This Activity is meant for Cub Scouts.

This Activity should be done Outside.

30-40 feet of yarn, different color for each patrol
1 adult for each patrol.
1 adult as circus master.
2 or 3 other adults as outlaws.
reward for each patrol.

An adult for each patrol lays a trail of small pieces of yarn from a starting point out across country to his final hiding place.

We just received a call from the sheriff that the traveling circus train crashed near here and all the elephants escaped. They need help in rounding them up.

Each elephant has a colorful woven mat over its back, each one a different color. Your patrol needs to track down the elephant whose color I give to you.
You also must bring back all the yarn from your colored mat so we can weave it into a new mat for your elephant.

Hand out a small piece of yarn to each patrol leader and lead the patrols to the starting point so they can find their colored trail of yarn and follow it.

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Each elephant should keep 4 or 5 feet or yarn tied around its waist for identification.
The 'elephants' should lay trails meandering around the area, but all winding up at the same clump of trees or place that is hidden from the starting point.
All the elephants wait there to be found because this is the outlaws hide-out and they've been captured.
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When the patrol tracks down its elephant, they find it has been captured by a gang of outlaws who want a ransom. The ransom can be a very loud song, or a funny skit, or a good deed - best if thought of and offered by the patrol and accepted or declined by the outlaws rather than chosen by the outlaws.

Once the elephant and its shreds of yarn are returned to the circus master, a reward can be given to the patrol.