After you have opened several nuts and taken out the kernels, use the knife to cut away the thin, papery divisions inside the shells. You will then be ready to make
As a rule professors wear black robes when they wear any, but our nutshell professor wears white because it is more becoming to his dark complexion, and because it is more effective and draws attention to him.
To make the robe, fold an oblong piece of white paper into a square, which makes the square double. The edges should measure about four inches. If you have a large white envelope cut off one end to make it square and use that. Fold the square diagonally across from point to point, as is shown by the dotted line in Fig. 141. Now turn back first one side point, then the other side point, and make them meet over the first fold to form a fanlike pleat, wider at the bottom than at the top. The dotted lines on either side of the middle one in Fig. 141 show where the folds should come. The middle fold is bent out, or toward you; the side folds are bent in, or away from you. The side points now extending toward you are the wide, flowing sleeves of the professor's gown.
Take the robe in your hand at the bottom point, holding it from the back, and on the top point hang the professor's nutshell head (Fig. 140).
While the head balances quite securely on the point, you can make it wag from side to side, make it shake and tremble when the professor grows very earnest in his discourse, and make the chin thrust itself forward when he is emphatic. You do all this merely by shaking and tipping the paper robe. He is an amusing little lecturer, this English-walnut shell professor, and seems very much alive.
It is a far cry from a lecturer to a little mouse, yet one English-walnut shell will make both, half a shell for each.
This is a nice, cosey-looking little mouse who crouches down comfortably and does not show his legs (Fig. 142).
The point of the shell is the nose of the mouse; above it make two round, black eyes and then paste on two brown-paper ears. Cut the ears like Fig. 143, bend back the little stems at the bottom, put a touch of paste on each stem and stick the ears to the mouse's head in the position shown in Fig. 142. Cut a piece of string about three inches long for the tail and paste one end of it on the inside edge of the shell at the large end.
If you make three of these mice and glue them to a piece of cardboard they will look very cunning. Or you can glue one mouse to a small card and use it for the top of a Christmas pen-wiper.
A pretty way to give a small present at Christmas or on a birthday is to put it into an English-walnut shell box. A thimble fits in the box beautifully (see Fig. 144).
Open the shell of an English walnut in the way described (Fig. 139). Cut away the inside partitions and, with jeweller's cotton, make a soft little bed in one-half of the shell. Press down the cotton in the middle to make a hollow, and in this hollow fit the new thimble. Put a layer of cotton over the top of the thimble and tuck in the edges. The way to close the box is to cover the edges of the other half-shell with glue and then fit it on the half that holds the thimble, just as it was before you opened it.
Now you have a whole nut again, but the meat inside is very different from that which you took out. You can gild the nutshell after the glue has hardened or leave it as it is. Its own brown color is pretty enough. In either case you must have a piece of narrow ribbon to tie around the box and form a loop by which to hang it (Fig. 145).
Pass the ribbon under the small end of the nutshell, then bring it up and tie it securely at the top of the large end. The ribbon should not be over the seam but should pass across the middle of each half-shell. It will then hold the two parts together and keep the glue from loosening. After the ribbon is tied at the top of the nut, make a long loop above it and tie again in a bow-knot.
Vegetables are good to eat, certainly, and you know what they are like when cooked and on the dinner-table; but many are also good to play with. You can make fine toys of them, toys that are entirely different from any you have ever seen. Here is the
A fish that really swims, not on top of the water but in it, is the little fish (Fig. 146). You won't find that in a shop or anywhere else, for I have only just discovered how to make it myself.
A paper tail and two paper fins must be added, but that won't take five minutes when you know how to do it. The tail and fins make it wonderfully lifelike, for when the fish swims around in a big basin or dish-pan, the tail sways this way and that, the fins move back and forth exactly as they do on a living fish in a real lake or in the great ocean.
Choose a good, firm bean-pod, one as flat and even as you can find, open it carefully along the straight edge and take out the beans. Save the beans, for you can make something of them too. Do not let the pod close again after the beans are out. It must be open about half an inch, or maybe a little more, at the middle. You can widen the opening by pushing your finger in. Be careful not to split it along the upper edge. It should be like Fig. 147, which shows the opening at the bottom.
With the small blade of a pocket-knife make a slit on each side of the pod at the large end where it is marked C in Fig. 147.
These slits are to hold the fins. Directly on the curved edge of the small end of the pod, at the place marked D, cut another short slit. Don't let it reach the lower edge. This is to hold the tail.
From writing-paper, not the very heavy kind, cut two fins like Fig. 148. Double the paper and cut out both at once so that they may be exactly alike. From the same kind of paper cut the tail like Fig. 149. All you have to do now is to push the sharp point of one paper fin into the slit on one side of the pod, the other fin into the slit on the other side of the pod, and the sharp point of the tail into the slit in the edge of the pod, and there is your fish. You see the fins and tail are not pasted on and they really seem a living part of the fish. Notice that the top of fins and tail are different from the bottom, and be sure to have the top edge up when you put them in the slits.
The way to make the lima-bean fish swim is to place it, open edge down, in a large basin of water; then with a stick or spoon begin at the centre to stir the water gently and gradually round and round until it all moves faster and faster, and keeps on moving after you stop stirring. Then your little green fish will swim. Round and round the basin he will go, his tail waving and his fins moving so naturally you will shout with delight.
If at first the fish insists upon turning over on his side and floating about like a dead fish, don't give him up. He is only playing 'possum. He can swim and he will if you are patient and keep setting him upright until he gains his balance and becomes used to the water. Remember to put the fish in the water, not on top.
Don't let the beans, that you have taken out of the pod when making the fish, get dry and hard. They can be turned into a
Three beans and several strong, straight broom-straws you will need for making this comical little fellow, who, upright and independent, stands squarely on his own feet. That is a good thing for any one to do, let alone a little bean man (Fig. 150).
The beans should be of different sizes. A large one for the body, next in size for the feet and a smaller one for the head. Some beans have a little point that stands out on one edge and looks like a tiny nose, while below it there is a round hollow that looks like a little open mouth. That is the kind of bean to choose for the little man's head.
The broom-straw for Mr. Bean's arms should be quite four inches long, if he is to be four inches tall. Cut one end of this broom-straw slanting to a point like E in Fig. 151, and push the point through the upper part of the body bean and out far enough on the other side to make the arms of equal length; then bend one arm up at the middle where the elbow should be, and the other arm down as you see them in the drawing of the man (Fig. 150).
The broom-straws for the legs must be two and a half inches long and cut pointed at both ends, for one end of the leg is pushed into the lower part of the body bean and the other end into the half bean which is the foot. Split the foot bean in half to make two feet and push the leg straw into the rounded side. The flat side is the bottom of the foot.
A short piece of broom-straw, hardly an inch long, is the neck. Cut this straw pointed at each end, push one end into the top of the body bean and the other end into the lower part of the head bean. Use one-half of the outer skin, that comes off the foot bean when you split it, for a hat. Being curved like a rose-petal, it fits the head very nicely, but a drop of paste on the little man's head will make it more secure.
Your lima-bean man may be a farmer and own
Look over all your bean-pods that still have beans in them, and select the one shaped most like Fig. 153. Do not take the beans out of the pod; they make the pig fat and solid. The stem end forms the snout and the head.
Cut four broom-straws about one and a half inches long for the legs. Sharpen each of these straws at one end and push the pointed end into the lower part of the body, two on each side, in the places shown by small rings on Fig. 153.
From part of another bean-pod cut two ears like F, Fig. 154, and pin them on the pig's head with a short straw as they are shown in the picture of the pig. Run the straw through one ear near the bottom, through the head and then through the other ear on the other side of the head.
Pull a narrow strip from the edge of a bean-pod for the tail (G, Fig. 154). Curl it by drawing it lightly over the blade of the scissors. Punch a small hole with the point of the scissors in the upper edge of the pig's back at the place marked by the arrow on Fig. 153, and push one end of the tail into the hole. Make small round dots with a pencil, or pen and ink, for the eyes. The ears and tail may be made of paper if you find that easier to use.
If you have ever seen an alligator, a long-tailed sweet potato will make you think of one immediately.
Fig. 155 is a baby alligator with a sweet-potato body and paper head and legs. It is just the size of the little alligators they sell for pets down in Florida. That is, the alligator from which the drawing was made is the size of the live ones; the drawing is, of course, smaller.
Find a potato shaped like Fig. 156. Cut a slit in the large end and two slits on each side where you see them in Fig. 156. When you make the side slits push your knife in with the blade slanting upward and backward for the front legs, and slanting downward and backward for the back legs. This will allow the paper legs to slide in without bending.
Use brown paper, as near the color of the potato as you can get, for the alligator's head and legs. Make the head like Fig. 157, cutting along the heavy lines and bending along the dotted ones. Bend down the sides of the head and of the neck, then bend the head first up, then down, to lift it above the neck (Fig. 155.)
The eyes of a baby alligator are large and prominent. Draw them on the head as you see them in Fig. 157. That is as near as we can come to the real eyes.
Cut out of the same paper used for the head two fore legs like Fig. 158, and two hind legs like Fig. 159. Slide the fore legs into the slits nearest the large end of the potato and the hind legs into the slits near the tail. Push the point of the paper neck into the slit at the large end of the potato. That finishes the baby alligator, which is wonderfully true to life.
A crisp, fresh, clean radish is very tempting, but don't eat it this time; turn it into something else by the magic your ten fingers can work.
Fig. 160 shows a round white radish which, with its long, slender root and leaves still on it, has been changed into a queer little radish imp by using strong broom-straws to stiffen his leaf arms, his leaf legs, and his leaf body. His eyes are bits of broom-straw, his mouth is a slit with a broom-straw tongue, and his absurd, stand-out ears are also pieces of stout broom-straw.
The root growing out of the top of his head is like a Chinaman's queue standing on end with little, crinkly separate hairs at its base.
When you make your radish imp cut two broom-straws about four inches long for his arms; point these at the ends. Cut two more strong broom-straws a little longer than the distance between the radish and the tips of the two longest leaves. Point these at both ends (Fig. 161). Now choose two leaves of even length, nearest the radish, for the arms. Don't take them off but push a broom-straw through each leaf, first in, then out, then push the other end of the straw into the thick part of the stems just under the radish. Look at Fig. 160 and see how this is done.
The leaves with the longest stems must be used for the legs. If there are more than two long-stemmed leaves, cut off all except those wanted for the legs. Bend the long, stout broom-straws at one end, as in Fig. 161, and push the other end up through the thick part of the stems and into the radish; then with a piece of string or strong blade of grass tie the stems of the leaves to the straws, as shown in Fig. 160. This forms a little belt at the waist-line. Leave a large leaf with short stem loose at the back for a cape and run the bent ends of the long straws in and out of the leaves intended for the feet.
Cut a curved slit in the radish for a mouth and push in a small piece of broom-straw for a tongue, then put in bits of straw for eyes, nose, and uplifted ears.
You can make a most amusing little white mouse of a white radish; not a round one like that used for the imp, but egg-shaped, like Fig. 162. The long root is the tail of the mouse and the other end of the radish is his head. Cut two paper ears like H, Fig. 163. Make two slits in the head and slip the pointed ends of the ears into the slits.
For whiskers (all mice have whiskers) find two sprays of fine branching broom-straws (I, Fig. 163), cut them the proper length, and push a spray into the head on each side of the nose. Put bits of broom-straw in for eyes and then cut four thick straws like J, Fig. 163, and push the pointed ends slantingly in the lower part of the radish for the feet of the mouse. His legs are not seen because he is crouching. The drawing of the mouse shows where to put the feet.
Press your thumb on the rounded edge of a fresh, fat green pea-pod, and, pop! it goes splitting open at the top. Then push your thumb into the opening, run it down the pod and the two halves separate, showing a row of fine, large peas that look like great green pearls in a soft, silk-lined case made expressly for them.
You have done this ever so many times when helping mother, haven't you? And you know that the next thing to do when the pod is open is to run that same little thumb down again and scoop out all those round green peas, letting them fall with a patter into the pan in your lap.
Now as a reward for such helpfulness suppose you ask mother or the cook to give you a good big handful of peas which have not been shelled, and ask also for some wooden toothpicks such as are used in the kitchen for fastening meat together; or a number of nice, straight, strong broom-straws if there are no wooden toothpicks. Take all these out on the porch if the day is fine and sit down comfortably to make the remarkable things which I am going to tell you how to make. It is a good plan to have a box and its cover to hold the shelled peas and their pods, but it does not really matter except that the round peas are apt to roll away and get lost if you put them in your lap.
The little green-pea greenies, cousins of the brownies, shown in the illustration are funny, aren't they? But the drawing is not as funny as the real greenies, and you can make them in all sorts of absurd positions.
Two little men and a widely smiling greeny girl are given here (Fig. 164). The large green peas that come late in the season are used to make these little people. In fact, it is only the large peas that can be used for any of the things described. Fig. 165 shows how the greeny girl is put together. Her arms, legs, and neck are made of broom-straws. Her body and head are green peas. Her dress is one end of a pea-pod and her feet are bits of a pea-pod cut the shape you see in Fig. 165.
First cut short pieces of broom-straws for the legs and point them at both ends so that they will be easy to push into the peas and pods. Cut another piece the same length, pointed at the top end for the support. Push the legs and support into the large pea used for the body as you see them in Fig. 165. Now cut another piece of broom-straw pointed at both ends for the neck and push one end into the pea you have selected for the head.
Cut off the stem of a large pea-pod, leaving the little leaves at the top, which were the calyx of the pea-blossom, for a collar, and then cut the pea-pod dress the proper length to fit the little woman. When that is done put the dress on over the headless body and push the lower end of the broom-straw neck in at the top, down through the collar, and into the pea which forms the body. With a pin make a hole on each side just under the collar and push a broom-straw arm in each of the armholes you have made. Bend one straw in the middle, as in Fig. 165, to give the bent elbow.
Last of all cut two three-cornered feet like the one in Fig. 165 from a pea-pod and push a foot on the end of each leg. Turn the toes in and the little figure will look very comical. To give her a face, dip a pen in black ink and make two round eyes in the head, a round nose, and a wide mouth turned up at the corners. The pen must be pushed through the skin of the pea to do this. When the greeny girl stands up, her dress hides the support at the back so that it cannot always be seen, and she looks as if she stood on her two feet just as you stand on yours.
The illustration (Fig. 164) shows how the greeny men are put together. The little dancing fellow must have two supports because one foot is lifted. The tiny ridiculous cap on the head of the other man is the little cap that holds the pea to the pod and sometimes clings to the pea after it is shelled.
The greenies' little tents are made of pea-pods and it takes three pods for each tent. After you have taken out the peas split the pods up along the back edge, but leave the two halves fastened together at the stem. Stand up two pods by pushing the stem end of one pod between the two halves at the top of the other, as they are shown in Fig. 166. Then separate the halves of the third and longest pod and place it astride the first two (Fig. 167). This will make quite a strong tent, and, if you like, you can have a whole camp of them.
The greenies need not always live in tents. Like other people, they can have houses as well.
It is best to use the wooden toothpicks in making the house. They are stronger than broom-straws and all the same length. Begin by putting the front of the house together. Make the peak first. Choose a large pea, push the end of a toothpick into it, then not far from that push in the end of another toothpick slantingly so that the lower ends will be separated as you see them in Fig. 168. On each of these lower ends stick a pea like Fig. 169. That is the peak for the roof. Now make a long upright for each side by using a pea to join two sticks (Fig. 170), and push the upper end of each upright into the peas at the lower ends of the peak (Fig. 171).
Shorten two toothpicks by breaking half an inch off each of them, then join them as you did the uprights by pushing one end of each stick into a large pea (Fig. 172). This is the front joist or crosspiece of the upper floor of the house, and you must fit it in between the two uprights of the front by pushing the ends of the crosspiece into the peas at the middle of the uprights (Fig. 173).
The back of the house is made in the same way with a third upright added which runs down through the middle from the point of the peak to the bottom of the house. This third upright is made by shortening two toothpicks and joining them with a pea, then fitting them in between the pea at the top of the peak and the pea at the middle of the crosspiece. A whole toothpick with the upper end pushed into the lower part of the pea at the middle of the crosspiece finishes the long upright (Fig. 174).
When the front and back are made all there is to do to finish the frame of the house is to put in the crosspieces to hold them together. Fig. 175 shows all these crosspieces or joists. One crosspiece between the two peas at the top of the front and back peaks for the ridge-pole (K, Fig. 175), one on each side between the peas at the bottom of the peaks (L and M), one at each side between the peas at the ends of the front and back crosspieces (N, O), and one between the two peas at the middle of the front and back crosspieces (P).
Now you have the frame of a two-storied house or a house with only an upper story, but it needs a roof and a floor. Split some of your pea-pods in half and lay one at a time across the ridge-pole at the top and the crosspiece at the bottom of the peak. Put half of a pod on one side of the peak, half a pod on the other side of the peak, then another half pod on the first side, and the next one on the second side, and so on until the space is covered and the house is roofed in. The stem ends of the pods must be up. The stems lock together and hold the roof in place.
Make the loosely laid floor also of the split pea-pods, putting them across from front to back.
Your little house (Fig. 176) now looks like those which strange people in far-away, hot countries build for themselves. They have no lower story or what we call a first floor, but are lifted on posts far above the sometimes very damp ground, and out of reach of any wild animals that may be prowling around.
You can make a fence to put around the house in this way: Push a large pea on each end of a whole toothpick like Fig. 177, then break a toothpick exactly in half, stick one end of each half into the lower parts of the peas to form uprights, and push the lower end of each of these uprights into another pea as shown in Fig. 178. For the slanting crosspiece stick one end of another toothpick into the upper pea at the left-hand side, and the other end into the lower pea at the right-hand side (Fig. 179). Add a toothpick between the two lower peas, and one section of the fence is finished (Fig. 180).
Begin another section by sticking one end of a toothpick into a new pea and the other end into the upper pea at the left side of the section you have just finished (Fig. 180), then put in half a toothpick for the upright, a pea on the bottom of that, a whole toothpick for the slanting crosspiece, and another whole toothpick for the bottom.
In this way you can keep on adding section after section and make your fence any length. To turn a corner all you have to do is to push the toothpicks which form the upper and lower crosspieces of a new section in at the back of the top and bottom peas of an end section of the fence.
You will notice that in the illustration there is a plant growing at the side of the house which looks something like a cactus and adds to the tropical, or hot-country look of the little greeny people's home.
Seven half pea-pods are used to make this plant, four to stand up and three to lie down flat. Wrap and tie the stem ends of the four half pods together with a bit of string. Push a toothpick for a flower-stem through the middle of the bunch. Cut away the stem of a pea-pod, then cut off the calyx, or circle of little leaves, with the knob below attached. This is to be the blossom of the strange plant. Stick the flower on its toothpick stem, knob down, as you see it in the picture.
To make the plant stand firmly lay the three extra half pods down flat with the stem ends one on top of the other and the outer ends at equal distances apart, and force the toothpick flower-stem through the pods where they cross. These three flat pods make a base which holds the rest of the plant upright, while they look as if they were a part of it.