d 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.