Daffodils, yellow as sunshine, always come with the beautiful springtime. The blossoms of the single daffodils, with their tall, golden cups resting in the saucers of lighter-colored petals, are the daintiest, though both single and double are so like a song of cheerfulness it is a joy to have them near. They look as if they wanted to dance for sheer happiness and, wonder of wonders, you can actually make them dance.

Gather a few of the single daffies, leaving on them the very short stems which hold them to the main stalk. These little green stems will be the stiff ornaments at the top of the dancers' green caps when you turn the flowers upside down, which is right side up for the dancers.

Daffodil Dancers

To make a flower stand alone and give it feet to dance on, push three wooden toothpicks firmly up under the little yellow skirt into the centre of the blossom. It doesn't matter if a flower has three feet; like an insect, it may have more than two and it won't stand on two. Spread the bottom ends of the toothpicks out a trifle like a tripod to make the flower stand steady (Fig. 106).

When you have made several dancers, stand them on a tin tray, and they will be a group of "daffy-down-dillies just come to town," arrayed in their best gowns and ready to take part in the dance. Tap the tray gently from underneath and the dancers will begin to move. Tap a little harder and they will begin to dance. Tip the tray slightly forward and they will dance toward you; tip it backward and they will dance away again.

A Daffodil Animal

Queer little animals that come only from Daffy land can be made of the single daffodil-blossoms. Take one of the flowers and carefully cut away the outstanding petals, leaving the perfect, long cup. Hold the cup in your left hand with the short, green stem hanging down; the stem is the animal's head; then break off about half an inch from the blunt ends of four wooden toothpicks and use the longest parts for legs. Push the pointed ends of the tooth pick legs up into the under-side of the long, slender cup as it is held in your left hand. Keep the legs of an even length and the animal will stand firmly. This little fellow, with his green head and long green nose, is very comical (Fig. 107). He can dance on the tin tray too, and run about when you tip it.

The daffodil toys will keep their color a long while even after the blossoms are dry. Do not take off the brown calyx which is lightly wrapped around the bottom of each flower. It represents the hair of the dancers and the ears of the animal.

The Whirligig

You can have some fun with the daffodil stalk, too, after taking off the flowers.

Fig. 108 is a daffodil stalk; look at it closely, then look at Fig. 109. They are really the very same though they appear to be so different. One seems to have a blossom at the top, and you know that the other has not.

If you want to do the trick and make a stalk blossom, select a stalk like Fig. 108, hold the stem closely between your open hands and roll it rapidly by first sliding your right hand forward while the left slides backward, then the left forward and the right hand back. This makes a whirligig of your stalk, and the flower will appear at the top as you see it in Fig. 109.

Try making whirligigs of other kinds of stems; of grasses, twigs, and leaves.