As Soft as Silk, as White as Milk Lyrics
A riddle that describes something from the inside out: soft and white in the middle, bitter, inside a strong wall, all wrapped in a green coat.
As Soft as Silk, as White as Milk
As soft as silk, as white as milk,
As bitter as gall, a strong wall,
And a green coat covers me all.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/as-soft-as-silk-as-white-as-milk/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken riddle
- Best for ages
- 4 to 9 years
What Does As Soft as Silk, as White as Milk Mean?
The answer is a walnut. Each clue is one layer. The nut inside is soft and white, the thin skin around it tastes bitter as gall (very bitter), the shell is a strong wall, and on the tree the whole nut grows inside a green outer husk, its green coat.
History and Origin
The riddle is printed as "A Walnut" in The Real Mother Goose (1916). Layer-by-layer riddles like this, and the egg riddle In Marble Walls as White as Milk, were popular because the answer can be checked by opening the real thing.
Learning Activities
- Open a walnut: crack one and find each layer from the riddle.
- Taste test: taste the nut with and without its thin skin.
- Your own riddle: describe an orange or a peanut layer by layer.