I am the black child of a white father, a wingless bird, flying even to the clouds of heaven. I give birth to tears of mourning in pupils that meet me, even though there is no cause for grief, and at once on my birth, I am dissolved into air. What am I?

A man and his wife were doing missionary work near the city of Nairobi in the country of Kenya in eastern Africa. Their housing had not yet been completed, so the man, the woman, and their six year old daughter were spending a few nights in the jungle in three small pup tents. During their third night there, the woman was awakened by the call of a hyena passing by, so she got out of her tent to see if her young daughter had been frightened by the noise. As she peered into her daughter's tent she was surprised to see the dark figures of lion, a panther, and a cheetah which were curled up next to her daughter. Seeing her daughter was asleep and unharmed, the woman slowly and quietly withdrew from the tent, and simply returned to her own tent and went back to bed. How could this child's mother leave her daughter in such a dangerous situation, and simply ignore what she had just witnessed without intervening in some way? How can such emotional coldness ever be explained; or is there something here we are missing?

All of Jacob's shoes are red except two.
All of Jacob's shoes are green except two.
All of Jacob's shoes are yellow except two.

How many shoes does Jacob have?

I have four wings but can't fly.
I express no emotions.
I am found on the exact spot every time you look.
I keep toiling away with a little sound.

Do you know what am I?

It comprises roots which nobody sees,
Much taller than those trees,
Up and up it goes,
Still it never grows?

Begin with a word, five letters to my name,
Remove the first and last but I am the same
Take out my middle and still, I remain.
What word am I?

A network of 20 x 10 squares is given to you.

Can you calculate how many unique squares and rectangles can be formed combining two or more individual squares ?

When you say goodbye, I am what you need to tie.
I come as a couple and go wherever you run.
Who am I?

Solve this tricky question. You are trapped in a forest. With you, you have a gun preloaded with two bullets in it. In front of you, there is a tiger, a leopard and a jaguar.

How do you survive?

I am the largest in my family of fifty.
The youngest of our family lives separately from the rest of the family and so do I.
I am regarded as harsh and tough.
I am so large, you cut me in two equal halves,
each half would still be larger than the second largest member of the family.
Who am I?