Fig. 325.
First, they have no waist; that is, their body is jammed upon their thorax (Fig. 323). Next, their heads are driven into their shoulders, so to speak, so that they not only have no neck, but there is not even a line to indicate where the head ends and the thorax or chest begins.
From the quart of peanuts select one which looks most like Fig. 323. Spiders have more legs than beetles or wasps. Garden spiders have eight well-defined legs, and our Peanuticus belongs to the garden spider family. Therefore, take eight toothpicks and, bending them as before described, make eight legs. Push two legs into each side of the large part of the nut—the abdomen—inclining them backward, and two more into each side of the small part of the nut—the thorax—slanting them forward, as in Fig. 324. Make the antennæ of two black pins, bent according to Fig. 325; push the pins well into the head of the spider (Fig. 324). If you thread a fine piece of black elastic through the spider’s back, allowing a length of about a half yard, and weight the body by fastening a little flattened piece of lead or a small stone on the under part with melted sealing-wax, the Peanuticus can be made to dance up and down in the air like a natural spider running on its web. The black elastic will not be noticeable. Tie the end of the elastic on a stick; then you can hold it out from you and have a better view of the curious creature.
Pick up another peanut and see what it suggests. Imagine it with long ears. What would it look like?
A Rabbit, of Course.
Cut two ears from white paper and a tail from the same paper; paste one ear on each side of Bunny’s head and fasten the little stumpy tail in place. Then stick two short pieces of toothpicks in the nut for the front legs; bend the back legs at the centre and push the upright part into position so that the lower horizontal portion will be bent forward and rest on the ground. Ink round spots for eyes and a line partially across the front for the mouth.
Camels
are curious creatures, always carrying a little mountain on their backs, and chewing as if they had an inexhaustible supply of chewing-gum tucked away in some invisible pocket. Think of the mountain’s back when selecting a
Fig. 326.