"WHAT IS MY THOUGHT LIKE?"
This is a pleasant fireside game that, without requiring any very great depth of thought, is made all the more interesting by the ready wit and natural ability of the players. Some particular thing is fixed upon by one of the company as a subject of thought. He then asks each one in turn what his thought is like. They say anything they choose; a rainbow, a waterfall, a monkey, an umbrella, or whatever may occur to them. The leader then informs the company what his thought was, asking each one in turn to draw a resemblance between it and the object fixed upon as a comparison. It not unfrequently happens that the best reply is given by one whose task appears to be the most difficult, owing to the utter dissimilarity of the two objects compared; an ingenious player being able to detect some point of resemblance between two things so totally unlike each other as to be almost ridiculous.
As instances of really clever and apt answers, take the following—
"Why is love like a canal boat?"
"Because it's an internal transport."
"Why are lovers like apples?"
"Because they are often paired."
"Why is a Scottish dance like bitter beer?"
"Because there are so many hops in it."
"Why is the best coal like true love?"
"Because it always burns with a steady flame."
"Why is a thought like the sea?"
"Because it's a notion (an ocean)."