My Book of Indoor Games Part 19

"First the farmer sows his seed, Then he stands and takes his ease, Stamps his foot and claps his hands, And turns him round to view the land.

"Oats and beans and barley O!

Waiting for a partner, waiting for a partner.

Open a ring and send one in.

Oats and beans and barley O!

"So now you're married you must obey, You must be true to all you say, You must be kind, you must be good, And help your wife to chop the wood.

Oats and beans and barley O!"

BINGO

"The miller's dog lay at the mill, And his name was little Bingo, B with an I, I with an N, N with a G, G with an O, His name was little Bingo.

"The miller he bought some peppermint, And he called it right good Stingo, S with a T, T with an I, I with an N, N with a G, G with an O, He called it right good Stingo."

One child represents the miller, the rest stand round him in a circle, and all dance round and sing the verses. When it comes to the spelling part of the rhyme, the miller points to a child, who must call out the right letter.

Any one who makes a mistake must pay a forfeit.

LUBIN LOO

This game can be played by any number of children. The players form a ring by clasping hands; they then dance round singing the first verse, which after the second verse serves as a chorus.

"Here we dance lubin, loo, Here we dance lubin, light, Here we dance lubin, loo, On a Sat.u.r.day night."

While singing the second verse, the children stop, unclasp their hands and suit their actions to the words contained in the verse.

"I put my right hand in, I put my right hand out, I give my right hand shake, shake, shake, And turn myself about."

Each child while singing this first stretches her right arm toward the center of the ring, then draws the same arm back as far as possible, next shakes or swings her right hand, and when the last line is sung she turns right round. The children then once more join hands, and commence dancing, at the same time singing the chorus. The game proceeds as before until all the verses have been sung. Here are the remaining verses:

"Here we dance the lubin, loo, Here we dance lubin, light, Here we dance lubin, loo, On a Sat.u.r.day night.

"I put my left hand in, I put my left hand out, I give my left hand shake, shake, shake, And turn myself about."

Chorus.

"Here we dance lubin, loo," etc.

"I put my right foot in, I put my right foot out, I give my right foot shake, shake, shake, And turn myself about."

Chorus.

"Here we dance lubin, loo," etc.

"I put my left foot in, I put my left foot out, I give my left foot shake, shake, shake, And turn myself about."

Chorus.

"Here we dance lubin, loo," etc.

"I put my own head in, I put my own head out, I give my own head shake, shake, shake, And turn myself about."

Chorus.

"Here we dance lubin, loo," etc.

"I put my both hands in, I put my both hands out, I give my both hands shake, shake, shake, And turn myself about."

Chorus.

"Here we dance lubin, loo," etc.

"I put my both feet in, I put my both feet out, I give my both feet shake, shake, shake, And turn myself about."

Chorus.

"Here we dance lubin, loo," etc.

THE LITTLE LADY

For this game a number of pieces of rolled-up paper to represent horns are required. Whoever makes a mistake in the game has a horn stuck in her hair; or, if little boys are playing, the horns might be stuck behind the ears.

The leader of the game begins by saying to her right hand neighbor: "Good morning, pretty lady, always pretty; I, a pretty lady, always pretty, come from that pretty lady, always pretty" (here she points to the girl on her left), "to tell you that she owns an eagle with a golden beak."

The next player turns to her right-hand neighbor, saying: "Good morning, pretty lady, always pretty; I, a pretty lady, always pretty, come from that pretty lady, always pretty" (here she points to the last speaker), "to tell you that she owns an eagle with a golden beak and silver claws."

The next girl continues the story word for word, adding "a rare skin."

The next adds "diamond eyes," and the next "purple feathers." If there are a great number of children, other charms must be added to the eagle, but each child must say the whole of the story, and for each mistake made she receives a paper horn, which must be stuck somewhere about the head. At the end of the game a forfeit must be paid for each of these horns.

"BIRDS FLY"

This is a very simple game. Each player places a finger on the table, which he must-raise whenever the conductor of the game says: "Birds fly," "Pigeons fly," or any other winged creates "fly."