From such answers a witty little girl may guess that belle was the chosen word, (belle, a fashionable lady, and bell, an instrument of sound.) Such as do not guess must pay a forfeit. Many words might be chosen for this game, such as hair, hare; reign, rain; date, a fruit and date a period of time; whip to strike with, and whip to eat; pear, pair; heir, air; ale, ail; mason a brick-layer, mason a member of a secret society; beer, bier; see and sea.
ALL who join this game must be seated in a circle, first choosing a bird-catcher, who takes his or her place in the centre. He can give the name of a bird to each person, or each can select one, but each one must represent some bird, and one of the number must personate an owl. The bird-catcher then tells a story, introducing the names of different birds. Every bird when mentioned must immediately make a chirrup, crow, screech or splutter, peculiar to its species. The slightest delay or mistake is punished by a forfeit. Each player, until the owl is mentioned, must rest his hands on his knees; but when the owl is called, each player must instantly clasp his hands behind him. The bird-catcher tries to seize the hand of one of the players before he raises it from his knee; if he succeeds, the person so caught must pay a forfeit or take the bird-catcher’s place, his name and place in the aviary being taken by the late officer. If he fails to entrap any one, he must pay a forfeit, and continue the story until he does, or has paid a certain number of forfeits; another then takes his place, either by lot or choice. The company must keep their hands behind them until some other bird is mentioned, when they must return them promptly. It is well to mention the owl twice in succession, but no one must change the second time; the owl must make his peculiar cry whenever he is mentioned. The following is a list of available birds, with sounds peculiar to them, taken from undoubted authorities:—
The Parrot—“Pretty Poll; Poll wants cracker.”
These sounds of course can be varied to suit the idea of the performer. Parrot and magpie can be made to speak as they wish. The raven may be made to say, “Never more,” according to Poe’s poem. But the sounds agreed upon at the beginning must not be changed during the game. Some amusement can be gained by giving appropriate names to different persons. The owl could be given to the most learned in the company. The best singer, the nightingale, could be represented by a few bars of Jenny Lind’s melodies. The magpie could be given to a great talker. When all are ready the bird-catcher might commence in the following manner:—