Hen And Chickens

Source: What Shall We Do Now?: Five Hundred Games And Pastimes
Category: OUTDOOR GAMES FOR GIRLS



Even more exciting than "Tom Tiddler's Ground" is "Hen and Chickens."
In this game one player represents a fox and sits on the ground
looking sly and hungry. The others, who are the hen and chickens, form
a procession, holding each other's skirts or coats by both hands, and
march past the fox, saying in turn--

Chickany, chickany, crany crow,
I went to the well to wash my toe,
And when I came back a chicken was dead.

Then they leave go of each other and stand round the fox, and the
leader, the hen, says, "What are you doing, old fox?" The fox replies,
"Making a fire"; and the conversation goes on like this:--

The Hen: What for?
The Fox: To boil some water.
The Hen: What is the water for?
The Fox: To scald a chicken.
The Hen: Where will you get it?
The Fox: Out of your flock.

With these words the fox springs up and the hen and chickens run in
all directions. The chicken that is caught becomes the new fox, and
the old fox is the new hen, the leader of the procession.

The same game is played by Essex children with an old woman in place
of the fox, and with different words. In this case the hen and
chickens make a procession in front of a player who personates an old
weeping woman. As they march by, the hen sings--

Chickens, come clock, come clock, come clock,
Chickens, come clock, come clock, come clock,
The hawks are away and the crows are asleep,
It's time that my chickens had something to eat.

Then they leave go of each other and stand round the old weeping
woman, and between her and the hen the following conversation is held:

The Hen: What are you crying for, my poor old woman?
The Old Woman: Because I've lost my needle.
The Hen: What do you want a needle for?
The Old Woman: To sew a bag with.
The Hen: What do you want a bag for?
The Old Woman: To put salt in.
The Hen: What do you want salt for?
The Old Woman: To scour a saucepan.
The Hen: What do you want a saucepan for?
The Old Woman: To boil one of your chickens in.

The old woman then leaps up and tries to catch a chicken, and the hen
tries to stop her.


Next: Other Garden Games

Previous: Old Stone

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