Oh, what a pity, we've fallen down.

At which point they both sat down back to back, their arms still
locked, and asked and answered the following questions:

What do you see in the heavens bright?
I see the moon and the stars at night.
What do you see in the earth, pray tell?
I see in the earth a deep, deep well.
What do you see in the well, my dear?
I see a frog and his voice I hear.
What is he saying there on the rock?
Get up, get up, ke'rh kua, ke'rh kua.

They then tried to get up, but, with their arms locked, they found it
impossible to do so, and rolled over and got up with great hilarity.

This seemed to suggest to our little friend another game, which she
called "turning the mill." The girls took hold of each other's hands,
just as the boys do in "churning butter," but instead of turning around
under their arms they turn half way, put one arm up over their head,
bringing their right or left sides together, one facing one direction
and one the other; then, standing still, the following dialogue took
place:

Where has the big dog gone?
Gone to the city.
Where has the little dog gone?
Run away.

Then, as they began to turn, they repeated:

The big dog's gone to the city;
The little dog's run away;
The egg has fallen and broken,
And the oil's leaked out, they say.
But you be a roller
And hull with power,
And I'll be a millstone
And grind the flour.

As soon as this game was finished our little friend arranged the
children against the wall for another game. Everything was in
readiness. They were about to begin, when one of the larger girls
whispered something in her ear. She stepped back, put her hands behind
her, hung her head and thought a moment.

"Go on," we said.

"No, we can't play that; there is too much bad talk in it." This is one
of the unfortunate features of Chinese children's games and rhymes.
There is an immense amount of bad talk in them.

She at once called out:

"Meat or vegetables."

Each girl began to scurry around to find a pair of old shoes, which may
be picked up almost anywhere in China, and putting one crosswise of the
other, they let them fall. The way they fell indicated what kind of
meat or vegetables they were. If they both fell upside down they were
the big black tiger. If both fell on the side they were double beans.
If one fell ri