THE WORK OF THE RAIN 



Now although the rain as it fell upon the surface 

 of the cooling world did not turn into steam and rise 

 again into the enveloping fog, yet the water did not 

 remain long where it fell. For water is always mov- 

 ing and always changing because of the forces that 

 act upon it. That is its law. 



Think about the water that you see falling as rain. 

 Does it remain in one place very long? Down it 

 comes, away it runs in a hundred little rills to the 

 brooks; the brooks hurry it off to the river, where it 

 flows a broad, silent stream to the ocean. Yet even 

 in the restless ocean it does not remain long, for the 

 sun coaxes it away. 



The sun beams are warm; you know yourself how 

 warm they are. When they rest upon the water 

 those drops that are moving to and fro upon the sur- 

 face of the ocean are taken up into the air that has 

 been warmed by the sunbeams, and become invisible. 



Did you ever watch the sidewalks dry off when 

 the sun came out bright and hot after a summer 

 shower? Did you ever wonder where the water went 

 that dried up so quickly? It was going up unseen 

 with the sunbeams, just as if it had put on an invisible 

 cap and slipped away straight up those long, golden 

 ladders. You and I cannot become invisible, but 

 drops of water can when the sun touches them with 



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