What Shall We Do Now? by Dorothy Canfield Fisher (unputdownable books .TXT) 📕

The cut-water is best made of tin or lead, but stout cardboard or wood will serve the purpose. First cut the material into a round, and then make teeth in it like a saw. Thus:—Then bore two holes in it, as in the drawing, and thread strings through them, tying the strings at each end. Hold the strings firmly, and twist them a little. Then, by pulling at them to untwist them, the cut-water will be put in motion, first one way, while they are being untwisted, and then the other, while they twist up again. If held just over a basin of water, the notches will send spray a great distance, but you must be careful to dip them only when the cut-water is revolving away from you, or you will be soaked.

With a sharp knife a very good whistle can be made of hazel or willow, cut in the spring or early summer. A piece of wood about three inches long should be used. Remember what an ordinary tin whistle is like, and cut the mouthpiece at a similar angle, and also cut a little nick out of the bark, in the place of the hole immediately beyond the mouthpiece in the metal instrument. Then cut all round the bark about an inch from the other end of the stick, hold the bark firmly with one hand clasped round it, and hold the inch at the opposite end firmly with the fingers of the other, and pull. The greater portion of bark should slide off quite easily. You will then have a tube of bark about two inches long, and a white stick about three inches long, with an inch of bark remaining on it. Cut from the mouthpiece end of this stick as much as exactly fits between the end and the little nick in the bark which you have already made. Shave the top until it is flat (just as in an ordinary whistle), and place it inside the bark again. Then cut off from the white part of the stick all but a quarter of an inch: fit this into the other end of the bark tube, and you ought to get a good shrill whistle. It will be better if you keep a pea inside.

Getting ready for Christmas is almost as good as Christmas itself. The decorations can be either natural or artificial or a mixture of both. In using evergreens for ropes, it is best to have a foundation of real cord of the required length, and tie the pieces of shrub and ivy to it, either with string or floral wire. This prevents any chance of its breaking. For a garland or any device of a definite shape, the foundation could be a stiffer wire, or laths of wood. Ivy chains are described on page 135.

The simplest form of paper chain is made of colored tissue paper and glue. You merely cut strips the size of the links and join them one by one.

For paper flowers, paper and tools are especially made. But for the purposes of home decoration ordinary tissue paper, wire, glue, and scissors will serve well enough.

Mottoes and good wishes can be lettered in cotton wool on a background of scarlet or other colored linen or lining paper. Scarlet is perhaps the most cheery. Or you can make more delicate letters by sewing holly berries on to a white background; and small green letters can be made by sewing box leaves on a white background. For larger green letters and also for bordering, holly leaves and laurel leaves are good. Cotton-wool makes the best snow.

In hanging things on the Christmas tree you have to be careful that nothing is placed immediately over a candle, nor should a branch of the tree itself be near enough to a candle to catch fire. After all the things are taken off the tree there is no harm in its burning a little, because the smell of a burning Christmas tree is one of the best smells there is. To put presents of any value on the tree is perhaps a mistake, partly because they run a chance of being injured by fire or grease, and partly because they are heavy. The best things of all are candles, as many as possible, and silver balls which reflect. On the top there should, of course, be either a Father Christmas, or a Christ child, as the Germans, who understand Christmas trees even better than we do, always have. For lighting the candles a long taper is useful, and for putting them out, an extinguisher tied to a stick.

Bran-tubs or Jack Horner Pies are not so common as they used to be, but there is no better way of giving your guests presents at random. As many presents as there are children are wrapped up in paper and hidden in a tub filled with bran. This is placed on a dust-sheet, and the visitors dip their bands in and pull out each a parcel. The objection to the bran-tub is that boys sometimes draw out things more suitable for girls. This difficulty could be got over by having two tubs, one for girls and one for boys. Sometimes the ribbon of each parcel is long and falls over the edge of the dish. The boys take one color ribbon, and the girls the other, and all pull at the same time.

Two games with nuts and cherries may as well go at the end of this section as anywhere else. Almonds sometimes contain double kernels. These are called Philopenas, and you must never waste them by eating both yourself, but find some one to share them with. There are several ways of playing. One is "Yes or No," in which the one who first says either "yes" or "no" must pay a forfeit to the other. Another is "Give and Take," in which the one that first takes something that the other hands him is the loser. Or whichever of you first says to the other "Good morning, Philopena," on the following day, or the next time you meet, wins a present. Or this is sometimes played that whoever first answers a question put to him by the other must pay a forfeit. Of course this makes great fun in trying to invent and evade plausible questions.

Cherry-eating races can be very exciting. The players stand in a row with their hands behind them, and a number of long-stalked cherries are chosen from the basket and placed by the tip of the stalk between their teeth. At the word of command the players begin their efforts to draw the cherry up by the stalk into their mouths. All heads must be held down.

For making candy you will need an enamel or earthenware saucepan; a long wooden spoon; one or two old soup-plates or dishes; a bowl, if there is any mixing to be done; a cup of cold water for testing; a silver knife; and, if you are not cooking in the kitchen, a piece of oil-cloth or several thicknesses of brown paper to lay on the table.

Butter the dish into which the candy is to be poured before you begin to cook. To do this put a little piece of butter on a piece of clean soft paper and rub it all over the dish.

Always stir round the edge as well as the middle of the saucepan. Stir slowly but continually, for candy burns very quickly if left alone.

The flavoring should be added just before taking the saucepan off the fire.

To find out if your taffy or candy has boiled long enough, drop a little in the cup of cold water. If it at once becomes crisp and hard, it is done.

Before your candy is quite cold, mark it with a silver knife into squares. This will make it break up more easily and neatly when cold.

Dissolve the sugar in the water, and add the well-beaten white of an egg (this must be done before the mixture is heated). Then put on the fire in a strong saucepan. Remove all scum as it rises, and when the syrup begins to look clear, take off the fire and strain through muslin. Put the syrup back into the saucepan and let it boil quickly until you find by testing it that it is done. Then add the juice of the lemon and pour