READING LESSON XIII.

The Creation of the World.
SECTION III.

(1.) When the earth was first made, it was all cov-er-ed with water.

(2.) God caus-ed all the wat-er to flow in-to deep pla-ces, which he had made for it, and this left all the hills and high pla-ces dry. These were cal-led the land, and the wat-ers were cal-led seas and riv-ers.

(3.) Now, the land had noth-ing on it but rocks and stones; then God made the grass to spring up, and it spread all o-ver the earth, like a green car-pet.

(4.) The tall trees, too, came forth up-on the sides of the riv-ers and hills; while fruits grew in the val-leys.

(5.) The beau-ti-ful flow-ers be-gan to bloom in the fields, and the air was fil-led with their sweets.

(6.) All this was done on the third day.

READING LESSON XIV.

The Creation of the World.

(1.) Though there was light on the first day of the cre-a-tion, it was not such light as comes now from the sun and moon.

(2.) These two great lights, as we see them, were made on the fourth day.

(3.) The sun was made to shine by day, and the moon to shine by night.

(4.) On this day God made the stars, too, and put them all in their prop-er pla-ces.

(5.) All this time there was not a liv-ing crea-ture to be found on the earth, or in the air, or in the sea.

(6.) It was a beau-ti-ful world. God saw that it was good. But there was no one to look up-on its beau-ty, or to praise the wis-dom, pow-er, and good-ness of its great Cre-a-tor.

READING LESSON XV.

The Creation of the World.

SECTION V.

The birds.

(1.) To cre-ate the fish-es and the fowls, was the work of the fifth day.

(2.) The strong ea-gle and the fee-ble spar-row; the swal-low; the sweet rob-in and the gay lark; the proud pea-cock and the gen-tle dove, were all made on the fifth day.

(3.) The air, and fields, and woods were full of birds, sing-ing and fly-ing a-bout, and build-ing their nests.

(4.) The fish-es, too, of ev-e-ry size and kind, were made at the same time. Such as the great whale, who is so strong that he can break in pre-ces a small ship with a blow of his tail, and the shark, and the beau-ti-ful trout, and the gold-fish.

(5.) And, be-sides all these, he made the fish-es that live in shells and creep about in the sand, or hide in the rocks and weeds at the bot-tom of the deep green sea.