Oldal 13 [13]
INTRODUCTION
HERE seems to be no game more be:
loved of children in all lands and ali
times than the one called Pretend. 'Toy¬
soldiers for the boy, and dolls—few or many—
for the girl supply the only raw material re¬
quired to play this, for of course the charm of
the game lies largely in the imagination of the
doughty captain who endows his men with life
, and ability to go through exciting manceuvres;
and in that of the miniature mother who directs
so wisely the behaviour of her family.
After we grow up we are astonished to
learn that this game originated with the old
Greeks hundreds of years back, who used to
make little jointed puppets of wood or card¬
board representing men and women, moving
them about in a life-like fashion which was
hugely entertaining to both old and young. So
popular was the game that soon the Romans
wanted to play, too, and then later on the
Italians, French and English made puppets for
their countries, only they called these little
figures marionettes.
Shakespeare alludes to this form of diver¬
sion in his plays, as do other distinguished
writers of those times, The beautiful opera
3