Pistol

Rural children received toys far less frequently than those living in towns. As a rule, they did not buy them. This was due on the one hand to the difficult material situation, and on the other to the conviction that a child, when grown up, should help on the farm and not waste time playing. Sometimes, at church fairs or small-town fairs and markets, parents bought clay figurines and whistles in the shape of animals (see E/1649/ML) or dolls (see E/544/ML). More often, children made trinkets for play by themselves, with the help of adults. The most common ones included rag dolls, balls made from rags or cow hair, and wooden toys – people, boats, windmills, pipes and pipes, lawn mills (see E/2146/ML) or pecking hens (see E/17030/ML). The imagination was so rich in ideas and so inspiring that a child was able to conjure up whatever he/she wanted from any object he/she encountered. Thanks to it, a simple stick or branch could become a full-blooded steed, bayonet, sword or rifle, and pieces of wood cut appropriately became figures for exciting games (see: E/217/ML, E/220/ML).

While playing, children moved into a world known only to them. Girls imitated their mothers by taking care of a baby doll, preparing quasi-dinners and cleaning. On the other hand, just like today, boys loved to play fearless heroes and conquerors of evil. They were also occupied with imaginary warfare. They used crossbows or bows with wooden arrows, slingshots made from forked twigs or pistols constructed from pieces of wood, often using real cartridge casings from firearms.