CHAPTER XII

GRAPE-LEAF DRINKING-CUP

A WILD-GRAPE leaf will do quite as well as a cultivated one for a drinking-cup if it is large enough. You want a large leaf, because a small one will hold only a sip of water, and when one is really thirsty that is certainly not enough.

Whether wild or cultivated, the grape-leaf should be washed in clean water to take off dust and any possible insects that may be on it. Where there is water to drink there is water for washing the leaf, so there can be no difficulty about that, and the large green leaf, freshened by the water, looks very cool and inviting.

It is simply a matter of folding, first one way, then the other, that turns the grape-leaf into a cup. Fig. 78 is a tracing of the leaf from which the cup (Fig. 79) was made. It measured eight inches at its widest part, almost seven inches from tip to stem, and the cup held a good supply of water.

Begin to fold by bringing the two lower lobes of the leaf together in the way shown in Fig. 80. This makes the middle bend that is indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 78. Then bring the two lobes around to the left, or to the right if that comes easier, hold them close together and lap them over the upper lobe on that side. That makes the two side bends which join at the middle bend (Fig. 78), and rounds the cup into shape.

The bottom of the cup is pointed, as you see, and, of course, will not stand; then, too, the cup falls apart when you loosen your hold, but neither of these things are of any consequence, for you can let your cup lie flat and fold it again very quickly when it is needed. As long as the folds are held tight in your fingers, the cup will keep its shape and hold water without leaking a particle. Use the upper, or green, side of the leaf for the inside of the cup; the under, or light, side is fuzzy and may harbor small insects even after it is washed. Be sure you look into the water before drinking it. This should be done no matter what you drink from or where you get the water.