Chapter XXVIII: Cork Toys

It is surprising the number of small toys that can be made out of corks of different shapes and sizes with the aid of glue, pins, burnt matches, worsted, and cardboard. Even though a boy has passed the kindergarten age, he will find this work entertaining for days when the weather is disagreeable without; and though he may not care to play with them himself, his work will not have been wasted, for a younger brother will surely be glad to have some cork animals and birds to add to his menagerie, and a sister no less delighted with a small log-cabin and set of cork furniture.

Flat and tapered corks can probably be found about the house on old jars and bottles, while the straight variety can be procured at any drug-store. In buying the latter ask for No. 9, inch and one-half, straight, common corks, half a gross of which will cost about twenty-five cents.

=Cork Animals= are peculiar-looking beasts of abnormal proportions, but all sorts of magical feats are performed by toy makers, and such wonders as

=A Pig= that can boast of a body as large as that of an elephant is commonly found among the so-called Noah's ark animals. To make a pig, first draw its head, as in the drawing of Fig. 397, upon a piece of cardboard, and then, after cutting it out, select a straight cork and make a slit in one end of it in which to stick the head. A little glue applied to the cardboard will hold the head in place. The pig's feet consist of four pieces of burnt matches pointed at the ends and stuck into the cork as shown in Fig. 397, while the tail is formed of a piece of copper wire curled at one end and stuck into the cork. When the pig has been made, paint its head and feet to match its body.

=A Horse= requires a cork of the same shape as that used for the pig. Cut the head out of cardboard and glue it in a slit made in the end of the cork (see Fig. 398). Dip the ends of four burnt matches in glue and stick them in the cork for legs, and fasten a few pieces of worsted in a hole made in the end of the cork for the tail. A piece of thread should be fastened about the animal's neck for reins.

After making the horse, take another straight cork for

=The Elephant=, and cut the head, trunk, ears, and tusks out of a piece of cardboard as shown in the illustration (Fig. 399). Cut the tail out of another piece of cardboard, and glue it in a slit made in the end of the cork. The legs are, of course, larger around than those of the horse, and, as matches will be too slender, whittle four short wooden pegs for them. Point these pegs at one end, and, after dipping them in glue, stick them into the cork.

=The Giraffe= is just as simple to make as any of the animals, for he is put together in the same manner, except that a tapered cork is used for the body. The head and neck are made in one piece of cardboard (see illustration), and a piece of worsted forms the tail. When you have painted the head and neck a tan color to match the cork, and marked a number of brown spots upon the body, this tall and most graceful of animals will appear very life-like.

=A Porcupine= is simple to make out of a long, straight cork with toothpicks cut into small pieces for quills, and stuck into the cork as close as you can place them. The head and other portions of this animal can easily be made with the aid of a natural history, and it will be a simple matter to devise

=Other Animals= upon the same schemes as those just described, by consulting the pictures in one of these books. It is not necessary to always copy a real animal. Use your ingenuity and see what queer-looking creatures you can make. Figure 401 gives a suggestion for one of these, which we will call

=The Korka-bird.=--You will see by looking at the drawing that the two legs are made of matches, the lower ends of which are stuck into a piece of cork for a standard; and the neck consists of a burnt match stuck into the end of the cork with its upper end split to receive the cardboard head. A small chicken-feather stuck into the top of the head (the cardboard being split enough to receive it), two others in the back, and a fourth in the end of the cork compose all the plumage this wonderful bird can boast of, but this lack of feathers is more than made up by a beautiful head, neck, body, and legs, which are gilded.

As a suggestion of what can be made in the way of water toys,

=A Duck= is shown in Fig. 402. The body for this consists of a cork split in half, the head is cut out of a piece of cigar-box, and a small tin keel is fastened to the centre of the under side of the body. A few chicken feathers will form the tail. Glue, of course, cannot be used upon the duck, as it would soften in water, so the pieces composing it will have to be fastened together by means of pins. Other water toys, such as

=Canoes=, consisting of a cork split in half, lengthwise, with the inside scooped out by means of your knife, are made with a few minutes' work, and these can be transformed into

=Small Sail-boats= by sticking a toothpick in the bow for a mast and rigging a tiny sail upon it.

=Cork Furniture= is not a new idea for toys, but, inasmuch as many have never heard of them, a few examples of what can be made in this line have been introduced in this chapter. For

=A Chair=, such as shown in Fig. 403, find a flat cork, and stick four pins in one side for legs, and five pins fairly close together in the other side for the chair-back (see illustration). When the pins have been properly placed, take some worsted and wind it around each of the four legs, crossing from one to another as shown in the drawing, thus forming the chair-rounds. Also weave the worsted in and out around the pins forming the chair-back as in the drawing, so that all but the heads of the pins are covered when the operation is completed.

=The Sofa=, illustrated in Fig. 404, is made after the same manner. Split a straight cork lengthwise for the seat, placing it flat-side up, and stick pins around three edges of it upon which to wind the worsted.

=A Small Tabouret= is shown in Fig. 405. Select a straight cork for the base of this, and, after seeing that a good sharp edge is upon your knife, slice the cork lengthwise, making it hexagonal in shape. Then stick six pins in the cork near the upper edge, placing one in each of the six edges (see illustration). When this has been done, weave worsted upon the pins in the same manner as the chair-back was formed.

=A Toy Log-cabin=, or slab-hut, as it would properly be called, as the building is first put up and then covered with corks split in half for slabs, is illustrated in Fig. 406. A cardboard box should be procured out of which to make this little building, the proportion of which will determine the shape and size. Turn the box bottom side up, and on it construct a gable-roof. Cut two pieces of cardboard large enough to make a good projection over the ends of the building, and fasten them to the bottom of the box as shown in the drawing, gluing a number of linen strips to the pieces to hold them securely in place. Two pieces of cardboard should be cut to fit the gable-ends, and glued in place with linen strips. Cut windows in each side of the box and a door in each end. Having completed the little cardboard cabin, split enough straight corks in half lengthwise to cover the walls. Sharpen your knife well before commencing this work, so the corks will cut evenly and without breaking. Begin gluing these half corks along the bottom of the walls, fitting them end to end as shown in the drawing, and placing one row above another. Fit them neatly around the windows and door openings, and if they do not space out as evenly as shown in the illustration, cut some shorter pieces to fill in. The corks will quickly adhere to the cardboard if you press your finger against each for a second or two after placing it in position.

The roof may be painted to represent boards or shingles, and a cork stuck in it as shown in the illustration will form the chimney. Cover the window openings with paper. Tissue-paper will admit more light than ordinary writing-paper, so probably will be the better material. Hinge a piece of cardboard to the jamb of each door opening, using small pieces of linen for hinges. Rule a few vertical lines upon the doors to represent the boards. All that now remains to be done to complete the cabin is the mounting, for which a seven-eighths-inch board should be procured. Use linen strips to fasten the cabin upon this board, placing them upon the inside surfaces of the walls, which can be reached by running your hand through the door openings.