I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with the wind. What am I?

Why this works

At first glance, this riddle seems to present an impossible creature, one that can communicate yet is devoid of physical form. The cleverness lies in how it personifies an echo, which "speaks" when sound waves bounce off surfaces and "hears" only in the sense that it requires sound to exist. The phrase "come alive with the wind" adds a layer of nuance, as wind can carry sounds over distances, making the echo more pronounced and vibrant in nature. Delving deeper, echoes have fascinated humans for centuries, intertwining with myths and art—from ancient storytelling about nymphs who echoed lost voices to modern uses in music and technology. The riddle captures the ethereal quality of an echo, a phenomenon that feels almost magical, as if it has its own voice and consciousness, yet it’s merely a reflection of sound. This duality is what makes the riddle so satisfying; it prompts us to rethink the relationship between sound and silence. And here's a fun nugget: the word "echo" has roots in ancient Greek mythology, where Echo was a nymph cursed to only repeat the words of others. This connection adds a rich layer to the riddle, illustrating how deeply intertwined language, sound, and myth can be in shaping our understanding of the world around us.