based on the Book of Genesis, chapter 3
In which we learn about the first steps of Adam and Eve, the heroes of good and evil, despite themselves. And why the dream came to an end. And how the door of the history of man opened before them.
In those days, the Earth was a garden like the gardens of Babylon.
A huge garden watered by four great rivers.
A garden full of fabulous fruit growing on beautiful trees.
In this great garden lived the man, Adam, and the woman, Eve.
They lived with the wolves and the lambs.
They lived among the lions and gazelles.
They lived with the birds and the smallest bugs.
To eat, they had only to gather the flowers and grasses.
And collect the fruit that fell to the ground.
And drink from the springs.
In those days, no one had ever heard of illness or death.
In those days, fear did not exist.
There was no shame.
In those days, no one worked. It was paradise.
In the middle of this great garden, there was a tree unlike all the others: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
It was a tree to sit under and sleep and dream.
They could eat any fruit in the garden, except that from this tree.
Marvelous fruit that the man and woman watched with an envious eye.
For it was said: Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
It was the tree of adventure, the tree of desire.
The tree of all mysteries: birth and death,
growth and age,
work,
making babies . . .
The tree of all dreams: to grow beautiful and strong,
to travel far,
to succeed, to be loved . . .
The tree of all temptation: pleasure, love,
gambling, adventure, wealth . . .
But also the tree of all distress: death,
poverty,
weariness,
war,
exile . . .
One day at the foot of the tree, there was a snake, sleek and naked, and he liked teasing them.
Eat this, and you’ll be completely different.
You won’t die, but it will open your eyes.
You’ll see it all otherwise. The garden. And everything that lives here. The sky . . .
Eat this, and you’ll be surprised, he said.
The temptation was too strong. Eve took one of the fruits. Adam wanted some too.
She gave him half.
Suddenly, they were afraid of the lion.
Suddenly, they were afraid of the spider, and the trees, and the clouds . . .
They ran and hid in the garden.
They wanted cover and dared not look at each other.
And the snake turned mean. He was clearly not their friend.
Then they heard a voice in the garden. God called out to Adam: Where are you?
I heard you in the garden, and I got scared; I’m naked, and I went to hide.
And he denounced the woman, saying: She gave me of the tree and I did eat . . .
And the woman, in turn, blamed it all on the snake.
Whom God expelled: Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dine on dust for the rest of your life.
And to the woman, he said: Giving birth will give you great pain, and in your pain, you will bear sons. And man will be master over you.
And to the man: You must work for what you eat.
And you’ll live on weeds. You’ll get nothing but thistles and thorns from the Earth.
For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
And the whole garden changed and became cruel, full of thorns and thistles and briars and prickles.
Time to go. The dream was over.
The man and the woman opened the door into human history.
They were going to have to work, bear children, share with others,
wander the Earth, and love and hate, for generation after generation.
