"All my sheep Gather in a heap; For I spy the woolly, woolly wolf!"
The sheep at once stand still until the wolf has taken a jump toward them, which he must do before he may chase them; but immediately that the wolf has made his leap, the sheep all turn and run for the sheep pen, the wolf following. As the wolf may not run until he hears the word "wolf" at the end of the leader's lines, the latter often tantalizes the wolf by saying, "I spy the woolly, woolly--lamb!" or "the woolly, woolly--cat!" or names any other animal he chooses, with a pause before the name, to prolong the suspense of the impatient wolf, finally ending up with "the woolly, woolly--wolf!"
Any sheep tagged by the wolf becomes a wolf and joins the wolf the next time, hiding either in the same den with him or in a separate den. When there is more than one wolf, the leader halts his sheep whenever he spies a wolf, whether it be the original wolf or not, and all of the wolves join in the chase when the sheep run back to the pen. The game ends when all of the sheep have been caught.
The wolf has several resources at his command for catching sheep in addition to a simple chase. If at any time while in hiding he spies the sheep before they spy him, and considers their position in relation to the goal advantageous to himself, he may call, "Stand your ground, three feet!" whereupon the sheep must instantly stand still and then take three steps toward the wolf and stand again until he jumps toward them, when the chase for the sheep pen begins. The wolf may also exercise considerable finesse by running directly for the pen if he be in a position to reach it quicker or more directly than by chasing the sheep. Should he reach the pen first, he may then tag the sheep as they run in. One sheep may act as a decoy to engage the attention of the wolf while the others run into the pen.
This is a game of tag. When there are more than thirty players, it is desirable to have two or more who are It, or taggers. The players venture as near as possible to the one who is It, taunting him by crying, "Ticky, ticky, touch wood!" Any player may seek immunity from being tagged by touching a piece of wood. No growing thing, however, such as a tree or shrub, is to be considered as wood. No player may stay very long in any place of safety, and the moment his hand or foot be taken from the wood he is liable to be tagged. A player who is not near wood may gain a few minutes' respite by calling out "Parley!" but he must stand perfectly still in the place where he then is, the tagger being able to tag him if he makes the slightest move of any part of his body. When such a player decides to run again, he calls out, "Parley out!"