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

36 страница из 44

Percy: I think so; for if we had given the horse no rest and had kept whipping him, after a time he could not work at all.

“LIFT, BROTHER, LIFT.”

Mother: And that is just what happens to the man who drinks beer. Perhaps you have seen a man stumbling along the sidewalk. He is first on one side and then on the other, and we say he is drunk. This means that the alcohol he has taken has poisoned his body so the muscles will not do their work properly. The man can not make his servants do as he tells them; for he has made them all sick, and he is sick. It is a sad sight to see any one drink this poison, and make himself helpless.

Amy: I never knew before that strong drink hurt the muscles.

Mother: And there is another poison about as bad for them, and that is tobacco. If a boy wishes to grow to be a large, noble man, with an active mind, a clean mouth, sweet breath, clear eyes, and strong muscles, he will not touch tobacco. In some countries there is a law against boys using it, because it does them so much harm. Tobacco makes the muscles weak and unsteady. Like alcohol, it makes a person feel stronger when he is really weaker.