“First, bathe the entrance every time you bathe the rest of your body, and at such other times as you may feel the need of doing so. Never neglect this. It may have evil consequences. Just keep it clean, and never touch it for any other purpose. And be careful to use only your own towels, for disease is easily communicated to these parts by cloths that are not clean, and you never can be too careful in this respect. It is plain enough, and easy enough to do, 71 isn’t it darling—and you will always remember about it, won’t you?”
“Oh, yes, mamma, that is easy enough!” Elsie said quickly. “I could remember a lot more than that, I’m sure.”
“It would have been so infinitely much better for so many poor sick creatures if they had known and remembered even that!” Mrs. Edson sighed, holding her little daughter closely, as if she would protect her from not only that harm but all others. “But,” she continued, “I must now tell you what you may be expecting to come to you before long, when it will be harder to keep the entrance clean than it has been so far, and when to keep it clean will be more necessary than ever.
“Every twenty-eight days, dearie, beginning with you very soon now, there 72 will be a flow of blood into the little baby’s nest, the womb, and this will come out of your body through this entrance to the womb. As soon as you see any signs of it on your body or clothing you must come right and tell me, as you would if you had cut your finger or stubbed your toe on a stone. It is something to be very proud of for it shows the possibility of motherhood, and it must be given the very best care, which is, as I have said, chiefly to keep the parts clean. By and by when you are grown old enough and strong enough, and have a husband, who will fertilize the eggs, one of them will grow into a little baby, but it will be a long time yet before that can be, and until then you will have this flow every twenty-eight days, for the sake of your health. This 73 brings more work for the womb to do, while the menses, as they are called, continue, and therefore you may feel out of sorts both mentally and bodily for two or three days. But this will pass away when the flow ceases, and if proper care is taken of the womb and passages you will never feel anything worse than this. Some women feel great pain at this time, but almost always the reason is that some of their internal parts have been injured in one way or another. Sometimes lack of proper food, sufficient fresh air and sun, or not enough exercise and clean water are responsible for a portion of the pain. In order to have strong reproductive organs a woman should be healthy in all bodily ways, and anything that she can do to improve her general health will be favorable to 74 her at the time of the menses as well as at all times. Do you think you understand all this, darling, and can remember it?”
“I don’t know, mamma,” said Elsie hesitatingly. “There is a lot to it, but I’ll try.”
“That is my dear little girl! To try is the next thing to doing. Only remember that when you don’t know what to do, and have tried, come to mamma. That is one great reason why mammas are—to help little girls who have tried.”
Elsie kissed her mother warmly, and then sat looking dreamily out towards the woods. She had learned many strange things and was thinking them over. Suddenly she spoke, as if unconsciously, saying: 75 “Who would ever have thought that so much could come out of it!”
“Out of what?” her mother asked.
“Why, out of a bee trying to step on my nose!” said Elsie.
(The End.)