What’s Inside My Body: Skin

It was a beautiful spring day, the sun was finally peeking out from behind the clouds after a long winter. Charlotte’s parents had promised her that once it was nice outside, they would go on an outing.

Charlotte was thrilled about this. She adored being outdoors — if she had her way, she’d stay in the playground from morning till night. But during the previous weeks the sun was mostly hidden by clouds, plus it was muddy underfoot and the cold climbing frame made her hands numb. But today everything was different — the sky was blue and the air was warm.

The family hopped on a blue train and headed to a small village. They left the station on foot, strolling past a sheep enclosure and checking to see if the daffodils were in bloom yet. An excited Charlotte ran a few steps ahead of her mum and dad, admiring the marvels of the awakening Nature.

The little girl was bursting with energy. She skipped and scuttled all the while, until eventually her mother said to her: “You’re getting overheated, Charlotte. You’d better take off your sweatshirt — a t-shirt will be enough, as it’s really quite warm.”

Soon they arrived in a leafy wood, stopping by a small creek. Charlotte took off her shoes and socks and jumped into the cold water up to her knees. She splashed about for a bit and then sent some leaves and pieces of tree bark floating downstream, like miniature boats. After that, she built a small dam. A few minutes later, she was shivering.

“Your lips are completely blue, darling girl, and look — you’ve got goose pimples on your legs,” her dad said, admonishing her.

Charlotte looked down at her legs and saw that…