The game finished, a prize is presented to the successful contestant. Should any of the eggs pitched by the thrower fail to light in the basket, they must be gathered up and thrown again before the runner returns, as the eggs must all be in the basket before the thrower wins the game.
“Bunching eggs” comes from Ireland, and is played in very much the same manner as the game played with a slate and pencil, and known to all children as “tit, tat, toe, three in a row.” A pan or large dish filled with sand or sawdust is set upon a table, around which the children stand, each supplied with eggs; the eggs of each player must be all of one color, and unlike those of any other player. The object of the game is for each player to so place her eggs, standing them upright in the sand, or sawdust, as to bring five in a row touching each other.
In turn each player puts down an egg, sometimes filling out a row for herself, at others cutting off the line of an opponent; and the one who first succeeds in obtaining the desired row sings out—
“The raven, chough, and crow,
Say five in a row.”
Another pretty game from Ireland called “Touch” is played in the following manner:
Six eggs of the different colors—green, red, black, blue, white, and gold are placed in a row in the sand used for the other game. One of the players is blindfolded and given a light wand or stick, with which she must touch one of the eggs, while at the same time she recites these lines:
Peggy, Patrick, Mike, and Meg,
See me touch my Easter egg;
Green, and red, and black, and blue,