LESSON FIFTH
ON OUR FIRST PARENTS AND THE FALL
Q. Who were the first man and woman?
A. The first man and woman were Adam and Eve.
The Hen’s Egg
The world did not come into existence without a Creator. A young man who had finished his studies at the high school came home with an overweening idea of his knowledge and wisdom. Amongst other foolish theories which he enunciated, he asserted that the world was not made, it came into existence of itself, and was not the work of a Creator. His mother, a simple but sensible woman, let him run on, and listened in silence; at length she said: ‘‘Since you have such definite knowledge on all these matters, tell me, did the egg exist first, or the hen?” “The egg existed first,” the youth replied, “all chickens come out of eggs.” His mother continued: “ That is impossible, for the egg comes from the hen, therefore the priority of existence belongs to the hen.” Her son answered: “ Perhaps you are right, mother.” But she said again: “ Yet you must not forget that there is never a hen that did not originally come out of an egg.” The youth
