Why is a mouse when it spins

Robert Overton? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: The question and answer of the following exasperating riddle appear to be nonsensical:

Question: Why is a mouse when it spins?
Answer: The higher, the fewer.

Would you please examine the provenance of this conundrum?

Quote Investigator: Robert Overton published “Ten Minutes: Holiday Yarns and Recitations” as a Christmas book for gift-givers.

Why is a mouse when it spins doctor who

“The Manchester Guardian” of Manchester, England mentioned the work in October of 1892.

Overton’s version of the pseudo-riddle was somewhat different. He included it in the eighteenth tale titled “A Cry from Colney Hatch”.

The riddle began with “when” instead of “why”:

Question: When is a mouse if it spins?
Answer: Because the higher it gets the fewer.

The ill-fated protagonist Harehead encounters a prankster named Smoogleslush who tells him the question and answer of the riddle, but Harehead is unable to comprehend the conundrum.

After some misadventures he is driven to madness by his inability to grasp the