Take a square of thin white paper three or four inches wide (a). Fold it
across (b), and again, until it is a square (c), half as wide as "a."
Mark on it the lines as in "d," and fold it in three equal parts as in
"e." Now with pencil draw the heavy black lines as in "f, g, h." Cut
along these lines with scissors, open out the central piece, and you
have your snow-gems as on facing page.
You can see for yourself that these are true to the gem-law of the White
Kingdom, if, when next the snow comes down, you look for the biggest
flakes as they lie on some dark surface. You will find many patterns all
of them beautiful, and all of them fashioned in accordance with the law.
Are You Alive?
Little boy or girl, are you all alive? Just as alive as an Indian? Can
you see like a hawk, feel like a blind man, hear like an owl? Are you
quick as a cat? You do not know! Well, let us find out in the next eight
tales. In these tests 100 is kept in view as a perfect score in each
department, although it is possible in some cases to go over that.
TALE 85
Farsight
1. Hold up a page of this book, and see how far off you can read it. If
at 60 inches, measured with a tapeline from your eye to the book, then
your eye number is 60, which is remarkably good. Very few get as high as
70.
2. Now go out at night and see how many Pleiades you can count; see Tale
52. If you see a mere haze, your star number is 0; if you see 4 little
pin points in the haze, your number is 8; if you see 6, your number is
12. If you see 7 your number is 14; and you will not get beyond that.
3. Now look for the Pappoose on the Squaw's back, as in Tale 50. If you
do not see it, you score nothing. If you can see it, and prove that you
see it, your number is 14 more.
Now add up these, thus: 60 plus 14 plus 14; this gives 88 as your
_farsight_ number. Anything over 60 means you can see like a hawk.
TALE 86
Quicksight
Take two boards, cards or papers, each about half a foot square; divide
them with black lines into 25 squares each, i. e. 5 each way; get 6 nuts
and 4 pebbles, or 6 pennies and 4 beans; or any other set of two things
differing in size and shape.
Let the one to be tested turn his back, while the Guide places 3 nuts
and 2 pebbles on one of the boards, in any pattern he pleases, except
that there must be only one on a square.
Now, let the player see them for 5 seconds by the watch; then cover it
up.
From memory, the player must place the other 3 nuts and 2 pebbles on the
other board, in exactly the same pattern. Counting one for every one
that was right. Note that a piece exactly on the line does not count;
but one chiefly in a square is reckoned to be in that square.
Do this 4 times. Then multiply the total result by 5. This gives his
_quicksight_ number, to be added to his _aliveness_ score.
TALE 87
Hearing
Can you hear like an owl? An owl can find his prey by hearing after
dark. His ears are wonderful. Let us try if yours are.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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