The children selected one of their company to represent the cat and another the mouse.
The remainder formed a ring with the mouse inside and the cat outside, and while the ring revolved, the following conversation took place:
"What o'clock is it?"
"Just struck nine."
"Is the mouse at home?"
"He's about to dine."
All the time the mouse was careful to keep as far as possible from the cat.
The ring stopped revolving and the cat popped in at this side and the mouse out at the other. It is one of the rules of the game that the cat must follow exactly in the footsteps of the mouse. They wound in and out of the ring for some time but at last the mouse was caught and "eaten," the eating process being the amusing part of the game. It is impossible to describe it as every "cat" does it differently, and one of the virtues of a cat is to be a good eater.
The boys continued to play until the bell rang for the evening session. They referred to many different games which they had received from Europeans, but played only those which Chi had learned upon the street before he entered school. This was repeated day after day, until we had gathered a large collection of their most common, and consequently their best, games, the number of which was an indication of the richness of the play life of Chinese boys.
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