Birds of Maple-Tree Seed-Vessels
Fig.118 - Maple seed vessel used as bird wings
You see it is not only the seed-vessels of flowers that can be turned into playthings. The trees also furnish abundant material for toys.
Fig.119 - Maple seed vessel bird.
Gather the winged seed-vessels that fall from the maple-trees, [Fig. 118] is a maple seed-vessel, and let us sit on the dry, sun-warmed grass and turn them into odd little birds like [Fig. 119]. These birds are very near the size of our ruby-throated humming-birds, a trifle larger perhaps, but they do not in the least resemble the beautiful, jewel-colored, long-beaked wild bird, either in looks or habits. However, they are nice, tame, quiet little birds and never object to being handled, played with, and placed on any bush or low tree where you may happen to want to put them. You cannot say that of the humming-bird, can you?
You will need two seed-vessels for each bird. Divide one through the centre, separating the two wings, and use one of these wings for the body of the bird, as you see in the diagram [Fig. 120]. Clip off the two corners of the square end where the arrows point to shape it like a bird's head, then carefully bend up the seed-vessel pair of wings, and fit the body down in between them, resting it on the centre part that holds the wings together. One or two stitches with needle and thread, passed through wings and body, will keep them close and secure.
Fig.120 - Bird's body.
When your bird is finished ([Fig. 119]), thread a needle with black thread, tie a good-sized knot in the end of the thread, and push the needle from underneath up through the back of the bird where it will come out between the wings. Draw the knot up close to the body and tie the other end of the thread to a low branch of a tree. When you stand off a little distance you cannot see the thread and your bird will seem to be hovering in mid-air. A gentle breeze will stir the bird and make it look as if flying. If there is no breeze, you can blow on it, or fan it until the little thing flutters about almost as if alive.
Be careful to string the thread through the bird at a place that will make it evenly balanced.
CHAPTER XIX
BUCKEYE HORSE AND BUCKEYE RIDER
All children love the clean, glossy, brown horse-chestnuts or buckeyes. There are so many buckeye-trees in Ohio that it is called the Buckeye State, and many villages of Long Island are full of them. They are used for shade-trees and often line the streets, where they send down showers of their nuts, pretty but not good to eat. Everywhere the children gather basketfuls and take them home to play with, and in other Beard books we have told of some things that can be made of buckeyes, but the buckeye horse and rider which you see here have just arrived.
He is a very remarkable-looking horse with his funny round head and stiff legs and tail, though not more remarkable than the little man who rides him. Both are made simply of buckeyes and slender twigs. The head and body of the horse and of the man are buckeyes. The neck, ears, tail, and legs of the horse are smooth, straight twigs; the neck, arms, and legs of the man are also twigs.