like hide-and-go-seek. One boy holds out an open hand,
and the others lay their fingers in his palm, while the leader counts,
_maysansani_, _duan-nani_, _mataltali_, [76] _ocop_. As _ocop_ ("four"
or "ready") is pronounced, the boy quickly closes his hand in order to
catch a finger. If he succeeds, the prisoner puts his hands over his
eyes, and the leader holds him, while the others run and hide. When
all are ready, he is released, and then must find all the players;
or he is beaten on the forearm with the first and second fingers of
all the participants, or they may pick him up by his head and feet,
and whirl him about.

Like European children, they have a set of small sayings or acts for
use on appropriate occasions. A youngster may come up to another who
is eating a luscious mango; when requested for a bite, he is apt to
draw down the lower lid of his eye and coolly answer, "I will make a
sound like swallowing for you," and then go on with the feast. He may
even hold out the tempting fruit, as if to comply with the request,
then suddenly jerk it back and shout "kilat." [77] This is often the
signal for a scuffle.

As the children grow older, they begin more and more to take their
place in the village life. The little girl becomes the chief guardian
of a new arrival in the family; and with the little one strapped on
her back, she romps and plays, while the baby enjoys it all or sleeps
serenely (Plate XII). The boy also assists his father and mother in
the fields, but still he finds some time for games of a more definite
character than those just described. Probably the most popular of
these is known as _agbita_ or _lipi_.

This is played with the large disk-shaped seeds of the _lipi_ plant
(Ilocano _lipai_). Each player puts two disks in line, then all go
to a distance and shoot toward them. The shooter is held between the
thumb and first finger of the left hand, and is propelled forward by
the index finger of the right. The one whose seed goes the farthest
gets first shot, and the others follow in order. All seeds knocked
down belong to the player, and if any are still in line after each
has had his turn, the leader shoots again. When each boy has had two
shots, or when all the disks are down, a new line is made; and he
whose seed lies at the greatest distance shoots first.

Another common game is _patpatinglad_, which has certain resemblances
to cricket. A small cylinder-shaped missel, called _papa-anak_
("lit