The "Deer,"
who, stepping directly in front of the others, calls "Ready," when the group standing still immediately sings to the air of "Yankee Doodle,"
"My heart is in the Highlands,
My heart isn't here.
My heart is in the Highlands,
Chasing the deer."
At the word "ready" the "deer" starts to run, and as the pursuers cannot follow until the song is ended, the "deer" has time to get a certain distance ahead before the others give chase; this they do as they sing the last word in the verse. The "deer" runs a short distance, circles around and returns to the starting-point, or "home" as it is called, the followers endeavoring to catch him before he reaches his goal.
After resting from this game bring the rope from its hiding-place in the wagon, also the long board stowed away flat against the side of the vehicle, and in less time than you imagine the rope can be securely fastened on a strong branch of a tree to serve as
A Swing,
while the board may be used for a "Teeter-tarter"; balance the plank across a log or the lower bars of a fence; then when two players take their seats at the ends of the board, if it is properly adjusted, they will rise and sink alternately as the ends move up and down, keeping time as the players sing:
"Teeter-tarter, bread and water,
Come and see the pretty daughter."
"See-saw, Margery Daw,
Came to town to study law."
If the players are of unequal weight, the heavier one shortens his half of the plank by shoving it along farther across the fence or log, preserving in this way the equilibrium. To start the "Teeter-tarter" one of the players should give a slight spring upward with the feet while retaining his sitting posture on the board.
Prepare