It was not long before they found that the stems that peeled the most easily were the ones that the children had pounded.
So they all picked up hammer stones and pounded the large stems.
At first each hammered to suit herself, but soon they learned to strike together.
It was easier for them all when they worked in the same time.
People who have made splints for baskets since then have worked in the same time.
Sometimes they keep time by calls and sometimes they use rhymes.
“At first each hammered to suit herself”
Perhaps you have heard a bark-beater’s rhyme, or have a rhyme yourself.