THE GARDEN OF CHILDHOOD
HEN our first parents were expelled from Paradise they went out among the mountains, and all was darkness around them. "No pity, no hope!" said they to each other. "Without a joy, without the grace of God, we must pass through life, and all who come after us will suffer for our sake, deprived of every joy, every hope, and every bright prospect."
The day began to dawn. As far as could be seen there was only the hard stone. No green grass, no tree, no flower, nowhere a hope! The two lonely beings at the barren rock bent their heads and wept. But far above them, on the summit of the mountain, an angel witnessed their grief. God had expelled them from Paradise, but He loved them still; therefore He bade this angel follow them whither they went.
When the man and the woman felt most desolate and subdued by remorse, he descended from the lofty height where he was seated, and touched the cold stone with his sceptre; and at this same moment life began to grow among the cold stones.
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