do. Tell your people whether
it is true or false. That is what I want you to do.

In this book I read about God's making the world and one man. That is
all He intended to make. The making of woman was a second thought,
though I am willing to admit that as a rule second thoughts are best.
This God made a man and put him in a public park. In a little while He
noticed that the man got lonesome; then He found He had made a mistake,
and that He would have to make somebody to keep him company. But having
used up all the nothing He originally used in making the world and one
man, He had to take a part of a man to start a woman with. So He
causes sleep to fall on this man--now understand me, I do not say this
story is true. After the sleep had fallen on this man the Supreme
Being took a rib, or, as the French would call it, a cutlet, out of
him, and from that He made a woman; and I am willing to swear, taking
into account the amount and quality of the raw material used, this was
the most magnificent job ever accomplished in this world. Well, after
He got the woman done she was brought to the man, not to see how she
liked him, but to see how he liked her. He liked her and they started
housekeeping, and they were told of certain things they might do and of
one thing they could not do--and of course they did it. I would have
done it in fifteen minutes, I know it. There wouldn't have been an
apple on that tree half an hour from date, and the limbs would have
been full of clubs. And then they were turned out of the park and
extra policemen were put on to keep them from getting back. And then
trouble commenced and we have been at it ever since. Nearly all the
religions of this world account for the existence of evil by such a
story as that.

Well, I read in another book what appeared to be an account of the same
transaction. It was written about four thousand years before the
other. All commentators agree that the one that was written last was
the original, and the one that was written first was copied from the
one that was written last. But I would advise you all not to allow
your creed to be disturbed by a little matter of four or five thousand
years. It is a great deal better to be mistaken in dates than to go to
the devil. In this other account the Supreme Brahma made up his mind
to make the world and a man and woman. He made the world and he made
the man and then the woman, and put them on the Island of Ceylon.