This looks complicated, but its not – its just long-winded to explain.
For this trick you need a man’s handkerchief or a square cloth of a similar size. Smooth it out flat (on a table) as in the diagram below, and then fold it upwards diagonally in half. Fold the corners in from each side so that the points meet in the middle at the bottom. From the bottom edge, roll the handkerchief upwards, but stop before you get to the top, so that the top corners peep out as a small triangle of cloth:
Turn your hand palm-side up and rest your fingers on the roll of handkerchief just below the triangle. Fold the triangle down over the tips of your fingers, and, keeping that in place, fold first the left side of the handkerchief roll across over your fingers and then the right side. Hold it firmly with your thumb:
Now put the fingers of your other hand back-to-back with the fingers holding the handkerchief, slipping them up into the back of the handkerchief roll. The thumb of that hand will naturally rest on top of the handkerchief. Push your thumbs away from you, pushing down into the middle of the handkerchief roll, and almost turning it inside-out as your hands start to turn over. This will start an action of rolling each side of the roll in towards the middle. As you keep doing this, the material on the left side will gradually wind onto the right-hand side, and two ends of handkerchief will shake out, so that the handkerchief now looks like a weird Christmas cracker. One end is the mouse’s tail, but the other one has a knot tied in it to make the head.
To make the knot pull the edges of one of the tails out gently sideways, and then fold the point back towards the body, making a triangle. The two points of the triangle that stick out can then be used as the ends when you make a simple hand-over knot, twisting one end over the other and back through the hole. Pull the knot tight to make the head, with the ends becoming the mouse ears.
Now to make it jump! Place the mouse in your cupped hand, with its head looking up your arm, and your fingers curled gently and tucked under its bum:
These fingers can now act like a spring, pushing the mouse forward suddenly whenever you want. Put your other hand over the top and pet the mouse to hide the action. You can make the mouse look restless and if its trying to escape out of your hands if you make the action light, or make it jump out of your hands by giving it a good push. You can aim it up your arm, and then make it look as if its running right up to your shoulder by lightly using your right hand to very quickly and repeatedly pick up and drop the mouse as you push it up your arm. If this is done well it is very realistic!Its fun to make the mouse restless and ‘naughty’, and then give it to someone else to pet and see if they can make it settle down. Of course its docile and ‘good’ for them, but when they give it back to you to stroke, it immediately misbehaves, jumping out of your hand and up your arm into our hair!
Hallo, i’m here through flickr and must say that I love this trick, because my grandpa used to made me as a little child 🙂
I also found interesting the other tricks you listed, but I couldn’t manage to do a good whistle owl!
Hey Cimba. It always takes me a while to get the knack of the owl whistle. My son can get it every time! He seems to like interlacing his fingers – maybe that works better for some people?
Now, thanks to you, I can make the handkerchief mouse my father used to make for us when we were little. You have brought back the most wonderful memories of my father. I hope my grandchildren will appreciate this small joy!!! Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Jeanne Schofer
I’m so glad to have given the mouse back to you, Jeanne 🙂
Thank you!!! My mother used to make these and make all the grandkids laugh with joy. Now Mom has dementia and can’t remember how to make it. I’ve ordered 50 handkerchiefs and plan to enjoy this memory when we gather together.
Thanks for taking the time to show us how to make these!!!
Hi,
I did a page about handkerchief folds.
http://membres.lycos.fr/
myriamn/handkerchiefs.html
I love towel animals too.
I made some pages with instructions.
http://membres.lycos.fr/
myriamn/towelinstructions.html
Myriam
Just reading through this brought back happy memories of my Mom. Thank you so much for sharing it with me.
As with others I must say “Thank you” for reminding me how to make these ‘mouses’ My Dad made them for me, I did for my children and now I make them for the grand kids,
But old age helped me forget, now I can make them again
THANK YOU SO MUCH !!
Great instructions. I’ll pass them on to the family who have fond memories of my father doing this to entertain small patients and other children in Bridge of Weir in Scotland!
I was taught this trick by my Dad in the early 60s , I have seen it in a film with either John Mills or Norman Wisdom in uniform showing a girl and making her laugh. I wish I could remember the film , I think it was made in 1960.
My kids , their friends , my friends and now my grandkids love this trick and I have perfected it to an art form . Part of our family folklore now .
Oh you gem! My dad made these for us once when we were small to keep us entertained at the dinner table in a very posh and rather intimidating restaurant. It worked so well that he ended up making at least one for every table… apparantly at the end of the night all the huge table napkins had been taken from all the tables (except ours…. dad would have hit the roof if we’d done such a thing)!
I’m doing a PTLLS microteach in a couple of weeks time, would you allow me to use your page please? I’d love to share it with a roomful of other young at hearts so they can share it with their kids and grandkids. 🙂
PS…. the film Roger mentioned above was ‘The Bulldog Breed’ with Norman Wisdom…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD8Uo27jI6g
Oh, the film clip is lovely! Thanks for finding it for us!
Hi Clare, thanks for such a nice comment. I’d be delighted if you used the page in your microteach.
Thanks.
Now I need instructions for playing this game with my grandchildren WITHOUT SOBBING, fro rememberingvmy grandfather.
<3 k
Awww. . Thank you so much for this I was beginning to wonder if it was all a dream I had back in Kindergarten 35yrs ago. .. Lol
I believe a teacher did it for us kids in the playground and I freaked out I simply could not believe my eyes. .. Lol
Thanks so much for this…a judge who used to stay at my family’s hotel used to do this trick at the lunch table, over 55 years ago…like David above I was thinking I might have dreamt it!
HI. years ago, my wife’s uncle held our two children, (now 46, and 44 years old) spellbound with his magic mouse. As a child, the uncle kept wife, now 75, equally spellbound too. Sadly uncle passed away without passing on how to make the magic mouse. Yesterday I Googled it, and came up with your site. A few crumpled hankies later,and the mouse will be around for the Christmas Return of The Mouse (“Drum roll Harry”) hopefully to keep my grandchildren enthralled, and maintain the family mouse tradition. P’broboy
That’s great, Barry, I hope you all get a lot of pleasure from it!
Thank you! My brother and I have been trying for some 50 years or so to figure out how our mother did this. She would use our Dad’s handkerchief to entertain us . She also made 2 babies in a cradle.
I haven’t heard of the 2 babies in a cradle, Edie! Glad the mouse was helpful, though!
Oh, thank you! My grandmother used to make these just to the third picture here and it was a rabbit head with the ears sticking out. I still have one of her handkerchiefs at home folded like this and it’s starting to come undone (she died in 1991, so I’ve held onto it forever). I’ve been afraid to take it apart and figure out how she folded it because I might not be able to fix it.
🙂 my pleasure, Sarah!
My pleasure, Sarah!
Thrilled to have found this site! !
My Father, a “Marcus Welby” small town physician, used to make the Mouse to calm the children, so he could gain their trust for a check up.I made a video of him demonstrating how to do it, but lost it during a move.
Just found the mouse in treasure chest!
Many thanks! !
Thanks for the lovely story, Mary! It’s a pity your video was lost, but I’m happy you found my site!
Hil