EARTH 



sun in the day-time, unless it is hidden behind 

 clouds ; there is sometimes the moon, which, if 

 we look carefully, we shall find never seems the 

 same shape two days running ; there are the 

 stars at night, and there are clouds of all sizes, 

 shapes and colours. There is generally water 

 to be seen somewhere in our landscape ; it may 

 be that on one side our outlook is bounded by 

 the sea ; there may be a river running down the 

 bottom of our valley, or a small lake lying at the 

 foot of the hills, or perhaps only a pond in a 

 field for cattle to drink at. These three then, 

 earth, sky and water, seem to make up the world 

 we know. 



In this chapter we will try to learn a little 

 more about the earth, its hills and valleys, its 

 plains and watersheds. If the hills around us 

 are at all steep, we shall find pieces of rock, 

 stone, chalk, or some such hard substance, 

 standing out up the sides or on the top, while 

 the low-lying parts beneath them are almost 

 entirely covered with soil. Now the rocks are 

 so hard and firm that it seems difficult to 

 believe that the soil below is chiefly made up 

 of little grains of stone that have been broken 

 or worn off the mountains and carried down by 

 the streams. Yet, if we look more closely at 

 the rocks, we shall notice little grooves, or 

 markings, perhaps even find tiny bits that are 

 almost ready to break away and leave a fresh 

 piece exposed to the influence of the sun and 



(9) 



