Читать книгу The House We Live In; or, The Making of the Body - Vesta J. Farnsworth - Страница 7

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PROPER CARE OF THE BONES

ELEN: What’s the matter with this house, mother? It seems to be all out of shape.

Mother: Perhaps it is very old and the frame has decayed so it leans far over to one side. It is unsafe to live in such houses, for they may tumble down if a strong wind comes along. I have seen some body-houses which look very much like this to me. Here is one of them. See how this boy’s shoulders are bent forward, and his whole body is wrong. If some disease, as consumption, should come along, like a strong wind, I fear his house would go down. Some one should say to him, “Straighten up, young man; throw your shoulders back, and you will look more manly and will live much longer.”

“See how this boy’s shoulders are bent forward.”

Percy: I have seen some boys at school bending over their desk when studying and writing. Is that good for the bones?

Mother: No; boys and girls should sit straight, stand straight, and walk straight. If they do not, after a time the cushions between the bones in the spine will grow thicker on one side than on the other, and the back-bone will become crooked. You know soldiers stand erect and have fine forms. How much better this man looks than the one who bends over! Do not form the habit of bending forward while sitting or standing. The one who made the body “made man upright,” and in this he is different from the birds, beasts, or fishes.

Elmer: Can the bones be broken, mother?

“Boys should sit straight.”

Mother: Yes, and it is a sad thing for one to get broken, for it is very painful and takes a long time to heal. Children should be careful when jumping, when climbing trees, or when they go in any place where they may fall and break their bones.

Many persons give the bones of the feet a wrong shape by wearing tight boots or shoes. This causes “corns” to grow, which become very sore and painful. Perhaps you have heard how the Chinese women bind the feet of their little girls, and pinch them up, till they look more like clubs than like feet. The little one often cries and moans for days, but the mother and father pay no attention to her sufferings, for they think it would never do for their girl to have big feet.

“See her tiny shoes!”

Amy: O, yes, mother; here is the picture of a woman with little feet! See her tiny shoes! They are no longer than a baby’s. In the other picture you see one of her feet with all the toes doubled under. I don’t see how she can walk at all.

Helen: She must be silly. I think God knew how big to make our feet, as well as other parts of the body.

Mother: That is true, but the poor Chinese women do not know better, and they think Christian women are more foolish than Chinese women, and that they bind the bones in a way they themselves would never dream of doing.

Helen: How, mother?

“All the toes doubled under.”

Mother: They say Christian women and girls squeeze the waist so tight it gives no room for some of the most important parts of the body-house. I think you said, Helen, that God knew how big to make our feet. Do you think He knew how big to make the waist?

Helen: I suppose so, but a small waist looks so much better than a large one.

Mother: And the Chinese lady thinks her little feet are so much prettier than large ones, and she would rather suffer the pain, and hobble around all her life leaning on a servant, than be out of fashion. The Christian woman thinks a small waist is pretty, so she makes her clothes tight, and suffers all kinds of aches, rather than let the body remain as God made it. What is the difference? Here is a picture of the ribs as God made them, and here is one after the waist has been bound around with tight dresses.

“Here is a picture of the ribs as God made them, and here is one after the waist has been bound around with tight dresses.”

If we saw a man putting iron bands around his house we would think the one who built it had made some mistake or it would not need anything to hold it together. If people feel as though they would “fall to pieces,” or if they have the backache, when their clothes are loose, it shows they have abused the muscles of the body and made weak that which God made strong.

Amy: Is it wrong to wear tight clothing, mother?

Mother: Yes; it is very hurtful for girls to wear their dresses even a little tight, for the bones are soft and easily pressed out of place. We should wear warm, loose clothing on all parts of the body, and never, never squeeze the feet, waist, or any other part out of shape. Your arm would be very painful with a tight band around it, but that would not do as much harm as tight shoes or tight bands around the waist. It is better to be healthy than to be in fashion.

You remember that the blood flows through the bones to feed and make them grow. Good blood will make them strong and healthy. Children sometimes have a disease called the “rickets.” This shows that their bones are soft and need more lime. They should eat plenty of good brown bread.

No boy who wishes to grow large and strong should touch beer or tobacco. These poisons in the blood will make the bony framework of the body small and weak. The size of the man depends on his frame. Many boys are making their bodies and minds very small by smoking cigarettes. By using strong drink or tobacco the house we live in is defiled. The blood and all the body, inside and out, becomes soiled and filthy. “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” If one should go into a beautiful temple and break the windows, stain the white marble walls, and cover the floor with filth, we would think they did wrong. How much worse to destroy the wonderful, living temple which God Himself has built!