Snapdragon—Lady's Head and Lion's Head
The magic that turns a blossom of the large, cultivated snapdragon into a little lady's head, upon which rests a dainty, ruffled sunbonnet, or into a ferocious-looking lion's head, is the magic of pen and ink, not of rhyme.
| Fig.99 - The Snapdragon Lady's Head | Fig.100 - The Snapdragon Lion's Head. |
The blossoms of the cultivated snapdragon are very much larger than those of its wild cousin, called by some people butter-and-eggs, but the cultivated flowers grow on a stalk in the same way as the wild ones. You would hardly recognize the cultivated flowers as snapdragons because of their size and wonderful colors. A sure test is to pinch one; if it opens its mouth it is a real snapdragon; if it doesn't it is not; but you must know how to pinch it, else it may refuse to snap.
The illustration ([Fig. 98]) shows a stalk of the cultivated flower, and looking at the blossoms in that position you can see neither the lady's head nor the lion's, yet they are there.
LADY'S HEAD
Pick a blossom off its stalk, leaving the little stem attached, and turn it around until you discover the sunbonnet and see that it looks like [Fig. 99], then with pen and ink draw eyes, nose, and mouth on the part under the bonnet that is the face. This part is white, while the sunbonnet is sometimes a dainty pink and sometimes a gorgeous scarlet or orange, with deeper color on the edges.
LION'S HEAD
Turn another blossom upside down and the crown of the bonnet becomes the lower jaw and beard of the lion, while the other part is the lion's face. On the face you must make two fierce eyes like those in [Fig. 100]. When you take hold of the lion's jaws at the back and pinch them he will open his great, wide mouth as if to send out a tremendous roar, only to snap it shut again without a sound as you stop pinching. [Fig. 100] shows how to hold the flower to open the lion's mouth.
The pink snapdragon is best to use for the lady's head and the orange-colored one for the lion's. If you would rather call it a dragon's head, you can, you know, but it looks more like a lion.
CHAPTER XVI
MISS HOLLYHOCK'S GARDEN-PARTY
Fig.101 - Miss Hollyhock gives a garden party.
When Miss Hollyhock gives a garden-party the scene is a gay one. All the ladies, and you can have as many as you want, are in their freshest, crispest summer gowns. There are dainty pink ones, white, rose-colored, and deep red; there are light yellow and orange; there are gowns almost brown and others almost black, but whatever the color of the skirt the waist is always green. Green waists are the style where Miss Hollyhock lives, and she and all her friends follow the style very closely.
Fig.102 - Cut the Pistil out of the flowers.
The hats these little ladies wear to the party are of the same silky material as their skirts and are usually of the same color, though sometimes a lady in white will appear in a pink or yellow hat, or a pink lady can be seen wearing a white hat, and the lady in rose knows how well she looks in a hat that is almost black. When there are two or more gowns of the same color the hollyhock ladies prefer to have different colored hats so that they will not all look alike.
Fig.103 - This is the way to make Miss Hollyhock.
[Fig. 101] shows how Miss Hollyhock and her friends are made from the flowers of that name. When you have gathered the flowers you must cut off the stem of each close to the green calyx which is Miss Hollyhock's waist, and then cut out the pistil which grows inside the blossom. This pistil is shaped something like a little club, and is covered with the yellow grains of pollen (ask some one what pollen is). It looks like [Fig. 102]. The pollen will make the flower wilt quickly. That is why it is best to take the pistil out.
Now select a nice, round, hard, green bud for a head and leave its stem on for the neck. Turn the sharp point of your scissors around in the top of the hollyhock calyx to make a little round hole, then push the stem of the bud into the hole, screwing it round and round until the bud almost, but not quite, touches the calyx. If you push it all the way down your lady will have no neck; her head will grow directly out of her shoulders.
| Fig.104 - Miss Hollyhock's Tea Table. | Fig.105 - Teapot and cups for the Hollyhock tea table. |
Wooden toothpicks are used for legs, arms, and support, but strong broom-straws will answer as well, or straight, slender twigs. Push three toothpicks, twigs, or broom-straws up into the centre of the flower, two in front and one at the back as you see them in [Fig. 103]. The dotted lines show where they go inside the blossom. Be sure to have all three the same length so that the little lady will stand firmly. The arrows on [Fig. 103] show where to insert the arms. Cut sharp points on the broom-straws to make them slide in easily. Blunt ends will tear the flower.
With pen and ink make the eyes, nose, and mouth on the head, and use a petal of another hollyhock for a hat. Pin the hat to the top of the lady's head with a pin or short broom-straw.
A garden-party would not be complete without