CHAPTER IV

MOTHER'S BABY


There is another wonderful secret that I have to tell you. I wonder
if you can guess what this is! No, it is not about a flower, nor a
bird--but, yes, you have guessed it right, for it is about a girl
just like you!

Is it not queer how much alike the flowers and birds and little girls
are, after all, even if they do not look at all alike?

You have lungs just the same as the bird, and breathe as it does. You
have two feet, but instead of wings you have arms and hands. You have a
sign language, as the flowers have, and you have a language of sounds
that is even better than the bird language. When you are happy, I can
tell it by the smiles on your face, and sometimes when you are a wee bit
cross, I know it by a tiny frown that mars the beauty of your face. But,
of course, that does not happen very often, because, you know, as we
grow older, our faces do not change their expressions as easily as they
do when we are young. And would it not be dreadful, if when you grew up,
you always had a frown on your face and were not nice looking at all?
You know the frown wrinkles try to stay, and every time we let them come
out they leave a tiny mark.

When the flower took in the fresh air it made green coloring matter, but
when you take in the fresh air it makes red coloring matter. So if you
want to have red cheeks and red lips you must have plenty of fresh air.