Six bottles of Frontignac, five Limerick oysters, etc.
Seven swans a swimming, six bottles of Frontignac, etc.
Eight flip flap floating fly boats, seven swans, etc.
Nine merchants going to Bagdad, eight flip flap, etc.
Ten Italian dancing masters going to teach ten Arabian magpies how to dance, nine merchants going to Bagdad, etc.
Eleven guests going to celebrate the marriage of the Princess Baldroubadour with the Prince of Terra del Fuego, ten Italian dancing masters going to teach ten Arabian magpies, etc.
Twelve triumphant trumpeters triumphantly trumpeting the tragical tradition of Telemachus, eleven guests going to celebrate the marriage, etc.
The players sit in a circle; the one who is leader turns to the next player and says, "My lady's lapdog." This player turns to the one next him and repeats the phrase, which is thus handed around the circle. When it gets back to the leader, the leader turns to his neighbor and adds an item to that previously mentioned, saying, "Two plump partridges and my lady's lapdog." This goes around the circle, when the leader says, "Three great elephants, two plump partridges, and my lady's lapdog," and so on, adding each time different items according to the formula given above. Any player failing to repeat the list correctly pays a forfeit.
VARIATION.--For younger players, the following list may be found better:--
Three wild geese, two ducks, and a big fat hen.
Four plump partridges, three wild geese, two ducks, etc.
Five pouting pigeons, four plump partridges, three, etc.
Six long-legged cranes, five pouting pigeons, etc.
Seven green parrots, six long-legged cranes, etc.
Eight screeching owls, seven green parrots, six long-legged, etc.
Nine ugly black turkey buzzards, eight screeching owls, etc.
Ten thousand domesticated chimney swallows, nine ugly black turkey buzzards, eight screeching owls, etc.
[Illustration diagram: NAUGHTS AND CROSSES]
A diagram is drawn on a slate, paper, or the ground, and consists of two vertical lines, crossed by two horizontal lines. One player chooses to write "naughts" (o) and the other "crosses" (x). The players take turns in marking a naught or a cross in one of the nine places provided by the diagram, the object being to get three naughts or three crosses in a row. This row may be either vertical, horizontal, or diagonal.