I can run but never walk, have a mouth but never talk, have a bed but never sleep. What am I?

This clever riddle perfectly describes a common natural feature found across the globe. The first line, "I can run but never walk," refers to the continuous movement of water. Rivers are always flowing, propelled by gravity from higher elevations to lower ones, a motion often described as running water. Unlike living creatures, they lack legs or the ability to walk, relying solely on this constant current.

The phrase "have a mouth but never talk" points to a specific anatomical feature of a river system. The "mouth" of a river is the point where it empties into a larger body of water, such as an ocean, a sea, a lake, or even another river. This geographical feature is crucial for the river's journey, marking its destination. Despite having this designated "mouth," rivers, as inanimate natural entities, are incapable of speech or communication in the human sense.

Finally, "have a bed but never sleep" highlights another key component of a river. A riverbed is the channel or depression in the earth through which a river flows. This bed is constantly shaped and reshaped by the moving water and the sediment it carries. Rivers are dynamic systems, ceaselessly flowing day and night, never truly resting or "sleeping" in the way living beings do. Their continuous motion is a defining characteristic, essential to their role in the water cycle and in shaping landscapes.