A candlestick is placed on the floor. The players in turn jump over it, using both feet in so doing. Any other object may be substituted for the candlestick. One of the players sings the verse and when the last line is reached the jump is made.
MARY'S LITTLE LAMB
This is a great favorite with the young folks. When everything else has become tiresome, some one starts the first line of the verse:
Mary had a little lamb,
Fleece as white as snow, etc.
All sing, and on the second verse being reached the last syllable of the first line is dropped, then the next to the last, the third, the fourth, and so on, until the line is totally omitted. The aim of the singers is to keep exact time, counting a beat for each omitted syllable, and any one whose voice breaks in when all should be silent, pays a forfeit. The same can be done with "John Brown's Body," repeating the first verse and omitting syllable after syllable at the end of the first line until there is nothing left to sing but the chorus.
THE SNAIL
Holding hands, the children form a line, singing the following words; they wind up in a spiral, following the first child, who is the largest one, and represents the snail's head. The others huddle together to form the shell into which the snail creeps. The motion is slow, for the saying "creeps like a snail," is proverbial.
Hand in hand you see us well,
Creep like a snail into his shell,
Ever nearer, ever nearer,
Ever closer, ever closer.
Very snug indeed you dwell,
Snail, within your tiny shell.
Hand in hand you see us well,
Creep like a snail out of his shell,
Ever farther, ever farther,
Ever wider, ever wider,
Who'd have thought this tiny shell,
Could have held the snail so well?
With the last verse the creeping out of the shell is accomplished.