'the sun was shining on the sea, shining with all its might, she did her very best to make, the billows smooth and bright, and this was odd because it was, the middle of the night'

The answer to the one about the chimney is UMBRELLA.

The riddle about the legs etc. is very similar to the one in the Hobbit in the chapter 'Riddles in the dark' where Bilbo and Gollum have a riddle competition.

In the vein of a recent posting :-

1. A wise man asked of me, How many strawberrys grow in the sea ? I answered him as best I could As many wild herrings as grow in a wood.

2. There was a man of Thessaray and he was wondrous wise, He jumped into a bramble bush and scratched out both his eyes, And when he saw his eyes were out, With all his might and main, He jumped into another one and scratched them in again.

(these lyrics actually appear in a song by Ian Campbell Folk Band )

Everyone knows the next two but just in case -

3. One fine day in the middle of the night, two dead men got up to fight, back to back they faced each other, they drew their swords and shot each other.

(These lyrics actually appear in a song of bawdy Nursery Rhymes )

4. As I was going up the stair, I met a man who wasn't there, He wasn't there again today, Oh how I wish he'd go away.

Thats all folks ...

M. Hatter