The Paradise of Children

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Long long ago, when this old world was in its
tender infancy, there was a child named Epimetheus, who never
had either father or mother, and that he might not
be lonely, another child, fatherless and motherless, like himself, was
sent from a far country to live with him and

(00:21):
be his playfellow and helpmate. Her name was Pandora. The
first thing that Pandora saw when she entered the cottage
where Epimetheus dwelt was a great box, and almost the
first question which she put to him after crossing the
threshold was this, Epimetheus, What have you in that box?

(00:45):
My dear little Pandora answered Epimetheus. That is a secret,
and you must be kind enough not to ask any
questions about it. The box was left here to be
keft safely, and I do not myself know what it contains.
But who gave it to you, asked Pandora. And where
did it come from? That is a secret, too, replied Epimetheus.

(01:10):
How provoking, exclaimed Pandora, pouting her lip. I wish the
great ugly box were out of the way. Oh, come,
don't think of it any more, cried Epimetheus. Let us
run out of doors and have some fun, play with
the other children. It is thousands of years since Epimetheus

(01:33):
and Pandora were alive, and the world nowadays this very
different sort of thing from what it was in their time.
Then everybody was a child. There needed no fathers and
mothers to take care of the children, because there was
no danger nor trouble of any kind, and no clothes
to be mended, and there was always plenty to eat

(01:55):
and drink. Whenever a child wanted his dinner, he found
it growing on a tree, And if he looked at
the tree in the morning, he could see the expanding
blossom of the night's supper, or at eventide he saw
the tender bud of tomorrow's breakfast. It was a very
pleasant life, indeed, no labor to be done, no tasks

(02:18):
to be studied, nothing but sports and dances, and sweet
voices of children talking or caroling like birds, or gushing
out in merry laughter throughout the livelong day. What was
most wonderful of all, the children never quarreled among themselves,
never had they any crying fits, nor since time first began,

(02:41):
had a single one of those little mortals ever gone
apart into a corner and sulked Oh, what a good
time was that to be alive In the truth is
those ugly little winged monsters called troubles, which are now
almost as numerous as mosquitoes, had never yet been seen

(03:01):
on the earth. It is probable that the very greatest
disquietude which a child had ever experienced was Pandora's vexation
at not being able to discover the secret of the
mysterious box. This was at first only the faint shadow
of a trouble, but every day it grew more and

(03:22):
more substantial, until before a great while the cottage of
Epimetheus and Pandora was less sunshiny than those of the
other children. Whence can the box have come? Pandora continually
kept saying to herself and to Epimetheus, and what in
the world can be inside of it? Always talking about

(03:45):
this box, said Epimetheus at last, for he had grown
extremely tired of the subject. I wish, dear Pandora, you
would try to talk of something else. Come let us
go and gather some ripe figs and eat. I'm under
the tree for our supper. And I know a vine
that has the sweetest and juiciest grapes you ever tasted.

(04:08):
Always talking about grapes and figs, cried Pandora pettishly. Well, then,
said Epimetheus, who is a very good tempered child, like
a multitude of children in those days, let us run
out and have a merry time with our playmates. I'm
tired of merry times, and I don't care if I

(04:29):
never have any more, answered our pettish little Pandora. And besides,
I never do have any the suckly box. I am
so taken up with thinking about it all the time.
I insist upon you telling me what is inside of it,
as I have already said fifty times over. I do
not know, replied Epimetheus, getting a little vexed. How then

(04:54):
can I tell you what is inside? You might open it,
said Pandora, looking sideways at Epimetheus, and then we could
see for ourselves. Pandora, what are you thinking of? Exclaimed Epimetheus,
and his face expressed so much horror at the idea

(05:16):
of looking into a box which had been confided to
him on the condition of his never opening it, that
Pandora thought it best not to suggest it anymore. Still, however,
she could not help thinking and talking about the box.
At least, she said you can tell me how it

(05:37):
came here. It was left at the door, replied Epimetheus,
just before you came my a person who looked very
smiling and intelligent, who could hardly forbear laughing as he
put it down. He was dressed in an odd kind
of cloak, and had a cap that seemed to be
made partly of feathers, so that it looked almost as

(06:01):
if it had wings. What sort of staff had, he
asked Pandora. Oh, the most curious staff I ever saw,
cried Epimetheus. It was like two serpents twisting around a stick,
and was carved so naturally that I at first thought

(06:23):
the serpents were alive. I know him, said Pandora, thoughtfully.
Nobody else has such a staff. It was Quicksilver, and
he brought me hither as well as the box. No
doubt he intended it for me, and most probably it
contains pretty dresses for me to wear, or toys for

(06:47):
you and me to play with. Were something very nice
for both to eat? Perhaps so, answered Epimetheus, turning away.
But until Quicksilver comes back and tells us so, we
have neither us any right to lift the lid of
the box. What a dull boy, he is, muttered Pandora

(07:08):
as Epimetheus left the cottage, I do wish he had
a little more enterprise. For the first time since her arrival,
Epimetheus had gone out without asking Pandora to accompany him.
He went to gather figs and grapes by himself, or
to seek whatever amusement he could find in other society

(07:30):
than his little playfellow's. He was tired to death of
hearing about the box, and heartily wished that Quicksilver or
whatever was the messenger's name, had left it at some
other child's door, where Pandora would never have set eyes
on it. So perseveringly as did she babble about this
one thing, the box, the box, and nothing but the box.

(07:57):
It seemed as if the box were bewa well. It
was really hard that poor Epimetheus should have a box
in his ears from morning till night, especially as the
little people of the earth were so unaccustomed to vexations
in those happy days, and they knew not how to
deal with them. Thus a small vexation made as much

(08:21):
disturbance then as a far bigger one would in our
own times. After Epimetheus had gone Pandora stood gazing at
the box. She had called it ugly above a hundred times.
But in spite of all that she had said against it,
it was positively a very handsome article of furniture, and

(08:42):
would have been quite an ornament to any room in
which it should be placed. It was made of a
beautiful kind of wood, with dark and rich veins spreading
over its surface, which was so highly polished that little
Pandora could see her face in it, as a child
had no other looking glass. It's odd that she did

(09:03):
not value the box merely on this account. The edges
and corners of the box were carved with most wonderful skill.
Around the margin there were figures of graceful men and women,
and the prettiest children ever seen, reclining or sporting, amid
a profusion of flowers and foliage. And these various objects

(09:24):
were so exquisitely represented, and were wrought together in such
harmony that flowers, foliage, and human beings seemed to combine
into a wreath of mingled beauty. But here and there,
peeping forth from behind the carved foliage, Pandora once or
twice fancied that she saw a face not so lovely,

(09:46):
or something other that was disagreeable, and which stole the
beauty out of the rest. Nevertheless, on looking more closely
and touching the spot with her finger, she could discover
nothing of the kind face that was really beautiful had
been made to look ugly by her catching a sideway
glimpse of it. The most beautiful face of all was

(10:07):
done in what is called high relief, in the center
of the lid. There was nothing else save the dark,
smooth richness of the polish wood, and this one face
in the center, with a garland of flowers about its brow.
Pandora had looked at this face a great many times
and imagined that the mouth could smile if it liked,

(10:28):
or be grave when it chose, the same as any
living mouth. The features, indeed, all wore a very lively
and rather mischievous expression, which looked almost as if it
needs must burst out of the carved lips and utter
itself in words. Had the mouth spoken, it would probably

(10:49):
have been something like this. Do not be afraid, Pandora,
What harm can there be in opening the box? Never
Mind that poor simple Epimetheus. You are wiser than he,
and have ten times as much spirit open the box

(11:12):
and see if you do not find something very pretty.
The box, I had almost forgotten to say, was fastened
not by a lock, nor by any other such contrivance,
but by a very intricate knot of gold cord. There
appeared to be no end to this knot, and no beginning.

(11:33):
Never was a knot so cunningly twisted, nor with so
many ends and outs which roguishly defied the skillfullest fingers
to disentangle them. And yet by the very difficulty that
there was in it, Pandora was the more tempted to
examine the knot, just to see how it was made.

(11:55):
Two or three times already she had stooped over the
box and taken the knot between her thumbs and forefinger,
but without positively trying to undo it. I really believe,
she said to herself, I begin to see how it
was done. Nay, perhaps I could tie it up again
after undoing it. There would be no harm in that.

(12:17):
Surely even Epimetheus would not blame me for that. I
need not open the box, and should not, of course,
without the foolish boy's consent. Even if the knot were untied,
it might have been better for Pandora if she had
a little work to do, or anything to employ her
mind upon, so as not to be so constantly thinking

(12:39):
of this one subject. But children led so easy a
life before any troubles came into the world, that they
had really a great deal too much leisure. They could
not be forever playing hide at seek among the flower shrubs,
or at blind Man's Bluff with garlands over their eyes,
or at whatever other games had been found while Mother

(13:01):
Earth was in her babyhood. When life is all sport,
toil is the real play. There was absolutely nothing to do.
A little sweeping and dusting about the cottage, i suppose,
and the gathering of fresh flowers, which were only too
abundant everywhere, and arranging them in vases, and poor little

(13:24):
Pandora's day's work was over. And then for the rest
of the day there was the box. After all, I'm
not quite sure that the box was not a blessing
to her. In its way. It supplied her with such
a variety of ideas to think of and to talk
about whenever she had anybody to listen. When she was

(13:47):
in good humor, she could admire the bright polish of
its sides, and the rich border of beautiful faces and
foliage that ran all around it. Or if she chanced
to be ill tempered, she could give it a push
or kick it with her naughty little foot. And many
a kick did the box. But it was a mischievous box,

(14:07):
as we shall see, and deserved all it got. Many
a kick did it receive. But certain it is. If
it had not been for the box, our active minded
little Pandora would not have known half so well how
to spend her time as she now did, For it
was really an endless employment to guess what was inside,

(14:31):
what could it be? Indeed, just imagine, my little hearers,
how busy your wits would be if there were a
great box in the house, which, as you might have
no reason to suppose, contained something new and pretty for
your Christmas or New Year's gifts. Do you think that
you should be less curious than Pandora? If you were

(14:52):
left alone with the box? Might you not feel a
little tempted to lift the lid? But you wouldn't do it?
Oh no, no, only if you thought there were toys
in it. It would be so very hard to let
slip an opportunity of taking just one peep. I know
not whether Pandora expected any toys, for none had yet

(15:15):
begun to be made, probably in those days when the
world itself was one great plaything for the children that
dwelt upon it. But Pandora was convinced that there was
something very beautiful and valuable in the box, and therefore
she felt just as anxious to take a peep as
any of these little girls here round me would have felt,

(15:36):
and possibly a little more so, But of that I
am not quite so certain. On this particular day, however,
which we have so long been talking about, her curiosity
grew so much greater than it had usually been that
at last she approached the box, she was more than

(15:57):
half determined to open it if she could. Ah ah,
naughty Pandora. First, however, she tried to lift it. It
was heavy, quite too heavy for the slender strength of
a child like Pandora. She raised one end of the
box a few inches from the floor and let it

(16:18):
fall again with a pretty loud thump. A moment afterward,
she almost fancied that she hurt something stir inside of
the box. She applied her ear as closely as possible
and listened positively. There did seem to be a kind
of stifled murmur within. Or was it merely the singing

(16:43):
in Pandora's ears, or could it be the beating of
her heart. The child could not quite satisfy herself whether
she had heard anything or no, but at all events
her curiosity was stronger than ever. As she drew back
her head, her eyes fell upon the knot of gold cord.
It must have been a very ingenious person who tied

(17:06):
this knot, said Pandora to herself. But I think I
could untie it. Nevertheless, I'm resolved at least to find
the two ends of the court. So she took the
golden knot in her fingers and pried into it intricacies
as sharply as she could, almost without intending it or
quite knowing what she was about. She was soon busily

(17:29):
engaged in attempting to undo it. Meanwhile, the bright sunshine
came through the open window, as did likewise the merry
voices of the children playing at a distance, and perhaps
the voice of Epimetheus among them. Pandora stopped to listen.
What a beautiful day it was. Would it not be

(17:49):
wiser if she were to let the troublesome Nott alone
and think no more about the box, but run and
join her little playfellow and be happy. All this time, however,
her fingers were half unconsciously busy with the knot, and
happening to glance at the flower wreathed face on the
lid of the enchanted box. She seemed to perceive it

(18:10):
slyly grinning at her. That face looks very mischievous, thought Pandora.
I wonder whether it smiles because I'm doing wrong. I
have the greatest mind in the world to run away.
But just then, by the merest accident, she gave the
nod a kind of twist which produced a wonderful result.

(18:34):
The gold cord untwined itself as if by magic, and
left the box without a fastening. This the strangest thing
I ever knew, said Pandora. What will Epimethea say? And
how can I possibly tie it up again? She made

(18:57):
one or two attempts to restore the knot, but soon
found it quite beyond her skill. It had disentangled itself
so suddenly that she could not in the least remember
how the strings have been doubled into one another, And
when she tried to recollect the shape and appearance of
the knot, it seemed to have gone entirely out of

(19:18):
her mind. Nothing was to be done, therefore, but to
let the box remain as it was, until Epimetheus should
come in. But said Pandora, when he finds the knot untied,
he will know that I have done it. How shall
I make him believe that I have not looked into

(19:40):
the box? And then the thought came into her naughty
little heart that since she would be suspected of having
looked into the box, she might just as well do
so at once. Oh, very naughty and very foolish, Pandora,
you should have only of doing what was right, and

(20:02):
of leaving undone what was wrong, and not of what
your playfellow Epimetheus would have said or believed. And so
perhaps she might, if the enchanted face on the lid
of the box had not looked so bewitchingly persuasive at her,
and if she had not seemed to hear more distinctly

(20:24):
than before the murmur of small voices within. She could
not tell whether it was fancy or no, but there
was quite a little tumult of whispering in her ears.
Or else it was her curiosity that whispered, let us out,
dear Pandora, pray let us out. We will be such nice,

(20:48):
pretty playfellows for you only let us out. What can
it be thought, Pandora, is there something alive in the box? Well? Yes, yes,
I am resolved to take just one peep, only one peep,
and then the lid shall be shut down as safely

(21:08):
as ever. There cannot possibly be any harm in just
one little peep. But it is now time for us
to see what Epimetheus was doing. This was the first
time since his little playmate had come to dwell with
him that he had attempted to enjoy any pleasure in
which she did not partake. But nothing went right, nor

(21:32):
was he nearly so happy as on other days. He
could not find a sweet grape or a ripe fig.
If Epimetheus had a fault, it was a little too
much fondness for figs, or if ripe at all, they
were over ripe and so sweet as to be cloying.
There was no mirth in his heart such as usually

(21:54):
made his voice gush out of its own accord and
swell the merriment of his companions short. He grew so
uneasy and discontented that the other children could not imagine
what was the matter with him, neither did he himself
know what ailed him any better than they did. For
you must recollect that at the time we are speaking

(22:17):
of it was everybody's nature and constant habit to be happy.
The world had not yet learned to be otherwise. Not
a single soul or body, since these children were sent
to enjoy themselves on the beautiful earth, had ever been
sick or out of sorts. At length, discovering that, somehow

(22:40):
or other, he put a stop to all the play,
Epimetheus judged it best to go back to Pandora, who
was in a humor better suited to his own. But
with the hope of giving her pleasure, he gathered some
flowers and made them into a wreath, which he meant
to put upon her head. The flowers were very lovely

(23:02):
roses and lilies, and orange blossoms, and a great many more,
which left a trail of fragrance behind as Epimetheus carried
them along, and the wreath was put together with as
much skill as could reasonably be expected of a boy.
The fingers of little girls, it had always appeared to me,

(23:23):
are the fittest to twined flower wreaths, but boys could
do it in those days rather better than they can now.
And here I must mention that a great black cloud
had been gathering in the sky for some time past,
although it had not yet overspread the sun. But just

(23:44):
as Epimetheus reached the cottage door, this cloud began to
intercept the sunshine, and thus to make a sudden and
sad obscurity. He entered softly, for he meant, if possible,
to steal behind us Pandora, and fling the wreath of
flowers over her head before she should be aware of

(24:05):
his approach. But as it happened, there was no need
of his treading so very lately. He might have drawn
as heavily as he pleased, as heavily as a grown man,
as heavily I was going to say, as an elephant,
without much probability of Pandora's hearing his footsteps. She was

(24:26):
too intent upon her purpose. At the moment of his
entering the cottage, the naughty child had put her hand
to the lid and was on the point of opening
the mysterious box. Epimetheus beheld her. If he had cried out,
Pandora would probably have withdrawn her hand, and the fatal

(24:48):
mystery of the box might have never been known. But
Epimetheus himself, although he said very little about it, had
his own curiosity to know what was inside. Perceiving that
Pandora was resolved to find out the secret, he determined
that his playfellow should not be the only wise person

(25:10):
in the cottage, And if there were anything pretty or
valuable in the box, he meant to take half of
it to himself. Thus, after all his sage speeches to
Pandora about her restraining her curiosity, Epimetheus turned out to
be quite as foolish and nearly as much as fault

(25:31):
as she. So whenever we blame Pandora for what happened,
we must not forget to shake our heads at Epimetheus. Likewise,
as Pandora raised the lid, the cottage grew very dark
and dismal, for the black cloud had now swept quite
over the sun and seemed to have buried it alive.

(25:55):
There had for a little while past been a low
growling and muttering, which all at once broke into a
heavy peal of thunder. But Pandora, heeding nothing of all this,
lifted the lid, nearly upright and looked inside. It seemed
as if a sudden swarm of winged creatures brushed past her,

(26:18):
taking flight out of the box, while at the same
instant she heard the voice of Epimetheus, with a lamentable tone,
as if he were in pain. Oh I am stung,
cried he, I am stung. Naughty Pandora, Why have you
opened this wicked box? Pandora let fall the lid, and,
starting up, looked about her to see what had befallen Epimetheus.

(26:43):
The thunder cloud had so darkened the room that she
could not clearly discern what was in it, but she
heard a disagreeable buzzing, as if a great many huge flies,
or gigantic mosquitoes, or those insects which we call door
bugs pinching dogs were darting about, And as her eyes

(27:03):
grew more accustomed to the imperfect light, she saw a
crowd of ugly little shapes with bats wings, looking abominably
spiteful and armed with terribly long stings in their tails.
It was one of these that had stung Epimetheus. Nor

(27:24):
was it a great while before Pandora herself began to scream,
and no less pain and affright than her playfellow, and
making a vast deal more hub up about it. An
odious little monster had settled on her forehead and would
have stung her, I know not how deeply, if Epimetheus

(27:44):
had not run and brushed it away. Now, if you
wished to know what these ugly things might be which
had made their escape out of the box, I must
tell you that they were the whole family of earthly
dry There were evil passions, There were a great many
species of cares. There were more than a hundred and

(28:09):
fifty sorrows. There were diseases in a vast number of
miserable and painful shapes. There were more kinds of naughtiness
than it would be of any use to talk about.
In short, everything that has since afflicted the souls and

(28:29):
bodies of mankind had been shut up in the mysterious
box and given to Epimetheus and Pandora to cap safely,
in order that the happy children of the world might
never be molested by them. Had they been faithful to
their trust, all would have gone well. No grown person

(28:50):
would ever have been sad, nor any child have had
cause to shed a single tear. From that hour until
this moment. But and you may see by this how
a wrong act of any one mortal is a calamity
to the whole world. By Pandora's lifting the lid of

(29:11):
that miserable box, and by the fault of Epimetheus too
in not preventing her, these troubles have obtained a foothold
among us, and do not seem very likely to be
driven away in a hurry. For it was impossible, as
you will easily guess, that the two children should keep
the ugly swarms in their own little cottage. On the contrary,

(29:36):
the first thing that they did was to fling open
the doors and windows in hopes of getting rid of them,
And sure enough away flew the winged troubles all abroad,
and so pestered and tormented the small people everywhere about
that none of them so much as smiled for many
days afterward. And what was very singular, all the flowers

(30:01):
and dewy blossoms on earth, not one of which had
hitherto faded, now began to droop and shed their leaves
after a day or two. The children, moreover, who before
seemed immortal in their childhood, now grew older day by day,
and came soon to be youths and maidens, and men

(30:23):
and women by and by, and aged people before they
dreamed of such a thing. Meanwhile, the naughty Pandora and
hardly less naughty Epimetheus remained in their cottage. Both of
them had been grievously stung and were in a good
deal of pain, which seemed to be more intolerable to

(30:44):
them because it was the very first pain that had
ever been felt since the world began. Of course, they
were entirely unaccustomed to it and could have no idea
what it meant. Besides all this, they were in exceedingadingly
bad humor, both with themselves and with one another. In

(31:05):
order to indulge it to the utmost, Epimetheus sat down
sullenly in a corner with his back towards Pandora, while
Pandora flung herself upon the floor and rested her head
on the fatal and abominable box. She was crying bitterly
and sobbing, as if her heart would break. Suddenly there

(31:28):
was a gentle little tap on the inside of the lid.
What can that be, cried Pandora, lifting her head. But
either Epimetheus had not heard the tap, or was too
much out of humor to notice it at any rate,
He made no answer. You are very unkind, said Pandora,
sobbing anew not to speak to me again. The tap

(31:51):
It sounded like the tiny knuckles of a fairy's hand
knocking lightly and playfully on the inside of the box.
Who are you asked Pandora, with a little of her
former curiosity, Who are you inside of this naughty box?
A sweet little voice spoke from within. Only lift the
lid and you shall see no. No, answered Pandora again,

(32:17):
beginning to sob. I have had enough of lifting the lid.
You are inside of this box, naughty creature, and there
you shall stay. There are plenty of your ugly brothers
and sisters already flying about the world. You need never
think that I shall be so foolish as to let
you out. She looked towards Epimetheus as she spoke, perhaps

(32:40):
expecting that he would commend her for her wisdom, But
the sullen boy only muttered that she was wise. A
little too late, Ah, said the sweet voice again, you
had much better let me out. I am not like
those naughty creatures that have stings in their tails. They

(33:00):
are no brothers and sisters of mine, as you would
see at once if you were only to get a
glimpse of me. Come, Come, my pretty Pandora. I am
sure you will let me out. And indeed there was
a kind of a cheerful witchery in the tone that
made it almost impossible to refuse anything which the little

(33:23):
voice asked. Pandora's heart had insensibly grown lighter at every
word that came from within the box. Epimetheus, too, though
still in the corner, had turned half round and seemed
to be in rather better spirits than before. My dear Epimetheus,
cried Pandora, have you heard this little voice? Yes, to

(33:45):
be sure, I have answered he, but in no good
humor as yet. And what of it shall I lift
the lid? Again, asked Pandora, Just as you please, said Epimetheus.
You have done so much mischief to day that perhaps
you may as well do a little more. One other
trouble in such a swarm, as you have said, adrift

(34:07):
about the world can make no very great difference. You
might speak a little more kindly, murmured Pandora, wiping her eyes. Ah,
naughty boy, cried the little voice, within the box. In
an arc and laughing tone, he knows he is longing
to see me. Come, my dear Pandora, lift up the lid.

(34:30):
I am in a great hurry to comfort you. Only
let me have some fresh air, and you shall soon
see that matters are not quite so dismal as you
think them. Epimetheus exclaimed, Pandora, Come what may? I am
resolved to open the box, And as the lid seems
very heavy, cried Epimetheus, running across the room, I will

(34:54):
help you. So with one consent, the two children again
lifted the lid out, flew a sunny and smiling little personage,
and hovered about the room, throwing a light wherever she went.
Have you never made the sunshine dance in dark corners
by reflecting it from a bit of a looking glass? Well,

(35:18):
so looked the winged cheerfulness of this little fairy like
stranger amid the gloom of the cottage. She flew to
Epimetheus and laid the least touch of her finger on
the inflamed spot where the trouble had stung him, and
immediately the anguish of it was gone. Then she kissed
Pandora on the forehead, and her hurt was cured. Likewise,

(35:44):
after performing these good offices, the bright stranger fluttered sportively
over the children's heads and looked so sweetly at them
that they both began to think, and not so very
much amiss to have opened the box, since other their
cheery guest might have been kept a prisoner among those
naughty imps with stings in their tails. Pray, who are you,

(36:10):
beautiful creature, asked Pandora. I am to be called Hope,
answered the sunshiny figure. And because I am such a
cheery little body, I was packed into the box to
make amends to the human race for that swarm of
ugly troubles which was destined to be let loose among them.

(36:34):
Never fear, I we shall do pretty well in spite
of them. All your wings are colored like the rainbow,
exclaimed Pandora. How very beautiful, Yes, they are like the rainbow,
said Hope, Because glad as my nature is, I am

(36:55):
partly made of tears as well as smiles. And will
you stay with us, asked Epimetheus. Forever and ever as
long as you need me, said Hope with her pleasant smile.
And that will be as long as you live in
the world. I promise never to desert you. There may

(37:19):
comes times and seasons now and then when you will
think that I have utterly vanished, But again and again
and again, or perhaps you least dream of it, you
shall see the glimmer of my wings on the ceiling
of your cottage. Yes, my dear children, and I know

(37:40):
something very good and beautiful that it is to be
given you hereafter. Oh tell us, they exclaimed, tell us
what it is? Do not ask me, replied Hope, putting
her fingers on her rosy mouth. But do not despair,
even if it should never happen while you live on

(38:00):
this earth. Trust in my promise, for it is true.
We do trust you, cried Epimetheus and Pandora, both in
one breath. And so they did. And not only they,
but so has everybody trusted Hope that has since been alive.
And to tell you the truth, I cannot help being glad,

(38:23):
though to be sure, it was an uncommonly naughty thing
for her to do, But I cannot help being glad
that our foolish Pandora peeped into the box. No doubt,
no doubt. The troubles are still flying around the world,
and have increased in their multitude rather than lessened, and
are a very ugly set of amps, and carry most

(38:46):
venomous stings in their tails. I have felt them already,
and expect to feel more of them as I grow older.
But then, that lovely and lightsome little figure of Hope,
What in the world could we do without her? Hope
spiritualizes the earth, Hope makes it new, and even in

(39:07):
the earth's best and brightest aspect, Hope shows it to
be only the shadow of an infinite bliss hereafter. This
is the end of the Paradise of children.