Chapter XXVIII: Water Toys—little Wax People That Swim and Ride on Rafts

THESE little wax people are very fond of the water; in fact they are more at home and far happier in the water than when on land. Some of the wax girls and boys will be content to sit on the edge of the shore with their feet in the water; others will cling with both hands to the life-rope and dance up and down as the little waves dash upon them, though you will find that the more daring ones are not satisfied with jumping, but will often turn completely over while still grasping the rope.

=The Patterns for the Little People=

are given in Figs. 464, 466, 477 and 480. Cut ten girls from ten pieces of folded white writing-paper after first tracing the lengthwise half of Fig. 464 on half of the paper (Fig. 465). Cut ten boys (Fig. 466) from white writing-paper (Fig. 467). Paint each girl’s hair a different color, varying from light brown to raven black, from golden blond to dark auburn. Paint their bathing dresses red, blue, pink, orange, brown, green, yellow, purple, striped red and white, and spotted blue and white. Paint the boys’ bathing suits in a similar manner; mark the features of both girls and boys in ink, then color face, hands, arms, legs and feet pink. Use water-colors, and paint the back as well as the front of the dolls. When the paint is dry, take two girls and two boys and bend their arms forward at the shoulders; bend several dolls in a sitting position; take others and bend one leg forward and one backward, as if they were walking, and bend the hands together in front on those you wish to dive into the water from a height.

When all are ready,

=Dip Each Doll in Melted Wax.=

One-half a wax-candle will be sufficient for the work. Be sure that each doll is completely covered on both sides with wax, and instead of paper dolls you will have twenty funny little wax dolls, the coloring showing distinctly through the wax. With a coarse needle and thread make

=A Toy Life Rope=

and string on the thread four dolls with arms bent forward—a boy, a girl, a boy and a girl—by piercing the hands of each with the needle and drawing the thread through. In this way they are made to hold on to the thread rope.

Choose a clear, shallow pool or the edge of a pond for

=The Bathing Place=

Tie the thread to a stick, the lower end of which must be fastened securely in the ground under water while its top end stands out above the water. Hold the loose end of the thread taut in one hand as you carefully slide the bathers along the life rope until all stand in shallow water. The life rope reaches from the land out into the water. Stir the water and cause the waves to rise while you keep the thread moving up and down to make the dolls jump and frolic like real bathers (Fig. 468).

=For the Raft=

make fifteen paper lighters of strips of writing paper nine inches long and three-quarters of an inch wide (Fig. 469). Begin at one corner and roll the paper into a long round stick; fold over the top to keep the lighter from unrolling (Fig. 470). Dip each lighter in melted wax until it is completely coated all over; then wax two pieces of common string, each one a generous half yard in length. Tie or cross the centre of each string on a waxed lighter one inch from each end. Lay this lighter on a table in front of and parallel to you; place another lighter up against the ties, allowing one string from each tie to come over and one under the second lighter (Fig. 471). Cross the two lengths of each string over the last lighter, bringing the lower string up and the upper string down (Fig. 472); then lay another lighter up against the crossed strings, carrying the strings in turn over this lighter (Fig. 473). Again bring the lower string up and the upper string down before placing in another lighter, and always alternate the large and small ends of the lighters as in Fig. 474 in order to have them equally balanced and to avoid bringing all the small ends on one side and the large ends on the other side of the raft. Continue crossing the strings and adding lighters until fourteen are bound into a float; then tie the ends of the strings on each line securely together (Fig. 475), and your work will be ready for the fitting of the little mast, which must stand erect at one end of the raft.

Use the remaining lighter, which is the fifteenth, for the mast; flatten out the large end and slide it through the central opening or crack of the raft between the seven lighters on each side; then bend the flat end of the mast along the under side of the next lighter, up through the next space, over the next lighter and down through the forward space. Weaving it over and under the lighters of the raft keeps the mast firm and steady (Fig. 476).

=Make a Little Lumberman=

like Fig. 477. Fold a piece of white writing paper; trace one-half of the lumberman on it (Fig. 478), and cut out the figure. When he has been painted and waxed, stand him by the mast with one arm around it. Weave his feet in the raft as you wove the mast, and he will stand up as straight as a good soldier (Fig. 476).

=Launch the Raft=

on the water; it will dance merrily over the waves, and you can have some of the other wax children climb up and sit on the raft as it goes floating about. Should the children tumble off into the water, let them swim for a while, for that is what they want to do. Then you can help them on the raft again or bring them to land.

When the raft is riding the waves, the four bathers holding on the life-line and the other wax girls and boys playing in the sand, wading and diving in the water, let a mermaid come slowly swimming through the water toward them.

=Make the Mermaid=

of paper and her flowing tresses, also of paper. Mermaids are famous for their beautiful hair, which they seem to be always combing with a golden comb. Your mermaid, though, must be content to swim and enjoy herself without the golden comb.

Fold a piece of white writing paper; trace the lengthwise half of the figure on it (Fig. 479) and cut out the mermaid (Fig. 480); then cut two pieces of rather long, finely fringed paper (Fig. 481) for the hair, and paint them golden brown on both sides. Paint the back of the mermaid’s head and the hair around her face the same color. Mark the features with ink; when dry, color the face, arms and body pink; paint the remaining part of the figure gray. After the paint has dried mark fish scales from the waist down; then glue the straight top fringe of hair across the centre of the back of the mermaid’s head from side to side. Glue the other piece at the extreme top of the back of the head. After the mermaid is thoroughly dry, bend all of the hair out from her head. Do not allow any of it to lie down flat. Bend the body a little backward in a curve from the waist-line, the arms forward; then wax the mermaid, hair and all (Fig. 482). When the mermaid is in the water, the little wax children will make friends with her, and she will perhaps tell them fairy stories of the beautiful life under the waves.

These water toys will last a long time if well cared for and kept in a cool place where the wax will not melt.