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"The Creation and Adam and Eve"* - Introduced by Natasha Gostwick. Read by John Le Mesurier. (Duration 7 minutes)

This charming story based on the beginning of the Old Testament is read by the late John Le Mesurier, most famous for his role as Sergeant Wilson in the long running and much loved television series, Dad s Army. The start of everything, and the mistake of Adam and Eve with the apple in the Garden of Eden is all told with gentle charm. This version for children was written by Robert Duncan.

On the first day the world had ever known, God had a busy week in front of him. He said, ‘We will have light and darkness, and I will call the light day, and the dark part night.’ It all happened just as he said.

On the second day God decided there should be lots of sky all round the world. He called the sky Heaven. The next day he made all the land, and all the seas. He said that grass and plants and fruit would grow on the land.

On Thursday God worked a bit more on the light and darkness. He put finishing touches to it and threw in lots of stars. He was very pleased with what he had done.

The fifth day was very important for God. He made all the birds, and all the fishes. ‘Have lots of children,’ he told them. That’s why there are so many birds in the sky and fishes in the sea.

He had to sleep, and the next morning he said, ‘Today I shall make all the animals for the land, and if I have time I shall make a man, and he can be just like me.’ He thought that was a very good idea.

By this time it was the world’s seventh day – Sunday. God was very tired, he had worked hard for six whole days.‘I shall make this my day of rest,’ he said.

And that’s why we’re all a bit lazy on Sundays.

When God had rested for a while, he got down to making the most beautiful garden. He called it the Garden of Eden. It had wonderful trees, and flowers. It even had lots of birds and animals in it. Whatever your favourite animal is, it was there.

God put the man he had made into the garden. The man rubbed his eyes and looked all round. God said to him, ‘Now listen, Adam (that was the man’s name) you can eat the fruit, climb the trees, paddle in the rivers and jump over the bushes, but there’s one thing you must never do. You must never eat the apples from the big tree in the middle of the garden because that tree tells you what is good and what is bad.’
Adam said, ‘What’s bad?’
‘Never mind,’ said God, ‘you go and have a nice time, and forget about that tree.’
God peeped out of the sky quite often to see how Adam was getting on, and soon he realised Ð Adam was lonely. God thought, ‘he hasn’t got any friends, no one to talk to Ð he will become unhappy soon.’
So one night, when Adam was asleep, God made a woman to be a friend for him. He called her Eve.
Adam and Eve got on very well together. They used to play with the animals, and eat lots of fruit from all the trees. Except one – the forbidden tree.
One day they decided to walk to the middle of the garden, and there was the most beautiful apple hanging from this special tree.
There was also a big nasty snake in the tree, who said, ‘Hey, why don’t you two eat that apple, it’s the nicest, biggest, juiciest apple I ever saw.’ Adam looked worried. ‘We’re not allowed to, God said so.’
‘Oh, don’t worry about that,’ said the horrible snake. ‘Have a bite, go on.’
Adam looked at Eve, and Eve looked at Adam, and the apple looked lovely. Eve tasted the apple.
‘Go on, try it,’ she said. Adam had a bite, and at once felt ashamed because he hadn’t any clothes on.
It just happened that God was walking in the garden that day, and when Adam and Eve heard him coming up the path, they ran to hide.

God was very angry when he found them. ‘You have eaten the fruit, haven’t you?’ he demanded. Adam said they had, but explained that the snake said it would be all right.

God told the snake that he was going to be the nastiest animal in the world, and he told Adam and Eve that now they would know everything about good and bad, for what good it would do them, and he turned them out of the garden of Eden and said they must look after themselves.

There was a great storm, and God went back to Heaven, leaving a flaming sword to make sure nobody touched the tree again.

		© claudia houdelier - todos os direitos reservados.