You owe your good lives to your hands! They make it easier and better than the lives of all other creatures on earth. Only man can dream of wonders, then make his hands build them into homes and cities.

Your hand's special bones muscles and skin fit it for many uses. Think of how many different jobs you do with it in one day!

Fingers can be train to do amazing things. With two fingers a doctor can tight knots in a thread inside a human heart. The fingers of a pianist can strike 120 notes a second. An acrobat learned to balance himself on his index finger.

Which is your busiest and most important finger? Your thumb! It can cross over or work with any other finger. You could get along fairly well with the thumb and only one other finger.

The five fingers differs in strength. After the thumb, the middle finger is usually the strongest. Next comes the index fingers. The fourth finger's muscles do not let it move as well as the other fingers. People who learn to type or play the piano find the fourth finger the hardest to train. The little finger moves more easily, but it is the weakest finger.

When you squeeze something, the skin on the back of your hand stretches, while the skin on your palm draws together.

Examine your fingertips and your palms to see many little ridges in the skin. These ridges help you feel. When they touch anything ,the nerves in them tell your brain whether it is cold or hot, rough or smooth.

Inside your hands, tough cords called tendons join muscles to the bones. The tendons control the movement of your fingers. Other cords called ligaments, hold the bones together at their joints. Around the joints is a thick fluid that helps your fingers to move smoothly.

Because hands do so much and touch so many things, they are often hurt.

With our hands, we work, play, make things and show our feeling, like myself holding this device and typing this message. Our wonderful hands help to lift us above all other living things. We should take good care of them.