at her knee in prayer, she seems to say, “God bless and keep my darling child.” When she tucks the covers tight about us and sits by our bedside, we think that Mama is the best friend we have. Don’t we?

Now I will tell you of another friend. This friend lives in heaven. His name is God. We can not see God, but he looks down from heaven and sees us. He sees everything we do, and hears everything we say. He knows all things.

It was God who made this earth where we live, and everything that has life. We pray to God, and he hears us and answers our prayers.

[Transcription of text]

The Good Book

THE Bible is a good book. In it we read about God, and about his making the earth, sun, moon, stars, trees, flowers, rocks, water, birds, fishes, animals, and man.

We read of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman; of their beautiful home, the Garden of Eden; and also of their children and their children’s children.

In it there are many, many stories about how God helped people in times of trial.

We also read about Jesus, the Son of God, who came down from heaven and died for us, that we might have eternal life.

Good men wrote the Bible long, long ago, and the contents have been kept, until now we all have Bibles. The Bible is called Holy Bible because it is God’s Word, and is a record of God’s work and God’s words.

If we live now as the Bible teaches, after we die we shall receive a crown of life in heaven.

What God Made

OUR God is a very great God. He made all things. He made this earth where we now live.

It seems strange that there was a time, many, many years ago, when this earth was nowhere to be found; but that is so.

When men make things, they must have tools to work with. They have to make things little by little, working at them a long time before they are done.

It was not so with God when he made this earth. “He spake, and it was done.” At first all was dark. He then said, “Let there be light,” and it was light. He called the light day, and the darkness he called night. This, the Good Book says, took place on the first day.

On the second day God made the air we breathe, and in which the birds fly.

On the third day he made the land, sea, and rivers, and the grass, flowers, and trees.

On the fourth day he made the sun, moon, and stars, to give light to the earth by day and night.

On the fifth day he made the fish that swim in the water and the birds that fly in the air.

On the sixth day he made all the animals, and at last he made man. He gave them for food the grain of the fields, the fruits of the trees, and the vegetables of the garden.

On the seventh day God rested “from all the work which he had made.” “And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.”

In the Garden of Eden

WHEN the Garden of Eden was planted with all the beautiful flowers and trees, God gave it to Adam for a home. He told him to take good care of it. Adam was glad to work in the garden and use it as he chose; but he had no one to enjoy the things that he enjoyed, no one to help him to be just what God wished him to be, no one to love.

God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone: I will make him an help meet for him.” So he made a woman and Adam called her Eve.

Eve was very much like Adam in some ways, yet unlike him in other ways. Man has some gifts that woman does not have; one is helpful to the other.

Adam’s heart must have been glad to see the woman whom God had made for him. He now had some one to enjoy the home with him. Adam and Eve were happy in Eden as long as they loved God more than they loved to have their own way. He knew better than they did what was good for them and what would make them happy, and they were glad to obey him.

But by and by their own way seemed better than God’s way, and they did things that God had said they should not do. When we do things that God says we should not do, we sin. So Adam and Eve sinned, and were ashamed to see God, and when he came into the garden, they hid among the trees.

Our Heavenly Home

GOD loves men too well to leave them in sin and sorrow. And though we have sinned, he will forgive us if we are sorry for our sins and ask his pardon. He will give us good thoughts, and help us to love him and to love one another.

We shall all die, but we shall live again; and if we serve God in this life and are Christians, we shall live with him in heaven. There we shall never sin and never die. We shall never be sick or sad; we shall be happy forever. There we shall see God. Jesus will be there, and so will all the good people who have ever lived.

God saw that the people he had made were doing wrong, and he had pity on the whole world of sinners. So he sent his only Son to this earth as the Savior of the world. You will find somewhere in this book how God’s Son came to this world.

The Day and Night

GOD made the sun to give light by day. The sun not only gives us light, but also makes the earth warm and causes everything to grow.

Sometimes when the sun rises in the morning, it looks very close, but it is really far away—away off in the sky. When the sun goes down in the evening, darkness comes all around us. This is called night.

We do not want all daytime, in which to work and play; neither do we want all nighttime, in which to sleep; but we enjoy both the day and the night as God made them.

Also, we see the moon and the