Riddle for the Ages.

The question of the Raven and the Writing Desk is a popular riddle and for all the times I've heard it, not once have I been given an answer. It's said that many authors have attempted a shot at answering the riddle, and Lewis Carroll (only after years of people asking) suggested of it, "Because it can produce a few notes, tho they are very flat; and it is nevar put with the wrong end in front" but there's really not quite a specific, correct answer. Why would it be that he would present the reader and Alice with a question missing an answer? The reason that comes to mind for me would be that he's inviting the reader to thinking outside the box. A child reading the story would be quick to give several reasons, some of them ridiculous or even quite mad while the adult would be frustrated and think, and think, and think until eventually in the face of such an absurd question, logic would not due to answer it and they would have to use their imagination. The absurdity of the statement and lack of a clear or answer draws the reader into the setting, letting go of conventional definitions for logic or reason and exploring the madness and creativity in the same way as Alice.