

This is how they play riddles Russian guys. They gather somewhere, sit down comfortably and start playing “city”. Each takes several cities, say ten.

In order not to forget your cities and not to confuse them with others, you need to write them down on a piece of paper and keep this piece of paper in front of you.

The names of the cities of the players should not be repeated. If they are repeated, confusion and disputes will begin.

One of the players is appointed as a riddler. He must ask a dozen riddles.

Here he asks the first riddle. The players take turns approaching him and quietly, so that the others do not hear, they say the answer.

Whoever fails to guess or guesses incorrectly hands over one of his cities to the riddler.

How do they do it? The riddler places an icon next to the name of the city.

When all participants in the game have given the answer, the riddler asks a new riddle. It is guessed in the same way as the first one.

After ten riddles, they see who has how many cities left. It happens that some of the players surrender all their cities.

Then a new riddle comes out and the game continues. He comes up with other riddles and everyone guesses them. The one who guesses them.

The one who guesses correctly gets the city he passed.

Then the third riddle comes out with his own new riddles, and everyone guesses them. After that, they look at who has how many cities left. The one who surrendered all his cities and failed to return them is forced to do some funny thing. This is where the game ends.

You can “surrender” not only cities, but also animals, birds, and parts of clothing - a hat, scarf, jacket, shirt, belt, shoes.

Riddle game 2.

Many participants in the game can guess it, but the answer cannot be spoken out loud. The answer can only be said loudly by the one standing or sitting next to the riddler.

As soon as he guesses, he must ask a new riddle to his neighbor. If he guesses right, he asks his neighbor another riddle. So the riddles follow their chain to the end, and then can return the other way.

But riddles do not always follow the chain so easily. It happens that someone cannot guess the riddle or answers incorrectly. Then the neighbor asks him a second riddle. He couldn’t guess this one either; they guessed a third one for him. . Well, if he doesn’t guess the third one, let him go to the very end of the row. After this, the game continues. They play as long as they can come up with new riddles.

Description of the presentation by individual slides:

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Slide description:

RIDDLES The material was prepared by teacher of Russian language and literature Kashirina N.V. http://aida.ucoz.ru

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Riddle is a genre of oral folk art. A riddle allegorically (without naming) describes an object or phenomenon. The purpose of the riddle is to test intelligence, to teach people to see the world in a new way, so it is not an independent genre, but an applied one. The name of the genre “riddle” comes from the word “gadati” - to think, reason. “Fortune telling is the discovery of something hidden, obscured.

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Is this a mystery? Where is the birch tree, pockmarked and sparse, Where the haze of the willow tree melts, He, gray, sits on a branch And holds a worm in his beak. But it is he, simple, nondescript, chilled at night from the dew, who will enchant the dacha village near the suburban strip. (Sergey Shchipachev) The author's title of the poem is “The Nightingale” This is not a mystery. Why?

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The history of the riddle A long time ago, even when people were afraid of nature, it seemed to the ancient hunter, farmer and cattle breeder that there were good and evil creatures everywhere. In the forest - Leshy, in the river - Vodyanoy, Mermaids, in the hut - Brownie. People then thought that trees, fish, and birds all understood human language. And people in those days, when going hunting, fishing, or simply going into the forest with their herd, tried not to utter out loud those words that were connected with the success of the upcoming task. And in order to deceive the beast and understand each other, hunters, fishermen and shepherds came up with a special “secret” language, a special “mysterious” speech.

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On winter evenings, when all the housework had been done, both old and young would gather in some hut. And the old people began to ask the young sophisticated questions. And the old people did not just make wishes as they pleased, but adhered to strict order. We started with riddles about a person, about what is closest to him - about clothes, about a house. Then about the vegetable garden, garden, field, apiary. And then about snow, thunder, lightning, stars and the month.

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Gradually, over the centuries, people became stronger and smarter, and became less afraid of “dark forces.” “False” names were no longer needed; they were gradually forgotten. But the riddle was not forgotten. It was widely used as a test of wisdom both in life and in fairy tales. The main thing was for a person to test his ingenuity, to look around once again - let him see what an interesting world he lives in.

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And everywhere, in the most everyday, the mystery knows how to notice something interesting, to make the most familiar unusual, mysterious. Here, for example: “Laughs downwards, cries upwards.” The solution is simple: the bucket is in the well. But it is so subtly noticed that the empty bucket goes down and creaks, as if laughing, and as it goes up, it splashes water, as if crying. Later, the riddle moved into the world of childhood and began to teach the child to recognize the world and see it in a new way. For a child, the world is always full of mystery; he still has a lot to guess. Solving riddles gives pleasure, solving them pleases and surprises.

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Guess the riddles. (From the teacher’s archive) 1. It began to rain, and we picked up strange mushrooms: there is a cap and a stem, but, alas, we cannot eat them. 2. The girl holds the mushroom so that her raincoat does not get wet. 3. The rain is pouring down like buckets, it’s time for me to go to school. And I opened my mushroom - Look: it didn’t get wet! 4. The bird will open its wings and save us from the rain. 5. As soon as I open up, I will become like a bird. 6. In the rain, a heron on a high leg walks along the path. 7. Multi-colored daisies carry everything above them in the rain. The clouds are clearing - the daisies are closing.

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I decorate the house, I also collect dust. And people trample me underfoot, and then they beat me with batogs. Inside is empty, And the voice is thick. He himself is silent, but when they beat him, he grumbles. Her whole soul is wide open, And even though there are buttons - it’s not a shirt, It’s not a turkey, but it’s puffed up, And it’s not a bird, but it’s filled with water. Now back, now forward The steamer wanders. Stop it - woe! The sea will be perforated! All his life he flaps his wings, but cannot fly away. He has a rubber trunk and a canvas stomach. As his engine hums, he swallows both dust and debris. If I see dust, I will grumble, wrap it up and swallow it.

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Learning to write riddles Preparation 1. Fragrant snowflakes Hanging on a blade of grass (lily of the valley flowers) 2. In the spring, in May, white rattles appeared at the edge of the forest. (lily of the valley flowers) 3. The hammers knock, knock, and the letters fall into even lines. (typewriter) 4. There is a bell on a thin stem in purple clothes. (bell) 5. They hang like beads, but do not ring, a strong aroma emanates from them. (lily of the valley flowers) Improved version 1. Fragrant snowflakes hang on a blade of grass in the forest. (lily of the valley flowers) 2. At the end of May, rattles turned white at the edge of the forest. (lily of the valley flowers) 3. The hammers are knocking briskly and hammering the letters into the lines. (typewriter) 4. There is a bell on a thin leg in purple clothes. (bell) 5. White bells hang, but do not ring, and a wonderful aroma flows from them. (lily of the valley flowers)

Basic concepts: definition, functions, origin, difference between a children's riddle and an adult one, composition/structure, artistic means, form, rhyme, language, connection with other genres.

Definition. The riddle belongs to the small genres of folklore; it is distinguished by its brevity and laconism of the statement. Typically, riddles are built “on allegory, metaphor, allegory, description of objects, phenomena, living beings in an intricate interrogative-statement form (where this question is implied)” and require “a solution, an answer, deciphering specially encoded information” (Sl., p. 76 ).

We find a similar definition in V.I. Dahl, one of the first publishers of the genre. He noted that a riddle is “an allegory or hints, roundabout speech, a circumlocution, a brief allegorical description of an object offered for the solution.”

A modern researcher gives the following definition of a riddle: “A riddle is a poetic, intricate description of an object or phenomenon, made with the aim of testing a person’s intelligence, as well as with the aim of instilling in him a poetic view of reality.”

The functional purpose of the riddle, promoting “the activation of cognitive activity, the formation of logical thinking skills, the development of intelligence, and observation” (Sl., p. 77) also determined its spread among children. A riddle promotes the development of imagination and stimulates word creation.

Throughout the history of riddles, their educational and training function has been preserved, which also turned out to be in demand among children. Some riddles are often found in books and collections; they help expand a child’s understanding of the outside world, showing him familiar objects from an unusual side or revealing some new aspects of reality:

Two are worth it.

Two are lying.

One walks

The other one drives. (Door)

I'll get up early

I'll go to Ivan,

To the long nose -

To a fat head. (Water dispenser)

Others show some grammatical forms in a playful way: “Which road do they drive for six months, and walk for six months?” (Along the river). In this case, the riddle intersects with a pun and becomes one of the components of word games.

The origin of riddles. Riddles can be considered the most ancient genre of folklore, which existed in primitive society. This is evidenced by the fact that riddles are common among all primitive peoples. They were riddled to ensure well-being for himself and his family; a person believed that by solving riddles, he would subjugate nature, animals, and plants.

The magical power of riddles was manifested in various rituals; Thus, during initiation, the initiate was tested with the help of riddles - without knowledge of secret speech, the young man could not become a man. Later, riddles are found in the mythology of ancient peoples (for example, in ancient Greek myths, the Elder Edda) and fairy tales; heroes solve them while competing with their opponents. In ancient Russian stories, the bride and groom exchange riddles.

Russian riddles by origin are also associated with conventional speech - the encrypted language of hunters, with rituals and magical actions aimed at “ensuring the harvest and success in cattle breeding and agriculture.

As researchers have already indicated, the famous Russian traveler S.P. Krasheninnikov noted the remains of an ancient secret speech among Russian sable hunters. The artel elected a “forward leader”, he appointed assistants and ordered them, among other things, “so that, according to the custom of their ancestors, a raven, a snake and a cat should not be called by their direct names, but should be called horseback, skinny And baked."

Further S.P. Krasheninnikov wrote: “Industry people say that in previous years many more things were called with strange names, for example: church - top-heavy, babu - husk or whitehead, girl - a simpleton horse - long-tailed, cow - roaring, sheep - thin-legged, pig - low-looking, rooster - barefoot and so on...” Krasheninnikov noted that all these words, except for the replacement raven, snake and cat, were left, that is, they were not used.

Usually, the riddle served as a means of entertainment at parties, when young people practiced their wits and resourcefulness. The riddle was also included in the wedding ceremony. “Buying out seats” was a dialogue where one (the riddler) asked, and the other (the groom and his groomsman) tried to guess.

“Give me a monk in a white shirt.” - My friend hands me a bottle of vodka. “Give me a golden crutch so that the bride has something to lean on.” - The groomsman points to the groom. “Build a square chamber with a silver roof.” - The friend puts a paper ruble on the dish and a silver coin on top.

Over time, the magical function of riddles gradually faded away, but their poetic features, in particular their metaphorical nature, were preserved. It is known that Aristotle considered the riddle to be a well-formulated metaphor. In Russian folklore, the most common type of riddles is metaphorical. As noted by M.A. Rybnikov, the comparison is based on traditional comparisons: “Hands are sheep, a tow is a haystack.”

Here's an example:

Five sheep are eating up a stack,

Five sheep run away.

Among the metaphorical images of animals, domestic animals and birds predominate, and among them are a cow, a bull and a horse (mare, stallion); chicken, rooster, goose. Needle – pig, golden bristles; the plow is a cow that has torn up the entire field with its horns.

Classification. One of the first publishers of riddles, D.N. Sadovnikov, arranged in the collection of riddles he compiled on the topics: “Housing”, “Warmth and Light”, “Household”, “Yard, Vegetable Garden and Garden”, “Pets”, “Agricultural Work”. “Forest”, “Animal World”, “People and the structure of their bodies”, “Earth and Sky”, “Concepts of time, life and death”, “Literacy and book wisdom”. The riddles sometimes touched on other topics: man and parts of his body, food and drink, clothing and shoes, the house, its parts and household accessories, natural phenomena. Currently, this classification is generally accepted.

The content of the riddles both everyday and social life became established. Over time, new realities appeared in them: “Without a head, without a tongue, but speaks all languages” (radio),“We bought a white wardrobe, it has a little bit of winter in it” ( fridge), “The pear is hanging - you can’t eat it” ( light bulb). A child usually does not make riddles about objects that have gone out of use, but it is in his repertoire that new riddles about new household items and technical phenomena quickly appear.

Records of children's riddles are few in number, although already in the 19th century they entered the children's environment and began to be published as educational material. Traditionally, among children “there were (perhaps still exist) all or almost all varieties of works of this genre: riddles-metaphors, riddles-onomatopoeia, humorous questions, riddles-tasks” (Mart., p. 26).

The difference between a children's riddle First of all, it lies in the chosen subject, most often these are everyday objects or creatures from the animal world, familiar to the child, who must have a good idea of what is being discussed. The child is also able to perceive the humor inherent in the riddle:

Khorya walks

Hanging hanging

Hanging fell,

The ferret ate it. ( Pig and acorn)

Compositionally The riddle consists of two parts: the riddle (question) and the answer (answer), which are interconnected. In riddles, similarities are found between the most distant and seemingly uncomparable objects, the abstract and the material, the essential and the inessential in objects are compared.

The answer is given based on signs of similarity; similarities are found in everyday objects. Sometimes the answer is encrypted in a metaphor or other allegory. It is no coincidence that the riddle about the riddle is known: “Without a face in a mask.”

Many of the riddles in the first part do not contain a direct question, but are built on defamiliarization: they give an intricate description of an object for which you need to guess what it is about. Then the first part necessarily presupposes the answer: “Without arms, without legs, but it opens the gate.” (wind).

Sometimes riddles are constructed in the form of a direct question:

What is visible only at night? (Stars)

What kind of creature feeds people?

Does it light up in the church? (Bee)

Some riddles are created by changing the answer, while the initial sounds are retained, but the end of the word is greatly changed:

It's worth the price

Dendra lies on the pendra

And the condre says:

"Don't climb on the pendra,

There is more than one kandra -

And there is undra.” (Oven, grandfather, cat, porridge and duck)

Structure The riddles are simple. There is no plot in them, so the dynamics are created in a different way. There are often riddles based on dialogue:

- Is it black?

- No, red.

- Why white?

- Because it's green. (Red currant)

Some riddles are based on negation:

Round, not a month,

Yellow, not oil,

With a tail, not a mouse. (Turnip)

Sometimes there are riddles in which the description is set out in

- If only I stood up,

Reached the sky

If only arms and legs,

I would tie up the thief

If only the mouth and eyes

I would tell you everything. (Road)

In a short, condensed form, the riddle often contains a whole card -

In the middle there is scarlet sugar,

The caftan is green, velvet. (Watermelon)

In most riddles, the description of the characteristics of the object that needs to be guessed is given in the third person. Riddles in which the description is given in the first person are based on personification:

They beat me, stab me, turn me over, cut me

I endure everything and cry with everything good. (Earth)

Metonymies are less common in riddles than metaphors. Most often, the material from which the item is made replaces it:

There is a tree (table). Hemp on the tree (tablecloth). Clay on hemp (pot). Cabbage on clay (cabbage soup). And there's a pig in the cabbage (pork).

Various comparisons are also used in riddles:

White as snow, in honor of everyone. (Sugar)

In school riddles, the basis for comparison can be images of the Holy Scriptures and Old Church Slavonic vocabulary:

Taken from the earth, like Adam, Cast into the fiery furnace, like the three youths; He was taken from the oven and placed on a chariot, like Elijah: He was taken quickly to the marketplace, like Joseph: He was placed on the place of execution and beaten on the head, like Jesus; He cried out with a great voice, and in response to his voice a certain woman came, like Mary Magdalene. And having bought it for a copper coin, bring it home; But he burst into tears for his mother when she died, and to this day his bones lie unburied. (Pot)

There are also antitheses in riddles:

Mother in the spring in a colored dress. Mother in winter alone in a shroud. (Field)

Epithets are often used in riddles.

Shape of riddles gradually became predominantly poetic (verse), therefore it acquired special significance rhyme The rhythm is created not only by the consonance of the words, but also by the intonation pattern of the phrase: “The pear is hanging - you can’t eat it.” (Bulb)

In two-line riddles, the lines may rhyme. In multi-line rhymes, the rhyme scheme is varied. Here is an example of an adjacent rhyme:

A house grew up in a field,

The house is full of grain,

The walls are gilded

The shutters are boarded up:

The house is shaking

On a gold pillar. (Rye)

Sometimes the first line is not connected with the rest, but is built on an internal rhyme:

Small, hunchbacked,

I ran around the whole field,

I came home and spent a whole year in bed. ( Sickle)

External and internal rhymes often serve as a clue to the riddle: “No meat, no bones, but still five fingers.” (Hand) Expressive expressions are possible in the riddle:

Oh, what Ivan Polyakov is like:

Got on a horse

And he went into the fire. ( Cast iron and grip)

Linguistic features and word formation in riddles are close to children’s speech, and therefore are also the reason for the spread of such texts. Melnikov calls them “pedagogical prerequisites for riddles” and believes that it was these features that became the reason for the widespread use of riddles among children.

In a number of cases, new answers to traditional riddles appear: “A hundred clothes and all without fasteners” suggests the following answer: “The marriage of our garment factory.”

Relationship between riddles and other genres has a two-sided character: riddles are a component of individual genres and at the same time serve as the basis for creating a new text. Riddles have become part of the works of many genres of oral folk art. They represent traces of ancient beliefs or reflect a later phenomenon of folklore synthesis. Only a special study of each fact will make it possible to determine the nature of the inclusion of the riddle in the text of the work.

The texts of ancient riddles have been preserved in epics and fairy tales. Many underwater songs are constructed in the form of riddles, when the description of a person’s fate is replaced by an indication of an object or action.

O.I. Kapitsa gives an interesting example of preserving a riddle as part of a children's song. In the song below, the last four lines are a flax riddle.

You, auntie,

My seed

Swamp the hut

Look into the oven

And I will bake pancakes.

Mother Volga

Wide and long,

Chair on the mountains

About seven heads

It has the core

He speaks well.

Often riddles arise based on fairy tales:

The man is going the wrong way. Can't see anything around. I hit a pothole. no way to get out. (Deceased)

The varied use of riddles leads to the emergence of related forms of a synthetic nature, incorporating elements of riddles and other genre formations. First of all, let us name the questions based on synonyms, highlighted by O.I. Kapitsa. They take the form of a number problem; To answer, you need to understand the trick. Let's give an example: “A man bought a goat for three rubles. How much did you pay for the goat?” “How much” is usually understood as: “how much did it cost”, “how much does it cost”, and instead of answering “on the ground”, the answer follows: “three rubles”.

There are other similar questions:

“After seven years, what will happen to the goat?” (It will be the 8th year.)

“What kind of stone is in the river?” (Wet.)

“Can it rain for two days in a row?” (It can’t, because there is night between the days.)

“What makes a goose swim?” ( From the shore.)

Sometimes it can be difficult to separate a riddle from a numerical problem: “Geese were flying over the forest and they need to sit down to rest. If they sit two per tree, one tree will remain, and one at a time, the goose will remain. Are there a lot of trees and geese? (2 trees, 3 geese)

“There are four cats sitting, three cats opposite each, are there many of them?” (4 cats in the corners of the hut)

Walked in a column

Son with father

Yes, grandfather and grandson.

How many are there? ( Three)

Verbal riddles are built on the principle of charades or are based on a game of letters and words: “Which two animals fit in one bottle?” (cognac)“What city name has one boy’s name and a hundred girls’ names?” ( Sevastopol)

The reverse process is also possible, the transition of riddles into proverbs: “Nothing hurts, but everything groans.”

New realities are actively penetrating the modern mystery: “They have two legs, but they can’t walk.” (Tights)."Two legs in one pant leg" (Skirt-pants). The humorous nature of such riddles is also obvious.

Impressions from what is noticed in everyday life and seen on TV determine the improvisational nature of the riddles; riddles about long-appearing characters in TV series are not always pleasant:

Doesn't sink, doesn't burn,

Sitting in a red dress

With loving eyes

Looks at Sisi (Gina).

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