Prompt the Muse #22 - Speculative Writing Prompt

Image: Statue of Sphinx

Your main character has encountered a creature blocking the path forward.  This might be literal, as in the mythical sphinx, or more figurative.  Is this creature an alien?  Animal?  Monster?  It asks your character a question that he or she must answer correctly to continue moving forward.  What is the question?  The answer?  Write these out in 150 words.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Sfinx, Public Domain