If at first the fish insists upon turning over on his side and floating about like a dead fish, don't give him up. He is only playing 'possum. He can swim and he will if you are patient and keep setting him upright until he gains his balance and becomes used to the water. Remember to put the fish in the water, not on top.
Don't let the beans, that you have taken out of the pod when making the fish, get dry and hard. They can be turned into a
Lima-Bean Man
Three beans and several strong, straight broom-straws you will need for making this comical little fellow, who, upright and independent, stands squarely on his own feet. That is a good thing for any one to do, let alone a little bean man ([Fig. 150]).
The beans should be of different sizes. A large one for the body, next in size for the feet and a smaller one for the head. Some beans have a little point that stands out on one edge and looks like a tiny nose, while below it there is a round hollow that looks like a little open mouth. That is the kind of bean to choose for the little man's head.
The broom-straw for Mr. Bean's arms should be quite four inches long, if he is to be four inches tall. Cut one end of this broom-straw slanting to a point like E in [Fig. 151], and push the point through the upper part of the body bean and out far enough on the other side to make the arms of equal length; then bend one arm up at the middle where the elbow should be, and the other arm down as you see them in the drawing of the man ([Fig. 150]).
The broom-straws for the legs must be two and a half inches long and cut pointed at both ends, for one end of the leg is pushed into the lower part of the body bean and the other end into the half bean which is the foot. Split the foot bean in half to make two feet and push the leg straw into the rounded side. The flat side is the bottom of the foot.
Fig.152 - The beans are not taken out of the pod for the Lima Bean Pig.