Sounding toy

A sounding toy for producing musical tones and other sounds includes a reciprocating element which may be repetitively struck by the user in order to produce the sounds. The sounding toy includes a vertically reciprocating cylindrical member which moves within an aperture in the housing in a generally vertical direction. The travel of the cylindrical member is defined by the longitudinal axis of a piston secured to the interior of the housing. A deformable, hollow engagement member is mounted on the top of the cylindrical member and allows for repeated contact by the hand or a hand-held tool of the user. A sound producing mechanism, such as a whistle, is mounted or formed integrally on the cylindrical member in fluid communication with the deformable engagement member. A downward vertical force on the engagement member will cause compression or deformation thereof and force air or other fluid through the whistle moving the cylindrical member downwardly within the housing over the piston. Air leakage between the piston and the internal diameter of the cylindrical member permits several engagements of the engagement member by the user to move the cylindrical element downwardly its full length of travel. In the preferred embodiment, a second, similar assembly is pivotally connected to the first cylindrical member by a centrally pivotal lever mounted within the housing. The lever arrangement connects the two cylindrical portions such that movement of one cylindrical member into the housing causes an opposite movement of a second cylindrical member outwardly relative to the housing.