Kathy Haneyg age 12 of Allentown PA

What is a microbe?

The word microbe is made from two older words. One means small, the other means life. A microbe  then, is a tiny living creature. The name is used for creatures so small that they must be viewed through a microscope to be seen. This includes all the germs and bacteria. For all are tiny living, creatures.

Some people save the word microbe for bitsy creatures they do not. like. They say that certain sicknesses are caused by microbes. So, indeed they are. But lets not forget the millions of bitsy creatures that are our friends. We have hundreds of microbe friends for every single microbe foe.

It is bacteria microbes that turn milk into cheese. Others help make vinegar. Others‑work hard at decay. They break up dead plants and the bodies of animals Into simple chemicals that enrich the soil. Certain microbe bacteria even live inside us and help up digest our food and fight off enemy microbes. So  don't let us be too hard on all the microbes. Our world would be impossible without them.