Primer acto: una botella de agua

Segundo acto: un pato

Tercer acto: un mar

Conclusión? Agua pa tomar!

Act 1: a bottle of water

Act 2: a duck

Act 3: a sea

Conclusion? Water to drink!

Victoria said that she learned about this riddle when she was young, about 12 years old. It was presented to her by one of her sisters in Mexico. She said that it is simply a clever way to convey a message.

Although the riddle makes no sense when it is translated to English, it is a mind bender in Spanish. This is one of those riddles where you are shown pictures and you are supposed to figure out how each picture makes sense in the context and creates a phrase. In this one, the bottle of water is obviously water. But it gets tricky with the duck and sea. You are supposed to split up the word ‘pato’, thus having ‘pa’ (to) and ‘to’. But then you have to combine ‘to’ and mar’ to create ‘tomar’ (drink). Pretty basic, yet entertaining.

En Navidad, siempre nos juntamos y empezamos hacer intercambios. Y depende de la persona que me toca le empiezo hacer bromas. Aveces es ropa vieja, zapatos o cosas ya hechadas a perder. Y al tiempo que abre su regalo va mirando que no es lo el esperaba y son puras bromas que le estamos haciendo.

On Christmas, we always get together and have gift exchanges. Depending on the person that I get, I pull pranks on them. Sometimes they get old clothes, shoes, or things that have gone to waste. And when they open their gift they see that it’s not what they were expecting and it was just a prank that was being pulled on them.

This represents the very fun loving attitude that my family has. Victoria isn’t the only one pulling pranks on Christmas to other family members, they all do it as well. I’ve seen some give others blow up female dolls, a slice of bread, etc. Everybody does it for a laugh and since we don’t get together as a family like this that often, everyone wants to make it memorable. Also, when someone brings someone brings their new boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse, they are the primary targets. It not to be mean, it’s just to reassure them that the family welcomes them to join in the festivities and possibly so that they can pull pranks on other the next year. To them it’s sort of like a rite of passage, while it is just a tradition to everyone else.

“Grandma. Two grandkids. They are twins—a pair of boys. They’re totally identical except one always tells the truth and one always lies, always. So, she’s at a “T” in the road—one way is right, the other is wrong. The boys know the answer. She has one question to ask to find out which way to turn. What does she ask?”

“She asks, ‘What would your brother say?’”

This riddle is a true riddle—it has all the information necessary to figure out the answer. However, despite it being a true riddle, I was initially confused when Laura told me this riddle. She explained answer to me as follows: “One lies and says left. The other says what his brother would say and says left. So, she knows to turn right on the road.”

Her friend Richie told her the riddle during a ski trip. One night, the electricity went out in the ski cabin. Because they could not watch television, they decided to entertain themselves by trading jokes, riddles, and stories. I think it is unfortunate that the only reason they started telling jokes, riddles, and stories is because they could not watch television. If they had a choice in the matter, they would have picked watching television over trading riddles.

Laura tells this riddle in situations where she needs to kill time. If she is bored, she might ask someone to tell her a riddle, or she may tell someone the riddle. Once again, it is unfortunate that telling riddles has become a way to kill time instead of being a form of preferred entertainment.

She does not really like the riddle because of the riddle itself; she likes the riddle because it has sentimental value. It reminds her of her friend Richie and the moment she heard it. She said it was fun when they began telling each other riddles and stories. In my opinion, she probably enjoyed the riddle and story telling more than she would have enjoyed just watching television. However, when the choice comes down to it even now, after her fun experience in the ski cabin, she would choose watching television over hearing a riddle.

I found this riddle very intellectually stimulating. Unlike most people, Laura actually had me guess for a really long time; she did not tell me the answer right away. Even when she told me the answer, I still was not completely clear on why it made sense. I agree with her reasoning behind why both boys would answer, “left.”

The context in which the item was performed indicates a lot about the society we live in. The majority of the population in the United States has a television set. We choose watching television, perhaps watching folklore on television, over choosing to perform or watch folklore live. We have this choice because we have televisions. In other, economically poorer countries, only a few people have television sets. These poorer people who cannot afford televisions do not have the choice, and thus when they see folklore, they are seeing it performed live. Trading jokes, riddles, and stories is entertainment to people who cannot watch television. Having a choice in the matter deeply affects the medium through which we experience folklore.

“The man who invented it doesn’t want it, the man who bought it doesn’t need it, the man who needs it doesn’t know it. What is it?”

“A coffin.”

This riddle is what is known as a true riddle—it has all the information necessary to figure out the answer. Even so, Laura thoroughly explained why the riddle makes sense. The man who invented the coffin, or made the coffin, does not want it. He did not make it for himself because he is not dead, so he is looking to sell it to someone else. The man who bought it does not need it because he bought it for someone else who has died, probably a family member or friend. This particular man will not need one until he himself has died. The man who needs it does not know it because he is dead, and is therefore unaware.

Laura learned this riddle from her dad. She uses this riddle at summer camp to entertain the children. She enjoys telling riddles, and particularly this riddle, because when people spend a lot of time guessing, she feels clever. This riddle holds sentimental value for Laura because whenever she thinks about this riddle, it brings back fond memories of summer camp, her father, and just spending time with people she cares about.

I agree with Laura about the riddle’s meaning and why it makes sense. It is a cleverly constructed riddle. I myself spent a lot of time guessing the answer, and Laura says most people do spend a lot of time guessing unless they have already heard the riddle before.

Laura’s riddle shows a lot about how she identifies herself. She enjoys riddles such as this one because she values tough, intellectually stimulating challenges. She sees herself as someone intelligent, and knowing clever riddles reinforces this idea of her as someone intelligent. She sees herself as a courageous knowledge-gatherer, unafraid of challenges. So, because riddles present a challenge, Laura is very willing to take them on. She is someone who just likes to learn new things and hoard information. Riddles allow her to gather knowledge and pass it on. She was an audience member when her father told her the riddle, but now she is very much so an active bearer. She is always willing to volunteer this riddle in conversation with anyone. She passes it on to children at summer camps. When Laura passes on this riddle, she is also making a statement about her identity.