Riddles from the Border Regions, 09/1/12

The other eight
Demurely wait
While these two gaily tumble.

This is a riddle about twiddling thumbs .   Whenever numbers are given in a riddle, you'll do well to give them special attention.   So here we have two numbers:  eight and two.   The eight could represent notes in an octive, and the two could be the sharps and flats, perhaps trilling.   That's a nice interpretation.   But in this thumb-twiddling riddle, the eight and two are added together.  Of course.   The ten fingers.   The demure eight, folded quietly, and the lively, tumbling thumbs.   A fun alternative is two ice cubes tumbling into a glass, while the remaining cubes await liberation in the freezer.

NEW RIDDLE:
With one end I speak
With the other, rescind.
(answer:  see 9/8/12 piece)