Page 78 - Stories for Thinking Children 1

Kareem thought for a moment: "It is wonderful that all these
things come together in a single little leaf and work with no prob-
lem."

"It is our Lord Allah, Kareem, Who has created this marvelous
system," Grandpa Hassan reminded his grandson. "With Allah's
permission, every leaf in the world has come into being having this

marvelous system. Be sure not to forget that."

While he was listening to Grandpa Hassan, Kareem saw a very
large tree, and a problem occurred to him. He began to wonder
how a tree could survive without solving that problem. He immedi-
ately asked his grandfather: "Grandpa, trees are very tall. How do
they draw up water and food from the soil? Look at that tree! It is
so tall, but the leaves at the top are still very green."

Grandpa Hassan nodded: "Do you remember? A little while
ago I compared leaves to a factory; let's
make the same comparison again.
Think of a pipeline with a web-like
covering all over it; it makes sure
that the raw material reaches the

production units and that the
product obtained from these units
is distributed in the syrupy liquid
produced in the leaves to other
areas so that the whole tree can

be nourished. These chan-
nels serve not only to trans-
port this vital fluid; they
also make up the skeletal
system of the trees and their

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