ASL Video: Birds Hopping on the Phone Line
“Courtesy of Simon Carmel, excerpted from the American Folklore in the Deaf Community video, 1981”
Source: https://youtu.be/6y_b3BEj5HI (time length: 58:31 - 59:25)
Rasmus' A Riddle serves as an excellent example of a riddler misleading a riddlee by asking an
unexpected question at the end of the riddle. An English translation and a video of this riddle are
below:
English Translation: A Riddle
(translated by Andrew Byrne)
I am going to tell you a riddle. Watch me and remember [what I say]. I am driving a bus. I stop
and open the folding doors. Four passengers get on the bus and sit. I close the doors and drive
off. After going over the speed bumps twice, I stop again and open the doors. Three passengers
get on and sit. After closing the doors, I drive again. I turn left and then right. I stop again and
open the doors. Two passengers get off the bus. After closing the doors, I drive uphill, stop
again, and open the doors. Two passengers get on and sit. I close the doors and drive again. I
turn right and then left. I stop again and open the doors. Four passengers get off. I close the
doors. How many stops have I made altogether?
ASL Video: A Riddle
“Reproduced with permission from DawnSignPress”
Text Source: Signing Naturally: Student Videotext, Level 1 by E. M. Lentz, K. Mikos, & C. Smith (1988)
(Continue on the next page)
The Power of ASL
4
Winter 2018 – Issue 12