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

43 страница из 44

Mother: Have you ever seen a house with a thatched roof—I mean one covered with hay or straw instead of iron or shingles?

Elmer: Oh, yes, we saw some when we were out in the country!

Mother: Well, the roof of the house we live in is more like that than like a shingled roof.

Percy: Now I know what you mean: the body-house has a roof of hair.

Mother: And it is a most beautiful covering, too. Each hair grows in a little pocket, which is furnished with a tiny bag of coloring matter and a bottle of hair oil. These give color to the hair, and keep it soft and smooth. If we put much oil on the hair, it causes the oil bottles in the skin to dry up. There is no dressing so good as that which is made in the skin. We should brush and comb the hair carefully, to keep it shining and healthy.

People sometimes lose this beautiful thatch, and we say they are “bald-headed.” In very old people it turns gray or white, and it is like a beautiful, silvery crown. The Bible says that “a hoary head is a crown of glory.” Very small, new houses sometimes have no thatch at all, but as they get larger and older, one grows, and at first it is fine as softest silk. The Bible says that even the hairs of our head are all numbered or counted by our heavenly Father. From this we may see how much He loves and cares for us.