men and women, and in the different arrangement of the figures they can
be made very ludicrous indeed.

=Flour Paste=

Mix one-half cup of flour with enough cold water to make a very thin
batter, which must be smooth and free from lumps; put the batter on top
of the stove--not next to the fire--in a tin saucepan, and stir
continually until it boils; then remove from the stove, add three drops
of oil of cloves, and pour the paste into a cup or tumbler. This will
keep for a long time and will not become sour.

CHAPTER X

TOYS MADE OF COMMON KINDLING WOOD

JUST a glance at a pile of ordinary every-day kindling wood could hardly
suggest to one the possibilities existing in the crude material for
building all sorts of interesting and realistic things for the little
folks, but experiment and you will find that Klondike log-houses,
rail-fences and lumber camps, bridges, and substantial little rafts
which will float on water in laundry or bath tub, pond or stream, can be
easily and readily built from the little sticks we use to start our
fires.

Let us build

=The Bridge=

first, that Indians and men may cross the water to the lumber region
beyond, and cut logs for their rafts (Fig. 125).

Select two sticks of kindling wood as near of a size as you can find,
and lay them side by side, a short distance apart; then connect the two
by placing sticks across the ends, log-cabin fashion. These four sticks
form the square foundation of one bridge pier.

Continue building by crossing the second layer of sticks with a third
layer, the third layer with a fourth layer, and so on until the pier is
built up sufficiently high, six or more layers, according to the
thickness of the sticks. As you build be sure that the two sticks
forming each layer lie absolutely steady and are of about the same
thickness, that those built on top of them may not slant, but lie level
and steady.

All sticks should be of the same length, but the layers may vary in
thickness; one layer of sticks might be thin and the next thick; it
matters not, provided that the two forming the same layer are nearly of
a size.

[Illustration: FIG. 125--The little bridge built of kindling wood.]

When the first pier is finished, build a second one like it a short
distance from the first one, and lay a strip of stiff pasteboard, cut
from an old box, across from pier to pier; then lay a second strip of
pasteboard from one pier to the ground, a third st