Riddles in The Dark: by JRR Tolkien

The meaning behind the "Riddles in The Dark" (from The Hobbit):

What has roots as nobody sees,
Is taller than trees
Up, up it goes,
And yet never grows?

The answer is "Mountain" because if you think about it, logic tells you that a mountain is something that never grows and that is taller than a tree. The part that says "what has roots as nobody see"... I don't know for sure, but I think it is referring to the formation the mountain has layers of rock that forms into a mountain

Thirty white horses on a red hill,
First they champ,
Then they stamp,
Then they stand still.

The answer to the second riddle is "Teeth", the author is comparing teeth to horses when they walk; but when you think about it, when you chew your food it is almost sounds like champing and stamping, but we call it chewing or munching.

Voiceless it cries,
Wingless flutters,
Toothless bites,
Mouthless mutters.

The answer to the third riddle is "Wind". To understand this riddle you have to think of it as someone telling you a ghost story, because the wind is like a ghost crying in the silence of the night. The line that says "wingless flutters", is referring to the trees, grass, flowers, and other things in nature that blows in the wind. And the line that says "toothless bites", it could be referring to frost bites in a winter storm, then again I'm not sure.

An eye in a blue face
Saw an eye in a green face.
'That eye is like to this eye'
Said the first eye,
'But in low place,
Not in high place.'

The answer to the fourth riddle is "Sun on the daisies". The eye on the blue face is the sun, and the face is the sky. And the eye on the green face is the daises, and the face is referring to grass. When you think about it the sun is looking down upon the daises on the grass or shining down.

It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,
Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt.
It lies behind stars and under hills,
And empty holes it fills.
It comes first and follows after,
Ends life, Kills laughter.

The answer to the fifth riddle is "Dark". The rest of the riddle is easy to understand, but you might be confused when you hear the last line, ..."ends life, kills laughter"... To understand what this last line is talking about you have to look in mythology's point of view. In alot of mythical stories like the "Lord of The Rings", the darkness is portrayed as something evil, that kills and brings upon sorrow. It could also relate to a verse in the Bible that says " Sorrow may last in the night but joy will come in the morning", it is referring to how sometimes we would have a bad day, but we always wake up to a new day, it is like a chance to start again. This is one of my favorite riddles out of the 8.

A box without hinges, key, or lid,
Yet golden treasure inside is hid.

The answer to the sixth riddle is "Egg". The author made it difficult to figure out, by comparing an egg to a box. You might of guest a treasure chest. But The clue that is not mentioned is the shape of the box, the box has an oval shape. The treasure is the yoke.

Alive with out breathe,
As cold as death;
Never thirsty, ever drinking,
All in mail never clinking.

The answer to the seventh riddle is "fish". The riddle is referring to a fish living under water. Many of us should know that fish are cold blooded, and breathe underwater. The last line, "all in mail never clinking" is referring to the fish's scales.

This thing all things devours;
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays kings, ruins town,
And beats high mountain down.

The answer to the last riddle is "Time". This riddle is a little bit harder to understand, but I think it is referring to how every activity takes a whole lot of time; it takes time for birds to travel across the sky to the next destination, it takes time for beasts to hunt for their food, and it takes time for trees and flowers to grow. In time all people die, even kings; but some of us get to live in heaven with God in eternity, and tragically some don't. This is also my favorite riddle, 'cause it could be used as a reminder to not take life for granted, to spend our time wisely, and to encourage us to make the right choice that we won't later on regret.