*

HOT BOILED BEANS AND VERY GOOD

BUTTER.

All

S a very familiar game with little people.
but one of the party leave the room. The one

who remains hides some little article which has
been agreed upon. She then commences singing,

"Hot boiled beans and very good butter,

Come, good people, come to supper."

On hearing which invitation they run in and commence searching in all directions, the hider saying, as they approach nearer or recede further from the object that they are "hot" or cold." Thus, "Oh, Charlotte! you are so hot; oh, you are getting hotter; you are burning. John, you are freezing, now you are a little hotter. Charlotte, you are getting quite cold again. Ellen, you are so warm; you'll be burnt presently."

Or the players divide in equal numbers.

One party go

out and the others remain in. When one of the seekers has found the hidden object, it is the turn of her party to remain in and the others to go out.

M

"I SPY HI!"

AY be played in a garden or a room. The players divide in equal numbers, making two parties. One of these, who is voted "out," go away, turning their heads, crouching down, and hiding faces, or leaving the room, so as not to see the operations of the others, who then hide in different places as completely as possible; in a garden, behind trees, shrubs, bushes, or in the summer house; in a room, under tables, behind curtains, sofas, &c. When all are ready one cries "Whoop!" Immediately the invaders enter cautiously. As soon as any one's hiding-place is discovered, the juvenile detective cries out, I spy hi!" and away they all scamper, the whole party rushing out upon them in pursuit. The ground, whether in a room or garden, has been previously divided into two territories; and if the hiders, when they make their sally, can succeed in capturing any of the invading party, he or she has a right to remain "in" and hide again, a privilege valuable in the eyes of a juvenile band.

Another way of playing the game, is that one goes out of the room, or covers her eyes whilst the rest hide. On hearing the cry of "Whoop!" she comes in, looking about. As soon as she perceives any one, she cries out, "I see Eva," or "I see Annie." The person named must immediately start out and run for "home" (a certain spot in the playground decided on by general consent). If she is caught before she gets home she must take the place of the seeker. If not, the search continues, till some one at last falls into the hands of the invader.

*

A

HUNT THE SLIPPER.

LL the players seat themselves in a circle on the ground, as cobblers, except one, who personates the owner of the slipper. Some one lends the necessary slipper. The object of the circle is to hide and pass the slipper so as to deceive the vigilance of the owner, whose business it is to catch one of them with the identical shoe in his or her possession. The owner stands outside the ring, and comes up to one who appears the chief cobbler, and asks him if he can mend a hole in the slipper for him.

"Certainly, Sir," replies the cobbler.

"And what will you charge me?"

"Oh, not much, Sir; we will do it for sixpence."
"Well, I want it particularly to-morrow morning."

"You shall have it, Sir, without fail." "Here, Bill," adds the cobbler, "be sure you get the slipper mended in good time."

Presently the owner returns, supposing it to be time the slipper is done, and asks for it.

The cobbler makes an excuse.

"He is very sorry, it is

not quite finished; it shall be ready without fail in an hour's time."

So on he puts off his customer, who at last gets impatient,

L

HUNT THE SLIPPER.

and insists on having the shoe. Bill for it.

Then the cobbler asks

"I hav'n't got it," says Bill, "I gave it to Joe," and audaciously throws it across the circle to another cobbler.

"I have not got it," says Joe, "it is John who took it," and he throws it to a third.

The owner runs from one to the other round the circle. The cobblers now secrete the slipper and mysteriously circulate it. The owner goes from one to another accusing them of having the slipper. Each, of course, is obliged to pass it dexterously to another, to be able to deny its possession. When it can be done with impunity, some audacious player taps it on the floor in the centre of the ring, and presently another taps it outside at the opposite end, just as the poor owner has run across the room hoping to catch the thief. Sometimes it is even flung in the air right across the circle. Whoever is finally caught with the slipper in hand leaves the cobblers, and has to hunt the slipper in her turn.

THE FERRET

Sa similar game. A ribbon or string is passed fron hand to hand round a circle of girls, the

ring slung on it. The ring, of course, is brought to be mended, in the same manner as the slipper, and when it is wanted, is passed from one to another, each girl in turn concealing it in her hand. Each one as it comes into her hand, is obliged to cry out "Ferret, ferret!" the pursuer running from one to another, just too late to secure it, till at last a lucky chance enables her to catch the culprit and take her seat.

"WHERE IS THE FAIR PRINCESS?"

WO little girls are selected to personate "the fair princess" and "the bold king." The remainder kneel down in a circle, and the fair princess

kneels in the centre with a handkerchief on her head which is "the tower." The bold king advances to the circle, singing "Where is the fair princess? where is the fair princess?" The princess replies, "She is shut up in the tower." "Can not I come in?" asks the king. The stones, which are represented by the circle, reply in chorus, "No, not till you carry away the tower." The king retorts, "Won't it do to take away one stone?" and he takes away one of the circle. The stones answer, 66 No, you must have

the whole tower."