—Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews).

XIII.

XIV.

XV.

XVI.

XVII.

XVIII.

XIX.

(b) The players stand in a circle, but they do not necessarily hold hands, nor do they move round. One player kneels or stands in the centre, and another walks round outside the circle. The child in the centre asks the questions, and the child outside (Johnny Lingo) replies. When the last answer is given, the outside player, or Johnny Lingo, touches one of the circle on the back; this player, without speaking, then follows Johnny Lingo and stands behind her holding her by her dress, or round the waist. The dialogue is then repeated, and another child taken. This is continued until all the circle are behind Johnny Lingo. Then the child in the centre tries to catch one of them, and Johnny Lingo tries to prevent it; as soon as one player is caught she stands aside, and when all are caught the game is over.

This is the usual way of playing. The variations are: in Galloway, Enbourne, Keith, and Hanbury, the centre player shuts her eyes, or is blindfolded. In the Almondbury version, when the centre child gets up to look for his sheep, and finds them (they do not stand behind Johnny Ringo, but hide), they run about “baaing;” when he catches them he pretends to cut their heads off. In Chambers’s description of the game, all the players except two sit upon the ground in a circle (sitting or lying down also obtains at Barnes), one of the two stands inside, and the other personates “Bloody Tom.” Bloody Tom tries to carry off a player after the dialogue has been said, and the centre child tries to prevent this one from being taken, and the rest of the circle “cower more closely round him.” In the Macduff version, when all the players have been taken, the centre child runs about crying, “Where are all my chickens?” Some of the “chickens,” on hearing this, try to run away from “Limping Tom” to her, and he tries to prevent them. He puts them all behind him in single file, and the centre child then tries to catch them; when she catches them all she becomes Limping Tom, and he the shepherd or hen. Dr. Gregor says (Keith)—The game is generally played by boys; the keeper kneels or sits in the middle of the circle; when all the sheep are gone, and he gets no answers to his questions, he crawls away still blindfolded, and searches for the lost sheep. The first player he finds becomes keeper, and he becomes Bloody Tom. In the Winterton version (No. I.) there is a further dialogue. The game is played in the usual way at the beginning. When Jacko Lingo says, “Follow me” (he had previously, when saying one by one and two by two, &c., touched three children on their back in turn), the third one touched leaves the ring, and stands behind him holding his clothes or waist. This is done until all the children forming the circle are holding on behind him. The child in the centre then asks the next question. When she says, “Here’s my black sheep,” she tries to dodge behind Jacky Lingo, and catch the child behind him. When she has done this she begins again at “Have you seen anything of my black sheep,” until she has caught all the children behind Jacky Lingo. In two versions, Deptford and Bocking, there is no mention of a player being in the centre, but this is an obvious necessity unless the second player stands also outside the circle. In the Raunds version the ring moves slowly round. In the Hants version (Miss Mendham) the children sit in a line. The thief takes one at a time and hides them, and the shepherd pulls them out of their hiding-places. In the Shropshire game, the chickens crouch down behind their mother, holding her gown, and the fox walks round them.

(c) This game appears to represent a village (by the players standing still in circle form), and from the dialogue the children not only represent the village, but sheep or chickens belonging to it. The other two players are—one a watchman or shepherd, and the other a wolf, fox, or other depredatory animal. The sheep may possibly be supposed to be in the pound or fold; the thief comes over the boundaries from a neighbouring village or forest to steal the sheep at night; the watchman or shepherd, although at first apparently deceived by the wolf, discovers the loss, and a fight ensues, in which the thief gets the worse, and some of the animals, if not all, are supposed to be recovered. The names used in the game,—pen pound, pinfold, fold, stone wall, sunny wall, sandy path, gravel path, sheep fold, garden, house, are all indications that a village and its surroundings is intended to be represented, and this game differs in that respect from the ordinary Fox and Geese and Hen and Chickens games, in which no mention is made of these.

Halliwell records two versions (Nursery Rhymes, pp. 61, 68). The words and method of playing are the same as some of those recorded above. There is also a version in Suffolk County Folk-lore, pp. 65, 66, which beginning with “Who’s going round my little stony wall?” after the sheep are all stolen, continues with a dialogue, which forms a part of the game of “Witch.” The Rev. W. S. Sykes sends one from Settle, Yorkshire, the words of which are the same as No. XIV., except that the last line has “just one” instead of “buy one.” Mr. Newell gives a version played by American children.

Widow

—Bexley Heath (Miss Morris.)

IV.

—Suffolk County Folk-lore, p. 67.

V.

—Maxey, Northants (Rev. W. D. Sweeting).

VI.

—Auchterarder, N.B. (Miss E. S. Haldane).

(b) The children form a ring by joining hands. One player stands in the centre. The ring dance round singing the first verse; the widow then chooses one player from the ring, who goes into the centre with her, and the ring dances round singing the second part. The one first in the centre then joins the ring, and the second player becomes the widow and chooses in her turn.

This belongs to the marriage group of Kiss in the Ring games. Northall (English Folk Rhymes, p. 374), gives a version similar to the above.

See “Kiss in the Ring,” “Poor Widow,” “Sally Water,” “Silly Young Man.”

Wiggle-Waggle

See “Horns.”

Wild Boar

Wild Birds

See “All the Birds in the Air,” “Fool, Fool.”

Willie, Willie Wastell

The same game as “Tom Tiddler’s Ground.” It is played in the same way. Jamieson says the second rhyme given shows that the rhyme was formerly repeated by the player holding the castle, and not, as now, by the opposing players.

See “King of the Castle,” “Tom Tiddler’s Ground.”

Wind up the Bush Faggot

[Play]

In the Essex game all the players join hands and form a long line. They should stand in sizes, the tallest should be the first, and should stand quite still. All the rest walk round this tallest one, singing—

to the first part of the tune given—that in three-eight time. This is to be repeated until all the players are wound round the centre or tallest player, in a tight coil. Then they all sing—

to the second part of the tune in 2-4 time. This is repeated, all jumping simultaneously to the changed time, until there is a general scrimmage, with shrieking and laughter, and a break up. The players should look somewhat like a watch spring. Spring As soon as the last one is wound up, no matter in what part of the 3-8 time music they may be, they leave off and begin to jump up and down, and sing to the 2-4 music.—Essex (Miss Dendy).

This game is called “Wind up the Watch” in Wolstanton, North Staffordshire Potteries, and is played in the same manner. The words are only, “Wind up the Watch,” and are said. When all the players are wound up they begin to unwind, saying, “Unwind the Watch.”—Miss Bush. Called “Wind up Jack” in Shropshire. It is the closing game of any playtime, and was played before “breaking-up” at a boys’ school at Shrewsbury, 1850-56. The players form a line hand in hand, the tallest at one end, who stands still; the rest walk round and round him or her, saying, “Wind up Jack! Wind up Jack!” (or at Ellesmere, “Roll up the tobacco-box”), till “Jack” is completely imprisoned. They then “jog up and down,” crying, “A bundle o’ rags, a bundle o’ rags!”—Berrington, Ellesmere (Shropshire Folk-lore, p. 521).

In Scotland the game is known as “Row-chow-Tobacco;” a long chain of boys hold each other by the hands: they have one standing steadily at one of the extremities, who is called the Pin. Round him the rest coil like a watch chain round the cylinder, till the act of winding is completed. A clamorous noise succeeds, in which the cry Row-chow-Tobacco prevails; after giving and receiving the fraternal hug, they disperse, and afterwards renew the process. In West of Scotland, it is Rowity-chow-o’-Tobacco, pronounced, rowity-chowity-bacco, and as the first syllable of each word is shouted, another hug or squeeze is given. The game is not so common as formerly. The same game is played in West Cornwall by Sunday-school children at their out-of-door treats, and is called “Roll Tobacco.”

It is known as “The Old Oak Tree” in Lincoln, Kelsey, and Winterton, and is played in the same manner. When coiling round, the children sing—

When they have twisted into a closely-packed crowd they dance up and down, tumbling on each other, crying—

In the Anderby and Nottinghamshire version of the game the children often sing—

—Miss M. Peacock.

In Mid-Cornwall, in the second week in June, at St. Roche, and in one or two adjacent parishes, a curious dance is performed at the annual “feasts.” It enjoys the rather undignified name of “Snails Creep,” but would be more properly called the “Serpent’s Coil.” The following is scarcely a perfect description of it:—“The young people being all assembled in a large meadow, the village band strikes up a simple but lively air and marches forward, followed by the whole assemblage, leading hand-in-hand (or more closely linked in case of engaged couples), the whole keeping time to the tune with a lively step. The band, or head of the serpent, keeps marching in an ever-narrowing circle, whilst its train of dancing followers becomes coiled round it in circle after circle. It is now that the most interesting part of the dance commences, for the band, taking a sharp turn about, begins to retrace the circle, still followed as before, and a number of young men, with long leafy branches in their hands as standards, direct this counter movement with almost military precision.”—W. C. Wade (Western Antiquary, April 1881).

From this description of the “Snail Creep,” it is not difficult to arrive at an origin for the game. It has evidently arisen from a custom of performing some religious observance, such as encircling sacred trees or stones, accompanied by song and dance. “On May Day, in Ireland, all the young men and maidens hold hands and dance in a circle round a tree hung with ribbons and garlands, or round a bonfire, moving in curves from right to left, as if imitating the windings of a serpent.”—Wilde (Ancient Cures, Charms, and Usages of Ireland, 106).

It is easy to conjecture how the idea of “winding up a watch,” or “rolling tobacco,” would come in, and be thought the origin of the game from the similarity of action; but it is, I think, evident that this is not the case, from the words “a bundle o’ rags,” the mention of trees, and the “jogging” up and down, to say nothing of the existence of customs in Ireland and Wales similar to that of “Snail Creep.” It is noticeable, too, that some of these games should be connected with trees, and that, in the “Snail Creep” dance the young men should carry branches of trees with them.

See “Bulliheisle,” “Eller Tree.”

Wind, The

I.

II.

—Berrington, Eccleshall (Shropshire Folk-lore, p. 510).

III.

IV.

—Settle, Yorks. (Rev. W. G. Sykes).

V.

VI.

A ring is formed by the children joining hands, one player standing in the centre. When asked, “Please tell me who they be,” the girl in the middle gives the name or initials of a boy in the ring (or vice versa). The ring then sings the rest of the words, and the boy who was named goes into the centre. This is the Forest of Dean way of playing. In the Shropshire game, at the end of the first verse the girl in the centre beckons one from the ring, or one volunteers to go into the centre; the ring continues singing, and at the end the two children kiss; the first one joins the ring, and the other chooses in his turn. The other versions are played in the same way.

Northall (English Folk-Rhymes, p. 380) gives a version from Warwickshire very similar.

Wink-egg

See “Blind Man’s Stan.”

Witch, The