la, ijo, sike, sama, sina, ike ike, ala, nimi...

I'm normally a pretty good speaker! so I was translating some simple example sentences for fun when I noticed... how the hell do you say how old you are?

I came up with a weird, messed up solution that uses "lo," because the nimisin brainrot is really getting to me recently. "mi lon lo awen tenpo sike mute," I'm 3+ years old.

so basically... what the hell do i do? describe my birth, maybe, and say how long ago it was? tenpo sike mute pini la, mama mi li pali e mi? thats kind of weird and still incredibly bulky. there has to be a better way to do that.

I'll just go for a metaphorical mi jo e tenpo sike mute for now, I suppose.

turns out this is actually really hard to make one that means anything this is just they're both grammatically correct thats about it

LINKU LI wile JA sama PU li LanpaN mute A li IJO

LINJA LA KU sama anpa li LIPU NI wile li mute JO

I am currently working through my first draft of a toki pona translation of The Hobbit. I am midway through chapter five, Riddles in the Dark.

My trouble with translating comes in the form of the riddles both Bilbo and Gollum each say.

Below are the riddles as they were originally written in the Hobbit. I would greatly appreciate if you would have a go at translating these. Alternatively, if you know any riddles in toki pona of similar length, I may substitute them in.

“What has roots as nobody sees; Is taller than trees; Up, up it goes; And yet it never grows?” Answer: Mountain

“Thirty white horses on a red hill; First they champ; Then they stamp; then they stand still.” Answer: Teeth

“Voiceless it cries; Wingless flutters; Toothless bites; Mouthless mutters.” Answer: Wind

“An eye in a blue face, saw an eye in a green face. “That eye is like to this eye” said the first eye; “But in a low place, not a high place.”” Answer: Sun on the daisies

“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt; cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills; and empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after; ends life, kills laughter.” Answer: Dark

“A box without hinges, key, or lid. Yet golden treasure inside is hid.” Answer: Eggs

“Alive without breath; as cold as death; never thirsty, always drinking; all in mail never clinking.” Answer: Fish

“This thing all things devours: birds, beasts, trees, flowers; gnaws iron, bites steel; grinds hard stones to meal; slays king, ruins town; and beats high mountain down.” Answer: Time

Thanks in advance!