The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

Love

There was a little girl who lived all alone, her parents were
dead. All she had was a dog named Love. One day a murderer
broke into her house and said the only way he would let her
live is if she can think of a riddle that he could not guess.
She had three days to come up with the riddle. The man then
left. The girl thought and thought and thought. She stroked
her dog and rocked in her chair. On the third day the man
returned. The little girl had on a pair of gloves, a pair of
boots and a thick pair of pants. This was her riddle.
Love I sit
Love I stand
Love I hold, in my right hand.
I can see Love,
But Love can't see me.
If you can unriddle this,
You can hang me.
The man thought and thought and thought. The girl rocked and
rocked and rocked. Finally the man left, he could not figure
out the riddle. He never returned again and the girl spared
her life. The answer to the riddle was she had cut up her
dog. She placed a piece of the dog named Love under her
bottom as she sat in the chair. She placed another piece of
the dog in her boot and still another in her glove of her
right hand. She could still see the dog, but it, being dead,
could not see her.

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; Sparta

James Callow Keyword(s): neck riddle

Date learned: 00-00-1950