Ic wat eardfæstne anne standan,
deafne, dumban, se oft dæges swilgeð
þurh gopes hond gifrum lacum.
Hwilum on þam wicum se wonna þegn,
5 sweart ond saloneb, sendeð oþre
under goman him golde dyrran,
þa æþelingas oft wilniað,
cyningas ond cwene. Ic þæt cyn nu gen
nemnan ne wille, þe him to nytte swa
10 ond to dugþum doþ þæt se dumba her,
eorp unwita, ær forswilgeð.
I know a lone thing standing earth-fast,
deaf, dumb, which often by day swallows
from a slave’s hand useful gifts.
Sometimes in those dwellings the swarthy servant,
5 dark and sallow-nosed, sends others
from his mouth, dearer than gold,
which nobles often desire,
kings and queens. I will not yet
name that race/kind, who thus renders for their use
10 and advantage what the dumb one here,
the dusky fool, swallows before.
Highlight the box with your cursor to reveal the possible solutions: Oven, Beehive, Falcon Cage, (Book)case, Pen and ink, Barrow, Sacrificial altar, Millpond and sluice
Wouldn’t “quern” be a good answer here? It’s heavy, therefore earth-fast; and the wooden handle makes a sallow nose. A slave feeds it grain and its “mouth” supplies flour – something desired by kings and queens. This Wikipedia article has a good picture of the sort of quern I’m talking about.
I quite like that! And I don’t think it’s been suggested before.