In this game there are two sides, so that only an equal number can take part. Each player is provided with a new, shallow tin pan, the parties then separate, and stand in two lines, facing each other, about eight or ten feet apart.
The starter at the head of one of the lines fastens one end of a ball of yarn to a door-knob or chair just behind her and, putting the ball on her pan, tosses it to the player directly opposite, who endeavors to catch it on his pan, and toss it to the person on the other side, who stands next to the starter.
The third player in turn sends it back to the one standing second on the opposite side (Fig. 596).
In this order, going back and forth, the ball travels down the ranks.
When it reaches the end of the line, it is started back again, and kept going until the yarn is all unwound.
In no case may the ball be touched with the hands. When it falls to the floor, it must be lifted up with the pan by the player who drops or fails to catch it, and when the yarn fastens itself to the clothing, or becomes entwined around the body of a player, it must not be touched, no matter how much it may inconvenience the movements.
Fig. 596.—Weavers and Weft.
Great care should be taken not to break the thread, anyone doing so is counted out of the game, she cannot leave her place, however, for moving may disturb the yarn attached to others. The ends of the broken yarn must be tied together before the game is resumed.