1　How Things Started

Once upon a time there was a boy—

Just like me.

He had to stay in bed in the morning until seven o'clock until his father and mother were ready to get up；

So did I.

As he was always awake long before this time,he used to lie there and think about all sorts of curious things；

So did I.

One thing he used to wonder was this：

What would the world be like if there were—

No fathers and mothers，

No uncles and aunts，

No cousins or other children to play with，

No people at all,except himself in the whole world！

Perhaps you have wondered the same thing；

So did I.

At last he used to get so lonely,just from thinking how dreadful such a world would be,that he could stand it no longer and would run to his parents'room and jump into bed by their side just to get this terrible thought out of his mind；

So did I—for I was the boy.

Well,there was a time long,long,long ago when there were no men or women or children,NO PEOPLE of any kind in the whole world.Of course there were no houses,for there was no one to build them or to live in them,no towns or cities—nothing that people make.There were just animals—mastodons and dinosaurs,birds and butterflies,frogs and snakes,turtles