God had created Adam and Eve and placed them in the wonderful garden of Eden. They lived in perfect harmony with God, with the animals, and with all creation. The garden was a place of beauty like no other, where everything was good.

God had given Adam and Eve the freedom to eat from every tree in the garden, except one: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That was the only thing God had forbidden them.

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals the Lord God had made. One day, it came close to the woman and asked:

"Is it true that God said you may not eat from any tree in the garden?"

The woman answered the serpent:

"We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. Only of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden did God say: you must not eat it, nor touch it, or you will die."

Then the serpent whispered the words that would change everything:

The woman looked at the tree and saw that its fruit seemed good to eat, lovely to look at, able to give wisdom. She picked a fruit and ate it; then she offered it to her husband, who was with her, and he ate too.

Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they realized they were naked. They wove fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. When they heard the footsteps of the Lord God, who was walking in the garden in the cool breeze of the evening, the man and his wife hid from the presence of the Lord among the trees.

But the Lord God called to the man and asked:

"Where are you?"

"I heard your footsteps in the garden and I was afraid, because I am naked," he answered. "So I hid."

"Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I forbade you?"

The man replied:

"The woman you placed at my side gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate."

The Lord God asked the woman:

"Why did you do this?"

"The serpent deceived me," the woman answered, "and I ate."

Then the Lord God said to the serpent:

To the woman, the Lord said that she would know pain: she would bring forth her children in sorrow. And to the man, He said:

Adam gave his wife the name Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living. And the Lord God made garments of skins for Adam and his wife, and He Himself clothed them.

Then the Lord God said:

"Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever."

So the Lord God sent them out of the garden of Eden, so that the man would till the ground from which he had been taken.

After sending them away, God placed cherubim east of the garden of Eden, with a flaming sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Adam and Eve walked out of paradise slowly, without looking back. From then on, they would have to work hard for their food, and they would know hardship and sorrow. But God did not abandon them. He promised that one day a savior would come, who would rescue humanity from sin.

In time, Eve gave birth to a boy, and she said that she had received him with the help of the Lord. His name was Cain. Then Abel was born, Cain's brother. Abel became a shepherd of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground.

Even though they had lost paradise, Adam and Eve learned to live with the consequences of their choices. They taught their children to know God and to understand how important it is to obey Him. Life was harder now, but they did not lose hope, because they knew God was still caring for them.