2. A man empties the water out of the bag into a tank by the side of the well. The water runs out of this tank into the garden, where it spreads out into many little streams. It is this water which makes the trees, the plants, and the grass grow so well in the garden.

3. If the garden were not watered in this way, it would soon be brown and bare. For many months at a time no rain falls in India. Then dust a foot deep lies on the roads, and the ground cracks with the heat.

4. When the dry season is over the rain begins to fall. It comes down in torrents for days together. In some places more rain falls in a single day than we have in a whole year.

5. During the "rains" the rivers become full to the brim, and the whole land is fresh and green. Sometimes the "rains" do not come at all. Then the crops wither away, and the people starve.

6. In our country we are never sure of the weather. It changes so often that we talk about it a great deal. In India nobody talks about the weather. During seven months of the year every day is fine.

7. In our country we almost always have plenty of water for our crops, and for drinking and washing. Plenty of fresh water is a great blessing to a land. In many parts of India water is very scarce.

8. I told you that the great river Ganges is not far away from little Hugh's home. This grand river begins in the mountains of North India. I wish you could see these mountains. They are the highest on earth. They rise up from the plains like a huge wall, and their tops are always covered with fields of ice and snow.

9. These ice-fields slowly move down the mountain sides. Then they melt, and this gives rise to the Ganges and to the other great rivers of North India.

10. Millions of the Indian people love the Ganges, and they have good reason to do so. It gives water and food to more than twice as many people as dwell in the British Islands.

11. Many Indians think that every drop of water in the river is holy. They believe that if they bathe in its waters their souls will be washed clean from sin.

12. There is a town by the side of the Ganges which the Indians say is the holiest place on earth. It is full of temples. Millions of Indians visit these temples every year.

13. All along the river bank there are stone steps leading down to the water. Standing in the stream are men and women and children who have come from all parts of India. They wash themselves in the stream, and pour the holy water over their heads as they pray.

14. People who are very ill are carried to this place, that they may die by the side of "Mother Ganges." They die happy if they can see her or hear the sound of her waters during their last moments.

15. When they die their bodies are taken to the steps. There they are washed in the river water, and are placed on piles of wood. Friends set fire to the wood, and soon the bodies are burnt to ashes. These ashes are thrown into the stream, which bears them to the distant ocean.