Riddles in the Dark (chapter)

Riddles in the Dark is the fifth chapter of J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit. This chapter of The Hobbit holds the most importance to The Lord of the Rings as it deals with Bilbo's finding of the One Ring and the introduction of Gollum. This chapter had been heavily edited by Tolkien to bring it closer in line with the plot of The Lord of the Rings.
==Synopsis==
Bilbo recovers from his fall and finds himself in a dark passage, finds a gold ring on the ground, and pockets it. Soon he comes across the creature Gollum. The two soon get engaged in an exchange of riddles.
==Plot==
Bilbo regains consciousness and, finding himself alone, tries to crawl through the tunnel. He stumbles across a Ring, which he absentmindedly pockets. As a hobbit, Bilbo orients himself quite well underground, and he descends the tunnel until he comes to a lake.
Bilbo is spotted by Gollum, a strange creature who lives alone on an island in the middle of the lake, which he navigates in a small boat. Gollum is a small, slimy, dark creature with pale eyes who eats Goblins and fish, named for the sound he makes when he swallows. Because he lives alone, Gollum is in the habit of speaking to himself in a hissing baby-talk, calling himself "my precious." Trying to assess Bilbo, he engages him in a game of riddles, at which Bilbo proves his equal.
Gollum decides to get the better of Bilbo by using his "birthday present", the Ring. When he wears it, he is invisible and can more easily snag his prey. He goes to the hiding place where he keeps the Ring, but it's missing (he wore the ring a few hours before to catch a goblin, and it slipped off in a tunnel on his way back). Gollum correctly surmises that Bilbo has it and confronts him, asking what is in his pocket. Bilbo, who does not understand the power of the Ring, slips it on his finger as Gollum runs to attack him. Bilbo becomes invisible, and Gollum cannot find him to attack.
Gollum is afraid that without the invisibility of the ring, he will be captured by the Goblins, so he panics and runs to escape the cave. Bilbo, who is still invisible, follows him, thereby discovering the way out. Gollum, who can smell Bilbo, blocks his way. Bilbo thinks of killing Gollum, but decides it would not be fair, since Gollum is defenseless. He escapes by leaping over Gollum's head and through the passageway, but he runs into the Gate-guards. As they rush at him, he slips the ring on and escapes to the outside where it is light and the Goblins cannot follow.
==Changes from the first edition==
The Lord of the Rings brought about changes to the context of the original story, and led to substantial changes to the character of Gollum.
In the first edition of The Hobbit, Gollum bets his Ring on the riddle game and if Bilbo wins, the Ring will be presented as a present. After losing, Gollum seeks for the Ring, but cannot find it. He begs for Bilbo's pardon and shows him the way out.
Tolkien made Gollum more aggressive in the second edition to reflect on the concept of the Ring's corrupting abilities.
In The Lord of the Rings, the original version of the riddle game is explained as a "lie" made up by Bilbo under the harmful influence of the Ring, whereas the revised version contains the "true" account.
==Riddles==
These are the riddles that are told by Bilbo and Gollum in this chapter:
:Gollum (Smeagol)
What has roots as nobody sees, Is taller than trees, Up, up, up it goes And yet, never grows
Answer: mountain
:Bilbo
Thirty white horses on a red hill,
First they champ,
Then they stamp,
Then they stand still.
Answer: Teeth
:Gollum
Voiceless it cries,
Wingless flutters,
Toothless bites,
Mouthless mutters.
Answer: Wind
:Bilbo
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.'
Answer: Sun shining on daisies
:Gollum
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.
Answer: Darkness
:Bilbo
A box without hinges, key or lid,
Yet golden treasure inside is hid.
Answer: Egg
:Gollum
Alive without breath,
As cold as death;
Never thirsty, ever drinking,
All in mail never clinking
Answer: Fish
:Bilbo
No-legs lay on one-leg, two legs sat near on three legs, four legs got some.
Answer: Fish on a little one-legged table, man at table sitting on a three-legged stool, the cat gets the bones
:Gollum
This thing all things devours:
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats high mountain down.
Answer: Time
:Bilbo
What have I got in my pocket?
Answer: The One Ring of Power
This technically wasn't a riddle. They were supposed to be riddles. Gollum was right. Bilbo cheated. Though Gollum did say "Ask me a question." So it could be either way. Gollum does ask for a question and Bilbo does give him a question even letting Gollum guess three times.Reading the account in the series makes its clear that Gollum planned to cheat: if he won he intended to kill Bilbo and if he lost he planned to use the Ring to become invisible and kill Bilbo. In the Peter Jackson adoptation in "The Hobbit" of the 8 riddles in the book only four are spoken:{Teeth; Wind; egg and Time)
==Appearances and mentions==
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Afrikaans 	Raaisels In Die Donker
Amharic 	በጨለማ ውስጥ እንቆቅልሽ
Arabic 	الألغاز في الظلام
Armenian 	Հանելուկներ մթության մեջ
Azerbaijani 	Qaranlıq zərbi
Basque 	Asmakizunak ilunpetan
Belarusian Cyrillic	Загадкі ў цемры
Bengali 	অন্ধকারে চালুনি
Bosnian 	Zagonetke u Mraku
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Гатанки в тъмното
Catalan 	Endevinalles en la foscor
Cebuano 	Mga tigmo Sa Ang mangitngit Nga
Chinese 	黑暗中的谜语
Croatian 	Zagonetke u Mraku
Czech 	Hádanky ve tmě
Danish 	Gåder i mørket
Dutch 	Raadsels In het Donker
Esperanto 	Enigmoj En La Mallumo
Estonian 	Mõistatuste pimedas
Finnish 	Arvoituksia pimeässä
French 	Énigmes dans l'obscurité
Galician 	Adiviñas na escuridade
German 	Rätsel Im Dunkeln
Greek 	Αινίγματα στο σκοτάδι
Gujarati 	ડાર્ક માં ઉખાણાઓ
Hebrew 	חידות באפלה
Hindi 	अंधेरे में पहेलियों
Hungarian 	Talányok a Sötétben
Hmong 	Txhiaj txhais Nyob rau hauv Lub Tsaus
Icelandic 	Gátur í Myrkrinu
Igbo 	N'ilu n'ọchịchịrị
Indonesian 	Teka-teki dalam gelap
Irish Gaelic 	Tomhaiseanna I An Dorchadas
Italian 	Enigmi al Buio
Japanese 	暗闇の中の謎
Kannada 	ಡಾರ್ಕ್ ಒಗಟುಗಳು
Kazakh 	Қараңғыда жұмбақтар (Cyrillic) Qarañğıda jumbaqtar (Latin)
Korean 	어둠 속에서 수수께끼
Latin 	Aenigmata in Tenebris
Latvian 	Mīklas Tumsā
Lithuanian 	Mįslės Tamsoje
Macedonian Cyrillic	Гатанки во темница
Malaysian 	Teka-teki dalam gelap
Marathi 	गडद मध्ये सांगतात ?
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Тааварт харанхуйд
Nepalese 	अध्यारोमा पहेली
Norwegian 	Gåter i Mørket
Persian 	معماهای در تاریکی
Polish 	Zagadki w ciemności
Portuguese 	Enigmas no escuro
Romanian 	Ghicitori în întuneric
Russian 	Загадки в темноте
Serbian 	Загонетке у тами (Cyrillic) Zagonetke u Mraku (Latin)
Scottish Gaelic 	Tòimhseachain Ann An Dorchadas
Sinhalese 	අඳුරේ ආරක්ෂා කරන්නන්ද ?
Slovak 	Hádanky v tme
Slovenian 	Uganke v Temi
Spanish 	Acertijos en la oscuridad
Swahili 	Vitendawili katika giza
Swedish 	Gåtor I Mörkret
Tamil 	இருட்டில் புதிர்
Telugu 	డార్క్ చిక్కుముడులు
Thai 	ปริศนาในความมืด
Turkish 	Bilmeceler Karanlıkta
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Загадки в темряві
Urdu 	اندھیرے میں راددلاس
Uzbek 	Қоронғуда жумбоқларнинг (Cyrillic) Qorong'uda jumboqlarning (Latin)
Vietnamese 	Câu đố trong bóng tối
Welsh 	Posau Yn Y Dywyll
Yiddish 	רידאַלז אין די דאַרק
Yucatec Maya 	Acertijos ti' le ak'abo'
pl:Zagadki w ciemności
ru:Загадки в темноте
Category:The Hobbit chapters