I've had just enough time to... learn the secret of the Sphinx
In Las Vegas, I could not decipher the secrets of the Sphinx...
In the
land of sand and gold
I was
stopped by a Sphinx of old who
Asked
riddles to pass or be devoured
“What
creature has one voice
And is
four-footed, two and three?”
“Oh,
Man!” I exclaimed,
What
answer can I give to that?
The
Sphinx looked up in surprise
The
correct answer I had supplied
For man
crawls on fours, walks on two
And in
old age the cane makes three
The next question was about sisters,
“One gives birth to the other
And, she gives birth to the first.
Who are the sisters two?"
If I
were to think “Night and Day”
I
thought out loud, I could not say
The
Sphinx stood up on all fours
Surveyed
me curiously and said
“Only
one last riddle remains,
Answer and
you will not be slain”
because I cannot tell the real from the illusion.
“Would
you love a creature hideous
To save
or kill for your own sake?”
That is
no riddle but a trick
Either
answer will be a mistake
If I
were to die, it might as well be for “love!”
And I gave
that to the Sphinx straight
With a
mighty roar, she sprang
My eyes
closed waiting for her fangs
Over my
head she flew and dashed hers
Against the
rock it smashed
I lived
to tell this tale
But I
cannot give you an end for
I never
discovered the Sphinx’s secret.
