er hen in front, each clutching fast
hold of the others' clothing, with a large active boy at the end of the
line.

The hawk then came to catch the chicks, but the mother hen spread her
wings and moved from side to side keeping between the hawk and the
brood, while at the same time the line swayed from side to side always
in the opposite direction from that in which the hawk was going. Every
chick caught by the hawk was taken out of the line until they were all
gone.

One of the boys whispered something to Chi.

"Strike the poles," exclaimed the latter.

As soon as they began playing we recognized it as a game we had already
seen.

The boys stood about four feet apart, each having a stick four or five
feet long which he grasped near the middle. As they repeated the
following rhyme in concert they struck alternately the upper and lower
ends of the sticks together, occasionally half inverting them and thus
striking the upper ends together in an underhand way. They struck once
for each accented syllable of the following rhyme, making it a very
rhythmical game.

Strike the stick,
One you see.
I'll strike you and you strike me.
Strike the stick,
Twice around,
Strike it hard for a good, big sound.
Strike it thrice,
A stick won't hurt.
The magpie wears a small white shirt.
Strike again.
Four for you.
A camel, a horse, and a Mongol too.
Strike it five--
Five I said,
A mushroom grows with dirt on its head.
Strike it six
Thus you do,
Six good horsemen caught Liu Hsiu.
Strike it seven
For 'tis said
A pheasant's coat is green and red.
Strike it eight,
Strike it right,
A gourd on the house-top blossoms white.
Strike again,
Strike it nine,
We'll have some soup, some meat and wine.
Strike it ten,
Then you stop,
A small, white blossom on an onion top.

Chi did not wait for further suggestion from any one, but called out:

"Throw cash."

The boys all ran to an adjoining wall, each took a cash from his purse
or pocket, and pressing it against the wall, let it drop. The one whose
cash rolled farthest away took it up and threw it against the wall in
such a way as to make it bound back as far as possible.

Each did this in turn. The one whose cash bounded farthest, then took
it up, and with his