6 APRIL 1991, Page 24

Stools pigeon

Sir: It may be that the origin of the phrase `falling between two stools', which puzzles Mr C. H. Rolph (Letters, 30 March), may be found in a party game called 'Choosing the Queen of Sheba'.

A carpet is stretched between two stools, kept taut by two ladies sitting on the stools. A child or gullible adult is invited into the room and asked to sit on the stretched carpet and to decide which of the two ladies is the Queen. The ladies then rise, the carpet collapses and the victim falls to the ground.

I last played this game at a Sunday School Christmas party in 1925.

Raymond Carr

Burch, North Molton, North Devon