Many persons give the bones of the feet a wrong shape by wearing tight boots or shoes. This causes “corns” to grow, which become very sore and painful. Perhaps you have heard how the Chinese women bind the feet of their little girls, and pinch them up, till they look more like clubs than like feet. The little one often cries and moans for days, but the mother and father pay no attention to her sufferings, for they think it would never do for _their_ girl to have big feet. AMY: O, yes, mother; here is the picture of a woman with little feet! See her tiny shoes! They are no longer than a baby’s. In the other picture you see one of her feet with all the toes doubled under. I don’t see how she can walk at all. HELEN: She must be silly. I think God knew how big to make our feet, as well as other parts of the body. MOTHER: That is true, but the poor Chinese women do not know better, and they think Christian women are more foolish than Chinese women, and that they bind the bones in a way they themselves would never dream of doing. HELEN: How, mother? [Illustration: “_See her tiny shoes!_”] MOTHER: They say Christian women and girls squeeze the waist so tight it gives no room for some of the most important parts of the body-house. I think you said, Helen, that God knew how big to make our feet. Do you think He knew how big to make the waist? [Illustration: “_All the toes doubled under._”] HELEN: I suppose so, but a small waist looks so much better than a large one. MOTHER: And the Chinese lady thinks her little feet are so much prettier than large ones, and she would rather suffer the pain, and hobble around all her life leaning on a servant, than be out of fashion. The Christian woman thinks a small waist is pretty, so she makes her clothes tight, and suffers all kinds of aches, rather than let the body remain as God made it. What is the difference? Here is a picture of the ribs as God made them, and here is one after the waist has been bound around with tight dresses. [Illustration: “_Here is a picture of the ribs as God made them, and here is one after the waist has been bound around with tight dresses._”] If we saw a man putting iron bands around his house we would think the one who built it had made some mistake or it would not need anything to hold it together. If people feel as though they would “fall to pieces,” or if they have the backache, when their clothes are loose, it shows they have abused the muscles of the body and made weak that which God made strong. AMY: Is it wrong to wear tight clothing, mother?