Anglo-Saxon Riddles of the Exeter Book/Annotated/68

68 (k-d 24)

I’m a wonderful thing;     I vary my voice: I bark like a dog,     I bleat like a goat, I quack like a goose,     I shriek like a hawk; I imitate the eagle,     the gray one, the cry Of the fighting bird;     sometimes the kite’s voice is familiar to my mouth,     or the sea-mew’s song, where I happily sit.     GIFT is my name, OAK and RIDING     and the GOD helps, HAIL and ICE.     Now you have my name, as those six letters     clearly betoken.

10

Ic eom wunderlicu wiht     wræsne mine stefne · hwilum beorce swa hund ·     hwilū blæte swa gat · hwilum græde swa gōs ·     hwilū gielle swa hafoc · hwilū ic onhyrge     þone haswan earn guðfugles hleoþor ·     hwilum glidan reorde muþe gemæne ·     hwilum mæwes song þær ic glado sitte     · ᚷ · mec nemnað swylce · ᚫ · ⁊ · ᚱ ·     ᚩ · fullesteð · ᚻ · ⁊ · ᛁ ·     nu ic haten eom swa þa siex stafas     sweotule becnaþ

Here the runes are given their names, which of course are not intended to make sense; but their initial letters (underlined in the translation) are G A R O H I, which transposed spell HIGORA, jay or magpie. This is more like a puzzle than a riddle. If Jay is the solution of 22 (k-d 8), the two writers listened with different ears.