"Then think of the great use we make of water in washing ourselves and our dirty clothes, and in cleaning our houses. Teacher says it is the natural cleanser. We cannot be healthy and happy unless we are clean. Dirt brings disease, and the worst enemy of dirt is water.""Now, I want you," said Fred, "to imagine what would happen if the water, instead of being colorless, tasteless, and odorless, had a taste, smell, and color of its own.
"Picture to yourself our shirts and collars, everything we wear, as well as our floors and tables, and every article of our food, colored red or blue, through being washed or prepared in red or blue water.
"Think of the taste of our food too. It would take the same flavor and the same smell as the water in which it was cooked.
"Water is useful for all these purposes simply because it is colorless, tasteless, and odorless.""I have just been thinking," said Willie, "of what teacher told us about the water cisterns. You know water is very absorbent, and will suck up and hold gases.