Those caught must go over to the other side, and the game goes on until one side has won all the children.  The sides take it in turns to give the name of the flower.  This game may also be played in the garden.

* * * * *

FOX AND GEESE

One of the party, called the Fox, goes to one end of the room, and the rest of the children arrange themselves in a ring, one behind the other, the tallest first and the smallest last.  The first one is called Mother Goose.  The game begins by a conversation between the Fox and Mother Goose.  “What are you after this fine morning?” says she.  “Taking a walk,” the Fox answers.  “What for?” “To get an appetite for breakfast.”  “What will you have for breakfast?” “A nice fat goose.”  “Where will you get it?” “Well, as your geese are so handy, I will take one of them.”  “Catch one if you can.”

Mother Goose then stretches out her arms to protect her geese and not let the Fox catch one.  The Fox tries to dodge under, right and left, until he is able to catch the last of the string.  Of course, the brood must try and keep out of reach of the Fox.  As the geese are caught they must go over to the den of the Fox, and the game continues until all are caught.

* * * * *

“I sell my bat, I sell my ball”

A ring is formed with one child in the middle, who is called the “drummer-man.”  Whatever this child does the others mimic, moving round as they do so, and singing the following words: 

  “I sell my bat, I sell my ball,
  I sell my spinning-wheel and all;
  And I’ll do all that e’er I can
  To follow the eyes of the drummer-man.”

Any one who does not at once imitate the “drummer-man” must pay a forfeit and take his place as “drummer-man.”

* * * * *

“What’s my thought like?”

The players sit in a circle, and one of them asks the others:  “What’s my thought like?” One player may say:  “A monkey;” the second, “A candle;” the third, “A pin,” and so on.  When all the company have compared the thought to some object, the first player tells them the thought—­perhaps it is “the Cat”—­and then asks each, in turn, why it is like the object he compared it to.

“Why is my cat like a monkey?” is asked.  The other player might answer:  “Because it is full of tricks.”  “Why is my cat like a candle?” “Because its eyes glow like a candle in the dark.”  “Why is my cat like a pin?” “Because its claws scratch like a pin.”

Any one who is unable to explain why the thought resembles the object he mentioned must pay a forfeit.

* * * * *

CAT’S CRADLE

Take a piece of string and knot the ends together and slip it over your hands, as in Fig. 1.