Two Legs Sat Upon Three Legs

Harsh and Scary - Black Silhouettes against a White Background Evoke a Shudder

This is a harsh depiction of the riddle that conveys a scary feeling. The man, a scrawny character with an angular face and bristling wisps of hair, looks satanic as he flies out of the house in pursuit of the thin, scraggly dog. The man’s body is tilted aggressively toward the dog, and his right hand is raised in position to hurl a stool at it. With a menacing fork in his left hand, and his coat tails looking very much like a real tail, could this be the devil himself? The black silhouettes and the jagged landscape add to the feeling of evil.

This illustration keeps to the idea of a “leg riddle” by clearly showing all of the legs. The black silhouetted figures against a white background make them stand out clearly and distinctly.

This picture focuses on the part of the riddle where the man “Catches up three legs, Throws it after four legs,” but details in the illustration tell much more of the story than that. First, the open door, the stool, and the fork illustrate that the man had been sitting in the house eating. Next, the dog has run outdoors with a leg (of mutton) in its mouth, which is the logical place that a dog, which had just snatched its master’s food, would run. Finally, the fact that the man has almost caught up to the dog indicates that he surely will get him.