Two Russian Craft Toys

Wooden craft toys have a charm all of their own, and these two are quite delightful.

The first shows a 'Bear Band' with one bear playing the drum, and the other bear dancing. You hold the toy in your hand and move it such that the wooden weight underneath swings around. This causes the several strings to be pulled tight and then released, which in turn causes the toy to animate.

The other toy shows a fox trying to catch a duck. There is a simple plunger or wooden button at one end, and as you push this, the fox moves forwards towards the duck. However as the fox moves forwards, the little string that connects the fox and the duck becomes slack, and the duck vanishes! As you release the plunger, which is spring loaded, the fox retreats, and the little string tightens, causing the duck to pop up again!