1G2 THE EARTH MADE READY FOR MAN 



take. They are no sooner formed into clouds than 

 they are driven about through the air by the wind. 

 In that journey, when they come to a place that is 

 colder than the air in which they came to rest, it is 

 as if the clouds were squeezed as you squeeze a wet 

 sponge in your hand, for the colder air congeals the 

 beads of vapor into drops of water again, and rain 

 falls from the clouds. Sometimes it is a soft, gentle 

 rain that only wets the grass and leaves and flowers. 

 Sometimes it is a driving rain which comes in such 

 heavy drops that it races away in streams and brooks. 

 Sometimes it is snow, and sometimes hail. 



What an endless task this seems! Is there any- 

 thing on earth that could tell us more marvelous 

 tales of travel and adventure than the drops of rain 

 water? For water is continually in motion and end- 

 lessly at work. Water is one of God's most active 

 helpers. Just picture to yourself its wonderful journey. 



Up into the air it goes as vapor, keeping the air 

 soft and moist all the while. Through the air it 

 floats as clouds and, while it floats, it curtains off 

 some of the sun's rays and keeps them from scorching 

 the earth. To the earth it falls as rain, refreshing the 

 plants as it falls and nourishing the roots as it sinks 

 into the ground. To the surface again it comes in 

 springs of fresh, clear water. And away it flows in 

 brooks and rivers to join again the vast ocean, only to 

 begin once more its long, changeful journey. Ever 

 since the beginning, when the heavy, close-lying fog 

 was raining itself away, water has been traveling like 

 this. Only at first there was no land to travel over, 

 and then for a long, long time there was nothing to 



