Cluinnear tòimhseachain anns a' h-uile cànan, tha mi cinnteach. 'Sa Bheurla bidh iad gu tric car mar seo: Cò mheud ( seòrsa de dhuine) a dh' fheumar airson bolgan-solais ùr a chuir ann?  - Ceud 'sa h-aon. Aonar airson greim a chumail air a' bholgan agus ceud airson an taigh' a thogail 's a thionndaidh mu 'n cuairt. ( A' sealltainn nach ann tapaidh a tha 'ad! )

Agus a réir cò ás a tha an ceistear, bidh an ceud 's a h-aon á àite air choireigin eile. Ma 's ann á Arichat a tha e, 's dòcha gur ann á Glasbaidh a bhiodh an sluagh. Ma 's ann á Siùdaig, ma dh' fhaoidte gun tigeadh an ceud 's a h-aon o Bhaddaig, 's msaa..

Bidh a' mhor-chuid dhe na tòimhseachan 's a' Bheurla car mar sin, éibhinn agus uaireannan gòrach. No 's dòcha gòrach 'is uaireannan éibhinn!

Anns a' Ghàidhlig bidh feum eile air na tòimhseachain ged tha. Chan ann airson feall-dha a bhios 'ad a 's trice ach mar chothrom ciall no mion-rannsachadh a chleachdadh. Mar eisimpleir:

Chunnaic fear gun sùilean craobh ubhail. Bha ubhlan air a' chraobh. Cha d' thug e ubhlan far na craoibhe 's cha do dh' fhàg e ubhlan air a' chraoibh.

Ciamar a ghabhas sin a bhith? Sin a' cheist a th' aig duine ri fhreagairt. Ach smaoinichibh air. Bidh duine le aon sùil "gun sùilean" agus faodaidh e craobh ubhail fhaicinn. Mar sin, feumaidh gu robh ach aon sùil aige. Cha iarradh ach dà ubhal gus "ubhlan" a bhith air a' chraoibh, agus sin mar a bha. Thug e aon ubhal far na craoibhe 's dh' fhàg e aon ubhal air a' chraoibh. Mar sin, cha d' thug e ubhlan, ach aon ubhal. Cha do dh' fhàg e ubhlan ach aon ubhal. Agus 's e sin fuasgladh na ceiste!

Aon eile: Am mac air mullach an taighe agus an athair fhathast gun a bhréith.

Tha sin na 's duighle an diugh na bha e bho shean! Chan eil ach cuid bheag de dhaoin' a nis a' cumail an taighean blàth na laithean le stòbh' agus teine, 's mar sin cha smaoinich daoine air a' chùis sin mar fhreagairt. Ach seo mar a tha e: 'nuair a bhios ceò ( mac an teine ) air mullach an taighe, 's e sin comharrachadh nach eil gabhail mhath air an teine ( an athair ) taobh astaigh. Chan eil e air a lasadh ( air a bhréith )  gu ceart fhathast, agus bidh an dearbhadh ri fhaicinn ann an uiread de cheò a dh' éireas ás an t-simileir. Mar a 's fheàrr an teine, 'sann a 's lugha an ceò.

Sin mar a bhios cuid dhe na tòimhseachain anns a' Ghàidhlig. Tha mi 'n dòchas gun do chòrd iad ruibh!

**********************
Riddles

Riddles are heard in every language, I'm sure. In English they're often something like this: How many (of a certain kind of people) are needed to change a lightbulb? One hundred and one. One to hold the bulb and a hundred to turn the house around. (Showing that they're not very bright!)

And according to where the questioner is from, the hundred and one will be from somewhere else. If he's from Arichat, perhaps they'd be from Glace Bay. If from Judique, maybe the hundred would come from Baddeck, etc.

Most of the riddles in English are something like that, funny and sometimes foolish. Or perhaps foolish and sometimes funny!

In Gaelic there's another use for riddles though. They're not intended as jokes, but as a chance to practice logic and analysis. For example:

A man without eyes saw an apple tree. There were apples on the tree. He didn't take apples from the tree and he didn't leave apples on the tree.

How can that be? That's the question one has to answer. But think about it. A person with one eye is "without eyes" and he can see an apple tree. Therefore, he must have had one eye. Only two apples are needed for apples to be on the tree, and that's how it was. He took one apple from the tree and left one apple on the tree. Therefore he didn't take apples, but an apple. He didn't leave apples but an apple. And that's the answer to the question!

Another one: The son on the roof of the house and the father still unborn.

That's more difficult today than it was of old! Only a few people now keep their houses warm with a stove and fire and people don't think of that as an answer. But this is how it is: When there is smoke (the son of the fire) on the roof, that's a sign that the fire (the father) is not catching well inside. It hasn't caught (been born) correctly yet, and the proof of that is to be seen in the smoke on the roof. The better the fire, the less the smoke.

That's how some of the riddles go in Gaelic. I hope you enjoyed them!