Part 14 (1/2)
Pig made out of lemon. Good! The pig was made and applauded.
”But,” suggested Bud, ”why confine ourselves to a pig; surely we can make something else.”
”Surely,” we a.s.sented. So all of us set our wits to work at zoology.
Bud made the first discovery. ”Oh!” she exclaimed, ”I have found out something beautiful--a whole litter of little pigs to go with the lemon!”
And, indeed, 'twas true. In a few seconds she had some almonds soaking in a cup of boiling water. In a few seconds more she was peeling off their brown jackets, revealing the smooth white nut, as white as the tips of her own taper fingers. The almonds were soon converted into sucking-pigs, and were admitted on all hands to look quite cunning, and as natural as nature, with their little white bodies grouped round the maternal lemon--some running, some standing, and some seated on their haunches.
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We need not explain to the gifted reader the _modus operandi_. It is much the same as with the lemon, only the eyes are dotted with a black lead pencil and the ears are made from small slips of wood.
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Stimulated by the success of Bud, Blossom dived down into the depths of her imagination, and fished out a goat. The goat was unquestionably a triumph. The body consisted of a pear, the head of an unbleached almond, the legs, horns, and beard of raisin stalks.
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On the same principle, and with wonderful celerity, Berry took up the idea, gracefully acknowledged her indebtedness to the original inventor, and produced a deer--a deer with wide-spreading antlers made of raisin stalks, and legs of the same material, which counterfeited nature even to the knee-joints. The neck cost some little mental exertion, but was finally triumphed over in the following shape, neatly cut out of wood.
The deer now appeared truly a monarch of the forest; a little weak in the shoulders perhaps, and rather full-chested behind, but still a n.o.ble animal.
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Not to be outdone with her own idea, Blossom wrestled vigorously with her subject, and ere we had ceased admiring the deer, had very nearly completed a sheep--a sheep so fleecy and short in the legs that it was at once voted the greatest triumph of all, though WE personally and privately thought, and still think, that, for true genius, Bud's idea of the pigs far exceeded any of them. The white almond certainly made a most admirable sheep's head, but then apple, of which the body was made, grew rapidly rusty when once peeled--so much so that we had to sc.r.a.pe our sheep once or twice in the course of the evening to restore its fleeciness.
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Having made large herds of deer, flocks of goats and sheep, not to mention litters of pigs, we disposed some of them on the mantel-piece and what-nots, while others were reserved to make a grand pastoral scene on the supper table. Having finished these, we devoted our energies to constructing scent-bags and mice, the latter made out of apple-seeds, as described in a previous chapter. Here the transcendent genius of Bud again a.s.serted itself--she invented a rat; a rat made out of an unbleached almond. When grouped with the mice and flour-sacks the effect was truly grand.
What now?
”What shall we make next?” was the general inquiry.
”Oh, can't you make something that will jump up?” eagerly suggested Little Pickle, who had kept pretty quiet during our zoological researches.
”Can't you make something that will jump up?” This was so vague that we were fain to demand further light.
”Oh, you know at our school one of the boys made a kind of thing with a bit of wax that jumped up and frightened you.”
This was still far from clear, but whatever it might be, it was evidently calculated to frighten somebody, and so was immediately voted down by the ladies.
”Oh, make that gorilla portrait, you know,” again entreated Little Pickle; ”that makes such fun.”
This proposition, though received coolly, was, nevertheless, discussed at some length, till Blossom called her sister's attention to the fact that one of their invited guests would be a certain Dr. O'Tang, who really did resemble a gorilla, and should the gla.s.s fall into his hands, he would feel hurt at the joke; so Little Pickle's second proposition was voted down.