The Mystery of the Sphinx

A long time ago, the city of Thebes was gaurded
by a Sphinx, which is a creature with a head of a
woman, the body of a lion, and the wings of an
eagle. Any person who wanted to passby and
enter the city she would ask the same question
and if they did not answer it correct she would eat
them up! One day a man came hoping he could
answer the question correct. When he finally 
reached the Sphinx he was asked the question. 
"What being,"the Sphinx asked the man, "has four 
legs in the morning, 2 at midday, and 3 in the 
evening? The man then replied, "a man." As a baby 
he crawls on all four legs, in his prime he walks on 
two legs and when he is old he leans on a stick 
and walks! The great Sphinx let the man pass into 
Thebes and left never to be seen again.