Fig. 589.—The hull of the Santa Maria.
PLACE a chair against one end of the bath tub, for Spain, and another chair at the other end of the tub for America. If the chair seat is lower than the rim of the tub, build up with books until the top book is as high as the tub; then fill the bathtub more than half full of water and pretend it is the Atlantic ocean. Cut out two paper dolls, one for King Ferdinand, the other for Queen Isabella. Remember which chair is Spain, and seat the royal couple in Spain, on a throne, made of a bent piece of cardboard. Bring Columbus before the monarchs and let them bid him Godspeed; then put Columbus in his ship, the Santa Maria, with a number of sailors, and send the vessel sailing off on her voyage of discovery. Gently push the boat forward by the projecting spar at the stern, and the little craft will sail along like a real ship on a real ocean; but you must be careful not to push too hard and capsize the vessel. When the boat reaches America, have ready on the chair at that end of the bathtub, some wild Indians with their wigwams, and let Columbus and his men land, while the Indians stand gazing at them in astonishment.
Before we make the little paper people, let us build
Columbus’ Ship.
This ship is to be as nearly like the Santa Maria, the real ship in which Columbus sailed, as is possible to make of paper. Cut a piece of light-weight cardboard fifteen and three-fourths inches long and seven and one-half inches wide; on this draw the diagram of the boat ([Fig. 589]), making the greatest lengths of the diagram exactly as long and the greatest widths as wide as the cardboard. Find the lengthwise centre of the cardboard, which will be three and three-fourths inches from each long side line, as the cardboard is seven and one-half inches wide. Draw a line along the centre from end to end, to guide you in making the diagram of the boat; this central line will also be the centre of your ship. Commence drawing the bottom A—A ([Fig. 589]) at a distance of two and one-fourth inches from the end of the cardboard; the bottom must measure seven inches from its extreme front point A to the back line A, and two and three-eighths inches at its widest point from B to B. The point A of the bottom must come on the long central line, and the straight back line of the bottom A must be one and three-fourths inches across.
Columbus’ Ship Made of Paper.
Fig. 590.—This is the mizzenmast