When all are ready, the story-teller begins a tale about an old coach and what happened to it, how it went on a journey, came to grief, was mended, and started off again.  The story should be told fluently, but not too quickly.  Every time any part of the coach is mentioned, the player who has taken that name must rise from his seat and then sit down again.

Whenever “the coach” is mentioned, all the players, with the exception of the story-teller, must rise.  Any one who fails to keep these rules must pay a forfeit.

* * * * *

DROP THE HANDKERCHIEF

A ring is formed by the players joining hands, whilst one child, who is to “drop the handkerchief,” is left outside.  He walks round the ring, touching each one with the handkerchief, saying the following words: 

[Illustration]

  “I wrote a letter to my love,
  But on my way, I dropped it;
  A little child picked it up
  And put it in his pocket. 
  It wasn’t you, it wasn’t you,
  It wasn’t you—­but it was you.”

When he says “It was you,” he must drop the handkerchief behind one of the players, who picks it up and chases him round the ring, outside and under the joined hands, until he can touch him with the handkerchief.  As soon as this happens, the first player joins the ring, whilst it is now the turn of the second to “drop the handkerchief.”

* * * * *

MAGIC MUSIC

One of the players is sent out of the room, and the rest then agree upon some simple task for her to perform, such as moving a chair, touching an ornament, or finding some hidden object.  She is then called in and some one begins to play the piano.  If the performer plays very loudly, the “seeker” knows that she is nowhere near the object she is to search for.  When the music is soft, then she knows she is very near, and when the music ceases altogether, she knows that she has found the object she was intended to look for.

* * * * *

BUZZ

[Plate 2]

This is a very old game, but is always a very great favorite.  The more the players, the greater the fun.  The way to play it is as follows:  The players sit in a circle and begin to count in turn, but when the number 7 or any number in which the figure 7 or any multiple of 7 is reached, they say “Buzz,” instead of whatever the number may be.  As, for instance, supposing the players have counted up to 12, the next player will say “13,” the next “Buzz” because 14 is a multiple of 7 (twice 7)—­the next player would then say “15” the next “16,” and the next would, of course, say “Buzz” because the figure 7 occurs in the number 17.  If one of the players forgets to say “Buzz” at the proper time, he is out.  The game then starts over again with the remaining players, and so it continues until there is but one person remaining.  If great care is taken the numbers can be counted up to 70, which, according to the rules before mentioned, would, of course, be called Buzz.  The numbers would then be carried on as Buzz 1, Buzz 2, etc., up to 79, but it is very seldom that this stage is reached.