impossible to do it alone, for the appearance of a man
among a crowd of little girls in China is similar to that of a
hawk among a flock of small chicks--it results in a tittering
and scattering in every direction, or a gathering together in
a dock under the shelter of the school roof or the wings of
the teacher. One of the teachers, however, Miss Effie
Young, kindly consented to go with us, and a goodly
number of the small girls, after a less than usual amount of
tittering and whispering, gathered about us to see what was
wanted. The smallest among them was the most brave,
and Miss Young explained that this was a "little street
waif" who had been taken into the school because she had
neither home nor friends, with the hope that something
might be done to save her from an unhappy fate.

"Do you know any games?" we asked her.

She put her hands behind her, hung her head, shuffled
in an embarrassed manner, and answered: "Lots of them."

"Play some for me."

This small girl after some delay took control of the party
and began arranging them for a game, which she called "going
to town," similar to one which the boys called "pounding rice."
Two of the girls stood back to back, hooked their arms, and as
one bent the other from the ground, and thus alternating, they
sang:

Up you go, down you see,