Water in every thing.
But we do not merely drink water. It is mixed up with every thing that we eat. There is much water in all fruits. There is so much in the watermelon that it gives it its name. It is almost all water, with a little sugar in it. Much of the sap in plants and trees is water; so, also, it is with the blood. It could not run in the arteries and veins if there was not water in it. More than three quarters of your blood is water. There is much water, too, in the air. So you see that water is every where, just as the air is.
But I have not told you all the uses of water. The running water turns the water-wheels by which the machinery in mills and factories is put in motion. We sail about on the water in boats, and ships, and steamers. The steam-engines are worked by water changed into steam.
The multitudes of animals that live in water.
We must not forget the multitudes of fishes and other animals that live in the water, as we do in the air. There is a world of life in the water. It is so much out of sight that we do not think much about it. We only get glimpses of this water-world now and then, and do not think how many animals there are that live in the brooks, and rivers, and ponds, and seas. Besides the fishes that swim in the water, there are multitudes of animals that live on the bottom. There are oysters, and clams, and lobsters, that you are familiar with; and there are multitudes of animals that live in their beautiful shell houses, some of which are very small, and almost as countless often as the sands with which they are mingled.
Questions.—What is said about the beauty of water? What is said about its being the world’s cleanser? Tell about the dog and the canary bird. What is said about the air’s being washed? How do the plants drink water? Do we commonly think how good a drink water is? Tell about the lady sick with fever. What is said about the salt water of the sea? What about the suffering from thirst so common with shipwrecked persons? Tell about the feeling of one who had suffered in this way. What is said about the abundance of water? What is said about water’s being in every thing? How much of your blood is water? Mention some more uses of water. What is said about the animals that live in water?
CHAPTER XVI.
WATER ALWAYS TRYING TO BE LEVEL.
If you look at water in a bowl, you see that its surface is smooth and level. If now you stir it about, you make it uneven. Watch it as it becomes still and smooth again. There seems to be a kind of struggle as all the particles of water take their places.