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.
* * * * *