The entire party forms into a circle, standing about two feet apart; then a wheel or hoop is started around the inside of the ring, and kept going by each one giving it a gentle push with the hand, sending it to the person next in the circle. As the wheel goes around the players sing these lines, pronouncing a word as each player touches the wheel, as if counting out.
Fortune’s wheel we speed along
The while we sing our mystic song.
Bring happiness, fame, power, and wealth,
True love, long life, good friends, and health,
Success in music, poetry, art,
And with it all a merry heart
When the wheel drops at the feet of anyone as a gift of Fortune is being sung, or if they fail to strike it as it passes, or, striking, they send it into the centre of the ring instead of to their next neighbor, it denotes that Fortune will withhold that special gift from them, and they must leave the circle, for good luck has deserted them.
The game continues until only one player remains, and this person, who has succeeded in keeping the wheel moving, is Fortune’s favorite, and will possess all the gifts the mythical Goddess can bestow.
