Читать книгу How to Amuse Yourself and Others: The American Girl's Handy Book - Adelia B. Beard - Страница 33

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who “sat on a wall,” and the “Humpty Dumpty” who “had a great fall,” must have been like the one I am about to describe, made of an egg; for it is pretty certain that if he should fall, “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put” this “Humpty Dumpty together again” any more than they could the other.

Diagram of Humpty Dumpty.

The diagram shows the frame of this little fellow and how it is joined together. A large egg should be chosen; and when the contents have been blown from the shell, four holes must be pricked in it for the arms and legs to pass through, as shown in the diagram. These limbs are made of rather fine bonnet-wire, the piece used for the arms being about eight inches long. The hand is made by bending up one end of the wire as in diagram, and with softened beeswax covering the loop thus formed. When one hand has been finished off in this way, the other end of the wire, still straight, should be passed through one of the holes near the small end of the shell and out through the one opposite, then bent up into a hand and arm in the same manner as described.

Humpty Dumpty.

The wire for the legs and feet must be ten inches long. The diagram shows how it is bent to form the feet. On this frame, wax can easily be modelled to look like a foot; a coating of red paint will add to the appearance, as red boots look well with the costume to be worn. The wire for the legs should be bent in a curve in the middle (see diagram) before it is passed through the shell. Again, as with the hands, one foot must be finished and the legs fastened on before the other foot can be made.

The figure of Humpty Dumpty being thus prepared, his face must be painted; water-colors are the best for this purpose. The jollier the expression of his face, the funnier the little man will look.

Patterns for trousers, jacket, and hat are shown in the diagrams. The trousers should be cut from white cotton cloth two and a half inches long and six inches wide. A slit an inch and a half long, cut in the middle, separates the legs of the trousers, which must, of course, be sewed up. Dotted lines at top and bottom show where a gathering thread should be run, the bottom gathers forming ruffles around the ankles. White should also be used for the jacket, cutting it three and a half inches long and five inches wide. The shape of the jacket may be seen in the diagram, dotted lines showing where the sleeves are to be gathered around the wrist. Collar and pockets of red—the patterns of which are given—finish the little garment. A white hat four inches around the brim and two inches high is decorated with a band of red, which should be sewed on the edge and turned up.

When dressing Humpty Dumpty, fasten his garments on to his body here and there with glue, which will hold them securely in place. The hat also should be glued to his head, as it is difficult otherwise to keep it on.