Riddle #1171

They fight against me day and night, They try in vain with all their might. But when I win the final strain, I close their eyes and end the pain.

I drift forever with the current down these long canals they've made. Tame, yet wild, I run elusive, multitasking to your aid. Before I came, the world was darker. Colder, sometimes, rougher, true. But though I might make living easy, I'm good at killing people too.

What always runs, but never walks, often murmurs, never talks, has a bed, but never sleeps, has a mouth, but never eats?

A man while looking at a photograph said, "Brothers and sisters have I none. That man's father is my father's son." Who was the person in the photograph?

I can sizzle like bacon, I am made with an egg, I have plenty of backbone, but lack a good leg, I peel layers like onions, but still remain whole, I can be long, like a flagpole, yet fit in a hole. What am I?

It can be cracked, it can be made, It can be told, it can be played. What is it?

To you, rude would I never be, Though I flag my tongue for all to see. What am I?

Thirty white horses on a red hill. First they champ, Then they stamp, Then they stand still. Who are they?

I don't have wings, but I can fly. I don't have eyes, but I will cry! What am I?

Only one color, but not one size. Stuck at the bottom, yet I easily fly. Present in sun, but not in rain. Doing no harm, and feeling no pain. What Am I?

Three lives have I. Gentle enough to soothe the skin, Light enough to caress the sky, Hard enough to crack rocks.