Читать книгу The House We Live In; or, The Making of the Body онлайн

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Wrist bones tied together.

Mother: So they would if the Maker of the body-house had not put soft cushions of gristle or car´ti-lage between them. A soft, thin skin covers them, which pours “joint water” over the ends, and keeps them oiled just right, so they bend easily, and never squeak at all. You have seen the driver of an engine oiling it so it would run easily and not wear out; but think of a machine which will mend and oil itself for seventy years without wearing out! We have a most wonderful frame. The Bible says, “Thou hast fenced me with bones and sinews,” and, “He knoweth our frame.” Sometimes if we are ill a long time “the bones that were not seen stick out;” but when we are well, flesh covers them over so we hardly know we have any bones at all.

I once read a poem which I will repeat for you. It may help you to remember how many bones we have and where they are:—

“How many bones in the human head?

Eight, my child, as I’ve often said.

How many bones in the human spine?

Twenty-six, like a climbing vine.