"Cows and horses walk on four legs." The next line requires a change, only one finger on each hand being used, and-- "Little children walk on two legs" (_sung_). * * * "Fishes swim in water clear" demands the waving of arms horizontally, to imitate the action of swimming in water. "Birds fly up into the air." When this line is sung the hands are held up, and moved from the wrists like the wings of birds flapping in the air. "One, two, three, four, five" is said to the clapping of hands. "Catching fishes all alive" is sung to the action of grabbing at supposed fishes with the fingers. "Why did you let them go?" Everybody shakes their head and replies-- "Because they bit my finger so!" "Which finger did they bite?" Holding up the little finger, you answer-- "This little finger on the right!" "ANOTHER NURSERY TABLE GAME, BUT NEARLY 300 YEARS OLD." Some of the thousands of the nursery tales in vogue come to us without a trace as to their origin. In James I.'s time the ending of ballads ran with a tuneful "Fa, la, la, la, lal, de." A collection of ballads in book-form by John Hilton, and called "Garlands," are also described as the "Ayres and Fa las" in the title-page. Halliwell gives "The tale of two birds sitting on a stone" the same date. It is scarcely a tale, but a game still played by all classes of children-- "There were two birds sitting on a stone, Fa, la, la, la, lal, de. One flew away, and then there was one, Fa, la, la, la, lal, de. The other flew after, and then there was none, Fa, la, la, la, lal, de. And so the poor stone was left all alone, Fa, la, la, la, lal, de!" The way boys play it may be briefly told as follows:--Pieces of paper are wetted and fixed on the fingers, the first finger of each hand. Being thus ornamented, they are placed on the table or knee, and the rhyme repeated-- "There were two birds sitting on a stone." Then by a sudden upward movement, throwing the paper on one finger, as it were, over the shoulder, the next finger--the second--is substituted for it, and the hand is again brought down and placed beside the remaining paper bird-- "Fa, la, la, la, lal, de." "One flew away, and then there was one." The same sleight-of-hand is gone through with the other finger-- "The other flew away, and then there was none, And so the poor stone was left all alone." Another but more modern game, embodying the same idea, is told in-- "There were two blackbirds sitting on a hill, One named Jack and the other named Jyll. Fly away, Jack, fly away, Jyll. Come again, Jack, come again, Jyll"-- to the wonderment of the child watching the quick change of fingers. It is the earliest sleight-of-hand trick taught to the nursery child. A B C GAME.