Bell

Exeter Riddle #4 

On and off busy    obey I must,

Hafted with rings    hasting for my master,

And break my bed,    boldly make known

That my lord locked    this neck-link for me.

To me sleep-weary    oft went there to see

Some man or maiden ;    to them, moody-hearted,

Wintery-cold  I made answer:   “This warm limb

Bursts through at times    the bouden ring”.

Yet merry it is    to him my master,

A mean-witted man,     and likewise to me

If I know this one    and may with words

Say with success    what suits the spell. [1]

This riddle compares the bell to a servant, as did the riddle paired with the key. 

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[1] Abbott, H. H. The Riddles of the Exeter Book. Cambridge: Golden Head P., 1968, 4.