46 BOYS OF THE BIBLE.

pride. And it is not at all unlikely, that much sooner than
is commonly the case, Cain became a companion for his
father Adam. We think of them both starting forth in the
morning to break up the ground, to fell the timber, or to
hunt for food, leaving the little child Abel at home to keep
his mother company. What a strange companionship! There
would be more than enough to occupy their attention in the
scenes and occupations of the day; for Nature, like a great
book, is as varied as it is beautiful. And when evening came
and the two returned, what wonderful tales of adventure Cain
would have to tell his mother and his young wondering
brother! The boys grew older; they would hear much from
father and mother of the early days in Eden. You see,
these people had not so many subjects for conversation as
we haye. They had no books, and therefore could not talk
about the books they had read; they had no neighbors, and
could not talk of their neighbors; they had not traveled much;
indeed, their only journey was this journey of exile, so there.
was not very much to say about their travels. If, as the
boys grew older, Adam talked of the Paradise so sadly lost,
we may be very sure that his stories would fill their young
minds with the most curious questionings. It would be easy
for them, as it always is for boys, to ask more questions in
an hour than fathers can answer in a week. They would
all about the trees, and the birds,

 

want to know everything
and the rivers.

The author from whom we have already quoted—the
late Joseph F. Winks—and to whom we shall often have
occasion to refer, draws a pleasant, poetic picture of one of
these scenes of happy fellowship between Adam and his first-
born son. Wandering through a pleasant glade, they come
at last to the foot of a lofty eminence, and Adam says: