  The Juniors come, if they wish, in fancy costumes; the smallest girl can be Cinderella, in pretty slippers, and a trained Empire dress of pink cambric, with her hair piled up on top of her head; and the smallest boy should personate the prince, in a light-blue cambric suit with many bows and buckles. Others may be the cruel stepmother, the proud sisters, the fairy godmother, the king, the queen, and various other distinguished people of the times. Among the games which might be played is “my lady’s slipper.” One player goes out of the room, and is blindfolded. The rest seat themselves in a line in seats low enough so that their feet all reach the floor. The feet must not be tucked under the chairs, or otherwise disposed of in any way except straight on the floor in front of the seated players. The blindfolded one is then called in, and tries to find out, by lightly stepping on the toes of each, who is the one thus trod upon. Some players can keep perfectly still while this is going on; but many have not the necessary self-control, and the slightest laugh, exclamation, or other noise often reveals the secret. The first one whose identity is thus learned must change places with the blindfolded one, and the game proceeds as before. Perhaps the children will like to try a “slipper obstacle-race,” which is like the race in the “parlor mountain-climb” except that each Junior wears a paper slipper which must be kept on throughout the race. “Fairy bowling” is another good game. Cover the dining-room table temporarily with a cloth of bright-colored flannel or other woollen material; arrange across it, near one end, a pasteboard arch, or one of heavy wire wound with ribbon, fastening the ends of the arch to bricks on each side, covered like the table. Prepare a large bowl of suds, made of soap, warm water, and glycerine; and arrange the players, boys on one side of the table and girls on the other, giving to each boy a clay pipe and to each girl a small fan. The boy at the head of the line takes the bowl, blows a bubble, and drops it on the table. The girl opposite tries to fan it under the arch before it breaks. Tally is kept with pink and blue paper disks on little tally cards which may be attached to the fans. Pink means a successful bowling; blue, a failure. As each two players complete their trial, they go to the foot of the line, which moves up to let the next two try. The game may consist of five rounds, or four if there are many players. A ribbon-bedecked pipe and a pretty fan might be the rewards given to the winning bowlers. Here is a new kind of “slipper-hunt,” which is enjoyable. Tell the Juniors that there are forty pairs of slippers hidden about the rooms, and offer a reward to the one finding the greatest number that prove to be pairs. The slippers should be of different colors, and about three inches long. They are cut out of cardboard from patterns found in an illustrated catalogue. The plan of a doll Cinderella seated in a pumpkin |
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