Who’ll crown our queen to-day?
Who’ll crown our queen, our merry queen,
Who’ll crown our queen to-day?
When this is sung, the children stop skipping just where they are. And at once one of the boys puts his head under the rope, and, standing by the queen, replies, “I will.” Then raising a crown of wild flowers, he puts it on her head. No sooner is she crowned than she blindfolds the boy, and another girl enters, thus making two girls in the ring. The game is to “tag” the right girl before the other players count nine. When the boy “tags” the girl, he must at once say whether or not she is the queen, and if he makes a mistake he must remain in the ring and try again. The first girl withdraws, the second girl is crowned queen, and the game is repeated. But should he make no mistake, the boy remains in the ring, is crowned king, and the game goes on, only that two boys are in the ring when a girl is blindfolded.
GUESS.
A Rope Game.
Put a rope on the ground in the form of a circle; in the centre put a stone about the size of a duck’s egg. The players stand backwards around the rope, with their heels touching it. Each one in turn throws a grace-hoop over his right shoulder, with the hope it will encircle the stone. As soon as the hoop is thrown all may turn and see the position. If the hoop encircles the stone the player may try again and again, until he fails, counting one for each time. Then the party to his right tries, and so on all around the rope. Whoever has the largest count wins the game.
This game is also played facing the stone; it is then no longer a game of guess, but a game of skill.