The Riddle and Fate of Harpalus and his Dwarf

Found in the Library of Syracuse. Written in Latin.

   There are many examples of riddling contests in history, the examples of Samson and 
   Oedipus being the most famous, the one between Solomon and the dwarf, climaxing, in some 
   texts, with the enigma of the Morikothos, being only slightly less well known. One curious 
   and late example takes place in Syracuse, where the local governor, proud in his skill, 
   offered to wager the governorship against the life of any takers. Many lost their lives, 
   and the governor remained undefeated. One day an old beggar, accompanied by a dwarf in 
   motley came and accepted the governor's challenge. It would be tiresome to list all the 
   riddles the two passed through, but the governor most often employed combination-riddles 
   (what animal posesseth the foreparts of a capricorn, the hindparts of a chimera, the beard 
   of a unicorn, the legs of a satyr, and the horns of the devil?) while the beggar favored 
   ones exploiting double meanings: Os means both a kiss and a bone,
   liberi means both books and children, obolus means both a
   coin and a spit, anus means both a crone and a ring. 

   Regardless of the riddles involved, what transpired every time was this: the old beggar 
   would answer the governor's riddle immediately, and then ask the governor a riddle in 
   turn. The governor would excuse himself on the pretext of using the privy, and instead 
   consult with wise men and soothsayers, and pore over his scrolls, until he found the 
   answer. Then he would return and ask another riddle, which the old beggar solved at an 
   instant.

   Finally the beggar wearied of the governor's shenanigans, and sang this riddle:

   Beautiful was the sky,
   Beautiful was the sea,
   And most beautiful was the earth.
   Facing the north wind,
   Three sisters went gathering posies.

   They plucked one from the White Island,
   One from the Wilderness,
   And one from the Land of the Bat-Eared Fox,
   But the last fell from their basket.

   They replaced it with a flower in the Land of Buds,
   Transplanted from the mountains of the New Bronze Coin.
   And then the sisters were so tired.
   But what became of the flower of the Bat-Eared Fox?

   The governor could not answer the riddle, even after he exhausted all his advisors and 
   their libraries. He left, and the old beggar took up residence in the governor's mansion. 
   A few weeks later an old woman came to town early in the morning and said she had the 
   answer to the riddle that had stymied everyone. At that moment the mansion exploded in 
   flames, killing the old beggar, whose charred body was later found. The dwarf was also 
   found, dismembered and scattered about. The beggar was later identified as Harpalus, one 
   of Alexander's advisors. May Christ have mercy on his soul!