When God sent a great flood to destroy almost all his own creation, he chose Noah to save the animals and preserve life on Earth beyond the great disaster. The story of how humans, through their own folly, bring catastrophe upon the world has always struck a deep cord. And the theme of saving of animals from mankind’s mistakes appeals greatly to children, and to everyone who cares for the natural world. Noah appears in both the Bible’s Book of Genesis and in the Quran.

This reading by Natasha is a “vintage” recording from our most secret treasure trove. We made it in 2007 and have not previously released it on Storynory. We also have another version of the story read by John Le Mesurier

Read by Natasha. Version by Bertie. Duration 6.32.

When the world was still very young, it began to fill up with people and all sorts of creatures including fury four-legged ones, birds, fish, fluttering butterflies, slithering snakes, creepy-crawly spiders, and insects.

In those days there was a man, called Noah, He was 600 years old. Noah was hard-working, honest and loved God with all his heart. However, the whole world had become very mean and evil. Everyone was lying, cheating, and stealing. People often got into fights, and sometimes they even killed each other.

God saw all this, and was sad that men and women had become so evil. God decided to send a great flood and drown all of his creation under the waters. That way, He wouldn’t have to look down on all the wickedness that upset him so very much.

He told Noah of his plan. God told Noah, “You must build a huge boat out of gopher wood.” It was to be called an “ark’, which means a place of safety. It was to have a great door, just one window, and three floors inside, filled with clean straw and plenty of food. He was to make it water-proof by putting black tar between the planks of wood. The boat was as big as a cruise ship (but not that nice of course). Next Noah was to tell his family to come and live in the ark, and they must also bring one male and one female of every type of creature. Noah understood his job of building the ark and saving the animals, two of every kind.

And so Noah and his three sons, who were called Shem, Ham, and Japheth, set about building the Ark. Other people saw them working hard in the hot sun, and thought that they were wasting their time. They laughed at Noah and his sons and teased them. But still Noah kept believing and building,… believing and building..everyday. Till one day, the ark was completed. Noah and his sons collected the animals, two of every kind and gathered them in the ark.

They did not need to keep them apart, because the Lions understood that they must not eat the deer or the sheep on board the ark. The foxes didn’t eat the hens, and wolves left the sheep alone. They all lived on grass and leaves, and although the larger animals became a little thin, they were content to lie down and leave the other creatures unharmed. Only the insects had to look out, incase an elephant or a horse trod on them by accident, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.

Then just as God had promised Noah, it began to rain. The rain began to fall by the bucketful and the skies emptied out all their water. It rained and it rained. In fact, it never stopped raining for one second. It rained for forty days and nights. The whole world was covered in water, and everybody drowned, except for the fish and Noah’s family and the animals who were safe in the Ark.

Everyone on the Ark was dry and safe, , but the food was running out, and the people and animals began to look at each other hungrily. The wolves began to howl, and the lions prowled up and down. Noah was worried in case one of the wolves decided to have lamb for dinner, and then there would be no more lambs, ever again. But he need not have worried, because the wolves remained well behaved.

Only after 150 days did the water start to do down, and the bottom of the Ark came to rest on the top of a mountain called Ararat. Noah looked out of his window but all he could see was water.

He wondered if there was any dry land anywhere in the world, and so he released a black bird called a raven into the air. But raven could not find any land or trees, and it flew back to the ark. A week later, he sent out a white dove, but it came back with an empty beak as well. A week after that, he sent the dove again, and she flew around until she found a tree to rest on. She returned to the ark with an olive leaf in her beak, and Noah knew that there was a tree above the water. After another week, he sent the dove out yet again, and she did not return, so he knew that she had found a dry place to live. Everyone on board the ark celebrated, because they were all longing to leave the ark, which to tell you the truth, was becoming rather smelly.

And it happened that after an a year, a month and a day, Noah opened up the ark and he, his family, and all the creatures stepped out onto dry land. What a day that was ! How the animals bounded around full of joy. It was the springiest spring in the history of the world.
Stretching above the sky was a beautiful rainbow. And God said to Noah, I have placed a rainbow in the sky as a sign of a promise that I will never destroy the earth and its creatures by a flood again. So go forth, have children and fill up the earth again, and enjoy the world in all its beauty.
And that’s exactly what Noah and his family did.

Now every time a rainbow appears in the sky, it is a reminder to all of us of the promises God made and the great faith Noah had to believe.

The epic and tragic story of Samson and Delilah can be found in the Bible’s book of judges. It tells the story of a man who has the strength of a lion – but who has a taste for the sweetness of honey, and that is his downfall.

Read by Natasha. Duration 18.27. Version by Bertie .

Samson and Delilah.

A long time ago, in a land where the sun is searingly hot, a man was making his way through a vineyard. The vines brushed against his broad thighs as he went. He was young and handsome, and long hair fell down his muscular back. He had taken an oath never to cut his hair, drink wine, or to touch a dead person. For this oath, he was considered to be a Holy Man. But whether his character was holy, that is something I will leave for you to judge.

Now crouching among the vines was a lion. He swished his tail like a cat about to pounce upon a mouse. His nostrils quivered at the scent of man. His ears tuned into the sound of footsteps and rustling vine leaves. And then he sprang with his jaws open and his claws extended. Samson, for that was the name of his intended victim, punched the lion on the chin, and then tore him apart with his bare hands. Soon the creature lay dead among the vines.

Samson was pleased with this encounter, because he liked a good scrap. But there was something he liked even more, and that was a pretty face. It must have been his lucky day, because at the bottom of the hill he spied a lovely young woman sitting on the steps of her father’s house. The girl was a Philistine, and Samson was an Israelite. Their peoples were enemies, in fact, at this time, the Philistines ruled over the Israelites, but Samson did not care about politics. Make love, not war, he said to himself. He sat down next to Philistine girl and spoke to her, and she liked this handsome young stranger as much as he liked her.

On his way back home, Samson passed back through the vineyard where he had met the lion. He heard a buzzing sound, and saw that bees were swarming around the dead beast. The corpse was now filled with a thick amber coloured liquid. Samson scooped some of the sticky stuff up onto his fingers and tasted it. It was honey. He dug out more of the sweetness with his hand and ate it. As the honey melted on his tongue, he felt his muscles grow even stronger. By the time he reached home he felt so full of energy and power that he was certain he could fight a whole army single-handed and win. But he did not tell his parents about the lion or the honey. He decided to keep that secret for himself. Instead he described the girl to his mother, and told her that he intended to marry her.

His mother threw up her arms and said:

“Is there not a single woman among your own people that you might marry?”

But his father said that it was the Lord’s will that their son should wed a daughter of the Philistines.

“Let them take Samson into their family,” he said. “They deserve him.”

And his wife knew exactly what he meant.

The wedding feast lasted seven days on end. Long tables were set outside in the girl’s village, and the trestles were laden with piles of goat’s meat, figs, grapes, stuffed vine leaves, hummus, fried aubergines and other delicacies.

Philistines and Israelites sat side by side around the tables. They ate and drank together. They sang and danced together. And they laid bets and dares for each other. In fact after not very long, anyone coming upon this wedding celebration would have a hard time saying who was Philistine and who was Israelite.

On the very first night, Samson gave the guests a riddle to solve: He promised that if anyone could find out its meaning, he would give each and every one of his guests a fine set of clothes. But if none of the guests could guess the riddle by the end of the feast, then they must give him thirty sets of new clothes.

And this was the riddle:

“Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. What was strong and what was sweet?”

The bride’s father glanced at his daughter to see from her face if she knew the answer. But she looked as puzzled by Samson’s words as everyone else did.

After three days of feasting, none of the guests had divined Samson’s meaning. But on the forth day, the girl’s father sat down next to her and whispered into her ear.

“Can’t you entice your husband to give you the answer to his riddle?”

Later that night with tears in her eyes, she stroked Samson’s face and told him:

“You say you love me, but you are keeping secrets from me. I will not trust in your love until you tell me the answer to your riddle.”

And she wept every day until at last Samson surrendered the answer to her.

On the seventh day, at the end of the feast, one of the guests stood up and announced, “Samson, I have solved your riddle, for what is sweeter than honey or stronger than a lion?

And when Samson heard this, he shook his fist with rage and said;

“If you had not schemed with my wife, you would not have found out my riddle.”

Which meant that he knew that somehow they had got the truth out of his wife.

But he had no trouble finding clothes to give to his guests He went down to the city of Ashkelon, killed thirty men, and took their clothes. When he had done this, he went to the house of his wife’s family to take away his wife with him. But there he discovered that her father had already given her way to another man – a friend of Samson’s.

“I thought you had deserted us,” he said simply. “But here, take her sister, she’s no less pretty.”

Samson looked at the sister. It was true, she was no less pretty than his wife, but the suggestion was an insult to him, his wife, and her sister. He left the farmhouse promising his revenge, which followed soon after. He caught numerous foxes and then he tied burning torches to their tales. The poor terrified animals ran through the fields and set alight to the corn and the nearby farms. The whole sky was lit up with the blaze, and for miles around the Philistines had lost their crops.

The cycle of violence continued. The Philistines took revenge on the Israelites for Samson’s deeds. And Samson slew the Philistines, either with his bare hands, or with nothing more than the jaw bone of a donkey for a weapon. He was so filled with loathing, strength and fury that an entire Philistine army could not defeat him.

But he had a taste for sweetness as well as for war. Sometime later, he fell in love with a woman from the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. She was more beautiful and clever than any of the women he had come across before. She had wiles and guile and she understood exactly how to win him over to her point of view. There was almost nothing he would refuse her, if it was in his power.

What Samson did not know, was that Delilah was a spy who worked for the Philistines. When their king heard word of the romance he said:

“The strong man is caught in our honey trap.”

One night, when Samson and Delilah rested in each others arms, she whispered to him: “Tell me my love, what is the source of your great strength,” And Samson, fearing betrayal, said:

“Tie me with seven green bow strings, and I will be your slave,”

And so while Samson slept, Delilah tied him up with seven green bow strings. She stood back and admired his great limbs bound by the tiny strings. Even his light breathing seemed in danger of breaking them. Somehow she suspected that he had not told her the truth, and so she put him to the test. She called out “My love, the Philistines are upon you !”

Immediately Samson sat up ready to fight, and as he did so he snapped the strings with ease. And Delilah laughed because she knew that she had been deceived.

The next night Delilah said, “Tell me, oh cunning one, what is the secret of your strength? And do not mock me with your lies.”

And Samson replied: “If you bind me fast with new ropes that have not been used, then I will be quite helpless.”

And later, as Samson slept, Delilah tied his limbs with thick new ropes that had never been used before. She pulled the knots tight and this time she was almost sure that he would not be able to escape. Still, she decided to put him to the test. When he was bound fast she called out,

“Oh my love, the Philistines are coming for you !” Immediately Samson burst the ropes apart and leapt to his feet. She had been deceived again. This time she did not laugh – she was quite furious with him for tricking her. She knew she must try a different tactic.

The next night she upbraided Samson with tears : “How can you say that you love me, when you mock me with your lies?” And she kept on pressing him for his secret until his soul was vexed almost to death.

At last Samson told her: “Shave off my hair and all my strength will desert me, for I have been a Nazarene to God, ever since I lay in my mother’s womb, and a Nazarene is a holy man who must never shave his hair.”

And Delilah knew from the grave way he spoke that this was the truth. That night, the strong man fell asleep with his head on her lap. At first she caressed him and ran her fingers through his long hair. For all his strength and wild fury, the handsome giant was totally in her power. This gave her a sense of thrill, but it was mingled with regret for what she was about to do. When he was quite asleep, she took a razor from behind the chair, rubbed olive oil into his thick locks, and shaved every single hair from his head.

“My Love, ” she cried, “The Philistines are upon thee!” And this time she spoke the truth, for she had told the soldiers to come that night and to bring gold with them for her payment. An armed band of Philistines broke down the door and captured the shaven Samson. He was quite helpless to defend himself, for all his strength lay on the ground with his locks of hair.

The Philistines blinded their prisoner and bound him in chains, before throwing him into their deepest prison cell. And there he rotted.

Some time later, it was the feast day of the Philistine’s god, Dagon. There were great celebrations through the land of the Philistines, for their god had delivered them from Samson’s strength and fury. The King commanded:

“Bring him forth from his gaol, and chain him to the pillars of my palace so that we might mock him”.

And this they did. The house was full of the lords and ladies of the Philistine nation and they made sport of the great Samson, the strong man of the Israelites. They threw wine in his face, and poured soup over his head. Others, still crueler, poked and beat him with sticks.

But during the long months when Samson had lain in prison, nobody had noticed or cared what happened to him. Nobody seemed to understand that as his hair grew back in length so did his strength. And Samson now shook his chains and cried out:

“O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes!”

And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, one with his right hand, and the other with his left. And as he uprooted them from their foundations, his last words were:

“Let me die with the Philistines !”

And the heavy stones of the house came crashing down on the Lords and Ladies of the Philistines and all who were inside.

This tale from the Bible has all the ingredients of a really good plot, and has even been made into a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Joseph was his father’s favourite son, and when his father gave him a magnificent coat for a present, his brothers became jealous. One day they hatched a plot to sell him into slavery for 20 pieces of silver. Joseph found himself in Egypt, but his gift for telling the future helped him turn his fortunes.

Read by Natasha. Duration 20 minutes.
Joseph and his coat of many colors.

Many years ago, there were twelve brothers. They lived in a hot and sunny land called Canaan, and they were farmers. Their father was called Jacob, and his two last sons were born when he was already extremely old. Their names were Joseph and Benjamin, and the two youngest were by far the favorites of the old man – so much so, that their older brothers became quite envious of them.

Joseph was a dreamy boy, and his brothers were always teasing him for having his ‘head in the clouds’ and not paying attention to what was going on around him. But in fact, Joseph noticed everything, and when his brothers neglected their work, or did something wrong, he told their father all about it, and the brothers were furious with him for getting them into trouble.

On Joseph’s seventeenth birthday, Jacob gave him a magnificent present. It was a coat woven with a beautiful pattern that contained many different colors. Joseph loved the coat, but when his older brothers saw it, they became even more jealous and their dislike for him grew even stronger!

One day, they were out in the fields, and Joseph started to tell his brothers about the dream he had the previous night.

In the dream, the brothers had been gathering the wheat in the fields and tying them up into bundles called sheaves. Joseph’s sheaf stood up as if it were alive, and all his brothers’ sheaves bowed down before it.

When had finished telling the dream his brothers were deeply offended and insulted!

“What is the meaning of this dream?” they said. “That you shall rule over us, and we shall bow down before you? How dare you dream such a dream? You should shut up and do as you’re told.”

A few nights later, Joseph had another dream, and this time he told it to his entire family while they were eating their meal. He dreamt that he had stood on a mountain top, and the Sun, the Moon and all the stars had bowed down before him.

This dream was too much, even for his old father:

“This is a very unbelievable, crazy, dream, young man,” he said. “Do you mean that your father, mother, and all your brothers should bow down before you? You’d better not dream such a dream again, or you may regret it.”

When the older brothers saw how angry their father was with Joseph, they were pleased, but soon their dad went back to favouring Joseph above all the others, and they went back to hating Joseph.

One day, the brothers went went to tend their flocks in some far away pastures. Benjamin was still too young to go out and work, but Jacob sent Joseph to join the older brothers. He put on his coat of many colors and went out to look for them. The brothers spotted him from far off, and while he was still approaching they planned a plot against him.

‘Oh no, here comes the dreamer boy,” said one. “Let’s kill him, and throw him in a pit. We will tell father that a wild beast ate him up.”

But Reuben, who was the oldest, decided to save Joseph. He said, “No let’s not be so mean that we kill him. He’s an annoying little pest, but he is still our brother. Let’s drop him in a pit and leave him as food for the animals. That way we can truthfully tell father that it was not we who killed him, but the wild beasts.”

Secretly, Reuben planned to come back later and rescue Joseph from the pit before any great harm came to him.

And so when Joseph arrived and said, “Here I am. Would you like to hear what I dreamed last night?”

The brothers said, “Did you dream this little brother?” And they seized him, stripped him of his coat of many colors and slung him into a hole in the ground. It was a deep pit with no water in it, and if the wild beasts did not eat him, he would surely die of thirst before too long, for it was a baking hot country, on the edge of the desert.

Pleased with their plan, the brothers sat down to eat their lunch. While they were eating, some traveling merchants came by. Their camels were loaded with spices, balms, and myrrh for perfumes, which they were carrying to Egypt.

Now the brothers planned a second plot. Judah said, “Come, what’s in it for us if we just leave our brother to die? Let us at least make some profit out him – it will be the first and last time that he brings any good to us. We’ll sell him to these merchants, and they can take him as a slave to Egypt.”

The others agreed that it was a fine plan, and they sold Joseph to the merchants for twenty pieces of silver. Then they killed a goat, and dipped Joseph’s coat in the blood. They took the coat to their father, and explained that his favorite son, Joseph, had been killed by a wild animal. Their father Jacob wept and tore his hair out with great sadness, saying that he could never be happy again because of this news. But the brothers were happy that they were rid of him, and had made some money too.

The merchants took Joseph to the land of Egypt, which was ruled by a magnificent king called a Pharaoh. There they sold him to Potiphar, who was captain of the Pharaoh’s body guard. Joseph served his new master well, and was well liked by him. But one day, when Potiphar was gone from the palace, his wife tried to kiss Joseph. Joseph said No way! …and ran away from her. When Potiphar came back, his wife lied and made up stories about Joseph attacking her. When Potiphar heard all this, he ordered Joseph to be arrested and thrown in jail.

Joseph lived in the dungeon jail with two other men. One of the men had been the Pharaoh’s chief servant, called a butler, and the other had been his baker. Both men had done some small things to annoy the Pharaoh, and had been thrown into prison as a result.

One morning, the butler said, “I had such a strange dream last night. I only wish that there was somebody here who could tell me its meaning.’

Joseph replied that he understood dreams, and begged the butler to tell it to him, which he did, saying,

“In my dream I was walking through a vineyard. I came to an especially wonderful vine, which had three branches loaded with bright juicy fruit. I picked the grapes off these three branches, and made them into wine. I poured the wine into a cup, took it to the Pharaoh, and he drank it. “

“Well,” said Joseph. I can tell you the meaning of your dream. The three branches are three days, and in three days’ time, you shall be restored to your former job and you will serve wine into the Pharaoh’s hand.”

The butler thanked Joseph, and promised to remember him when he was free.

The next night the baker had a dream. He dreamed that that he was carrying three white baskets in a pile on his head. They were filled with all sorts of delicious pastries and pies, and he meant to take them to the Pharaoh, but before he could arrive, a flock of birds flew down and ate all the bread.

“Indeed,” said Joseph, “ I can tell you the meaning of your dream. The three baskets are three days, and in three days time the guard will come and chop off your head.”

And it all happened just as Joseph had said. The baker was executed, and the butler was restored to his former position. But for two whole years the butler did not remember Joseph, until one day the Pharaoh said to his advisers:

“I had the strangest dream last night. I was standing by the river and seven fat, happy looking cows came out of the water and started to eat the grass by the bank. Then a little later, seven thin and awful looking cows came out from the water, and they ate up the fat cows. It was so weird. If only some wise man could tell me what it means.”

But none of the Pharaoh’s helpers could interpret the dream. The Butler, who was standing near by, heard this, and he remembered Joseph in the prison cell. Then he said,

“Sir, if you will permit me to speak. Some years ago, in your vast wisdom, your Magnificence saw fit to throw your butler and your baker into the dungeon. There we met a man who listened to our dreams and understood our fates, and all the dreams came true exactly as he had predicted..”

When he heard this, the Pharaoh sent for Joseph. The guards took Joseph from the dungeon, made sure that he was washed and shaved and dressed in fresh clothes, and brought him before the Pharaoh.

Joseph listened to the Pharaoh’s dream about the seven fat cows and the seven thin cows, and he told him exactly what it meant.

“Your majesty, the cows in your dream mean years, and the fat cows are years of plenty. The coming seven years will be full of food, and everyone will have enough to eat and more. But the thin cows are lean years, and the following seven years will be empty of food and the fields of crops will bring you nothing to eat. There is a great danger that everyone in the land of Egypt will starve.

“You must find a wise man to work for you during the seven years of plenty: he will put the extra food into storage. When the seven lean years come, he will take the food out of the storage, and make sure that the people do not starve.”

The Pharaoh listened to the words of Joseph, and wondered whom he could appoint to oversee such an important task. After thinking very long and hard, he decided that he knew of no wiser man than Joseph himself.

And so Joseph became chief minister, and was the most important person in all of Egypt, except for the Pharaoh of course. Everything happened as he had predicted. There were seven good years followed by seven bad years, but nobody starved in the land because he had saved up enough food during the good times.

However, back in the land of Canaan, Josephs family had not stored up any food, and they did not have enough to eat. Josephs dad, Jacob, sent his ten oldest sons to Egypt to buy some food before they starved to death. But he ordered that Benjamin, the youngest, stay at home, because he could not risk losing another son like Joseph.

The brothers came to the Egyptian court, and stood before Joseph. But they did not recognize their brother whom they had not seen since he was a young boy of seventeen, and whom they had sold into slavery. The man they were looking at was a magnificent important official, and they bowed down before him, just as Joseph had predicted they would do, many, many years before.

But Joseph knew his brothers, and decided to play a trick on them.

“You are spies !” he shouted at them. And they became very afraid, and begged that he do them no harm.

When he saw his brothers trembling with fear, he softened his voice and asked about their family and where they came from. Simeon, who was the second oldest, replied that they were twelve brothers, but one was dead, and the youngest was at home with his father.

When he heard this, Joseph longed to see his little brother, Benjamin, and he said.

“Bring the youngest too me, and then I shall give you what you ask.”

And so he permitted the brothers to take only a little food, and sent nine of them home to fetch Benjamin, but he kept Simeon prisoner to ensure that the others returned.

When they came home, their father wept and said :

“My children are taken from me. First I lost Joseph, then Simeon, and now Benjamin shall be lost too.”

But soon they had eaten all the food they brought with them, and still there was famine in the land, and they had no choice but to return to Egypt with Benjamin, just as Joseph had ordered.

This time Joseph received the brothers kindly, and gave them dinner in his own house, but still he did not reveal his true identity. He was so overjoyed to see his brother Benjamin, that he wanted to weep, but he held back his tears. Instead, he made sure that Benjamin had the most and the best of all the food on the table.

Joseph instructed his steward to fill sacks full of grain for his brothers to take home. Secretly, he placed the money they had paid for the grain back into the sacks, and into the one belonging to Benjamin, he placed a golden cup from his house.

The brothers left for home, and Joseph let them get a head start. Then he sent soldiers to gallop after them, arrest them, and bring them back him in chains.

“You see,” he said, opening the sack belonging to Benjamin, this little thief has stolen my golden cup from my house. Is this how you repay my kindness, by thievery ! “

The brothers were shaken and very, very scared, because now they were certain that they would be punished by death. But Joseph said they could all go home unpunished, except for Benjamin who must stay behind in prison.

The brothers spoke among themselves in their own language, and did not know that Joseph could understand them. They believed that all the problems that were happening to them now was God’s punishment to them, for selling their younger brother into slavery for 20 pieces of silver.

Joseph heard them, and believed that perhaps they were sorry for what they had done.

Then the brother who was called Judah spoke and said,

“Your majesty. Keep us here in Egypt as your slaves, but let Benjamin go back to his father, for he has already lost one favorite son, and if he loses the next dearest to him, it will break his old heart. If you keep Benjamin here in Egypt, our father will surely die of sorrow. So let us remain here in your prison, but send Benjamin home to his father.”

Now Joseph knew for certain that his brothers loved their father and were sorry for their wicked action against his favorite son. He could hold back his secret any more. Joesph stood up from his thrown and came down to hug his brothers. All of a suddent, they recognized him.

They all cried so loudly that even the Pharaoh heard them. Eventually Joseph told his brothers to go home to their father and let him know that he was alive, and was the second most important man in all Egypt. They must all return and live close by him, and he would protect them, and make sure that they had enough to eat during the years of famine.

This is undoubtedly The Christmas story, explaining how it all began when Mary gave birth to Jesus in a stable. The Three Wise Men, The shepherds, and King Herod all put in appearances. It’s read by the late great John Le Mesurier (and introduced by Natasha of course). Our thanks to Onceuponaworld.net for letting us use this audio. You can buy a complete set of audio bible stories from them. For the original Bible story, see St. Luke. Duration: 6.30.

Hello This is Natasha, and as it’s getting near a very special time of year, Prince Bertie the Frog would like you to hear a very special story. It’s the story of the first Christmas and it’s read by a famous English actor called John Le Mesurier.

Mary was sitting in the sun outside her house. it was a normal day, a bit of cooking, a bit of helping around the house. She was having a few minutes rest, when suddenly an angel appeared. “Are you Mary?”, he asked. “Yes, who are you?”, the startled girl replied. “I’m an angel from God”, and I have a surprise for you. You’re going to have a baby.” Mary raised her hand to her mouth. “It would be a surprise, I’m not even married.”

The angel knew that Mary was going to marry Joseph. He explained the details. ‘Your child will be the Son of God, he will be loved throughout the world for thousands of years.’ Mary thought she was dreaming. ‘It is hard to understand,’ she said hesitantly, ‘what shall I call the baby?’ ‘His name is Jesus,’ the angel answered. ‘Now I must fly.’ And he was gone.

Mary sat for a very long time without saying anything. She thought about all the angel had said, and she prayed a nice thank you to God. ‘Jesus,’ she thought. ‘That’s a nice name.’

Mary married Joseph, and they both left for Bethlehem, where they were going to live.

They had to travel a long way, so Mary rode on a donkey while Joseph walked beside her.

They arrived in the town at nightfall, and Joseph asked if there was somewhere to stay, because his wife was going to have a baby. Someone said, ‘Try the inn, they rent out rooms.’

They walked down the quiet streets, Joseph was worried about his wife, Mary who was feeling more and more tired.

‘Here we are,’ said Joseph. He told Mary to wait outside while he went in to arrange things.

A few minutes later, a miserable Joseph came out. ‘There’s no room at the inn.’

The couple sadly left the inn, and found a stable to sleep in.

During the night Mary had her baby, and said to Joseph, ‘He shall be named Jesus,’ Joseph nodded. ‘Lovely,’ he said.

***

Not so far away, there were some shepherds looking after their sheep. The angel suddenly appeared, and the shepherds looked surprised. The angel said, ‘Don’t worry. I’ve come to tell you some happy news. The Son of God has been born in Bethlehem tonight, go and see him.’

To the amazement of the shepherds, the sky was filled with angels singing. ‘Glory to God, and peace to all men.’

‘Come on lads,’ said one of the shepherds, ‘Let’s go and have a look.’

They found Mary, Joseph and little Jesus just as the angel had said, and while the sheep and cows looked on, the men all prayed to God. The baby lay asleep in a manger, with lots of warm cloths to cover him.

***

In those days there was a King called Herod. He got to hear of Jesus and was worried about it. ‘King of the Jews, eh?’ (For that is what Jesus was called) ‘I’ll give him ÒKing of the Jews.Ó Not if I’ve got anything to do with it.’

He heard that three wise men were going to visit Jesus. They had seen a very bright star in the night sky, and were going to follow it. They knew that it was shining right over the manger.

‘Go and find where he is,’ Herod said to the wise men. ‘I want to worship him.’ As the three men left, Herod chuckled to himself. ‘Worship him!’ he laughed. ‘Get rid of him, more like. King of the Jews indeed. I’m King of the Jews.’

He looked out of the window and shouted to the three wise men. ‘Hurry back, I can’t wait to worship Jesus.’

What a nasty man.

The three wise men travelled at night, following the bright star. Finally they arrived, and gave the baby Jesus lots of presents. There was gold, and frankincense and myrrh to make him smell nice.

The men worshipped Jesus, and thanked God for sending him to the world.

They were just going to go back home when God said, ‘Don’t tell Herod where Jesus is. He wants to hurt him, not worship him.’

‘Right,’ said the three wise men. ‘We’ll go back a different way.’

And they did, so Herod never found out where Jesus was.

{audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/blogrelations/tencommand.mp3]

At the top of the mountain, God told Moses ten things to remember. They were the ten things that make a good or bad person. They were called The Ten Commandments. This bible story is read, once again, in the beautiful tones of the late John Le Mesurier.

We are publishing a set of six bible stories from this series. You can buy the complete set from Onceuponaworld.net.

Introduced by Natasha Lee Lewis. Read by John Le Mesurier. Duration 4.10

Moses walked through the mighty storm, up the mountain towards God.
The children of Israel watched the lone figure staggering into the blackness, as the thunder and lightning raged.

God said, ‘I am your God, come to me.’
Moses got to the top, and God told him ten things to remember. They were the ten things that make a good or bad person. They were called The Ten Commandments.

‘The first thing to remember
When you are being good
Is have no other Gods but me
I don’t see why you should.
The second thing is simple.
Whatever else you do
Don’t worship models made of clay
Don’t make an idol in that way
I’d get annoyed with you.

And in the third commandment
You mustn’t ever say
God, Lord or Heaven in a joke
For that would spoil my day.
The fourth thing you must never do -
Upset my Sunday rest.
I’ve given you the other days
To do your work in many ways
On Sunday you can have a laze
And wear your Sunday best.

Number five’s a good one,
Remember what I say,
Don’t ever upset Mum and Dad
In any little way.

The sixth commandment sure makes sense
I know that when I say
No killing is allowed, but then
You wouldn’t would you? Even when
You get annoyed with other men
And don’t get your own way.

If you are getting married
The seventh rule is this,
Don’t try and love another
Or give the girls a kiss.
At number eight there’s something
I’m sure you’d never do,
Don’t steal a thing, at any time
From anyone, for any rhyme
Or reason – as it is a crime,
And they would capture you.

The ninth one to remember
If you do as you’re bid,
Don’t blame a man for stealing
Unless you’re sure he did.
With all the people in the world
Your neighbour is a friend.
So don’t be jealous even when
You want his goat or horse or hen,
For that’s commandment number ten,
It’s at the very end.

Moses listened open mouthed as God told him all about the commandments. ‘Can you say it again? I didn’t have time to write them down.’
God said nothing, but waved his mighty hand over Mount Sinai. Lightning flashed, and smoke covered Moses. When it cleared, he saw all the commandments beautifully written on two pieces of stone.

Moses thanked God for his help, and began to stagger down the mountain with his commandments.
On the way down he had a good think about things.

Download Water into Wine

This is the story of the most fun-loving miracle of all time – turning water into wine. Jesus proves himself to be the perfect guest when the wine runs out at a wedding in Cana, and produces his first miracle.

It is read in the rich tones of John Le Mesurier and comes, once again, courtesy of our friends at Once Upon a World

Introduced by Natasha. Duration 3.30 Minutes.

You might also be interested in these external links:

Cultural Background and Cross References

John 2.1 King James Version

When Jesus really started teaching people about God and Heaven, he chose some men to travel with him. They were called the disciples. You probably won’t remember all their names, but here are some of them – Simon, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, who were also brothers. As they all journeyed together, Jesus did lots of wonderful things called miracles – things that no on else could ever do. We know how he did them, don’t we? God helped him.

Jesus and the disciples had been invited to a wedding in Cana of Galilee.

Everybody was having a great time, eating and drinking and dancing about. Suddenly someone said, ‘There’s no more wine.’

Everyone stopped dancing and groaned. Mary, the mother of Jesus was there, and turned to her son and said, ‘Can’t you do something?’ Jesus thought for a moment. ‘Bring those water pots over here,’ he said, ‘make sure they’re nice and full.’

The servants did just as he said, they filled up the pots with water, and stood them in front of Jesus.

‘Now,’ said Jesus. ‘Take a cup of the water, and let the master taste it.’

The man took a sip. ‘It’s wine!’ he cried. ‘It’s lovely wine! It’s much nicer than the wine we had at the beginning of the wedding!’

The disciples turned to Jesus and smiled. ‘Changing water into wine – that’s a real miracle,’ they said.

Jesus looked at them, and gave a little smile up to the sky

However bad humanity is, the animals are innocent. Every child understands and sympathises with that message, and the story of the greatest animal rescue of all time will always appeal to children.

This ancient tale of natural disaster and survival is introduced by Natasha (of course), and read in the quintessentially English, laid-back tones of John Le Mesurier.

Thanks to our friends at Onceuponaworldfor sharing this story with us. You can find more children’s Bible stories there.

You might also be interested in these external links

Noah’s Ark in Wikepedia
Merriam Webster Definition of Ark
King James Version of Genesis Book 6

Adam and Eve had sons, and their sons had sons, and the sons of the sons had sons. By that time there were lots of people on the world. God sat back and watched them. He saw them hurting each other, being selfish, and not thinking about him very much.

But God saw Noah, who was a very good man, and said, ‘I like Noah, but I don’t like the others much.’

The world had not turned out quite as well as he had hoped, so he decided to have a great storm, which would cause a flood, so he could start again. The flood would soon get rid of all the bad men, animals and everything that lived.

Before God started the storm he told Noah how to build a great boat – the ark. He told him how long it should be, how many rooms it should have, and how many windows and doors.

God said, ‘Now listen, Noah, when your ark is finished, I want you to get two of every animal, two of every bird, and all the insects and bugs you can lay your hands on. Then get your wife, your sons, and their wives, and put the whole lot in the ark. Right?’

Noah said he would do it, and the ark was built. Just as the last nails were hammered in, the sky went black and the lightning started flashing. God had turned on the storm.

‘Quick,’ shouted Noah, ‘everybody in. No pushing, you lions. Hurry up at the back, tortoises.’

Just in time, the door was shut and locked. For nearly six weeks it rained and rained and rained. All the ground was covered with water, and even the trees and mountains were covered.

But the ark sailed on. It bounced up and down a bit in the rough sea, but all the animals, all the birds, all the family, even old Noah, were safe and happy inside.

After a while the rain stopped banging on the roof, and sunlight started to shine through the cracks in the door and windows. Noah knew it was time to find out if the water had gone down.

He thought, ‘If I send out one of the doves it will soon tell me if there is any land showing yet.’

***

So that day, nearly a year after the ark had started its journey, Noah opened the window and the dove flew out into the clear blue sky. Noah looked round. He certainly couldn’t see any land, just sea, sea, sea. (As far as he could see.) The dove came back looking a bit fed up. ‘No good,’ it said.

A week later, Noah sent out the dove again. This time it came flying back, proudly carrying an olive twig in its beak.

That told Noah the water had gone down enough for some land to appear, so he left it a few days and then opened the door of the ark. Al the animals ran out on to the dry land; the horse prancing about, the kangaroos jumping up and down, and the lions growling happily.

They all thanked Noah for the lift, and went on their way.

God spoke to Noah. He said, ‘ I promise I won’t flood the world again. Go now, and let all your children and grandchildren make the world a really nice place to live in.’

God went away again, leaving a lovely rainbow to show that he was going to keep his promise.

The Creation and Adam and Eve Audio

This charming story based on the beginning of the Old Testament is read by the late John Le Mesurier, most famous for his role as Sergeant Wilson in the long running and much loved television series, Dad s Army. The start of everything, and the mistake of Adam and Eve with the apple in the Garden of Eden is all told with gentle charm. This version for children was written by Robert Duncan and Storynory would like to thank Once Upon a World for sharing this very special audio with us. The entire collection can be bought from the Once Upon a World website.

If you would like to hear Natasha’s version of this and other Bible stories, we recorded some specially for our friends at Thingamapets who are selling the stories for 99 Cents each – and you can buy a cuddly pet with an MP3 player too if you wish.

Introduced – of course – by Natasha. Read by John Le Mesurier. Duration 7 Minutes.

For the full text read on;

On the first day the world had ever known, God had a busy week in front of him. He said, ‘We will have light and darkness, and I will call the light day, and the dark part night.’ It all happened just as he said.

On the second day God decided there should be lots of sky all round the world. He called the sky Heaven. The next day he made all the land, and all the seas. He said that grass and plants and fruit would grow on the land.

On Thursday God worked a bit more on the light and darkness. He put finishing touches to it and threw in lots of stars. He was very pleased with what he had done.

The fifth day was very important for God. He made all the birds, and all the fishes. ‘Have lots of children,’ he told them. That’s why there are so many birds in the sky and fishes in the sea.

He had to sleep, and the next morning he said, ‘Today I shall make all the animals for the land, and if I have time I shall make a man, and he can be just like me.’ He thought that was a very good idea.

By this time it was the world’s seventh day – Sunday. God was very tired, he had worked hard for six whole days.

‘I shall make this my day of rest,’ he said.

And that’s why we’re all a bit lazy on Sundays.

When God had rested for a while, he got down to making the most beautiful garden. He called it the Garden of Eden. It had wonderful trees, and flowers. It even had lots of birds and animals in it. Whatever your favourite animal is, it was there.

God put the man he had made into the garden. The man rubbed his eyes and looked all round. God said to him, ‘Now listen, Adam (that was the man’s name) you can eat the fruit, climb the trees, paddle in the rivers and jump over the bushes, but there’s one thing you must never do. You must never eat the apples from the big tree in the middle of the garden because that tree tells you what is good and what is bad.’

Adam said, ‘What’s bad?’

‘Never mind,’ said God, ‘you go and have a nice time, and forget about that tree.’

God peeped out of the sky quite often to see how Adam was getting on, and soon he realised  Adam was lonely. God thought, ‘he hasn’t got any friends, no one to talk to. He will become unhappy soon.’

So one night, when Adam was asleep, God made a woman to be a friend for him. He called her Eve.

Adam and Eve got on very well together. They used to play with the animals, and eat lots of fruit from all the trees. Except one – the forbidden tree.

One day they decided to walk to the middle of the garden, and there was the most beautiful apple hanging from this special tree.

There was also a big nasty snake in the tree, who said, ‘Hey, why don’t you two eat that apple, it’s the nicest, biggest, juiciest apple I ever saw.’ Adam looked worried. ‘We’re not allowed to, God said so.’

‘Oh, don’t worry about that,’ said the horrible snake. ‘Have a bite, go on.’

Adam looked at Eve, and Eve looked at Adam, and the apple looked lovely. Eve tasted the apple.

‘Go on, try it,’ she said. Adam had a bite, and at once felt ashamed because he hadn’t any clothes on.

It just happened that God was walking in the garden that day, and when Adam and Eve heard him coming up the path, they ran to hide.

God was very angry when he found them. ‘You have eaten the fruit, haven’t you?’ he demanded. Adam said they had, but explained that the snake said it would be all right.

God told the snake that he was going to be the nastiest animal in the world, and he told Adam and Eve that now they would know everything about good and bad, for what good it would do them, and he turned them out of the garden of Eden and said they must look after themselves.

There was a great storm, and God went back to Heaven, leaving a flaming sword to make sure nobody touched the tree again.

You might also be interested in these external links:

• Wikipedia on Adam and Eve
• The Online Tribute to Dad’s Army

We are pleased to say that you will shortly be hearing John Le Mesurier’s unmistakeably unflappable tones on Storynory. Our friends at Once Upon a World have uncovered some recordings he made many years ago of Bible Stories, specially adapted for children by Robert Duncan. Once Upon a World is selling the complete set of stories as audio downloads, but they are letting us publish six of them for free here. We are saving up one – the Nativity – for Christmas.

The Once Upon a World take on the Bible is fresh, original, and wry. They aren’t quite the King James VI version, but we trust they will appeal to children – and they are certainly very good tales. We feel that John Le Mesurier’s style of reading follows naturally from Natasha, who will introduce all the stories. We hope that you will agree. In any case, let us know.

In due course, you will find all the this special audio series here on Storynory, under the Bible Stories category.