A tidy riddle: something that lives in winter, dies in summer, and grows with its roots pointing up. Guessing the answer together is half the fun of reading it aloud.
From Mother Goose / Nursery Rhymes (traditional). See the whole collection.
Lives in winter,
Dies in summer,
And grows with its roots upward!
About this rhyme
A neat little riddle: something that lives in winter, dies in summer, and grows with its roots pointing up. The answer is an icicle, hanging from the roof rather than rooted in the ground. Best saved for a proper frosty morning, ideally with an icicle actually in view.
Public domain. Text from The Real Mother Goose (Blanche Fisher Wright, 1916), via Project Gutenberg. View the source edition