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 STICK-A 
 PLAYS • 
 
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 STUART PRATT 
 
 
 
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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 The Library of Congress 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/stickandpeaplaysOOprat 
 
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 AT PLAY WITH STICKS AND PEAS, 
 
STICK-AND-PEA PLAYS 
 
 Pastimes for the Children's Year 
 
 by r 
 
 CHARLES STUART PRATT 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 " BUZ-BUZ," " LITTLE PETERKIN VANDIKE," 
 
 " BYE-O-BABY BALLADS," " BABY'S LULLABY BOOK," 
 
 ETC. 
 
 Seventy working designs by the Author, 
 
 together with other illustrations, 
 
 drawn by H. P. Barnes 
 
 BOSTON 
 LOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
QVI2.o$ 
 7P3\ 
 
 38453 
 
 Copyright, i8qq, 
 
 BY 
 
 Lothrop Publishing Company. 
 
 fWOCOPIFS SSCSIVEO. 
 
 CCoIontal ^nss : 
 
 Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co. 
 
 goston, U. S. A. 
 
 
To 
 
 the readers 6f u Buz-Buz" 
 
 and to 
 
 all my. friends among the children, 
 
 I dedicate 
 
 this book of plays. 
 
 C. S. P. 
 
. . . the wise educator . . . devotes the first years of educa- 
 tion to training in construction and to object teaching. 
 
 Professor William James. 
 
NOTE. 
 
 ( To Parents and Teachers^ 
 
 WHAT sort of play is the best sort of house- 
 play for the child ? 
 
 If I could ask the mothers and fathers and 
 teachers who think about such things, I should 
 expect a reply somewhat like this : The best sort 
 of house-play for the child is a play the child takes 
 to naturally ; a play the child can play largely by 
 itself ; a play that calls out the child's activities, 
 trains the hand, educates the eye, exercises the 
 judgment, stirs the imagination — and gives pleas- 
 ure all the while ; a play that yields something to 
 take, to hold, to keep, to use ; a play that leads 
 readily to talks, and stories, and songs, with a 
 beautiful lesson at the heart of them. 
 
 Perhaps the first play-instinct of the child, when 
 the little brain begins to think and the little hands 
 to do, is in the making of mimic objects and the 
 make-believe use of them. But the child is not 
 merely imitative. The child is a Robinson Crusoe 
 and a " Swiss Family Robinson " all in one. The 
 child adapts the thing at hand to the need of the 
 moment, to any end desired. The child is inventive 
 
Vi NOTE. 
 
 and creative. The child's quick imagination makes 
 the play-object more real to itself than the real 
 object is to the adult. 
 
 Some time ago, I had occasion to devise a series 
 of easy amusements for children — plays, house-plays, 
 which should be educational pastimes as well as enter- 
 taining occupations. With the above considerations 
 in view, Froebel's " Nineteenth Gift " (the ninth of 
 the "Occupations") — that of sticks and peas' — 
 was chosen as a promising point of departure. 
 
 In developing the stick-and-pea motive, I worked 
 along picturesque lines, largely with familiar objects 
 which appeal to both the practical and the play 
 instincts of the child. It seemed evident that in 
 making these varied and picturesque play-objects — 
 objects which mean something, which have part in 
 the activities of life, as children know life — there 
 would be the same good results as come from con- 
 structing triangles and squares or prisms and cubes, 
 along with others as good. It seemed evident that 
 there would be the same manual training; a like 
 education of eye and exercise of judgment, in exact 
 measuring and cutting, in proper fitting together ; a 
 building of things as lasting, more usable, and so 
 more interesting ; a larger development of the imag- 
 ination, especially along ways of inquiry, invention, 
 and practical application ; and that, withal, making 
 the work attractive and the education unconscious, 
 there would be the pleasure-giving of real play. 
 
NOTE. vii 
 
 The reception of these plays during their magazine 
 publication goes to support this position. 
 
 By experiments and observations on the part of 
 the child, described in the opening paragraphs of 
 Parts II. to VII., and illustrated in the initial pic- 
 tures, I have endeavored to make vivid the succes- 
 sive stages in the life-history of the pea — and so, 
 really, in the life-history of all " green things grow- 
 ing." Along with the working directions, too, and 
 the intentionally informing passages, I have, in a 
 spirit of playful comradery with the child, thrown 
 in many hints to open up fresh possibilities of 
 pleasure in the objects made. 
 
 This little book, which has resulted from the 
 magazine series of stick-and-pea plays, is designed 
 primarily for the home, as a handy help to mothers 
 and fathers in amusing their nursery folk — and a 
 still handier help to children in amusing themselves. 
 Should it also find a place in kindergartens and 
 schools for little children, I shall be the more 
 gratified. 
 
 For convenience of grouping, I have arranged the 
 plays to follow in a measure the cycle of the child's 
 year — with special reference to holidays — though 
 obviously the plays thus grouped for a particular 
 month may be played in any month, or in all months. 
 
 The illustrations showing objects as made of 
 sticks and peas are referred to in the working 
 directions as " pictures." Others, showing minor 
 
viii NOTE. 
 
 objects or parts of the more complex objects rather 
 as diagrams, by single lines and black spots, are 
 referred to as " plans." 
 
 When the children have mastered the making of 
 the simpler objects here pictured and described, 
 they should be encouraged to work independently 
 — to make other simple objects " all by themselves." 
 A good way is first to make a pencil drawing of the 
 object, in dots and lines, and then build it of sticks 
 and peas. . The drawing obliges the child to see all 
 parts of the object, and to observe and judge of the 
 lengths and directions of the parts. The building 
 is then comparatively easy. 
 
 Parents and teachers may make the plays the 
 occasion for little talks and little lessons. The 
 stick-and-pea objects will suggest the topics. They 
 will find many hints to this end also in books on 
 Froebel's " Gifts " and " Occupations " — notably in 
 that admirable exposition of the kindergarten sys- 
 tem, " The Republic of Childhood," by Kate Doug- 
 lass Wiggin and Nora Archibald Smith. These 
 authors mention, for instance, the reading of nature- 
 stories while the child is observing the growth of 
 the pea — such as George Macdonald's " Story of 
 the Seeds " in " David Elginbrod," and the chapter 
 on "Treasure-Boxes " in Jane Andrews' " The Story 
 Mother Nature Told," and Hans Andersen's tale 
 of " Five Peas in a Pod." 
 
 C. S. P. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PART I. 
 Plays for January 17 
 
 PART II. 
 Plays for February 23 
 
 PART III. 
 Plays for March 29 
 
 PART IV. 
 Plays for April 34 
 
 PART V. 
 Plays for May 40 
 
 PART VI. 
 Plays for June 47 
 
 PART VII. 
 Plays for July 52 
 
 PART VIII. 
 
 Plays for August 58 
 
 ix 
 
x CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 PART IX. 
 Plays for September 67 
 
 PART X. 
 Plays for October 84 
 
 PART XI. 
 Plays for November . . . . . 97 
 
 PART XII. 
 PlAys for December 106 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 At play with sticks and peas . Frontispiece 
 Vignette — " Soaked peas and little sticks " 1 6 
 Initial — Express-wagon 
 a drum-stick 
 
 a pair of dumb-bells 
 The box-bottom 
 Ready for the top 
 The box complete . 
 The stick-and-pea cart 
 One side of cart made " solid ' 
 Initial — Kinds of peas 
 The heart-and-arrow 
 The hatchet 
 The cherry-tree 
 Plan of cherries 
 Initial — Root-sprouts 
 The snow-shovel 
 The hockey-stick 
 The sled . 
 
 Top of sled made " solid " 
 Initial — Top-sprouts 
 The straight-line letter A 
 xi 
 
 17 
 
 17 
 iS 
 18 
 19 
 19 
 20 
 22 
 
 23 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 27 
 28 
 29 
 30 
 31 
 32 
 33 
 34 
 35 
 
Ill ustra tions. 
 
 The curved-line letter O . . . .36 
 The name Mary, in stick-and-pea letters . 37 
 The name John, in stick-and-pea letters . 37 
 Plan of stick-and-pea alphabet ... 38 
 
 Initial — Pea-blossom 40 
 
 The hoe 42 
 
 The Rake 44 
 
 The wheelbarrow . . . . . . 45 
 
 Initial — Pea-pods ...... 47 
 
 The straight-line figure 4 . . . .48 
 
 The curved-line figure 6 . . . .49 
 
 Plan of stick-and-pea numerals ... 50 
 The year Columbus discovered America . 50 
 The year of Independence . . . .51 
 
 Initial — Ripe peas 52 
 
 The tent . . 53 
 
 The Bunker Hill sword .... 54 
 The flag and the flag-pole . . .55 
 
 Plan of soldiers' camp 56 
 
 Initial — Pea-marbles 58 
 
 Plan of box part of house .... 58 
 
 The plain easy house 59 
 
 Plan of house with door and windows . 61 
 
 Plan of end of house 62 
 
 Plan of three-rail fence .... 63 
 
 The gate 64 
 
 The croquet set 65 
 
 Initial — Stool 67 
 
 The plainest chair 68 
 
ILL US TRA TIONS. xiii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The dining-room chair 69 
 
 Plan of parlor chair 70 
 
 Plan of arm-chair and rocking-chair . 71 
 
 The small table 72 
 
 Table for dining-room or library . . 74 
 
 Plan of hat-tree 75 
 
 The sofa 77 
 
 Plan of easel ....... 78 
 
 Plan of box part of dressing-case . . 79 
 
 The dressing-case 80 
 
 The bed 82 
 
 Initial — Boat-hook and anchor 84 
 
 Plan of box part of hull .... 85 
 Plan of hull complete . . . .85 
 
 The yacht 87 
 
 Plan of row-boat 90 
 
 Plan of wheel-rim 91 
 
 The bicycle 92 
 
 Plan of saddle 94 
 
 The pedals 95 
 
 The forked frame 96 
 
 Initial — Pumpkin 97 
 
 Plan of stick-and-pea motto for Thanks- 
 giving 98 
 
 The carving-knife and fork ... 99 
 
 The piece of pumpkin pie . . . .100 
 The two turkeys that ran away . .102 
 
 The wish-bone 104 
 
 Initial — Tip of Christmas-tree . . .106 
 
ILL USTRA TIONS. 
 
 Plan of easy star .... 
 The " beautiful Bethlehem Star " 
 Plan of box part of cradle 
 Plan of rocker 
 
 The Christ-cradle .... 
 The Christmas-tree 
 
 i 06 
 
 ioy 
 108 
 108 
 109 
 in 
 
STICK-AND-PEA PLAYS 
 
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 m 
 
 m 
 
 m ^^tsS 
 
STICK-AND-PEA PLAYS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 PLAYS FOR JANUARY. 
 
 VERY child likes to make 
 things. An easy way is 
 to make them of peas 
 and little sticks. A pint 
 of peas and a handful of 
 sticks will make many 
 
 objects — and give a whole bushel of 
 
 pleasure in the nursery. 
 
 Green peas can be used in their season. 
 
 Dry peas can be used all 
 
 the year. Soak the dry 
 
 peas in water over night, 
 
 and dry them for an hour before using. 
 
 They will then be so soft that the sticks 
 17 
 
 A DRUM-STICK. 
 
I 8 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 can be stuck into them easily, yet firm 
 enough to hold the sticks in place. 
 
 The sticks 
 should be slender, 
 about the size of 
 a stout knitting- 
 
 A PAIR OF DUMB-BELLS. ,, ^ , 
 
 needle. Round 
 sticks are best, and they should be pointed 
 with a penknife. If the sticks prepared 
 for kindergarten use cannot be had, any 
 slender sticks will do — I have seen very 
 cunning things made with common 
 wooden toothpicks. 
 
 A stick with a pea on one end makes a 
 hammer, a cane, 
 or a drum-stick. 
 
 A short stick 
 with a pea on 
 each end makes a 
 dumb-bell. A pair of dumb-bells, with 
 the ends joined by two other sticks, make 
 a square — or the bottom of a box, 
 
 THE BOX-BOTTOM. 
 
PLAYS FOR JANUARY. 
 
 19 
 
 If you wish to make a box, stick four 
 pointed sticks, upright, into the four peas 
 at the corners of the box-bottom. Make 
 the top like the bottom, place it on the 
 four upright sticks, and press down the 
 four peas of the top until the pointed 
 
 READY FOR THE TOP. 
 
 THE BOX COMPLETE. 
 
 uprights stick into them. This com- 
 pletes the box, as shown in the picture. 
 
 Work at these little boxes until you 
 can make them easily. Make small boxes 
 and large boxes, square boxes and oblong 
 boxes, deep boxes and shallow boxes. 
 
 Be very careful in measuring, and cut 
 your sticks just the right length. Be very 
 
20 
 
 STICK-AND-PEA PLAYS. 
 
 careful, too, in sharpening the points of 
 the sticks, for a smooth round point can 
 be thrust into a pea more easily than a 
 rough irregular point, and with less dan- 
 ger of splitting the pea. 
 
 The box is the beginning of many 
 objects — carts, wheelbarrows, houses. 
 
 THE STICK-AND-PEA CART. 
 
 If you want a little cart, make first an 
 oblono- box. Let the end-sticks of the 
 bottom extend through the peas a quarter 
 inch. On these four ends slip four 
 button-molds, or circles of cardboard, for 
 wheels. Outside the wheels, on the tips 
 of the sticks, put small peas, to keep the 
 
PL A YS FOR JANUARY. 2 1 
 
 wheels on. When you make the box, slip 
 a pea to the middle of one bottom end- 
 stick. This middle pea is to hold a long 
 stick for the handle. You can put a 
 small pea on the end of the handle, with 
 a little bar through it, as in the picture. 
 
 A cart with a long handle is the kind 
 of cart for a boy to draw about, with all 
 sorts of loads — from stones to little 
 sisters! But if you wish to make a cart 
 for a horse to draw, you do not set a long 
 stick into a pea on the middle of the 
 lower end-stick. Instead, you have a 
 pea near each end, and set a stick into 
 each pea. These two sticks form the 
 shafts — and if you have a tiny toy horse 
 you can harness him in with a string, and 
 snap a whip, and trot away to Make- 
 believe Land. 
 
 You can make several kinds of carts, 
 simply by making several kinds of boxes 
 to start with. A shallow box gives an 
 
22 
 
 STICK-AND-PEA PLAVS. 
 
 express-wagon, like that in the initial 
 picture. A short high box gives a city 
 coal-cart. A very long box gives a 
 country hay-cart. 
 
 You can also fill in the bottom, sides, 
 and ends, of your cart, as shown by the 
 dotted sticks and peas in the picture of 
 one side, and so make them "solid" 
 instead of " open." Then your cart will 
 hold things — a load of peas, if you like. 
 
 < W.:ti::ivmv.v:ttt'.:r:j:vj:sr( 
 
 ONE SIDE OF CART 
 MADE " SOLID." 
 
PART II. 
 
 PLAYS FOR FEBRUARY. 
 
 j, ^ ^ HE home country of the 
 
 pea is thought to be 
 
 q^. Greece, in the south of 
 
 Europe. It was common 
 
 in the gardens of the 
 
 East lonor before the first 
 
 Christmas Day in Bethlehem. To-day 
 
 the pea is grown in gardens all over the 
 
 world. 
 
 There are now many kinds of garden 
 peas, large and small, wrinkled and smooth, 
 irregular and round. The smooth round 
 peas make the best pea-work. 
 
 When you get a pretty lace-paper valen- 
 tine, with its hearts and arrows and doves 
 and cupids, on February 14th, you will 
 2 3 
 
24 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 like to make a heart-and-arrow with your 
 soaked peas and little pointed sticks. 
 This is the way. Take six short sticks, 
 
 two longer 
 sticks, and 
 eight peas, 
 ' and put them 
 together for 
 the heart, as 
 in the pic- 
 
 THE HEART-AND-ARROW. ^^ j^ 
 
 take a long stick for the arrow. Put a 
 pea on one end for the head, and into 
 this pea thrust two very short sticks, 
 with small peas on the ends, for the 
 barbs. Then thrust the other end of 
 the arrow-stick through one of the side 
 peas of the heart, so it will slant across 
 the heart as in the picture. On this end 
 of the arrow-stick slip three small peas, 
 close together, and into these peas stick 
 six very short sticks for the feathers. 
 
PLAYS FOR FEBRUARY. 2$ 
 
 You can make the heart-and-arrow be- 
 fore St. Valentine's Day, if you like, and 
 put it in a tiny box, and give it to some 
 little friend for a valentine. 
 
 On February 2 2d, the birthday of Wash- 
 ington, the Father of his Country, when 
 papa tells you the hatchet story, about the 
 little boy Washington and his father and 
 his father's cherry-tree, you will want to 
 make a hatchet, a cherry-tree, and maybe 
 a bunch of cherries. 
 
 The hatchet is quite easy. Take a 
 
 THE HATCHET. 
 
 long stout stick for the handle, and slip 
 two peas on one end, a little apart. Then, 
 with five short sticks and three more peas, 
 make the blade and head of the hatchet, 
 
26 STICK- AND- PEA PLAYS. 
 
 as in the picture. Finish the hatchet with 
 a pea at the end of the handle. 
 
 Young cherry-trees grow tall and slim, 
 so for the trunk of your tiny Washington 
 cherry-tree take a long stick. On the 
 lower end press a large pea. Into the 
 sides of this large pea thrust three sticks, 
 equally distant from each other, and on 
 the end of each slip a pea. You can call 
 these three sticks the roots, and they will 
 hold your make-believe tree upright, as 
 real roots hold upright a real tree. Next, 
 slip three peas on the trunk of the tree ; 
 push one down toward the bottom, the 
 second only a little way, and leave the 
 third, a small one, at the very top. Into 
 the lower pea on the trunk set two sticks 
 for the lower pair of branches, and into 
 the pea above set shorter sticks for the 
 upper pair of branches. Both pairs of 
 branches should slant up sharply. The 
 upper pair should be set at right angles to 
 
FLAYS FOR FEBRUARY. 
 
 2 7 
 
 the lower pair. All four branches should 
 
 have peas at the tips. Last of all, into 
 
 the pea at the 
 
 end of each lower 
 
 branch set two 
 
 short branches 
 
 with small peas at 
 
 their tips, as in the 
 
 picture — and your 
 
 cherry-tree will be 
 
 complete. 
 
 A pretty bunch 
 of cherries is made 
 in this way. Slip 
 a stout stick, or 
 two slim sticks side 
 by side, through a 
 big pea, for the 
 twig. In the top of 
 the big pea insert 
 two or three leaves. To make a leaf, take 
 a slim stick, make a sharp bend in the 
 
 THE CHERRY-TREE. 
 
28 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 centre, and a slight bend in the middle of 
 each half; then bring the two ends to- 
 gether and thrust them into the pea, as in 
 the " plan " of cherries. Wet the stick 
 before bending, and bend carefully, so as 
 not to break it apart. Unless the wood is 
 very tough, it is best to cut V-shaped 
 notches -at the three bending-places. 
 Next, insert five sticks in the bottom of 
 the big pea, for the stems of the cherries ; 
 then slip five peas on the ends of the 
 stems, for the cherries themselves. 
 
 Red checkerberries are better than peas 
 for the cherries, for they are the color of 
 cherries — and, besides, you can pick and 
 eat the checkerberry cherries. 
 
 PLAN OF CHERRIES. 
 
PART III. 
 
 PLAYS FOR MARCH. 
 
 ITTLE people who are 
 
 making play-objects with 
 
 soaked peas and small 
 
 <^pX— _J^ sticks will like to see 
 
 <sJ0 how peas grow. 
 
 This is the way to set 
 about it. Cut a circle of cotton wadding, 
 and let it float on the surface of a glass 
 of water. On the wet cotton scatter a 
 few peas. Also plant a few in a flower- 
 pot. Place the glass and the flower-pot 
 in a sunny window. Give the earth in 
 the flower-pot water as well as sunshine. 
 
 The peas on the wet cotton will swell 
 very fast. In a few days they will begin 
 
 to sprout. The first sprout will be smooth 
 29 
 
30 
 
 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 and white. This sprout is the beginning 
 of the root of a new pea-plant. 
 
 Next — watch for the sec- 
 ond sprout! 
 
 Some wintry day in March 
 you will like to make, for 
 pea-work, a snow-shovel, a 
 hockey-stick, and a sled. 
 
 For the shovel, take three 
 short sticks, and two a little 
 longer, the long ones for the 
 sides. On one end of each 
 side-stick slip two peas, on 
 the other end one pea. Slip 
 a pea to the middle of two 
 of the short sticks. These 
 two sticks form the top and 
 the cross-piece just below, as in the 
 picture. The plain stick forms the bot- 
 tom. Now, for the handle, take quite a 
 long stick, and thrust it through the 
 middle pea at the top, into the middle pea 
 
 THE SNOW- 
 SHOVEL. 
 
 h 
 
PLAYS FOR MARCH. 3 I 
 
 of the cross-piece. Put a pea on the end 
 
 of the handle ; through this pea thrust a 
 
 very short stick, and slip a pea on each 
 
 end of it. And, behold, you have a 
 
 pretty play-shovel, to dig paths through 
 
 the deepest drifts of play- 
 er 
 snow. 
 
 The hockey-stick is very 
 easy — a long stick with a 
 pea at each end, and two 
 short sticks and two more 
 peas for the crook at the 
 lower end. Only, be careful 
 to set the short sticks at 
 just the right slant to make 
 a good curve. 
 
 In building the sled, make 
 
 first the top, with two long the hockey- 
 stick. 
 sticks, two short sticks, and 
 
 four peas. Two more long sticks, with 
 peas at the ends, form the runners. Con- 
 nect the runners with the top by four very 
 
32 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 short upright sticks. You now have the 
 top and sides of the sled. The pointed 
 ends, at the back and the front, are each 
 made of two sticks and one pea, as shown 
 
 THE SLED. 
 
 in the picture. If you like, you can let 
 the runner-sticks extend beyond the back 
 upright sticks far enough to form the 
 bottom-sticks of the back ends. The front 
 ends must slant upward, and the peas at 
 their points must be connected by a stick. 
 To this stick tie the ends of a cord to draw 
 the sled by. 
 
 Perhaps you would rather have a sled 
 with a solid top, on which you can really 
 draw things. If so, when you are building 
 
PLAYS FOR MARCH. 33 
 
 it, slip peas all along on the end-sticks of 
 the top, and then connect these peas by 
 sticks like the side-sticks — as shown by 
 the dotted peas and dotted sticks in the 
 picture of the sled-top,, 
 
 On a sled like this you can tie a tiny 
 doll-boy coaster, and let him slide down 
 hill. With a smooth board, or even a 
 large geography, you can make a hill as 
 steep as you like. 
 
 TOP OF SLED MADE " SOLID.' 
 
PART IV. 
 
 PLAYS FOR APRIL. 
 
 HEN the smooth white 
 root-sprout from a pea 
 on the wet cotton is 
 well started, the pea 
 will split open. Then, 
 if you watch, you will 
 see another sprout appear. The new 
 sprout will be rough and green, and will 
 grow upward. This second sprout is the 
 beginning of the top, or stalk, of the pea- 
 plant. The little points along it will 
 soon grow into green leaves. When 
 the green leaves appear, the white root- 
 sprout will begin to send out white root- 
 lets along its sides, like branches along 
 the trunk of a tree. 
 
 34 
 
PLAYS FOR APRIL. 35 
 
 But — do not yet stop watching the 
 pea-plant. 
 
 When big brother and sister go off 
 to school, the little people in the nur- 
 sery will find it good fun to make the 
 letters of the alphabet with their sticks 
 and soaked peas. 
 
 If you look at the twenty-six letters of 
 the alphabet, one by one, you will see 
 there are two kinds of letters — straight- 
 line letters, and curved-line letters. There 
 are fifteen straight-line 
 letters, and eleven curved- 
 line letters. 
 
 The first letter of the 
 alphabet, A, is a straight- 
 line letter. To make an 
 
 A . 1 . . . i r THE STRAIGHT-LINE 
 
 A, take two sticks ot letter a. 
 
 equal length, and one 
 about half as long, and five peas. Put 
 a pea in the middle, and also on one 
 end, of each long stick. Thrust the other 
 
36 
 
 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 end of each into the fifth pea, connect 
 the two middle peas by the short stick 
 — and you will have the first letter of 
 the alphabet. 
 
 Some of the curved-line letters are all 
 curves, like C and O ; others are partly 
 curves and partly straight 
 lines, like P and R. 
 
 To make an O, take eight 
 short sticks and eight peas, 
 and put them together as 
 in the picture. An O is 
 a little taller than it is 
 wide, so you will make a 
 better O if the two side-sticks are a little 
 longer than the others. 
 
 After making A and O, you will like 
 to make the letters of your name, and 
 place them in the right order to spell the 
 name — as the letters that spell MARY 
 and JOHN are placed in the pictures of 
 those names. You will also like to make 
 
 THE CURVED-LINE 
 LETTER O. 
 
PLA YS FOR APRIL. 
 
 37 
 
 the letters of your middle name, if you 
 have one, and of your last name. If you 
 are a little girl, you will wish to make the 
 
 THE NAME MARY, IN STICK-AND-PEA LETTERS. 
 
 letters of your doll's name ; and if you are 
 a little boy, and have a dog, or a pony, 
 you will wish to make the name of your 
 dog, or the name of your pony. 
 
 In the " plan " showing the stick-and- 
 
 THE NAME JOHN, IN STICK-AND-PEA LETTERS. 
 
 pea alphabet, -you will find all the letters, 
 so you can make any name, and any word, 
 you wish. 
 
38 STICK-AND-PEA PLAYS. 
 
 You will need to look sharply at some 
 of the letters, at G and K and Q — to 
 see how G is finished by a little hori- 
 zontal stick through the pea at the lower 
 end of its great curve, which until then is 
 like C — to see how the lower arm of K 
 
 ABCDEFCHl 
 JKLMNOPQR 
 STUVWXY 
 
 PLAN OF STICK-AND-PEA ALPHABET. 
 
 starts from a pea on the upper arm near 
 the upright stem — to see how the tail 
 of Q starts from one of the two bot- 
 tom peas, and, after running a little way 
 into the great oyal, which is just like O, 
 turns about and runs out through the 
 other bottom pea. 
 
PLAYS FOR APRIL. 39 
 
 When you have learned to make the 
 letters easily and well, it will be a pretty 
 surprise to make two P's and two A's, 
 and place them in order by papa's plate, 
 so that when he comes to dinner he will 
 find there the word PAPA. 
 
 Then, too, you can make the words of 
 mottoes, such as TRY, TRY AGAIN — 
 and mamma will put them up on the 
 nursery wall. 
 
PART V. 
 
 PLAYS FOR MAY. 
 
 FTER the white root- 
 sprouts and the green 
 top-sprouts have grown 
 from the peas on the 
 wet cotton, you will find 
 that the peas planted in 
 earth have sent up stouter and greener 
 stalks. 
 
 As the roots of the pea-plant spread out 
 underground, and gather more and more 
 plant-food, the stalks will grow faster and 
 faster — and pea-plants grow very fast in- 
 deed. Watch one, and measure it morn- 
 ing and night, and find out how much 
 it grows in a day, how much in a night, 
 
 how much in a week. 
 
 40 
 
PLAYS FOR MAY. 4 1 
 
 And now, if you will set up in the 
 flower -pot a branching stick, you will 
 shortly discover that the pea-plant is a 
 vine. Look carefully at the leaves. Thejf 
 are called pinnate leaves, from a Latin 
 V10X&, pinna, meaning feather, because the 
 leaves are set along both sides of a leaf- 
 stem, as the soft parts of a feather are 
 set along the quill or feather-stem. At 
 the end of the leaf -stem, in place of a 
 leaf, you will find slender curling tendrils 
 — usually three of them, though some- 
 times first a pair, then three further on 
 at the tip. Now the pea-vine does not 
 climb by winding about its support, like 
 a morning-glory-vine. It climbs more as 
 a boy climbs — it uses its tendrils as a 
 boy uses his hands and fingers. See how 
 the curling tendrils reach out and take 
 hold of anything they can find ; and 
 also see how, when they can reach noth- 
 ing, they kink up into funny curlicues, 
 
42 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 as a boy doubles up his fingers into a 
 fist! 
 
 Then, some day, you will find at the top 
 of your pea-vine a bud, perhaps a pair of 
 buds, and the buds will open into blos- 
 soms. The flowers of the garden pea are 
 usually white, though some kinds are red. 
 
 The garden pea's pretty cousin, the 
 fragrant sweet pea, has larger flowers, and 
 
 often three or four on a single stem. It 
 blooms white and pink and yellow and 
 blue and purple. The little girl who is 
 fond of sweet peas will like to know that 
 their home country is the beautiful land 
 of Italy. 
 
 Still go on watching the pea-vine, for 
 after the blossom comes — what ? 
 
PLAYS FOR MAY. 43 
 
 In May, when the big folks are working 
 in the garden, spading and hoeing, raking 
 and planting, the little folks will enjoy 
 making play-tools with their soaked peas 
 and slender sticks. 
 
 A hoe is easy. Take two sticks for the 
 top and bottom, and two half as long for 
 the sides. Slip a pea to the middle of 
 the top stick, then put the four together 
 with four peas. The middle pea on the 
 top stick is to hold the handle — and you 
 can put a small pea on the end of the 
 handle. 
 
 A spade is very like a shovel, and you 
 can make one in the same way as the 
 snow-shovel described in the March plays 
 is made, only the spade should not be 
 quite as wide as the snow-shovel. 
 
 If you want a rake, put five peas on a 
 stick, the same distance apart — one at 
 each end, one in the middle, the other 
 two half way between. Take a long stick 
 
44 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 for the handle, and slip a pea a little way 
 on at one end. Stick this end into the 
 
 THE RAKE. 
 
 middle pea of the five. Connect the pea 
 on the handle with the peas on either side 
 of the middle pea by two sticks. Then 
 cut five very short sticks for the teeth of 
 the rake, and stick one into the under side 
 of each of the five peas. ' This rake will 
 rake the soil in your little garden, or 
 rake up hay in your little hay-field when 
 haying-time comes, just as you like. 
 
 Of course you will want a wheelbarrow. 
 Make first an oblong box, a little narrower 
 at one end than the other. Omit the top 
 end-stick at the wide end. Have the bot- 
 tom side-sticks long enough to project at 
 
PLAYS FOR MAY. 
 
 45 
 
 the wide end for the handles, and also 
 at the narrow end to hold the cross-stick 
 for the wheel. The wheel may be a 
 wooden button-mold, or a circle of card- 
 board. Cut the cross-stick exactly the 
 right length, slip the wheel to the middle, 
 and then slip a pea up against the wheel 
 on each side to hold it in place. Put 
 peas on the ends of the projecting bottom 
 
 THE WHEELBARROW. 
 
 side-sticks, and into these peas set the ends 
 of the wheel-stick. The side end-sticks 
 of the wide end may be long enough to 
 also make the two lee's of the wheelbar- 
 
4-6 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 row, or two short sticks may be used for 
 the legs. Put small peas on the ends of 
 the legs, also on the ends of the handles — 
 and your wheelbarrow will be complete, 
 as in the picture. 
 
 The bottom, sides and narrow end of 
 the wheelbarrow may be made " solid," in 
 the same way as the cart-body and sled- 
 top described in the January and March 
 plays — and then you can wheel loads of 
 things in your stick-and-pea wheelbarrow. 
 
PART VI. 
 
 PLAYS FOR JUNE. 
 
 N the middle of the pea- 
 blossom, as it withers 
 away, you will see the 
 beginning of the pea- 
 pod. Soon the little 
 pod will become a large 
 pod, two, three, perhaps four, inches long, 
 and half an inch or more wide. At first 
 the pod will be thin and flat, then the 
 tiny peas inside will round out, until, 
 when full-grown, the plump pod will be 
 as thick as it was wide. 
 
 You can now, if you like, crack a pair 
 of pods, and take out the green peas, and 
 boil them for your doll's dinner. Dress 
 the boiled peas with cream and a dash of 
 
 47 
 
4 8 
 
 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 salt and pepper — and you will enjoy din- 
 ing with the doll yourself ! 
 
 It will pay to watch the pea-vine a while 
 longer — and see what the pea-pods do. 
 
 When you shell the green 
 peas for your doll's dinner, 
 and you count them, one, 
 two, three, four, five, or ten 
 or more, you will want to 
 make the figures that stand 
 for these numbers. You 
 can make them with your 
 sticks and soaked peas. 
 
 The ten figures, or numerals, like the 
 letters, are made up of straight lines and 
 curved lines. There are three straight- 
 line figures, and seven curved-line figures. 
 The straight-line figures are i, 4, and 7. 
 The 1 and 7 are very easy. The 4 is a 
 little harder. 
 
 To make a figure 4, take first a stick 
 for the upright line, and slip a pea one- 
 
 THE STRAIGHT- 
 LINE FIGURE 4 
 
PLAYS FOR JUNE. 
 
 49 
 
 third up from the bottom, and put one on 
 each end. Next, take two shorter sticks, 
 and one pea, for the slanting line and the 
 horizontal line which form the triangle at 
 the left of the upright line. Last of all, 
 take a very short stick, with a pea on one 
 end, for the short horizontal line at the 
 right of the upright line. Put the four 
 sticks and five peas together, as in the 
 picture. If you are careful not to split 
 the pea, you can make the 
 two horizontal lines of one 
 stick, thrusting it through 
 the pea on the perpendic- 
 ular stick. 
 
 Like the letters, some of 
 the curved-line figures are 
 all curves, such as 6 and o; 
 others are partly curves and partly straight 
 lines, such as 2 and 5. 
 
 The figure 6 is made of ten short sticks 
 and ten peas, as shown in the picture. 
 
 THE CURVED- 
 LINE FIGURE 6. 
 
So 
 
 STICK- AND- PEA PLAYS. 
 
 The side-stick should be a little longer 
 than the others, as in the letter O. The 
 
 12345 
 6yS30 
 
 PLAN OF STICK-AND-PEA NUMERALS. 
 
 figure 9 is like a figure 6 standing on its 
 head. 
 
 When you have made all the figures — 
 the " plan " of the stick-and-pea numerals 
 will show you how — you will enjoy put- 
 ting them together so as to form interest- 
 
 THE YEAR COLUMBUS DISCOVERED AMERICA. 
 
 ing numbers and dates. You can make 
 the number that tells how old you are. 
 
PL A YS FOR JUNE. 
 
 51 
 
 If you are over nine, it will take two fig- 
 ures. You can make a 7 for the days in a 
 week, 30 for the days in a month, 365 for 
 the days in a year. 
 
 A 1, a 4, a 9, and a 2, make the name 
 of the year Columbus discovered America 
 — 1492. 
 
 A 1, two 7's, and a 6, make the name 
 of the year of Independence — the year of 
 the first Fourth of July — 1776. 
 
 THE YEAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 
 
PART VII. 
 
 PLAYS FOR JULY. 
 
 peas, 
 Then 
 
 HEN the last pea-blos- 
 som has faded, when 
 the last little pea-pod 
 has grown to a large 
 pea-pod, and plumped 
 out with full-grown 
 the pea-vine will stop growing, 
 the green stalk, and the green 
 leaves with curlicue tips, and the green 
 pods, will all turn yellow, and brown — 
 and finally the dry pods will crack open, 
 and the ripe peas will roll out! 
 
 You have now watched the whole life 
 of a pea ; and if you take one of the hard 
 ripe peas and plant it, it will live that life 
 over again, as peas have been doing for 
 
 5 2 
 
PLAYS FOR JULY. 
 
 53 
 
 ages — first the root-sprout, then the top- 
 sprout, then the pea-plant, with its blos- 
 soms, pods, and peas. 
 
 So, from seed to seed, grow all plants. 
 
 When the bells ring in the Fourth, and 
 torpedoes pop and crackers go bang, the 
 little pea-players will want to set up a tall 
 flag-pole, with a flag flying at the top — 
 and also make a sword and build a tent. 
 
 THE TENT. 
 
 This is the way to build the tent. Put 
 together four sticks and four peas as you 
 did for the oblong box-bottom. Before 
 joining the sides and ends, slip a pea to 
 
54 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 the middle of one of the end-sticks. Next, 
 take four sticks, a little longer than the 
 end-sticks of the bottom, and set one into 
 the top of each pea. Slant the pair of 
 sticks at each end so their upper points 
 will come together, and on each of these 
 double points press a pea. Then connect 
 
 THE BUNKER HILL SWORD. 
 
 these two peas by a stick as long as the 
 side-sticks of the bottom — this makes the 
 top of the tent, for a tent is like a three- 
 sided, or triangular, box, resting on one 
 side. Connect the pea which you placed 
 at the middle of one of the bottom end- 
 sticks with the pea above it, and this last 
 stick will mark the opening where the 
 tent curtain is pushed aside when soldiers 
 go in or out. 
 
 For the sword, take a long stick and 
 
PL A YS FOR JUL Y. 
 
 55 
 
 =CJ 
 
 slip two peas on one end. The first you 
 push on the length of the handle, the 
 second you leave ^ ^ -^ 
 
 at the tip. Two 
 very short sticks, 
 each with a pea at 
 one end, will make 
 the " guard " be- 
 tween the handle 
 and the blade, as 
 in the picture. 
 Put no pea at the 
 end of the blade, 
 as you want a 
 sword with a sharp 
 point — you can 
 call it your Bunker 
 Hill sword. 
 
 When you want 
 to raise your flag, 
 build first a little frame to hold up the 
 flag-pole. Make a square of four short 
 
 THE FLAG AND THE FLAG- 
 POLE. 
 
56 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 sticks and four peas for the bottom. Set 
 four more short sticks into the tops of 
 the peas. Slant these four sticks from 
 the corners of the bottom to a big pea 
 above the centre, forming a pyramid. 
 Now thrust your tall flag-pole down 
 through the big pea at the peak of the 
 pyramid, and then slip two peas on the 
 top, leaving one at the tip, and pushing 
 
 the other 
 
 C- down the 
 
 ■4 . width you 
 
 ^L— \ wish your 
 
 \\ flag. Into 
 
 S^ j^ each of 
 
 A \ these peas, 
 
 PLAN OF SOLDIERS' CAMP. ^ 0ne SlCie, 
 
 set a stick, 
 for the top and bottom of the flag. Con- 
 nect the ends with a shorter stick and 
 two peas — and your flag will be flying, 
 like the one in the picture. You can 
 
 A 
 
PL A YS FOR JUL Y. 57 
 
 now throw up your straw hat and shout, 
 " Hurrah for the Stars and Stripes ! " 
 
 If you like, you can make a whole row 
 of tents, and set the flag in front, and 
 have a soldiers' camp, as in the " plan " 
 — and then you can take your sword 
 and play you are a little defender of 
 your country. 
 
PART VIII. 
 
 PLAYS FOR AUGUST. 
 
 TLJT 
 
 
 US 
 
 —£> 
 
 AVING set up a stick- 
 
 and-pea tent on the 
 
 Fourth, you will like to 
 
 build, some vacation day 
 
 in August, a stick-and- 
 
 pea house. 
 
 You had best build a plain easy house 
 
 at first — just the four walls, under-pinning, 
 
 roof, and chimney. 
 
 You start with an 
 oblong box, as in mak- 
 ing the little cart, only 
 the house-box should 
 be much larger. The 
 small " plan " shows the form of the box 
 part of the house. Next, make an extra 
 58 
 
 PLAN OF BOX PART OF 
 HOUSE. 
 
PLAYS FOR AUGUST. 
 
 59 
 
 bottom for the box, just the size of the 
 first, and pin the corner peas of the 
 second bottom to the corner peas of the 
 first bottom with very short sticks. You 
 
 THE PLAIN EASY HOUSE. 
 
 can, if you like, let the four corner sticks 
 of the house project through the bottom 
 peas enough to stick into the peas of the 
 extra bottom, instead of using short sticks 
 to fasten it on. The second bottom 
 
6o STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 really forms the underpinning, as you can 
 see in the picture. 
 
 The house is now ready for the roof. 
 Into the four corner peas at the top set four 
 sticks, about as long as the end-sticks of 
 the top. Slant the pair of sticks at each 
 end of the house until their tops touch, 
 and on each double point press a pea. 
 Now cut a stick just as long as the side 
 of the house, put two peas, a little apart, 
 at the centre of the stick, and then set it 
 in place for the ridge-pole. This finishes 
 the roof. The two peas in the middle of 
 the ridge-pole are to hold the chimney, 
 which is made of three short sticks and 
 two peas. The chimney completes the 
 plain easy house, as in the picture. 
 
 If you are a very good stick-and-pea 
 carpenter, or if papa will help you, you can 
 build a house with a door, a door-step, and 
 windows, as shown in the two " plans." 
 
 In making the box part for a house with 
 
PLAYS FOR AUGUST. 
 
 61 
 
 door and windows, you should, before put- 
 ting the box together, slip on the top and 
 bottom sticks pairs of peas to hold the 
 side-sticks of the door and windows, as in 
 the " plan." Each window, with side-sticks 
 extended to top and bottom of box part 
 
 PLAN OF HOUSE WITH DOOR AND WINDOWS. 
 
 of house, and with cross-sticks to make 
 the panes, should be put together, then 
 the lower ends of the side-sticks set into 
 the peas ready for them, the roof lifted a 
 
62 
 
 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 little, and the upper ends of the side-sticks 
 put in place. The door should be made 
 
 and put in place 
 in the same way. 
 Then the door- 
 step should be 
 built out. The 
 "plan" of the end 
 of the house shows 
 how to put in 
 place a triangu- 
 lar gable window. 
 If you like, you 
 can let the upright 
 stick project above the pea at the end of 
 the " ridge-pole just enough to hold an 
 extra pea for ornament. 
 
 A very clever papa may build out the 
 triple window, in the end of the house, 
 into a bay-window — and I should not be 
 surprised if he were to add a cunning 
 veranda ! 
 
 i ■ I 
 
 1 
 
 > 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 ■ 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 » « 
 
 ►— ! 1 
 
 ■I 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ( _i 
 
 PLAN OF END OF HOUSE. 
 
PLAYS FOR AUGUST. 
 
 63 
 
 And when the house is completed, it 
 will be easy to build a three-rail fence 
 around it, in the way shown in the " plan." 
 A fence with one or more corners, or turns, 
 will stand upright of itself. You can 
 
 PLAN OF THREE-RAIL FENCE. 
 
 make a gate that will stand by itself, by 
 slipping short cross-sticks through the 
 lower end-peas, and putting peas on the 
 
64 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 ends of the cross-sticks, as in the picture. 
 Straight fencing can be made to stand up- 
 right in the same way. In building the 
 gate, in place of the middle rail, use two 
 
 rails, running 
 from the up- 
 per to the 
 lower corners 
 and crossing 
 in the centre. 
 Also let the 
 end-sticks project a little at the top, and 
 on the tips put small peas for a finish. 
 If you have a Noah's Ark, you can 
 fence in pastures for the animals with 
 stick-and-pea fences. 
 
 After the hard work of house-building, 
 you can take a handful of peas and go out 
 on the smooth walk, or driveway, and 
 scratch a circle, and have a game of 
 marbles — ring-taw, or pyramid, or any 
 game you play with real marbles. 
 
PLAYS FOR AUGUST. 
 
 65 
 
 And then, when you see the croquet- 
 set on the lawn, with its gay mallets and 
 balls waiting by the still gayer starting- 
 post, you will want to make a croquet-set 
 with sticks and peas. It is much easier 
 than a house. 
 
 For the starting-post (and the turning- 
 post is just like it), take a long stick and 
 put one pea on the end which is to be 
 the top. Each 
 wicket is made 
 of two upright 
 side-s ticks, 
 with an arched 
 top of three 
 shorter sticks 
 and four peas, 
 as in the pic- 
 ture. Big peas can be used for the balls. 
 For each mallet you will need one long 
 stick, one short stick, and four peas. 
 Slip three of the peas on the short stick, 
 
 THE CROQUET SET. 
 
66 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 one in the middle, one at each end, for 
 the head of the mallet. Into the middle 
 pea thrust one end of the long stick, for 
 the handle, and on the other end put the 
 fourth pea. 
 
 If you are one of the happy children 
 who have sand-tables, or if you can find 
 a smooth sandy space out-of-doors, you 
 can set up your posts and wickets, and 
 really play a game of croquet. 
 
PART IX. 
 
 PLAYS FOR SEPTEMBER. 
 
 URN ITU RE is the next 
 thing to think about, 
 after you have built a 
 house. Stick-and-pea 
 furniture is easy to make, 
 and pretty to look at 
 after it is made and set in place. 
 
 With one pea, and three short sticks, 
 you can make a tiny stool — as in the ini- 
 tial picture. That, surely, is easy enough 
 for the very littlest pea-player of all. 
 
 Then you can have your choice of 
 chairs, plain chairs for chamber and 
 kitchen, heavy dining-room chairs, high- 
 backed parlor chairs, arm-chairs, rocking- 
 chairs — any one, or all of them. If you 
 6 7 
 
68 
 
 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 have a doll-house, you will want to make 
 all kinds, a set for each room. 
 
 The very plainest chair is made of two 
 long sticks, seven short sticks, and six 
 peas. The two long 
 sticks form the sides of 
 the back, and also the 
 back legs. Put a pea 
 on the end of each — the 
 end which is to be the 
 top. Slip a pea up from 
 the bottom end of each 
 as high as you wish the 
 seat. Connect the two 
 peas at the top of the 
 back, and also the two at the seat, with 
 sticks as long as you wish the width of 
 the chair. Next, build out the seat, with 
 three short sticks and two peas. Last of 
 all, set the front legs into the under side 
 of the peas at the front of the seat, and 
 you will have a simple chair, as in the 
 
 THE PLAINEST CHAIR. 
 
PLAYS FOR SEPTEMBER. 
 
 6 9 
 
 picture — a chair proper to place in your 
 doll-house chamber, or kitchen. 
 
 The dining-room chair should be heav- 
 ier, of course. So, when you make the 
 back, put two extra peas on each side, 
 one near the top, one just above the 
 seat. Connect these extra peas by two 
 cross-sticks. Also slip 
 a pea a little way. up 
 on each leg, and con- 
 nect these four peas 
 by four short sticks. 
 This will give you a 
 fine heavy chair for 
 the dining-room, as in 
 the picture. 
 
 The parlor chairs 
 may be made in the 
 same way as the dining-room chairs, only, 
 to make them handsomer, you should let 
 the side-sticks of the back project just 
 enough at the top to hold an extra pea, 
 
 THE DINING-ROOM 
 CHAIR. 
 
70 
 
 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 a small round one, as shown in the 
 " plan " of the parlor chair. 
 
 The arm-chair is made 
 in the same way as the 
 parlor chair, only the 
 back should be wider, 
 and the seat larger. The 
 back need not be quite 
 as high — you can omit 
 the upper cross-stick. 
 To make the back of 
 the arm-chair easy to the 
 backs of the little gentle- 
 man dolls who may sit 
 in it, you can let it slant backward. If 
 the side-sticks will not bend easily, and 
 stay bent, you can use two short sticks 
 for the back legs, and two other sticks 
 for the sides of the back, setting them 
 into the peas of the seat at a slight angle. 
 Put an extra pea on each back side-stick, 
 to hold the top arm-stick. In making the 
 
 PLAN OF PARLOR 
 CHAIR. 
 
PLAYS FOR SEPTEMBER. 
 
 n 
 
 arm-chair, let the front legs project above 
 the seat as high as you wish the arms ; 
 put a pea on the top of each ; and then 
 connect these peas with the extra peas on 
 the side-sticks of the back, thus form- 
 ing the arms, as shown in the "plan" of 
 the arm-chair. 
 
 The rocking-chair 
 may be made just like 
 the arm-chair, and the 
 rockers then added. 
 The single rocker 
 shown by the dotted 
 sticks and peas, on one 
 side of the " plan " of 
 the arm-chair, will tell 
 you how to make the 
 pair of rockers of real sticks and peas. 
 Should the little lady dolls like a higher 
 back, to rest their heads against when 
 tired, you can make a back like the high 
 back of the parlor chair. 
 
 PLAN OF ARM-CHAIR 
 AND ROCKING-CHAIR. 
 
72 
 
 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 You can make the seats of all the chairs 
 " solid," for the little doll people to sit on, 
 and the backs "solid," for the little doll 
 people to lean against, in the way the 
 sled-top was made solid, and as shown by 
 the dotted sticks and peas in the " plan " 
 of the parlor chair and in the " plan " of 
 the arm-chair. 
 
 Even a doll-house should have several 
 kinds, and several 
 sizes, of tables. 
 You had best be- 
 gin with a small 
 simple table for a 
 chamber. Take 
 four sticks for the 
 legs, put a pea on 
 the top, and one a 
 little up from the 
 bottom, of each. Connect the four top 
 peas by four sticks, and the four lower 
 peas by four other sticks. Last, make 
 
 THE SMALL TABLE. 
 
PLAYS FOR SEPTEMBER. 73 
 
 the top " solid," as shown by the dotted 
 sticks and peas in the picture of the 
 small table. 
 
 For the sitting-room table, made in the 
 same way, you can slip the lower peas a 
 little higher, and make a " solid " shelf, 
 like the " solid " top. This will be very 
 convenient, for holding daily papers and 
 magazines, such as " The Doll-World 
 News," and "The Make-Believe Maga- 
 zine," and " The Rockaby Review." 
 
 By using quite short sticks to connect 
 the legs, you can make a very small table, 
 or " stand." 
 
 When you build the dining-room and 
 library tables, put two peas, instead of 
 one, at the top of each leg, and connect 
 the pairs of peas by pairs of sticks. In- 
 stead, also, of connecting the four lower 
 peas by four sticks around the outside, 
 join them in pairs by two longer sticks, 
 crossing each other, and passing through 
 
74 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 « 
 
 a pea, at the centre underneath, as in the 
 picture. This gives room for the feet 
 when sitting at the table. The top should 
 be made " solid," as shown by the dotted 
 
 TABLE FOR DINING-ROOM OK LIBRARY. 
 
 sticks and peas at one side in the picture. 
 
 A hall table, to stand against the wall, 
 may be made like the dining-room or 
 library table, only instead of being square, 
 or nearly so, it should be quite narrow — 
 about half as wide as it is long. 
 
 In the hall, too, should stand a hat-tree 
 — and a stick-and-pea hat-tree is both 
 
PLAYS FOR SEPTEMBER. J$ 
 
 easy to make and pretty to see. Take 
 a long stick, put a large pea on the 
 lower end, a common-sized pea above 
 and close against it, another near the 
 top, and a fourth at the very tip-top. 
 Into the big pea at the bottom, set three 
 short sticks with peas at the ends. These 
 three sticks should slant 
 down, to form the feet (per- |^ 
 haps I should say " roots," it 
 being a " tree " !), or triangu- 
 lar base supporting the 
 standard — as in the " plan." 
 Into the pea near the top, 
 set six still shorter sticks, 
 also with peas at the ends. 
 These six sticks should be 
 horizontal, and equally apart, 
 to form the arms (perhaps I should say 
 " branches," it being a " tree " !), on which 
 to hang things. If a gentleman-doll 
 caller wears a high hat, it can be hung 
 
 PLAN OF HAT- 
 TREE. 
 
j6 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 on the very tip-top of the standard it- 
 self. 
 
 I shall let the little pea-players invent 
 and build the umbrella rack all by them- 
 selves — and it may be square, or oblong, 
 or triangular, to fit in a corner, or round, 
 with top and bottom made like the 
 letter O. 
 
 In the parlor, you will of course want 
 a handsome sofa. Now a sofa is very like 
 an arm-chair, only very much wider — just 
 as if an arm-chair were india-rubber, and 
 you should take it by the sides, and stretch 
 it to right and left, until all the horizontal 
 lines running from side to side were two 
 times, three times, four times, as long as at 
 the start. But sticks are not india-rubber, 
 so the sticks running from side to side, 
 or end to end, of your sofa must be four 
 times as long as those of a chair to start 
 with. 
 
 In the sofa, as in the chair, two sticks 
 
PLAYS FOR SEPTEMBER. 
 
 77 
 
 form the sides of the back, and also the 
 back legs. On each stick put six peas, 
 three near together at the top, one at 
 the bottom, one at the seat, one just above 
 the seat. The peas at the top are for 
 ornament. Connect the pairs just below 
 
 THE SOFA. 
 
 by a pair of long sticks ; also connect the 
 peas at the seat, and those just -above. 
 Next, build out the seat, and the tops of 
 the low arms. Last, put in place the 
 front legs, which should extend above the 
 seat to form the fronts of the arms, and 
 which should have peas at the lower end 
 
78 
 
 STICK-AND-PEA PLAYS. 
 
 like the back legs. The dotted sticks 
 and peas, in the picture, show how to 
 make the back " solid," and how to build 
 up an ornamental centre. 
 The seat may be made 
 " solid" by sticks running 
 from end to end. 
 
 A row of six baby 
 dolls sitting on a stick- 
 and-pea sofa is a cunning 
 baby-show. 
 
 If you have a cute 
 little picture which you 
 would like to stand on 
 an easel in your doll-house parlor, you can 
 make the easel of sticks and peas. Take 
 two long sticks for the sides, and put five 
 peas on each, one at the top, one at the 
 bottom, one toward the top, two toward 
 the bottom, as in the " plan." The top 
 and bottom peas are for " finish." Connect 
 the others by short cross-sticks, the lower 
 
 
 K 6 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 J / 
 
 1 1 
 1 / 
 
 I 1 
 
 I / 
 
 ' 1 
 1 1 
 
 I 
 
 1 J 
 
 L J9 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 J ~* 
 
 i 
 
 > 
 
 > 
 
 PLAN OF EASEL. 
 
PLAYS FOR SEPTEMBER. 
 
 79 
 
 longer than the upper, as the easel should 
 be wider at the bottom than at the top. 
 The upper cross-stick should have a pea 
 at its centre. Into this pea set a long 
 stick for the brace, or back part of the 
 easel, with a pea at its end. From the 
 upper of the two lower cross-pieces, build 
 out a little shelf, with two very short sticks, 
 two peas, and a third stick as long as the 
 cross-piece. On this shelf stand the cute 
 little picture. 
 
 The young-lady dolls will want a fine 
 dressing-case, with a 
 laro;e mirror. Now the 
 part of a dressing-case 
 which holds the draw- 
 ers is really a high 
 wide box — like that 
 
 PLAN OF BOX PART 
 OF DRESSING-CASE. 
 
 shown in the small 
 
 " plan." Build first this 
 
 box part of the dressing-case. The front 
 
 upright sticks should have three extra 
 
8o 
 
 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 peas, between the top and bottom peas, 
 and these extra peas should be con- 
 nected by sticks, to mark off the drawers, 
 as in the picture. The back upright sticks 
 
 should extend 
 high above 
 the drawers, 
 to hold the 
 mirror, and 
 each should 
 have a pea 
 near its top. 
 
 Make the 
 mirror of four 
 sticks and 
 four peas, with 
 an extra pea 
 at the middle of each side-stick. Hold 
 the mirror in place, and slip a very short 
 stick in from each side, through the pea 
 on the upright stick and into the middle 
 pea on the side of the mirror. The mirror 
 
 THE DRESSING-CASE. 
 
PLAYS FOR SEPTEMBER. 8 1 
 
 will now hang upright, or tip forward or 
 backward — so the young-lady doll can 
 see if the skirt of her gown hangs right, 
 or if her back hair is coiled and pinned as 
 it should be. 
 
 At the end of the day, and the end of 
 the furniture, comes the bed. 
 
 Build first the head of the bed. Take 
 two sticks for the sides, or posts, and put 
 six peas on each, at the points shown by 
 the picture. Cut five sticks as long as 
 you wish the width of the bed, and with 
 them connect the peas on the two posts, 
 beginning with the bottom peas — the top 
 pea on each post is left for ornament. 
 Next, build the foot of the bed. Take 
 two short sticks for the sides, or posts, 
 and put three peas on each, as in the 
 picture. Connect the peas on the two 
 posts with sticks just as long as the con- 
 necting sticks in the head of the bed. 
 
 Now cut four sticks as long as you wish 
 
82 
 
 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 the length of the bed, and join the head 
 and the foot by two of these sticks on 
 
 THE BED. 
 
 each side, connecting the two lower peas 
 on the posts. Each upper side-stick should 
 have a pea near the head end, and a short 
 stick should run from this pea to the pea 
 next higher on the head of the bed. These 
 two short sticks serve as braces, and as a 
 pleasing " finish." The frame of the bed 
 is now complete. 
 
PLAYS FOR SEPTEMBER. 83 
 
 The lower side-sticks may be joined by 
 " slats," as shown by the dotted sticks and 
 peas at the head end. The head and the 
 foot of the bed may be made " solid," by 
 filling in with sticks and peas, as shown 
 by the dotted sticks and peas at one side 
 of each. 
 
 And then you can " make up " the bed, 
 and put your tired doll's nightgown on, 
 and tuck her in, and say, " Good-night ! " 
 
PART X. 
 
 PLAYS FOR OCTOBER. 
 
 OATS and bicycles be- 
 long to boys — or used 
 to, I should say — for, 
 nowadays, the little sis- 
 ters ride as bravely as 
 the little brothers. 
 The little sisters do not yet scrawl pic- 
 tures of war-ships on every scrap of paper 
 — tremendous war-ships, with tremendous 
 smoke billowing up from tremendous can- 
 non! — but I should not be surprised if 
 they soon should take to sailing toy 
 boats, toy canoes, toy yachts, and even 
 toy war-ships. 
 
 Anyway, the little pea-players, sisters 
 and brothers both, will like to make a 
 8 4 
 
PLAYS FOR OCTOBER. 
 
 85 
 
 PLAN OF BOX PART OF HULL. 
 
 play-yacht, and a play-bicycle, with their 
 sticks and peas. 
 
 In building the yacht, begin with the 
 hull. Make first 
 a long shallow 
 box, omitting 
 the upper end- 
 stick at the stern 
 
 end, and putting a pea on the middle of the 
 upper end-stick of the bow end, also one 
 on the middle of the lower, as in the first 
 " plan." The middle peas are to hold the 
 mast. Next, build out the sharp bow, with 
 
 PLAN OF HULL COMPLETE (DOTTED PARTS BEING THOSE 
 WHICH COULD NOT BE SEEN IF HULL WERE SOLID). 
 
 four horizontal sticks, one perpendicular 
 stick, and two peas ; and then build out 
 the blunt stern, with four shorter horizon- 
 
86 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 tal sticks, one perpendicular stick, and two 
 peas. This completes the hull of the 
 yacht, as in the second " plan." 
 
 Now cut a long stick for the mast, and 
 put one pea a short distance up from the 
 bottom, and two peas, a little apart, near 
 the top. Set the mast upright, by thrust- 
 ing the lower end down through the two 
 peas placed for it, and bend the tip at a 
 right angle for a flag, as in the picture. 
 Also set a short stick into the upper pea 
 at the prow, to serve for bowsprit and jib- 
 boom. 
 
 The yacht is now ready for its sails. 
 Into the lower pea on the mast, set a long 
 stick with a pea at its end, running out 
 horizontally over the deck and a little be- 
 yond the stern. This is the boom, which 
 holds in place the bottom of the mainsail. 
 Into the lower of the two peas at the top 
 of the mast, set a shorter stick, slanting 
 upward, with a pea at its end and another 
 
PLAYS FOR OCTOBER. 87 
 
 near the end. This is the gaff, which 
 holds in place the top of the mainsail. 
 Connect the pea at the end of the gaff 
 
 THE YACHT. 
 
 with the pea at the end of the boom by a 
 long stick. This finishes the mainsail. 
 
 You can connect the pea nearest the 
 top of the mast with the pea near the end 
 
88 STICK -AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 of the gaff by a cord, as shown by the 
 dotted line, to represent the rope holding 
 the gaff in position. You can also run a 
 cord from the end of the boom to the 
 stern of the yacht, as shown by the dotted 
 line, to represent the rope which controls 
 the swing of the boom. Very queerly, the 
 sailors call this rope a " sheet," the main- 
 sheet — though you would think "sheet" 
 a better name for a sail than a rope. 
 
 We will now " go forward," as the sail- 
 ors say — in front of the mast, toward the 
 bow of the boat. And here, we will first 
 connect the pea at the end of the bow- 
 sprit, or jib-boom (the jib-boom is really a 
 spar at the end of the bowsprit, making it 
 longer), with the pea near the top of the 
 mast from which the gaff starts. This 
 stick must have a pea a little up from its 
 lower end, and this pea you connect by a 
 horizontal stick with the lower pea on the 
 mast from which the boom starts. The 
 
PLAYS FOR OCTOBER. 89 
 
 triangle thus made is the jib, or triangular 
 sail in front of the mast. 
 
 Now your yacht is completed, and, if 
 you will make another, you can play at 
 the great yacht races between England 
 and the United States — and if you can 
 find a tiny acorn-cup, you can play it is 
 the silver cup the yacht America won 
 from England years ago, which is called 
 " the Americas cup," and which is still the 
 prize for which the fastest yachts of the 
 two nations are raced. 
 
 If a boat with sails is too hard for you 
 to build, and you would like to make a 
 simple row-boat instead, or if you can 
 build the yacht and would like a row-boat 
 too, you can make it like the hull of the 
 yacht, and stop there. Only, in making 
 the row-boat, you omit, not only the upper 
 end-stick at the stern end of the "long 
 shallow box," but also the other upper end- 
 stick. You also omit the middle pea on 
 
90 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 the lower end-stick, as there is to be no 
 mast. 
 
 You can build a seat, half as high as the 
 sides of the boat, as shown by the dotted 
 seat in the " plan " of the row-boat. You 
 can also have a pea, with two short sticks 
 set into it like a V, on each of the upper 
 side-sticks, near the seat, for the tow- 
 
 plan OF ROW-BOAT. 
 
 locks, to hold the oars, as shown in the 
 " plan." And any little boy with a jack- 
 knife can whittle a pair of tiny oars. 
 
 You can also -make a boat-hook, and an 
 anchor, of sticks and peas, in the way 
 shown in the initial picture. 
 
 The older pea-players will be able to 
 build the bicycle alone, but the younger 
 ones may need the help of papa, or a big 
 
PLAYS FOR OCTOBER. 9 1 
 
 brother who has a real one of his own — 
 and that will make it the more fun. 
 
 In building the bicy- 
 cle, make first the two 
 wheels — that is what 
 the word bicycle means, 
 "bi " means two, and 
 " cycle " means circle or 
 
 PLAN OF WHEEL-RIM. 
 
 wheel. The rim of each 
 wheel is like the letter O, as in the " plan," 
 only the eight sticks that join the eight 
 peas are of equal length. The eight spokes 
 that run from the hub to the rim are also 
 of equal length. Take a large pea for the 
 hub, set into it the eight spoke-sticks, the 
 same distance apart, put a pea on the end 
 of each, and join these peas by the eight 
 rim-sticks. 
 
 In making the front wheel, let one 
 spoke project its own length beyond the 
 rim. Put two peas at the end of this stick, 
 and one a little outside the rim. In mak- 
 
9 2 
 
 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 ing the back wheel, let one spoke project 
 about three-fourths its own length beyond 
 the rim. Put one pea at the end of this 
 stick. 
 
 Now place the two wheels in position, 
 and connect the pea on the end of the 
 
 THE BICYCLE. 
 
 projecting spoke of the back wheel, by a 
 long stick, with the lower of the two peas 
 on the end of the projecting spoke of the 
 front wheel. This forms the top of the 
 frame. Next, set into the hub of the back 
 wheel a long stick, running toward the 
 
PLAYS FOR OCTOBER. 93 
 
 front wheel, and slanting slightly down. 
 This stick should project about half the 
 length of a spoke beyond the rim, and 
 should have a very large pea at its end. 
 This very large pea is the lowest point of 
 the frame, where the pedals are. Con- 
 nect this pedal pea by a long stick with 
 the pea at the back end of the top of the 
 frame, and by another long stick with 
 the pea next the rim on the projecting 
 spoke of the front wheel. This completes 
 the frame — and, if you will look at the 
 frame sharply, you will see that the main 
 part, including the projecting spokes, is 
 diamond-shaped, with the forward point 
 clipped off ; and that the great diamond is 
 divided into two triangles, with the tip of 
 the front and larger one clipped off. 
 
 You can run a cord from the hub of 
 the back wheel to the pedal pea, around 
 it, and back again, for the chain, as shown 
 by the dotted line in the picture — or you 
 
94 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 can omit the cord and play it is a " chain- 
 less " bicycle. 
 
 The seat, as shown in the "plan," is made 
 of three sticks and three peas forming a 
 triangle, with a fourth stick 
 running in beyond the centre 
 from the forward point, and a 
 fourth pea on this fourth stick 
 at about the centre of the 
 triangle. Hold this seat in 
 place, and run a short stick down through 
 the pea at its centre, into the pea at the 
 back end of the top of the frame. 
 
 The handle-bar is made of two sticks, 
 with peas at their ends, set into the pea 
 above the front end of the frame. These 
 sticks should slant a little back, to make 
 the curve of the handle-bar. This com- 
 pletes the bicycle, as shown in the picture. 
 Now a bicycle will not stand upright 
 of itself, except when running — and I 
 doubt if your very smartest doll, even 
 
PLAYS FOR OCTOBER. 
 
 95 
 
 your boy doll, will be able to ride this 
 bicycle. So you best run a stick through 
 one of the lower peas of each wheel. 
 These sticks, with peas at their ends, as 
 shown by the dotted sticks and peas in 
 the picture, will hold the bicycle upright. 
 
 This stick-and-pea bicycle looks very 
 well, you will think, but, after all, it is a 
 little like a paper doll ! — 
 a paper doll may look as 
 thick and as round as a 
 china doll, from one point 
 of view, but from another 
 you see it has only the 
 thickness of cardboard. 
 In like manner, the side- 
 view of this bicycle is 
 better than the front or 
 back end-view. 
 
 If you are very skilful, though — you 
 and papa — you can set even this right. 
 You can build out a pedal each side of 
 
 THE PEDALS. 
 
g6 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 the pedal pea at the bottom of the frame, 
 as shown by the picture of the pedals. 
 And you can make a double or forked 
 frame, back and front, within 
 which the wheels will really turn, 
 as shown by the picture of the 
 double or forked frame, with 
 hub and two spokes of wheel 
 in place. But, even with these 
 improvements, I doubt if any 
 doll will ever ride a stick-and- 
 O pea bicycle as fast as you ride 
 forked your own real bicycle. 
 
 In the fall, if you live in the 
 country, you can gather the red berries 
 of the black alder, or winterberry, and 
 use them in place of peas — and your 
 stick-and-berry objects will be very gay 
 indeed. 
 
PART XI. 
 
 PLAYS FOR NOVEMBER. 
 
 HE little pea-players who 
 have played the April 
 plays, and made the 
 letters of the stick-and- 
 pea alphabet, will re- 
 member that the letter T 
 is one of the easiest of the twenty-six. 
 
 You slip three peas on a stick, one in 
 the middle, one at each end. You take a 
 second stick, a little longer than the first, 
 if you like, and slip a pea on one end, 
 then thrust the other end into the middle 
 pea on the first stick. That is all. The 
 letter T is the first letter of a happy 
 day — Thanksgiving. 
 
 Thanksgiving Day is Thankful Day. 
 
 97 
 
9 8 
 
 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 You can go on, after making the letter T, 
 and make all the letters of " Thank- 
 
 mA 
 
 v^DAY 
 
 PLAN OF STICK-AND-PEA MOTTO FOR THANKSGIVING. 
 
 ful Day," as in the "plan." And then, 
 when you go to grandma's for Thanks- 
 giving — of course you always do go to 
 grandma's for Thanksgiving — you can 
 take them with you, and grandma will put 
 them up on the wall for a Thanksgiving 
 Day motto. 
 
 For grandpa, you can make a carving- 
 knife and fork. The handle of a carving- 
 knife should be very stout, so for this you 
 take three sticks, hold them close together, 
 and press a good-sized pea on each end. 
 The blade is made of one long slim stick 
 bent twice, as shown in the picture, the 
 two ends being brought nearly together 
 and thrust into the pea at the end of 
 
PLAYS FOR NOVEMBER. 
 
 99 
 
 the handle. Cut the stick half through 
 at the two bends, and also wet it at those 
 points, so it will not break in bending. 
 
 The fork handle is made in the 
 same way as the knife handle. Into 
 the pea at the end set a very short stick, 
 with a pea at its end ; and into this last 
 pea slip two slender sticks for the tines. 
 
 THE CARVING-KNIFE AND FORK. 
 
 Of course grandma will have pumpkin 
 pie — grandmas always do have pump- 
 kin pie at Thanksgiving — and it will 
 please her very much to see a stick-and- 
 pea piece of pumpkin pie. You can ask 
 her to look on while you make it. 
 
 Begin by setting two long sticks into 
 a pea, at a V-shaped angle, to form the 
 
IOO 
 
 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 straight sides from the centre to the rim 
 of the pie. Next, put a pea on the rim 
 end of each stick. Then, with three short 
 
 sticks and two peas, 
 make the curved rim. 
 Last of all, present 
 the stick-and-pea 
 piece of pumpkin pie 
 to grandma — and 
 see if she does not 
 put it away in some 
 safe secret place, 
 and keep it until Thanksgiving comes 
 again ! 
 
 And after the jolly great dinner, when 
 grandpa, with a twinkle in his eye, tells 
 you the story he likes to tell, about the 
 two turkeys that ran away on Monday of 
 Thanksgiving week and never came back 
 until Saturday, you can give him a sur- 
 prise. You can ask him to hold out his 
 hand, and then you can take two stick- 
 
 THE PIECE OF PUMPKIN 
 PIE. 
 
PLAYS FOR NOVEMBER. IOI 
 
 and-pea turkeys out of your pocket — run- 
 ning turkeys, like the two in the picture 
 — and place them, one ahead of the other, 
 on grandpa's hand. And, oh, how grandpa 
 will laugh, and call grandma, and every- 
 body, to see ! 
 
 Of course you will have to make the 
 turkeys beforehand. This is the way. 
 Select the very largest pea you can find 
 for the body — some of the large wrinkled 
 peas, like the " Champion of England," 
 soak out well for this purpose — or you 
 can take a green cranberry in place of 
 a pea. If the pea or the cranberry is a 
 little oblong, all the better. 
 
 Now insert in one end of the body- 
 pea a stick for the outstretched neck, and 
 on the end of this put a pea for the head, 
 and into the head-pea set two short sticks 
 like a bill wide open — for of course the 
 turkeys gobbled when they ran away. 
 
 Next, insert in each side five sticks 
 
102 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 for the spread wings. These wing-sticks 
 should be graded in length, and placed, 
 as in the picture. (The picture shows but 
 one wing.) Then insert five sticks for the 
 spread tail, as in the picture. (The pic- 
 ture shows the middle and longest tail- 
 stick, and two others on the nearer side ; 
 
 THE TWO TURKEYS THAT RAN AWAY. 
 
 the two on the further side should be 
 graded in length, and placed, in the same 
 way.) 
 
 Last, insert two sticks for the running 
 legs, one forward, one backward, and each 
 with a pea at its end for the foot. And 
 then — but, wait, we must not forget the 
 odd tuft of hair the turkey wears on his 
 breast. Insert a short stick for this, and 
 
PLAYS FOR NOVEMBER. 103 
 
 then — then your run-away turkey will be 
 complete. 
 
 Oh, Thanksgiving Day is a day of 
 delights ! And at last, at the end of the 
 afternoon, the proud possessor of the big 
 turkey's wish-bone, which grandma has 
 dried to just the right brittleness, calls 
 upon all to get their wishes ready for 
 the pulling. 
 
 And if you are a lot of merry young 
 cousins, and a girl-cousin holds the wish- 
 bone, the boys draw lots for their cham- 
 pion — or, if a boy-cousin holds it, the 
 girls draw lots for theirs. And then all 
 think the wishes they wish, while the girl- 
 cousin and the boy-cousin stand out, fac- 
 ing each other, holding the wish-bone, and 
 waiting the signal from grandpa to pull — 
 and, oh, what a shout goes up when the 
 wish-bone snaps, and the wish-winner holds 
 up the larger part in triumph, and you 
 know which side has won ! 
 
104 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 And after that comes the fun of telling 
 the wishes, as grandpa calls you up in the 
 order of age. 
 
 And when you have pulled the real 
 wish-bone, you can 
 make another of 
 sticks and peas— two 
 or three of them — 
 as many as you like 
 — as -many as there 
 are cousins of you, 
 so that each may 
 have a wish-bone of 
 his own. 
 
 THE WISH-BONE. „, . . . 
 
 lo make a wish- 
 bone, take six sticks of about equal length, 
 and another half as long ; also six middle- 
 size peas for the two sides, a very big pea 
 to hold the two sides together, and a little 
 pea to go at the end of the short stick at 
 the top. The picture will show you just 
 how to put them together. 
 
PLAYS FOR NOVEMBER. 105 
 
 One name for the wish-bone is " merry- 
 thought " — because you think of happy 
 things in wishing. And my wish is that 
 always, whether winners or losers at the 
 pulling, your really good wishes may all 
 come true. 
 
PART XII. 
 
 PLAYS FOR DECEMBER. 
 
 N the Christmas month, the 
 pea- players everywhere 
 will like to make a Beth- 
 lehem Star, a Christ- 
 cradle, and a Christmas- 
 tree. 
 An easy star, for the littlest pea-players, 
 
 is made of one big pea, five small peas, and 
 
 five short sticks. You set 
 
 the five sticks into the hip; 
 
 pea, in a row around it and 
 
 equally apart, and then you 
 
 put the five small peas on 
 
 the tips of the five sticks, as 
 
 in the "plan" — and the star is made. 
 The older pea-players will want to make 
 
 106 
 
 PLAN OF EASY 
 STAR. 
 
PLAYS FOR DECEMBER. IC>7 
 
 a larger star. Take five longer sticks and 
 
 six peas, and put them together as before. 
 
 Then join each pair of peas at the tips by 
 
 two shorter sticks and 
 
 one pea in the form of 
 
 a very open V, as in the 
 
 picture. This makes a 
 
 beautiful Bethlehem 
 
 Star, to hang at the 
 
 centre of a Christmas the « beautiful beth- 
 
 LEHEM STAR." 
 
 wreath of evergreen, or 
 
 to set at the tip of a Christmas-tree. 
 
 (This star is five-pointed, like the star 
 Washington chose for our flag — when 
 the first flag was made, and the thirteen 
 white stars of the Thirteen States first 
 shone out in a circle on the field of blue — 
 and so it is also a good star to make on 
 Washington's Birthday, and the Fourth of 
 July, and all patriotic days and times.) 
 
 In building the Christ-cradle, make first 
 an oblong box — and by now you know 
 
108 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 all about making boxes ! Cut the upper 
 end-sticks a little longer than the lower, as 
 
 PLAN OF BOX PART OF CRADLE. 
 
 in the " plan," so that the box, or body of 
 the cradle, will be widest at the top. 
 
 Next, make one of the rockers, as in 
 the rocker " plan." One stick, with a pea 
 at each end, and two between, makes the 
 straight top of the rocker. Three shorter 
 sticks, and two more peas, make the curved 
 bottom of the rocker. The middle stick 
 of the bottom of the 
 V. J f s* rocker should be just 
 
 ^ *r the length of the 
 
 PLAN OF ROCKER. ° 
 
 lower end-stick of the 
 box ; and the two inside peas on the top 
 of the rocker should be exactly over the 
 
PLAYS FOR DECEMBER. IO9 
 
 peas at the ends of the middle bottom- 
 stick. Connect the peas at the ends of 
 this bottom-stick with those over them by 
 two short upright sticks, letting the ends 
 project a little at the top. These two 
 projecting ends are to stick into the two 
 peas at the end of the box bottom, to 
 
 THE CHRIST-CRADLE. 
 
 hold the rocker on, as in the picture. 
 Make the other rocker in the same way, 
 and set the two in place. 
 
 Now build up the head-board, with four 
 sticks and three peas. Set two of the 
 
IIO STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 sticks into the upper end-peas of the box, 
 slanting inward, and put a pea on the end 
 of each. Into these peas set the other 
 two sticks, slanting still more inward, 
 until they meet in the third pea at the 
 top. Build up the foot-board in the same 
 way. 
 
 Last of all, connect the top pea of the 
 head-board with the top pea of the foot- 
 board by a long stick, with three peas 
 close together at its middle. 
 
 I have called this cradle the Christ- 
 cradle, because it is shaped like those 
 used in Palestine, the Christ-land — and 
 so the little Christ-child may have slept 
 in one like it. The mothers in the Christ- 
 land hang strings of beads, and tiny bells, 
 and toys, from the long rod at the top, for 
 the baby to reach up and play with. 
 
 Christmas-trees in churches and homes, 
 unless they are very small trees growing 
 in pots or tubs, have no roots to hold 
 
PLAYS FOR DECEMBER. 
 
 Ill 
 
 them up, so a frame is built for that pur- 
 pose. In the same way, when you make 
 your stick-and-pea tree, build first a little 
 frame to hold it 
 up. This frame 
 may be a pyramid- 
 shaped frame, like 
 that built to sup- 
 port the flag-pole 
 in the July plays, 
 and as also shown 
 here in the pic- 
 ture of the Christ- 
 mas-tree. 
 
 Down through 
 the pea at the peak 
 of the pyramid, 
 thrust a long stick 
 for the tree-trunk. 
 On this slip three peas, and put a small 
 one at the tip-top. Next, into each of 
 the three peas on the tree-trunk, set 
 
 THE CHRISTMAS-TREE. 
 
112 STICK- AND -PEA PLAYS. 
 
 four sticks for branches — the longest 
 four into the lower pea, the shortest four 
 into the upper pea. Then put peas on 
 the ends of all the branches for gifts — 
 and your Christmas-tree will be complete, 
 as in the picture. 
 
 The little pea-players who live in the 
 country, and know where checkerberries 
 grow, can gather the spicy red berries, 
 and put them on the tips of the branches 
 in place of peas — they will be prettier, 
 and also really good to eat. The little 
 pea-players who live in the city can use 
 tiny raisins for the gifts. 
 
 Such a tree is a pretty Christmas pres- 
 ent for a doll — and you can be the doll's 
 Santa Claus. 
 
],jn :g» ,a " 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 020 237 128