In your country boys learn the lesson of politeness—­ladies first; but it is not so over here.  It is men first in all grades of society; and not only men first but men last, in the middle, and all the time.  Women and girls have a very small place given them in Topsy-turvy Land.  The Arabs say that of all animal kinds the female is the most valuable except in the case of mankind!  When a girl baby is born the parents are thought very unfortunate.  How hard the Bedouin girls have to work!  They are treated just like beasts of burden as if they had no souls.  They go barefoot carrying heavy loads of wood or skins of water, grind the meal and make fresh bread every morning or spin the camel’s hair or goat’s hair into one coarse garment.  They are very ignorant and superstitious, the chief remedies for sickness being to brand the body with a hot iron or wear charms—­a verse from the Koran sewn up in leather or a string of blue beads, which are supposed to drive away evil influences.

How very thankful girls should be that in all Christian lands they have a higher place and a better lot than the poor girls and women of Arabia!  For the greatest contrast is the religion of the inhabitants of Topsy-turvy Land.  That is all upside down too.  The Lord Jesus teaches us to pray in secret not to be seen of men; we are to go quietly alone and tell God everything.  But Mohammed, the prophet of Arabia, taught his followers to pray openly on any street corner, or on the deck of a ship, in public, just like the Pharisees whom Jesus condemns.  And when these people fast, as they are supposed to for a whole month, they do not really go without food, but each day at sunset they begin to eat in larger quantity than usual!—­because they think by such fasting to gain favour with God and do not know that to fast from sin and evil habits is the fast God wants.  Another thing very sad in this land of Topsy-turvy is that there are no Sunday-schools—­they do not observe our Sabbath—­and the boys and girls do not have bright Sunday-school lesson leaves or a picture-roll.  They spend Sunday and every other day in learning all the evil they see in those that are grown up.  Poor children!  They have never heard the sweet words of Jesus, “Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not:  for of such is the kingdom of God.”  We tell you all this about them that you may pray for them that God may soon send more missionaries to preach to them these precious words.  We want you all by prayer and offerings to help put a silver lining in the dark clouds of their lives.

The other chapters in this little book will tell you more about the land and its people and as you read them do not forget to pray for them.

If you are faithful and true, always shining for Jesus, your bright light will reach as far as dark Arabia, and will help to turn that land of Topsy-turvy right side up.  When joy and gladness will take the place of sorrow and sadness, and ignorance give way to the knowledge of the Truth.  In one place in the Bible it tells how to make these topsy-turvy lands right side up again.  Do you know where that is?  Acts 17:6-7. “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also ... saying that there is another King, even JESUS.”