A girl enters the ring; all the others take firm hold of the rope. No
sooner is she in than they skip about her, keeping the rope in motion.
As they skip they sing, to the tune of “Auld Lang-syne,”
Who’ll crown our queen, our merry queen,
Who’ll crown our queen to-day?
Who’ll crown our queen, our merry queen,
Who’ll crown our queen to-day?
When this is sung, the children stop skipping just where they are. And
at once one of the boys puts his head under the rope, and, standing by
the queen, replies, “I will.” Then raising a crown of wild flowers, he
puts it on her head. No sooner is she crowned than she blindfolds the
boy, and another girl enters, thus making two girls in the ring. The
game is to “tag” the right girl before the other players count nine.
When the boy “tags” the girl, he must at once say whether or not she is
the queen, and if he makes a mistake he must remain in the ring and try
again. The first girl withdraws, the second girl is crowned queen, and
the game is repeated. But should he make no mistake, the boy remains in
the ring, is crowned king, and the game goes on, only that two boys are
in the ring when a girl is blindfolded.