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TITANIA is a graceful little fairy, dancing as though she had learned the art from the bending of the grass in a summer breeze, the swaying of the trees or the flitting of butterflies from flower to flower. Light, airy, with gossamer wings and filmy dress, looking as though she needed nothing more substantial than silvery moonbeams to dance upon, the little queen leaves her home in the deep, wild woods and comes to do your bidding.

Have Titania’s Stage Ready

that she may not be kept waiting, for queens and fairies will brook no delay (Fig. 62). Find a wooden box 18½ inches long by 13 inches wide or larger (Fig. 63). With a heavy hammer or a hatchet pry up and knock off the top and one of the long sides (Fig. 64). The open side forms the front of the roofless stage.

Fig. 62.—Titania’s stage.

Fig. 63.—The wooden box for Titania’s stage.

Fig. 64.—Knock off the top and one of the long sides.

The coloring of the stage should be a light sage green. If possible, procure this color in cartridge wallpaper wider than the stage. With a string measure the distance across the back wall of stage from top to bottom (A to B Fig. 64), continue the measurement in the same straight line across the floor of the stage from back B to front C. After allowing five extra inches for turning the paper over the top edge of the back wall A and front edge of floor C, cut the length according to measurement. To make the strip of green paper the required width measure the exact distance across the inside back wall from side wall D to side wall E, then fold the paper evenly along each lengthwise edge, making it the width needed; unfold and adjust the paper against the back wall over its top edge and over the floor of the stage. Cut short slits on each side of the paper where the floor and wall meet, that the extra width may lie flat up against the side walls. Bend the top edge of the paper over the top of the back wall, again slashing a little on each side to make it fit top edge of wall. In the same way bend the paper over the front edge of the floor; see that the paper lies perfectly smooth, then fasten it in place with small tacks, using three tacks on the outside at the back, one at each corner and one in the middle; two tacks where floor and wall meet, and three underneath front of floor. Measure the side walls, cut paper to fit and fasten the paper on the walls with as few tacks as possible.

Fig. 65.—Back wing for stage.

Fig. 66.—Forward wing for stage.

Fig. 67.—Fasten the wings to the side wall of the stage like this.

Fig. 68.—The arch.

Fig. 69.—Tack the ends of the arch at the top of the two side walls.

When the inside papering is finished, cover the outside of the stage with pretty cretonne. Make four inside wings, two for each side of the stage, to represent the foliage of trees. Cut two like Fig. 65, from paper of a darker green than the walls of the stage and reverse one of them that they may face each other. Then make two wings, like Fig. 66, from paper of a lighter green than the walls, and reverse one of these also. The walls of the stage with the two sets of wings will make three different tones of green forming the background. Cut the wings long enough to extend up as high or higher than the side walls of the stage. Bend each strip lengthwise at dotted line and paste the bent margin of one wing from Fig. 65 on each side wall, running the wing up from the floor to the top of the wall about four inches from the back wall. In the same manner fasten the wings (Fig. 66) on each side wall three inches in front of the first or back wing (Fig. 67).

Fig. 70.—Pasteboard extension for front of stage.

Cut the arch (Fig. 68) of stiff pasteboard. The cover of a pasteboard box will do. Make the arch long enough to span the space across the front of the stage and let the lower edge of the curve in the centre of the arch be five and a half inches higher than its two ends (see dotted line, Fig. 68). Cover both sides of the arch with green paper, gluing it on only along the edges. Tack the ends of the arch to the top of the two side walls (Fig. 69).

Fig. 71.—Tack one piece of pasteboard on the front edge of each side wall of the stage.

Cut two pieces of pasteboard like Fig. 70, making each six inches wide and almost as high from floor of stage as is the top of the centre of the arch. Paper these also with green, both front and back. Tack one piece of the pasteboard on the front edge of each side wall of the stage, allowing it to extend out from and beyond the side wall (Fig. 71). Bore a hole with a gimlet through the centre of the back wall of the stage five inches up from the inside floor, and your stage will be finished.

Fig. 72.—Titania.

Make Titania

(Fig. 72) of light-weight cardboard. When finished she should be ten inches in height from her toes to the top of her head. Fig. 73 is the diagram of the body and arms, measuring three and five-eighths inches from top of head to lower edge of body. Cut the two upper portions of the legs (length two and one-half inches, greatest width one inch) from Fig. 74, and the two lower portions (length three and three-eighths inches) from Fig. 75. Join the two parts of each leg together, according to the dots, with a strong thread and needle, and fasten with a knot on front and back, so that the two pieces will be strung upon the same thread and sandwiched between two knots of the thread. Attach the legs to the body in the same manner. The small circles A, A on the doll’s body (Fig. 73) give the exact spots where the thread should pass through, and the curved line above each letter shows where the upper edge of the top part of the leg should reach. Dot B marks the point on the upper part of the leg (Fig. 74) where the thread goes through, joining the leg to the body. Have all the joints of the doll securely fastened and only loose enough to move easily.

Fig. 73.—Cut the body and arms of Titania like this.

Fig. 74.—Two upper portions of legs.

Fig. 75.—Lower part of legs.

Find a pretty head in some old paper or advertisement, cut it out and gum it on the pasteboard head. Remember, though, that the printed head must not be of very heavy paper, as the upper part of the doll should be lighter in weight than the lower, otherwise the figure will not balance. If you cannot find a head in colors, you must paint the printed black-and-white one; give the face, neck and arms a flat wash of light-pink water-color paint; color the lips and cheeks red, the eyes blue and the hair brown. Make the long stockings a darker pink than the light flesh tones, and paste slippers of gilt paper on the feet.

Puncture a hole with a coarse needle through the centre of the belt-line (C, Fig. 76). For

Titania’s Costume

make a skirt of plain white tissue paper. Cut it sixteen inches wide and three and a half inches long, after creasing the skirt by gathering up the fulness with your fingers and drawing the skirt lengthwise from top to bottom through your partially closed hand. Gather the top of the skirt with thread and needle, and fasten it on the doll, then slit up each side from the lower edge to allow of the free motion of the doll’s limbs.

Fig. 76.—String the doll together in this way.

Make the dress of pink chiffon. Cut the dress skirt three and three-fourth inches long and one yard wide, press it in knife-blade plaits, running up and down, then gather and tie it on the doll over the white tissue-paper skirt. Do not attempt to hem any portion of the clothing, as the object is to keep it all light and airy. Fashion the waist of a smooth strip of pink chiffon tied with narrow pink ribbons at the shoulders and brought down to the belt-line into a point back and front, and sewed in place. Form a silver girdle of the tinsel ruching used on Christmas trees; place the tinsel around the Queen’s waist, allowing the two free ends to hang down over the front of the dress. Glue a little of the same tinsel around the front of her dark hair, where it will shine like a crown of diamonds. Make Titania daintily hold up and out each side of her dress. Do this by stretching out the sides of the dress skirt and gumming the material to each wrist.

Cut a scarf of pink chiffon four inches wide and sixteen inches long, fasten one end in each hand of the fairy Queen and let the scarf fall in a graceful loop.

Queen Titania’s Wings

must be of the pink chiffon cut shawl shape, two sides straight and one bias (Fig. 77). Plait the bias edge (Fig. 78) and gum the wings in place on the Queen’s shoulders at the back.

Fig. 77.—Cut the wings shawl shape.

Fig. 78.—Plait the bias edge

Take a needle threaded with black thread, two or three yards long; run the needle through the centre of the belt-line of the dressed fairy at the point C (Fig. 76); then thread it through the gimlet hole at the back of the stage and tie a button on the end of the thread which extends outside of the back wall. Pull the thread on the inside of the stage until the button lies tight up against the outside of the back wall. Allow sufficient length of thread to bring the Queen within about three inches of the front edge of the stage, then make a knot in the thread immediately back of and another in front of the Queen to prevent her from slipping either forward or backward. Tie the long, loose end of the thread on a small empty spool, that it may be wound up and kept from tangling when not in use.

Place the Stage on a Chair

facing the light and, carrying the thread in your hand, take your station two yards or more away from and in front of the stage; then practise moving Titania by means of the thread until you can make her glide, pose and dance in many graceful attitudes. She will lean to the right and to the left, will stand on her toes, then curtsey, making her dress touch the floor; she will move gently and slowly, again faster and faster until her feet seem to fairly twinkle over the stage floor; she will pass back and forth almost as if floating from side to side of the stage, or stand in the centre and dance. Titania is ever fascinating, beautiful and graceful in all her movements. Ask some one to play on the piano while you make the fairy Queen dance and she will keep time to the music. When you have learned to make Titania dance her prettiest invite your friends in to see the little fairy.