stops at once. “Go on!” you cry. The box continues down the string.
“Faster, faster!” The box fairly flies in its haste to get down to the
floor! Wonderful! Wonderful!
Now, let me tell you how to do it. (It is a trick, of course!)
Find a small stick, round and smooth like a half of a toothpick.
Take the sliding cover from one of your boxes, and fit inside the
drawer, across the center of it, the piece of wood so that there is
space under it and above it.
Next, make a small hole at each end of the drawer of your box, and
thread some string through both holes, letting the string pass _under_
the stick of wood in the drawer. (See Diagram Thirteen, _A_, page 187.)
Place the sliding cover on the box and let the string pass through it at
both ends. (See Diagram Thirteen, _B_.)
The SECRET of your magic box is the piece of wood in the drawer. Tell
nobody about this. When you hold one end of the string in your right
hand, place the toe of your shoe on the floor over the other end and
keep the string taut. Then, loosen your hold slightly, and carefully
bring the box upon the string up as far as your hand.
When you loosen the hold upon the string to make it less tight, you will
notice that the box slides rapidly down the string; when you hold the
string absolutely taut, the box remains firmly in one place. By
practising, you will find just how much to loosen your hold on the
string in order to make the box do as you wish.
Anyone who sees the box performing so wonderfully will not readily guess
the secret of its magic. Here the second box, that is a duplicate of the
first, comes into the play. Arrange this second box as if it were the
trick box—except for the stick through the drawer. When your friends ask
to examine the magic box, give them the second one. Keep both in your
pocket. In putting the trick box into your pocket, slide its drawer a
little, so that you can easily distinguish between the two boxes by
feeling of them. When you give the duplicate, nobody will suspect that
it is not the real box, if you manage cleverly.
“Wonderful! Wonderful!” they say. “What a MAGIC BOX you have!”
I made a magic trick box!
Oh, you may make one, too,
But do not tell the secret
That I am telling you!
The little box will mind you,
Do everything you say!
It is a magic trick box—
A treasury of play.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: WINDOWS]
=Diagram One.= Cut the cardboard sides of your box as the heavy black
lines indicate. Fold outward upon the dotted lines.
_A._ A plain window without blinds or awning. Cut the cardboard out on
all four sides.
_B._ Window with blinds. Cut the top line, the center line, and the
base. Fold outward on the dotted lines.
_C._ Window with awning. Cut side lines and base. Bend cardboard outward
and upward to make the awning over the window.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: DOORS]
=Diagram Two.= Cut the cardboard of your box sides as the heavy black
lines indicate. Fold outward where there are dotted lines.
_A._ Single door. Cut at top and side (if need be, at the base also).
Fold the cardboard outward to make a door.
_B._ Double door. Cut the square at top and down its center. (If need
be, cut the base of the square also.) Fold both sections outward.
_C._ Door with window in it. Cut out a square from the single door. Cut
the door at top and side. Fold it outward.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: SIDE WALLS. SLOPING ROOF. PLACE FOR CHIMNEY OR TOWER]
=Diagram Three.= This shows the shape of the cardboard pieces that are
used to form side walls for a sloping roof; also the box-cover roof
placed in position, and the hole for a chimney.
_A._ Side walls of cardboard, glued to box ends.
_AA._ Box cover placed on side walls. Square cut out so that a box tower
or chimney may be inserted through its opening.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: GABLE ROOF. TRIANGULAR SUPPORTS TO HOLD IT]
=Diagram Three.= Triangular cardboard pieces are cut and pasted to the
upper part of a box to hold a roof made from two interlapped box covers.
_B._ Gable roof made from two box covers.
_BB._ Triangular cardboard pieces cut to fit the ends of a box and hold
a gable roof.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: A SINGLE GABLE ROOF. BOX CUT DOWN TO HOLD GABLE ROOF]
=Diagram Three.= Gable roof. This is a piece of cardboard cut oblong and
folded through its center, lengthwise, to make a slanting roof. A deep
box may be cut down to hold this roof and make a gabled building. Cut
where heavy black lines indicate.
_C._ Roof cut from a piece of plain cardboard or corrugated cardboard.
_CC._ Box cut down to make the low sides and high-pointed gable ends of
a small building.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: ROUND-POINTED ROOF, TENT ROOF, INDIAN WIGWAM, AND
CARDBOARD TENTS FOR CAMP]
=Diagram Three.= Roofs.
_D._ Round-pointed roof cut from cardboard. Lap edges _x_ to _x_. This
makes a tent also. The Indian Wigwam is made this way.
_E._ This is a wide box cover folded through its center, rim cut up to
the top on each long side. Bent, it makes a tent or tent-shaped roof.
This is like the kennel roof.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: RAMPARTS FOR A CASTLE OR FORT. A SMALL ROOF TO PLACE OVER
A PORCH]
=Diagram Three.= Cut Where the heavy black lines indicate.
_F._ Ramparts are cut from the rim of a box cover.
_G._ A porch roof may be made by taking the cover of any shallow box and
pasting it over the doorway of your building. The porch pillars are long
pencils run through holes cut in each forward corner of the box cover.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: BRIDGE AND R.R. TUNNEL]
=Diagram Four.= By cutting the ends or sides of boxes, tunnels or
bridges may be made. Cut where the heavy black line indicates.
_A._ The bridge is made by cutting a semicircle from the long sides of
an inverted box. The box cover, turned upward, forms the bridge railing.
At each end, cut the corners. A cardboard strip is pasted to each end
rim to complete the bridge roadway.
_B._ The tunnel is made by cutting a circular opening in the two ends of
a deep box which has been inverted.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: PATTERN FOR WINDMILL SAILS]
=Diagram Five.= Take a square piece of paper. Fold it through its center
once. Fold the two halves to make quarters. Draw the outline _Z_ on the
piece of paper folded into quarters, and cut this as is indicated by the
heavy black line. This gives _ZZ_, the pattern for the windmill sails,
which are cut from it in cardboard.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: BENCH FORM AND BED]
=Diagram Six.= Cut your box when it is inverted where the heavy black
lines show.
_A._ A bench form is made by cutting to right and left of each corner of
the lower half of an inverted box. Remove cardboard evenly from between
these cuttings to make legs of the bench.
_AA._ This is the cover of a box from which long side rims are cut. It
is glued to the bench form to make head and foot of a bed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: BENCH WITH HIGH BACK]
=Diagram Six=, _B_. To make the bench with high back, use the lower half
of a box, inverted. Cut the rim where the heavy black lines are shown.
Cut front legs from the box rim on one long side. Turn up the other long
rim of the box to add to the height of the back. Fold upward on the
dotted line running lengthwise through the middle of the box.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: CHAIR]
=Diagram Six=, _C_. To make the chair, turn the lower half or cover of
your box so that it stands upon its rims. Cut where the heavy black
lines are shown in the diagram. Fold the back of the chair upward where
the dotted line is indicated.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: TABLES]
=Diagram Six.= Tables are made from deep boxes by inverting the lower
half of the box and cutting legs in the rim as is shown by the heavy
black lines. Small boxes, square or round, placed upon upright spools
will form tables, stools, stands.
_D._ A table cut from a correspondence-card box. Cut where the heavy
black lines are shown in the diagram.
_DD._ A round table made with a spool and a box glued to its top.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: SCHOOL DESK AND PIANO]
=Diagram Six.= Cut where the heavy black lines are indicated. Glue at
_y_.
_E._ A school desk is made by standing the lower half of a small oblong
box upon one of its long rims. Cut in the box rim where you see a heavy
black line in the diagram. A piece of box rim is fitted below the top of
the desk inside the box to make a shelf.
_F._ Glue a narrow box across a larger box that is placed upon one of
its long sides at _yy_ to make a piano with keyboard.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: FIREPLACE AND MANTEL]
=Diagram Six=, _G_. Stand any box you may have upright on one end or on
one of its long rims. Cut from the front or back of the box an opening
as shown by the heavy black line in the diagram.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: PERGOLA]
=Diagram Seven.= The pergola is made from an inverted shoe-box. The
lower half of the box is used. Cut the bottom from the box, leaving a
narrow rim around the bottom. Cut the ends as shown in the diagram by
the heavy black lines. Mark off pillars upon the long sides of your box
with pencil, and cut these as shown by the heavy black lines of the
diagram. Two cardboard strips are glued lengthwise at the top over the
lengthwise edges left. Strips of cardboard are crossed over the open top
which was the bottom of the box.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: ZOO OR CIRCUS CAGE]
=Diagram Eight.= Cut the cardboard box sides as indicated by the heavy
black line in the diagram. Zoo cages are cut on each side. Circus cages
are cut top and bottom of the box, and the box is then placed upon one
long rim to have wheels added to it. The wheels for circus cages are
cardboard disks.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: DOLLS, THEATER OR PUNCH SHOW]
=Diagram Nine.= The theater is made from a deep square box placed to
stand upon its rims, upon its cover. The opening _A_ is cut upon one
side of the box and bent inward where the dotted line is shown. This is
the stage. _B_ is the stage opening through which the dolls are let down
by black cord to walk upon the stage and act. Cut an opening like this
shown in the diagram by the heavy black line. _C_ shows the slit back of
the stage opening. Through this, postal-card scenery is let down upon
the stage.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: SLEIGH AND SLED]
=Diagram Ten.=
_A._ A sled is made by cutting the cover or lower half of a box that has
been placed to stand upon its rims. Rims are cut off at each end of the
box or cover. The long rims make the runners. Cut the rims Where you see
heavy black lines in the diagram.
_B._ A sleigh top is added to a sled by cutting the cover of a box to
the shape of the upper part of a sleigh. The lower half of the same box
makes runners for the sleigh. Glue the cover to these. In cutting your
box follow the heavy lines indicated in diagram.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: THE GAME-BOARD AND RINGS FOR “RINGFLING,” A BOXCRAFT
GAME]
=Diagram Eleven.=
_A._ This is the way to draw the sections for the game-board of
“Ringfling.” Draw from corner to corner of the box upon its top. Number
one section 1. Number another 2. Number another 3. Leave one section
blank.
_B._ Cut two rings from cardboard like the one shown. Cut where the
heavy black line is in the diagram. Make one ring smaller than the
other.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:-BOARD FOR “ONE-TWO-I-CATCH-YOU”]
=Diagram Twelve.= Draw this figure upon the top of your box. Draw from
corner to corner, and from center of side to center of side, across the
top of the box. Paint sections marked _x_.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: THE MAGIC BOX]
=Diagram Thirteen.= This shows a small box with sliding cover which
draws over an inner drawer.
_A_ is the drawer. At its center, crosswise, there is a piece of stick
fitted into the box. Holes are pierced at either end of the drawer.
_B_ is the box ready for its magic play. Its drawer is replaced within
the sliding cover. The box is strung upon a yard or so of string.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here’s our last page! We say good-bye—
But we will meet some other day
To build within this Magic Land
And be good comrades in our play.
THE END
------------------------------------------------------------------------
● Transcriber’s Notes:
○ Missing or obscured punctuation was corrected.
○ Typographical errors were silently corrected.
○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only
when a predominant form was found in this book.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Jolly Book of Boxcraft, by Patten Beard