Riddle: voiceless it cries, wingless it flutters, toothless it bites and mouthless it mutters – what is being described?

Introduction / Context:
This beautifully phrased riddle is famous from classic literature and fantasy stories. It uses poetic language to describe something in nature without naming it. The subject has no voice, wings, teeth or mouth, yet it seems to cry, flutter, bite and mutter. The learner must recognise that these are metaphors for how a natural force behaves. This kind of riddle tests imagination, ability to visualise scenes and understanding of figurative language rather than pure factual recall.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Voiceless it cries: it makes a sound like crying but has no literal voice.
• Wingless flutters: it moves things about or moves as if it were fluttering, but has no wings.
• Toothless bites: it can sting or bite with force or cold but has no teeth.
• Mouthless mutters: it produces a murmuring or whispering sound without a mouth.
• The answer is a single natural phenomenon that matches all of these poetic images.

Concept / Approach:
The wind is the best match for all of these descriptions. Wind roars and whistles like a cry despite having no voice. It makes leaves and flags flutter without having wings. It can bite your skin with cold or force even though it has no teeth. And it creates low muttering sounds as it moves through trees and buildings, without having any mouth. Other phenomena like rivers, fire and rain have sounds and motion, but do not fit each line as neatly as wind does.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Voiceless it cries: strong winds howl and roar, especially during storms, sounding like crying or wailing. Wingless flutters: wind causes leaves, clothes on a line and flags to flutter, although the wind itself has no wings. Toothless bites: a cold wind can feel like it is biting your face or hands, even though it has no teeth. Mouthless mutters: gentle breezes produce a soft muttering or whispering sound in trees and wires, despite having no mouth. These four images together strongly point to wind as the object of the riddle.

Verification / Alternative check:
Examine river. A river can roar and has movement, but it does not make things flutter in the same way wind does, and we do not commonly speak of a river biting in ordinary language. Fire crackles and can burn like a bite, but the fluttering image fits smoke rather than fire itself, and the overall combination of cries, flutters and mutters is less standard. Rain falls rather than fluttering and does not usually produce the range of sounds described. Wind, by contrast, is frequently personified in poetry exactly using these kinds of metaphors, confirming it as the intended answer.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
A river has a voice like a roar but lacks the fluttering image. Fire may bite in the sense of heat, yet it does not usually flutter wingless in the same way as wind driving objects. Rain can sting but is not naturally associated with muttering or fluttering. None of these alternatives simultaneously satisfy all four descriptive lines. They are possible if you stretch the metaphors, but wind is the only option that matches naturally and is the known solution to this classic riddle.

Common Pitfalls:
Some learners try to force a single line to match one phenomenon and ignore the others. For example, they focus on biting and think of cold or fire only. The safe method with multi line riddles is to choose an answer that fits every line in a straightforward, familiar way. If any line feels forced, reconsider your choice. For this puzzle, when you visualise a strong wind in a storm, all four lines become vividly accurate, which is a strong signal that wind is correct.

Final Answer:
The riddle describes the wind.