hookworms that were in the ground or grass have gone through the skin
on your feet and made your toes and feet sore."
"What are hookworms, Uncle?" asked Will. Uncle John told him this:
"The hookworm is a very small worm, about a quarter of an inch long, or
a little more, when it is grown. It was first brought to America from
Africa by the negroes--the slaves that the Dutch people traded to our
forefathers in the colonial days.
"The little worm is called the 'American Murderer,' because it kills so
many people of the southland. It does not hurt the little negro children
as badly as it does the white children.
"The hookworm eggs are hatched in the sand. The young hookworm sheds its
skin two or three times, growing a little larger each time it sheds.
"Sometimes it will crawl upon a grass blade, or lie in the sand until a
little barefooted boy or girl comes stepping along. (The worm is now so
small that it cannot be seen.) The little folks step on the worm, and it
pushes its way through the skin. This is when it makes the sores on the
feet and between the toes.
"As soon as the little hookworms get through the skin they go into the
blood. They are carried to the heart and lungs by the veins. They go
from the lungs into the wind-pipe, and then crawl from the wind-pipe
into the gullet. It is then an easy matter for them to get into the food
tube in the body.
"The mouth of the hookworm has a sharp hook which it fastens into the
wall of the food tube. It hangs there and sucks all the blood it wants.
A hookworm will suck a drop of blood a day. In feeding themselves they
are slowly bleeding the person, drop by drop. This is the reason the
boys or girls who have hookworms look so pale, and feel so tired all the
time. The hookworm robs them of the good rich blood, and makes children,
and even grown persons, dull and lazy. The disease keeps children from
growing.
"It is easy to cure the disease, but it is better to prevent it. We can
prevent hookworm disease by preventing the ground from being polluted.
Polluted ground means that which is made unclean with waste matter from
our bodies. The eggs are found in this matter which pollutes the
ground.
"Now, Will, always wear your shoes, and see that the soles are good and
thick. Then, even though the ground is unclean, hookworms can't get to
your feet. I am sure, now that you know about hookworms, you will not go
barefooted through the lanes again."
QUESTIONS
1. What was the matter with Will's feet when he
did not want to go for the cows?
2. What caused the ground-itch blisters on his
feet?
3. How did the hookworms get into Will's feet?
4. In what part of the body do the hookworms make
their stopping-place?
5. How do they get from the feet into the
intestines?
6. How may infected persons get rid of hookworms?
7. How may the hookworm disease be prevented?
THE LITTLE FAIRIES
Once there was a little girl who was very beautiful. This little girl
was a princess, and her name was Hilda. Hilda had many servants in her
home to do her bidding. She had two little servants to wait on her, and
each of these little servants had five other little servants. These
little servants were called hands and fingers.
She had two little servants to carry her everywhere she wanted to go.
These were called feet. She had two little servants to see for her,
called eyes, two to hear for her, called ears; one to talk for her,
called tongue; and servants to chew for her, called teeth.
Hilda took great pride in keeping these little servants clean and sweet.
But one day Hilda grew cross. She would not keep her little
hand-servants clean, and they would not wash her little eyes, or ears,
or feet, and these other little servants would not do their duty.
Soon her little teeth were dirty, for her hands gathered all the germs
they could find and carried them to her pretty little mouth. Her little
hand-servants would not curl her hair, which got tangled and ugly. The
little teeth would not chew her food well, so Hilda had a bad night with
the colic. In fact, her little servants treated Hilda so badly that her
mother was afraid some wicked person had sent an evil spirit over them.
I am afraid that this was true, for Hilda was cross, and sent that spell
into her little servants.
Things went on this way for a whole day, when Hilda's mother decided to
carry her to her Fairy Godmother, and see if she could do anything to
take this evil spirit from Hilda.
Hilda's Godmother was at home. The mother told her about how things had
been going. The Godmother was very sad. After talking it all over, she
gave Hilda a large bundle to carry home, and told her not to open it
until she reached the nursery. As soon as Hilda got to her own clean
little room, she started to untie the bundle. She heard a tiny little
voice, saying, "Hurry up, little Hilda, we are waiting for you." As soon
as she unwrapped the first piece in the bundle, a pail of nice warm
water, with sponge, soap, and towel, jumped out, and began washing her
face and hands. A toothbrush jumped out, and began washing her teeth; a
golden comb combed her pretty curls; a little fairy jumped out and took
off her dirty dress and put a clean one on her; and another small fairy
laced up her shoes, and then ran about, killing all the germs she could
find.
When the fairies and all the other wonders had finished their work,
Hilda was again a beautiful little girl, and more like a little princess
than ever. The Fairy Godmother came into the room and stooped and
kissed her.
[Illustration: WHAT THE FAIRIES DID FOR LITTLE HILDA]
Hilda, all of a sudden, opened her eyes and saw her beautiful mother
standing over her, kissing her. Hilda rubbed her eyes and found that she
had been asleep.
"O, mother," she said, "I have been asleep, and I had such a funny
dream, and the fairies were so nice to me." Hilda promised her mother
that she would never neglect her little servants again. This made the
mother very happy, and, for making that promise, she bought Hilda a nice
new doll, dressed like a fairy.
Hilda was so proud of her doll that she named her Fairy. Fairy has been
very good to Hilda, for every time she plays with her doll, Hilda always
makes sure that her face and hands are as clean as her little doll's.
QUESTION
1. What lesson can we get from this story?
THE RED CROSS SEAL
I am only a tiny bit of paper, with a little green and red color in the
form of a cross or a wreath. I am not much larger than a postage stamp.
I am going to tell you of some of the work I have done for mankind in
this big world, notwithstanding my small size. Please don't think I am
boasting of myself in an unbecoming manner. I was made long, long years
ago, when our grandfathers were just soldiers, and fighting each other
in a long and bloody war.
[Illustration]
The mothers and wives of these soldiers were constantly thinking out
some plan by which they could do something for the "boys" at the front.
It is hard to sit with idle hands when those we love are in the thick of
battle, and I sometimes think that the women and children suffer most in
our great wars.
So, in 1862, when the days were very dark, when the battle seemed so
fierce, and when the hospitals, North and South, were crowded with the
sick and wounded, some good ladies of Boston thought of me. They decided
to make me into a stamp, and to sell me to get money to help the sick
soldiers. I was made and sold at a kind of "post-office booth" at many
fairs.
I did not look then just as I do now--you see the style of my dress has
changed with the change in fashion. I have taken as my color the Red
Cross, the emblem of that great army of workers who, in 1864, first
organized the Red Cross Society at Geneva, Switzerland. This society
works for the sick and suffering; it does not matter under what flag
they live.
Did you ever think of what a great thing a flag is? Just a little bit of
cotton with a few colors on it, the red, white and blue, the tri-color
of France; the red, white and black, of Germany; the stars and stripes
of our own free land; or the Red Cross of Greece on a white field, the
flag of the Red Cross Society.
Men have fought and died for the thing which these bits of rag and color
mean to them.
But I am getting away from my story. With all the newness of the idea,
and my very small size, I helped to make nearly a million dollars during
that terrible war between our own beloved States. This money was used
for the benefit of the sick and wounded soldiers.
My mission has always been one of mercy. I cannot but feel good when I
think over the days of the past, and recall to memory the deeds I have
done.
For a long time after that war I had nothing to do but to think of these
past deeds, and, as I thought of the poor fever-stricken soldiers to
whom I had brought medicine to cool their fever, and how I had gotten
bandages to bind the wounds made by shot and shell, I thought sadly that
I was forgotten, and that my mission was ended. These thoughts were sad,
for I knew there was a work to be done, and I wanted to be up and about
it. I wondered if the time would ever come when I could go on another
errand of mercy. I felt that I must be needed somewhere in the big
world, but I hoped I would never see another war.
The time of waiting was a weary one, but one day in 1892 I heard a call
from little Portugal, far across the ocean. I was needed by the Red
Cross there to aid in getting money for the sick and suffering.
Since I answered that call I have been at work in every country in the
world; in coldest Russia, in sunny Italy, and even in far-away
Australia.
Sometimes I work to provide money for soldiers, for men will not stop
fighting each other, and the Red Cross owes allegiance to the sick and
wounded of every nation. Sometimes I work for the benefit of the
homeless ones; and, again, I work for hospitals for sick children. My
work is broad, indeed.
I have always been happy in this work, for it is a great one, but in the
year 1907 I started the work I like best of all.
It was that year that Miss Emily Bissell, a little woman of Delaware,
did what Jacob Riis suggested. He suggested that Americans adopt the
plan already begun in Norway and Sweden. This was to sell the Red Cross
stamps to aid in raising money for the great fight against tuberculosis.
So the first real seal for this purpose was issued in 1908, and since
that time I have brought to this cause over a million dollars. One
little seal, on which shines a red cross of Greece, for one little
penny, has grown and grown, until with the seals and pennies I have made
over a million dollars to help suffering human beings.
Now, let me tell you how it has been done. I am printed about six weeks
before Christmas. After I am printed, with my red crosses and holly
wreaths, and "Merry Christmas," agents advertise me in every nook and
corner of the country. I go to every little village--especially where
there are women interested in doing good for others.
I am sold to seal packages to go to far-away countries; I am used to
paste on the back of letters; I go everywhere carrying the message of
"Peace and good will to men."
In every place that I go some one is talking and writing about how to
prevent tuberculosis, the "great white plague," as Oliver Wendell Holmes
called it--the terrible disease that has killed so many people--more
than all the wars of the world. Seventy-five to ninety per cent. of all
the money I bring is used in the community in which I am sold.
The money I bring is used to hire nurses to go down into the crowded
city districts to care for the poor consumptives crowded in the tenement
houses. It may help to send a poor little cripple, with tuberculosis of
the hip-joint, to the "Fresh Air Home" in the mountains, where she has
a chance to get well. It often aids in sending a tired, sick mother to
the seashore in summer, where she finds rest and health. It aids in
sending some one to the schools to teach the gospel of fresh air, good
food, and pure water for the children.
So you see my mission has always been one of mercy, hope and health. Yet
I am such a little thing--just a bit of paper, bearing a little red
cross on a white shield, worth only a penny. "Great oaks from little
acorns grow," you know.
QUESTIONS
1. When were the first stamps used to make money
for charitable purposes?
2. Who first suggested using such stamps to aid
the fight on tuberculosis?
3. Who was Jacob Riis? Who was Oliver Wendell
Holmes?
4. Why is the cross of Greece used on the stamps?
What does it signify?
5. What is done with the money gotten from the
sale of the Red Cross seal?
6. Do you think it a good cause? Why? Will you
join the band of workers who are fighting "the
great white plague?"
[Illustration: OUT IN THE SAND BED WHERE I PLAY]
THE SAND BED
I have a sand bed, and there I play,
There in the sand for half the day.
And mother comes and sits by me;
And little sister likes to see
The many things I make of sand,
But she's too young to understand.
And then I make believe and say
My sand bed is the sunny bay;
These blocks are boats, and far away
They sail all night and sail all day,
And carry iron. When they return
They bring us coal that we may burn.
And now my sand bed is a farm.
This is the barn. Here, safe from harm,
My horses and my cows I keep.
These sheds are for the woolly sheep.
And there you see my piggie's pens.
The yard holds in the lively hens.
This is the garden, where I hoe
My plants: and here the flowers grow.
The sticks are pines, so straight, so tall
And dark. But these aren't half of all
The things I make each pleasant day
Out in the sand bed where I play.
THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT
"Oh, Jack, Uncle John says, if we will build a play-house for Mary and
her dolls, he will take us to Washington with him when he goes next
month."
"All right, Stuart, we can do it. Let us begin right away. Here is a
nice place for the house, just on the little hill. The ground is nice
and sandy, and the rain-water runs off. Here are some pretty trees for
shade. The hill is not high enough for it to be very cold.
"Now, for the house. We will place it so that it will face the south.
Then the living rooms will have plenty of sunshine. We will put it about
two feet off the ground, in order that it will not be damp; we can have
a wide piazza nearly all around the house; and on the south piazza we
can screen off a part for a sleeping porch. I am sure the dolls would
like one.
[Illustration: THE SLEEPING PORCH THAT JACK BUILT]
"We will screen every door and window to keep the flies and mosquitoes
out of the house. Mary says that each room must have at least two
windows. She wants the walls of the rooms painted a soft cream color. We
will oil and wax the floors. She can put a few rugs on them. She does
not want large ones that she cannot take up when she sweeps.
"The little white iron beds, with dainty pillows and white covers, will
surely please the dolls.
"Even in the parlor we will not have a single chair with plush or velvet
on it, for, Uncle John says, such furniture collects and holds germs.
The plan for the kitchen is a beauty. Everything is white except the
stove. There is a nice little table, and a cupboard, where the pans and
dishes are to be kept. The table is covered with zinc, and the floor is
covered with oil-cloth, so that it will be easy to keep it clean. A
shelf, on which are fastened hooks for spoons and forks, is near the
sink.
"The windows will have white muslin sash curtains. Mother says it is
just the kitchen to delight the heart of a neat little cook, with 'a
place for everything, and everything in its place.'
"Look at the cloth-covered broom we are going to use for sweeping, no
dust and no feather-dusters in this play-house.
"We can put the well here, this is near the house and on a hill above
the barn and chicken houses. We can put a little gasoline engine in, to
pump water into the bathroom and kitchen.
"We will plant some roses in the yard.
"Well, Stuart, we have worked hard on Mary's doll-house, and, now that
it is finished, I am sure Uncle John will take us on the promised trip."
"I showed the house to Uncle John to-day, Jack, and he said he wished
that some of the 'grown-ups' houses were as carefully planned for
sunshine and health as Mary's doll house."
QUESTIONS
1. Why did Jack and Stuart build a sleeping porch
to the doll house?
2. Why did they put the house on a little hill?
Why did they put the barns and out-houses at the
foot of the hill?
3. Where did they place the well?
4. Why did they use a cloth-covered broom for
sweeping?
5. Would this be a good way for grown-ups to build
their houses?
[Illustration]
A NEW STORY OF THE LION AND THE MOUSE
A long while ago, so the story goes, there was a time when the Lion,
King of Beasts, had a little mouse at his mercy. The Lion was about to
crush the mouse with his paw. The little mouse begged for his life, and
the great King of Beasts spared him.
Not a great while after that day the Lion was caught in a net. He could
not get out, and howled with rage. The little mouse heard him, and ran
to help his old-time friend.
The great King of Beasts did not think the little mouse could help him.
But the mouse gnawed the cords in the net with his teeth, and thus set
the Lion free.
This story that I am going to tell you is of a rat--a kind of cousin to
the mouse.
In many of our cities the City Fathers have not thought much of the many
rats that live in the alleys and big warehouses, where cotton and grain
are stored.
The City Fathers, like the King of Beasts, have looked with contempt on
the little rats. They did not believe they were large enough to do any
great harm, but rats and mice are dirty little animals and can carry
disease. The Health Doctors, who are always digging into things, have
made a serious charge against Mr. Rat. They say that he is the "Carrier"
of a terrible disease, and that he is to be more feared than the biggest
lion.
The rats have brought this disease from the far-away countries in Asia.
You will ask--How could the rats bring this disease, which is called
"the plague," since they cannot swim across the ocean? No, that is true.
But you know that the rats are great wanderers, and they frequently get
on the ships which are loaded in the harbors in China, or Japan, and
travel with the ships to the next port. You must remember that rats have
fleas on them. In the far-away country the fleas bite persons who have
the plague. The fleas then get on the rats in the neighborhood, and even
give the plague to the rats.
When the ship unloads its cargo, in Mobile, San Francisco, or New York,
these rats, with their fleas and plague germs, go ashore, and in this
way they spread the disease.
When the fleas from the rats bite persons, they poison them with the
plague germs. Many persons in Asia die of this disease every year.
In this country we prevent it by doing what the Lion of long ago did not
do. We kill the rats, for they are dirty little animals.
QUESTIONS
1. Tell the story of the Lion and the Mouse. Who
wrote this fable? What is a fable?
2. Why are we not so merciful to the rat as the
Lion was?
3. What disease germs does the rat carry?
[Illustration]
FIRST AID TO THE INJURED AND THE BOY SCOUTS
"I say, Jack, what do you think; I am going to join the Boy Scouts."
"What is that, Tom? I don't know anything about Boy Scouts. Is it
something new? You are always starting some new stunt. Is it playing
soldier?"
"Oh, no, Jack; it is a company made up of boys, who are learning to be
manly and brave. Being a Boy Scout takes you out-of-doors a great deal,
and in that way it helps make you strong and healthy. I wish you would
come with me and join."
"Well, tell me all about it."
"The Boy Scouts were organized in England, in 1907, and a brother
organization was started in America in 1910. It was started by men who
knew all about boys, and who wanted to help them to get the best out of
life.
"The Boy Scouts elect leaders; they form troops, that is, so many boys
under one leader. They go camping. They go on long 'hikes.' A hike is a
trip into the country, over hills and through meadows.
"The Boy Scout must learn to swim, and to do many things to help
himself, and to help others. A Boy Scout has to promise to do something
for some one each day--lend a helping hand.
"Mr. Brown, the lawyer, is our Scout Master. Come, Jack, join us. You
are twelve years old. It will help to make a man of you. A number of us
are going to be initiated this afternoon; then we will be Tenderfoot
Scouts."
"All right, Tom, I'll ask mother. I am pretty sure she will let me join.
She wants me to be a manly, healthy boy."
SOME THINGS JACK AND TOM LEARNED TO DO AS BOY SCOUTS
(FIRST AID, IT IS CALLED)
When a person faints, lay him flat, loosen his collar and belt, and
bathe the face in cool water.
When a person is cut, and the wound is bleeding, put a clean cloth on
the wound, and press on it with the fingers until it stops bleeding, or
until a doctor comes. Tie a bandage above the cut.
If a bone is broken, carry the person so the broken bone will not tear
or injure the flesh near it. Put a board or pillow under the broken bone
to steady it.
They also learn to bind wet soda to a burn.
To put clove oil or turpentine on a bit of cotton in an aching tooth.
To put three drops of carbolic acid in half a teaspoonful of warm
glycerine into an aching ear.
To put wet cloths on the throat for sick stomach.
To bathe a sprain in hot water, and not to bandage until it stops
swelling.
To turn an eyelid and take out a cinder, or a bit of dirt, with a soft
cloth.
When a person has taken poison, to give him something to make him
vomit--salt and warm water, or mustard dissolved in warm water; call for
a doctor.
For sunstroke, to put the person in a cool place, and bathe in cool
water. To put ice-cap on head.
For heat prostration, to give stimulants, 10 to 12 drops of aromatic
spirits of ammonia in a little water, or hot drinks. Put hot-water
bottle to the feet.
When on fire, to lie down, not to run. Wrap in a rug or blanket, or
anything that will shut off the air from the flame. To protect the face
from the flames.
In nose bleed, to raise the head and arms. To press on the nostril from
which the blood is coming. That a small piece of cotton dipped in very
weak vinegar or lemon juice and placed in the nostril will cause the
bleeding to stop.
Should a child swallow a penny, or ring, or other small things, to give
bread and potatoes; not to give a laxative, or purgative.
If a child has convulsions, to put it in a warm bath without waiting to
undress it.
For snake bite, or the bite of a dog, tie a string above the bite, wash
the wound with clean water, and rub carbolic acid or luna caustic on it.
The most important thing that the Boy Scout learns is that common sense
and self-control are two of the best things to possess.
The Boy Scout must be well trained to use the last two aids for the
benefit of the injured.
AN INVITATION
"What do you say?" said the Work to be Done.
"Shall we start bravely together,
Up with the morning sun,
Sing, whatever the weather?"
Come, little busy folks, what do you say?
Let's begin fairly together to-day.
Shall we keep step with a laugh and a song
All through the runaway morning?
And when the noontide comes speeding along,
Whistling his chorus of warning,
"Then," said the Work to be Done, "let us see
Who has kept in the hurry with me?"
Hark, in the midst of the long afternoon,
When you are a little bit weary,
How all the meadows keep sweetly in time,
Toiling, and prattling and cheery.
"What do you say?" said the Work to be Done,
"Shall we be comrades till the setting of sun?"
--_Selected._
A GREAT FIGHT
Tom, Uncle John told me last night that he was going to make a hard
fight. I thought he was going to war. He could not tell me all about
this fight then, because some one came for him, to go to see a sick
child.
When I went to bed, I dreamed Uncle John was a soldier, and that he had
on a uniform, and was riding away on a big black horse. In my dream, I
could hear the bugle blow. Then I dreamed he was fighting wild beasts.
My! how hot I got while I was dreaming this.
This morning, when I told Uncle John about my dream, he said he was
going to fight something that did more harm than wild beasts. He told me
that, as soon as I helped mother, to come over to his office, and he
would tell me all about it.
I could scarcely eat my breakfast, I was in such a hurry to learn what
my Uncle John was going to fight. I could just see him with a sword
buckled to his side, getting on a big war-horse, galloping off to the
music of fife and drum.