1.What a wonderful thing our tongue is！No other part of our body moves so freely.It can be thrust out and pulled back very quickly；and it may be moved from side to side，or up and down，at pleasure.It can be rolled up，straightened，raised or lowered，with the greatest ease.
2.Did you ever notice the shape of the tongue？The thinnest part is the tip.It graduallygrows thicker and。
3.It is fixed to the under part of the mouth at its back part or root，but its edges and its point or tip are quite free.The teeth form what we might call the walls of its house.
4.The tongue is like a watch-dog chained to his kennel.He can dart out and bark，but cannot get away.So the tongue can move as freely as possible，but cannot fall out of the mouth.
5.How useful to us is this little tongue of ours！Of course we could not speak without it.That is why it iscalled one of the “organs”of speech.The word “organ”simply means “an instrument.”Thus the eyes are called the “organs of seeing，”and the ears the “organs of hearing.”
6.Now，the tongue is one of the instruments which enable us to speak，but it is not the only one.The lips，the teeth，the roof of the mouth，the nose，and the throat，are all needed for perfect speaking.
7.But the tongue is the chief organ of speech.Indeed，it is usual to look upon it as the only one，and “Hold your tongue！”is a vulgarspeak！““Be silent！”
8.The tongue is also of great service to us in eating.It tastes the food，and rolls it about in the mouth so as to mix it with the saliva .
It places it under the teeth to be chewed，and pushes it to the back of the mouthto be swallowed.
9.Some animals use their tongue in place of a hand.If you watch a cow eating long grass，you will notice that she pushes out her rough tongue and passes it rounda tuft of grass，pulling the tops of it into her mouth.
The giraffe ses his slender tongue in the same way，grasping the leafy twigs with it，and bringing them within reach of his teeth.
10.Insect-eating animals use their tongue as a kind of paw to lay hold of their prey.The frog‘s tongue is fixed to the front part of his mouth，and the point lies back towards his throat.When he sees a fly near，by a sudden “flick”with the back part or point of his tongue，which is covered with a kind of gum，the fly is seized and immediately.
11.The ant-eater swallowed.has a long，slimy ，worm-like tongue，which he thrusts into the ants’nests and brings out covered with the insects.The tongueof the wood-pecker is very rough towards the point.He lives upon insects，and his rough tongue is well fitted for pulling them out of their holes in the bark of old trees.
12.The tongue of the whale is the biggest of all，being sometimes twelve feet in length，or twice as long as a tall man.
