[Guest]

Frightened near half out my wit

I chose a log to think and sit

Wandered aimless into a wood

I got lost, perhaps for good

South the ravenous wolf I hear

And west the lion’s roar is near

Northward lies an angry bear

And east sure death is what I fear

North or South, East or West

Which way to travel is the best?

[Guest]

Frightened near half out my wit

I chose a log to think and sit

Wandered aimless into a wood

I got lost, perhaps for good

South the ravenous wolf I hear

And west the lion’s roar is near

Northward lies an angry bear

And east sure death is what I fear

North or South, East or West

Which way to travel is the best?

I would say west since lions don't live in the woods

[Guest]

Frightened near half out my wit

I chose a log to think and sit

Wandered aimless into a wood

I got lost, perhaps for good

South the ravenous wolf I hear

And west the lion’s roar is near

Northward lies an angry bear

And east sure death is what I fear

North or South, East or West

Which way to travel is the best?

I like GIjeff's answer but i think it could also be east since east is only a fear of death, a fear of death is not necessarily death.

[Guest]

I say follow ursa major to the north.

[bonanova]

East

Nothing's sure but death and taxes.

Nothing is lost.

[Guest]

The riddle have some problems becoz 'lions' and 'wolfs' can never be found in the same forest!!!

[Guest]

I could be wrong, but I believe that wolves and mountain lions, cougars, can be found in very similar terrain. Back in the woods, we get the rare but reputable report of mountain lions so I know they inhabit forests.

[Guest]

I've always kinda wanted to try and kill a lion with my bare (BEAR! ) hands, my dad used to tell me stories of a guy who did by shoving his arm down the mt. lion's throat think that would work?

[Guest]

If you had someone with you go north. you won't need to outrun the bear, just the guy with you.

Climb a tree?

[Guest]

I've always kinda wanted to try and kill a lion with my bare (BEAR! ) hands, my dad used to tell me stories of a guy who did by shoving his arm down the mt. lion's throat think that would work?

If by "think" you mean "guessing without any scientific basis whatsoever", then I do not think it would work. I do not know that the cougar's throat is actually large enough to fit your fist into. This would also entail reversing your instincts. The natural reaction to pain is to jump backwards, away from the source of the pain. So while the cougar was sinking his teeth into your arm, you would have to be thrusting forward toward the source of the pain. If the cat were to clamp down, I doubt that it's teeth are sharp enough nor a person strong enough to pull the arm away, let alone push the arm forward. Lastly, kitties have claws, too. You would be leaving yourself extremely vulnerable to swipes from the cougar. So, yeah. Best to stand your ground, spread your arms to appear as large as possible (the cobra defense), and grab a stick that you could swing if the cougar crept close enough.

[Guest]

I've always kinda wanted to try and kill a lion with my bare (BEAR! ) hands, my dad used to tell me stories of a guy who did by shoving his arm down the mt. lion's throat think that would work?

If it doesn't work, you could always chalk one up for natural selection...

[Guest]

If by "think" you mean "guessing without any scientific basis whatsoever", then I do not think it would work. I do not know that the cougar's throat is actually large enough to fit your fist into. This would also entail reversing your instincts. The natural reaction to pain is to jump backwards, away from the source of the pain. So while the cougar was sinking his teeth into your arm, you would have to be thrusting forward toward the source of the pain. If the cat were to clamp down, I doubt that it's teeth are sharp enough nor a person strong enough to pull the arm away, let alone push the arm forward. Lastly, kitties have claws, too. You would be leaving yourself extremely vulnerable to swipes from the cougar. So, yeah. Best to stand your ground, spread your arms to appear as large as possible (the cobra defense), and grab a stick that you could swing if the cougar crept close enough.

I didn't say I would walk away unscathed. In fact the guy did end up in the hospital, but better to be in the hospital than to be 6-feet under The mt. lion did die though so it was successful

[Guest]

I like GIjeff's answer but i think it could also be east since east is only a fear of death, a fear of death is not necessarily death.

I'm with wcherber--"fear of death" seems to be the safest route offered. But I sure enjoyed the discussion about killing a mountain lion! (I've gotta root for the lion, though. We've killed too much wildlife on this planet already.)

[Guest]

I would head east. You have to face your fears. Lightbulb!! If you spend your life running from your fears then you are not really living anyway. Could it be a riddle with a moral?

I didn't say I would walk away unscathed. In fact the guy did end up in the hospital, but better to be in the hospital than to be 6-feet under The mt. lion did die though so it was successful

It may be possible, but that does not make it probable.

I'm with wcherber--"fear of death" seems to be the safest route offered. But I sure enjoyed the discussion about killing a mountain lion! (I've gotta root for the lion, though. We've killed too much wildlife on this planet already.)

Liberals.

[Guest]

Frightened near half out my wit

I chose a log to think and sit

Wandered aimless into a wood

I got lost, perhaps for good

South the ravenous wolf I hear

And west the lion’s roar is near

Northward lies an angry bear

And east sure death is what I fear

North or South, East or West

Which way to travel is the best?

If a person gets lost in the woods n hears a wolf from the south, a lion roaring from the west, an angry bear from the north... i guess he'd/she piss in their pants. k to the point.. The person is scared n therefore fears that may be there could be a wild animal in the east direction but theres no harm in travelling east (after all hes not left with any option...... he'd better be moving quick)

[Guest]

I've always kinda wanted to try and kill a lion with my bare (BEAR! ) hands, my dad used to tell me stories of a guy who did by shoving his arm down the mt. lion's throat think that would work?

Sure, he'd have to reach all the way down and grab the tip of it's tail. Then pull hard enough to turn it inside out and it would just go off in the opposite direction. My father in law used to tell my husband that story when when my husband was about six years old. Deb

[Guest]

West.

Well, at first I'd answer either west or east. A ravenous wolf implies that, although wolves are normally not hostile to humans, hunger might make it dangerous, and the same applies for an angry bear. All technicalities of this riddle aside (i.e. a lion would never be found in the woods) the safest bet would be either West, where you hear a lion, but not a hungry or angry lion. If left alone, therefore, the lion theoretically would present no threat, as lions, like wolves and bears, rarely attack humans, at least unprovoked. If the speaker has some ungiven reason for fearing east, then obviously that would be a warning against going east; if not, then all things considered, choosing the path that inspires fear of death is better than choosing paths that physically endanger the speaker's life.

Since going east would not be a very satisfactory answer to the riddle, as it seems to be the easy way out, I am going to go with west.

[Guest]

Ok, so give me a little artistic license for putting a "lion" in the forest. Let's call it a mountain lion.

Many of you got the direction right, but nobody got the gist of the riddle that I was going for. Maybe too ambiguous. Some were close.

Here's my thinking when I wrote it:

The narrator had to get IN to the woods somehow. If he got to a spot where he hears dangerous animals on 3 sides, then his fear is unfounded for the 4th because that's the way he had to have come from, or else he'd already have run into the animals.

So, knowing his fear of death to the east is unfounded, he should head that way.

[Guest]

Ok, so give me a little artistic license for putting a "lion" in the forest. Let's call it a mountain lion.

Many of you got the direction right, but nobody got the gist of the riddle that I was going for. Maybe too ambiguous. Some were close.

Here's my thinking when I wrote it:

The narrator had to get IN to the woods somehow. If he got to a spot where he hears dangerous animals on 3 sides, then his fear is unfounded for the 4th because that's the way he had to have come from, or else he'd already have run into the animals.

So, knowing his fear of death to the east is unfounded, he should head that way.

In that light, him being scared of east even though he came from that direction makes me think that he was being chased by someone or something, which makes east the worst choice for me.

[Guest]

I see that, assuming it's a rational fear.

[bonanova]

Great discussion ... my rationale was on a much lower level.

The dangers are:

ravenous wolf

roaring lion

angry bear

sure death - note: it isn't said to be imminent death, just sure death.

As is commonly known, nothing is sure but death and taxes.

So sure death lies on all the paths.

Why add a beast to that?

Go East.

[Guest]

I just liked talking about choking mountain lions with fists and turning them inside out, very Chuck Norris-ish.

[Guest]

Frightened near half out my wit

I chose a log to think and sit

Wandered aimless into a wood

I got lost, perhaps for good

South the ravenous wolf I hear

And west the lion’s roar is near

Northward lies an angry bear

And east sure death is what I fear

North or South, East or West

Which way to travel is the best?

[Guest]

First of all ( I ) was frieghtened ) half (not wholly) out of my wits, (thus my reason for running into the woods)

To sit and think. ( to gather myself and regain my wits), gotta get alone at times like this (thus the aimlessness),

I then realized that I was lost and perhaps that was good, for what I feared ( though perhaps only a fantom ) now could not find me either, ((I've never really been lost, except when someone else couldn't find me )) and that the object of fear was not a threat as described later in my diary and "thought of sure death" I can imagine a lot of real things that could bring upon the "thought of sure death", most of them involve some breaking of principle of moral code or departure from a well

established concept of "reality" that I would hold dear to me even as to life itself. I couldn't have been lost (as stated )

since I knew the four directions, which could be difficult to determine in a forrest where bears, wolfs and lions may inhabit,

thence the "gotten lost" was and is a good thing when you want to lose something (some thoght), (( several times I've had the opportunity to take the advice, "Go..get lost", applying wisdom or advice when I had no wit "out of my wits", surely

I was "stumped" (thus a bump on a log). Finally upon wakening from my witless state, "real" potential dangers entered my witless state and taking notice, had a choice, "return to the scource and cause of panic, after gathering myself, realizing actual dangers of this world are truly more dangerous than a temporary displacement of conceptual thought. Of course one

does not abandon all priorities having returned to ones "wits" and directly returned to the situation from whence I'd been so

blindly driven (don't hold me to that point) from. ie. my fomer self. (suscinct) <spell check> enough??????? RSVP!!!!

Edited February 7, 2008 by Xspyder

[Guest]

I was going at this another way and thinking that "sure death is what I fear" meant that you would find sure death. If that is the case, than you should head either northwest or southwest. Than, if the wild animals come after you, you wait until they are close and then climb a tree. Hopefully, the animals would kill each other, and then you can climb down and go on. Nice riddle though, I like it!

[Guest]

You could have come in from the south, and the wolves would have approached from behind once you were already in the woods. Or the same with the mountain lions/bears. I assume these animals aren't just stationary. They move around, and suddenly you find yourself in the woods with the way you came in now blocked by an animal. At least that's how i interpreted it.