were set before them; at last a dish closely covered was placed on the table and their host said: “ You can eat of every dish except this one; that is to be left until I return. You must not s6 much as touch it.” He then left the dining-hall and was absent for a long time. The two guests began to get impatient, their curiosity was awakened; it got stronger and stronger. At length the woman could resist no longer; she gently raised the cover. But the harm was done; a beautiful little bird flew out, and disappeared out of the window. Then the master of the house came back, and drove out both the man and his wife, bidding them be wiser in future. Here we have an example of human frailty.
Q. What evil befell us on account of the disobedience of our first parents?
A. On account of the disobedience of our first parents^ we all share in their sin and punishment, as we should have shared in their happiness if they had remained faithful.
The Heirs of an Estate
We are all inheritors of Adam’s sin and its consequences. An emperor once gave a large estate to one of his subjects, a man of rank, on condition that he should always be faithful to him. But the nobleman proved a traitor. Thereupon the emperor took his land and his title from him and banished him from his dominions. The man’s treachery brought misfortune on his children; they could not inherit either the property or the title that had been their father’s. All
