That would be cool, alas not.
Okay! Time for BIGGER hints, since obviously not even my statement "take it less metaphorically and more literally" did not help anybody to think of the right answer!
I will therefore point out the parts which Rumil got right in his answer, as he got the closest of all:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rumil
First of them second.
- Sam (second-in-command) tries the climb down first but Frodo insists he comes back, then tries the climb himself
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The interpretation of "second in command" is indeed correct here. Of course it does not need to mean that the person in the riddle is second in command to the other person in the riddle. The person can be second in command somewhere else, to somebody else...
Quote:
Blindness and deafness,
forest and garth.
- Frodo likes the forest, Sam prefers his garden?
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Once again, basically the interpretation (but not the two targets mentioned) is correct here - of course we are talking that there is some relation between person 1 and forest and person 2 and garden, indeed.
Also, there is something pretty correct in
Rumil's interpretation of the "rich man and poor man" part...
It is not that hard. Just put two and two together. If having the stuff organised better could help you, I would advise doing something like writing down two columns, one labeled "blind man" and the other "deaf man" (the two never change their place in the riddle, in every verse the first part refers to the former and the second to the latter - and in the "first-second" part, of course "first" is the "blind man" and "second" is the "deaf man") and noting there the attributes given to the two. Then just try to think of some good picks for which the attributes would fit. Maybe it would be more inspiring to try to think of them separately, like "okay, so blind man could be this, this or this..." and then comparing the two together and trying to find some relation. Something might light up in your mind. And then also bear in mind the things they have in common here: like "standing in dusk".