The Hobbit, Chapter 5: Riddles in the Dark quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. When Bilbo splashes into the icy water, how does he decide it is a pool or a lake rather than an underground river?

   • He sees a little boat resting quietly on the dark surface
   • His sword glows brighter as he nears the edge of the water
   • Correct answer: He hears only drops dripping into it, with no other sound
   • He tastes the water and finds that it is not flowing at all

   Listening hard, Bilbo hears only drops dripping from an unseen roof and no rushing sound, so he concludes it is still water.

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2. 2

   Question 2. According to the narrator, why does Gollum whisper to Bilbo first instead of grabbing him?

   • The Great Goblin has ordered him to bring prisoners back alive
   • Correct answer: He is not really very hungry at the moment, only curious
   • He wants to trade some of his fish for the hobbit's sword
   • He hopes the stranger will help him row back to his island

   The narrator says Gollum was not really very hungry, only curious; otherwise he would have grabbed first and whispered afterwards.

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3. 3

   Question 3. After answering the riddle about thirty white horses, how many teeth does Gollum say he has?

   • Correct answer: Six
   • Two
   • Thirty
   • None at all

   Gollum hisses that the answer is teeth, then adds that he has only six.

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4. 4

   Question 4. Which of Bilbo's riddles makes Gollum hiss and splutter for a long time before he answers?

   • The thirty white horses on a red hill
   • The eye in a blue face and a green face
   • The fish on a little table with a cat
   • Correct answer: The box without hinges, key or lid

   The egg riddle proves a nasty poser for Gollum until he remembers thieving from nests long ago.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What is Bilbo really trying to say when he squeals "Time! Time!"?

   • Correct answer: He is trying to beg Gollum for a little more time to think
   • He is telling Gollum that his own turn to answer is over
   • He is warning Gollum that goblins are coming down the tunnel
   • He has worked out the answer by thinking through every clue

   Frightened, Bilbo wants to shout for more time, and by pure luck the word he blurts out is the answer.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does Gollum go back to his island to fetch after losing the riddle game?

   • A rope to lead the hobbit out by the hand
   • A sharp stone for sharpening his fangs
   • Correct answer: A ring that makes its wearer invisible
   • A knife he once took from a lost goblin

   Gollum wants his ring, his birthday-present, so he can attack Bilbo unseen while the sword is useless.

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7. 7

   Question 7. Why does Gollum stop at the low opening instead of going through it?

   • He has lost count of the turns and does not know where he is
   • He hears Bilbo's footsteps behind him and turns to listen
   • The passage is far too low and narrow for him to squeeze through
   • Correct answer: He smells goblins in the passage and is afraid to go in

   Gollum peers in and shrinks back, saying there are lots of goblins down there and that he can smell them.

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8. 8

   Question 8. How does the narrator explain the ring not being on Bilbo's finger when the goblin guards first see him?

   • Bilbo took it off in the dark because it made his finger feel cold
   • Correct answer: The narrator leaves it open: an accident, or a last trick of the ring
   • Gollum pulled it off just as Bilbo leaped over his head in the passage
   • The bright sunlight at the doorway broke the ring's magic for a moment

   The narrator leaves it open: it may have been an accident, or a last trick of the ring before it took a new master.

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9. 9

   Question 9. While Bilbo is stuck in the door, what makes a goblin shout that something is outside?

   • Correct answer: A shadow falls by the door where the sun is shining
   • His brass buttons clatter loudly onto the stone floor
   • His elvish sword starts to glow as the goblins come near
   • He lets out a sneeze in the cold mountain air outside

   The ring wearer can be seen only by a faint shadow in full sunlight, and a goblin spots a shadow by the door.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'flummoxed' mean in: "altogether flummoxed and at the end of his way and his wits"?

    • Tired out from a very long, dark walk
    • Soaked through and shivering with cold
    • Correct answer: Completely confused and unsure what to do
    • Angry and ready to fight anyone near

    Flummoxed means completely bewildered; Bilbo has run out of road and ideas at the edge of the lake.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'antiquity' mean in: "the riddle-game was sacred and of immense antiquity"?

    • Great size, filling a cave
    • Correct answer: Great age, from ancient times
    • Great danger to every player
    • Great value, like treasure

    Antiquity means great age; the riddle-game has been played since ancient times, which is why even wicked creatures fear to cheat.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'galled' mean in: "in a pouch next his skin, till it galled him"?

    • Helped him to sleep
    • Made him feel proud
    • Kept him very warm
    • Correct answer: Rubbed and irritated him

    Galled means chafed or irritated; carrying the ring against his skin eventually rubbed Gollum sore.

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13. 13

    Question 13. Which of these events happen during the riddle game?

    • Bilbo makes up a riddle on the spot about an eye in a blue face.

      Happened

      After guessing the wind riddle, Bilbo is so pleased that he makes up a riddle on the spot about an eye in a blue face.

    • Gollum answers the egg riddle at once, without any trouble.

      Didn't happen

      The egg riddle proves a nasty poser; Gollum hisses and splutters for a long while before he remembers thieving from nests.

    • Gollum sits down beside Bilbo instead of going back to his boat.

      Happened

      Angry and tired of the game, Gollum does not go back to his boat but sits down in the dark by Bilbo.

    • Bilbo solves the fish riddle by studying the lake with his sword's light.

      Didn't happen

      Bilbo guesses the answer when a fish jumps out of the water in a fright and falls on his toes.

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14. 14

    Question 14. Which of these events happen after the riddle game ends?

    • The ring slips onto Bilbo's finger while he is running from Gollum.

      Happened

      As Bilbo runs from Gollum, he puts his hand in his pocket and the ring slips on to his groping forefinger.

    • Gollum grabs Bilbo's ankle as Bilbo leaps over his head.

      Didn't happen

      Gollum grabs as Bilbo flies over him, but too late, and his hands snap on thin air.

    • Bilbo slips between the legs of the goblin captain.

      Happened

      In the goblins' guardroom Bilbo slips between the legs of the captain just in time and runs for the door.

    • Bilbo wounds Gollum with his sword to get past him.

      Didn't happen

      Bilbo does not strike Gollum; a sudden pity mixed with horror wells up in him, and he leaps over Gollum's head instead.

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