He then imitates the cry of some animal, the 'bark' of a dog, the 'mew' of a cat, or the 'crowing' of the cock, and the children who wish to answer hold out the hand. The child who is allowed to give the name of the animal represented by the cry comes out (if the answer is correct) and makes the cry of another animal, first repeating the lines as before. The following are some of the cries that the children may be able to imitate, 'cluck, cluck' (hen), 'quacking' (duck), 'hissing' (goose), 'neighing' (horse), 'braying' (donkey), 'grunting' (pig), 'chirping' (bird) or talking like the parrot.
33. CHARADES
Preliminary.—Everyone knows how fond children are of representing ideas by action. It is for this reason that charades are recommended here. It will, of course, be necessary for the teacher to assist and suggest, but the children soon acquire confidence, and their acting, being perfectly natural, is often remarkably good.
A very simple little charade is given as an example.
The children who are to take part go out of the room for a few minutes with the teacher. We will suppose the word chosen is
Tea-cake
Act I.—The teacher is to be the 'mother' and the rest are children. The 'mother' enters and sits down; presently the children come trooping in from school and gather round her. She asks what they have been doing at school, each one tells her something about its work or play, and then one child asks, 'May we have tea, mother, please?' 'Yes,' says the mother, 'go and take off your hats and we will get it ready.' (End of Act I.)
Act II.—The tea-table is prepared (see Game No. [1], which is similar) and the children sit down to tea. (The 'guessing' children should be told to listen carefully to what is said during tea.) One child asks for the cake to be passed, another for bread and butter, and so on. (End of Act II.)
Act III.—In the last act the whole word is to be given. The children pretend to have a baker's shop (see 'Shopping Game,' No. 6), one child keeps the shop, and the rest come to buy. One asks for a loaf, another for rolls, a third buys a tea-cake, and so on.
Bricks and tablets may be used for the loaves and cakes, or they may be made in the clay-modelling lesson and kept for this game.