and if you eat me you will die

I was going through some papers of mine and found some cards from campers when I was a counselor a few years ago. They each said something nice about me but two of them bore the phrase “if you eat me you will die”. I decided this was an inside joke that week. Later I remember that it was actually part of a riddle. Here it is as recited by one of my campers:
What is this?
It is greater than God
It is worse than the devil
The poor have it
The rich want it
If you eat me you will die

So if you notice, she starts out saying this is a thing you have to guess, then at the end changes it to ‘I am this thing you have to guess’. Only she doesn’t tell you she’s making the switch. It was probably accidental, but as I listen to it I crack up laughing. It really sounds like she’s posing a riddle, then at the end telling us, “Oh by the way, if you eat me you will die, so don’t do it.”
In case you were wondering, the answer to the riddle is nothing.

At work right before I usually leave
Sandy- I brought mega M&Ms, have some.
me- (putting 3 in my mouth) If you eat 3 are they M,M&Ms?
Alice- Wha-?
Sandy- Go home, Tracey.

Leave a Reply