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

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How many bones in the human chest?

Twenty-four ribs, and four of the rest.

How many bones in the human arm?

In each one, two in each forearm.

How many bones in the human wrist?

Eight in each if none are missed.

How many bones in the fingers ten?

Twenty-eight, and by joints they bend.

How many bones in the human hip?

One in each; like a dish they dip.

How many bones in the human knees?

One in each, the knee-pan, please.

How many bones in the ankles strong?

Seven in each, but none are long.

How many bones in the toes, half a score?

Twenty-eight, and there are no more.

And now altogether these many bones fix,

And they count in the body two hundred and six.

And now and then a bone I should think

That forms on a joint, or to fill up a chink,

A ses´a-moid bone, or a wormian, we call,

And now we may rest, for we’ve told them all.”

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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.”