And the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge you shall not eat, for when you eat of it you shall die." Adam, fulfilling his priestly duty, relayed this information to Eve; and for a time all was well.
But the forbidden tree was never far from their minds.
"Did God tell you where the tree is," asked Eve one night as the happy couple was lying awake. "I have never seen it."
"No," said Adam. "All He said was not to eat of it."
"We should go and look for it, just to make sure we know where it is. That way we can tell our children where not to go looking."
"That's an excellent idea," said Adam, who, not having eaten of the tree of knowledge, didn't know very much at all.
It took years for Adam and Eve to find the forbidden tree. All the while, they had neglected their other duties in the garden. They were not tilling the land they were given. But when they found the tree, they discovered that it was nearly impossible to get to. There were high walls set in layer upon layer, razor-wired fences and, finally, at the top of a high hill, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was behind a cage.
"We should figure out how to get in," said Adam. "You know, just so that we can tell our children what not to do."
"I like the way you think," said Eve.
Again, it was only after many years – while they neglected their other work – that they finally did find a way to the cage. Adam and Eve had learned how to make strong tools as blacksmiths do, and had forced their way to the tree by building ladders, climbing walls and cutting through the razor wire.
"We're here," said Eve.
"I know," said Adam. "It's hard to believe."
"Should we go inside?"
"I don't see why not. We've come all this way." You see, Adam had not yet eaten of the tree of knowledge, and so his ability to understand was terribly limited, and so was Eve's.
"How do we get in?"
Adam looked around for a way in. And much to his surprise he discovered that the gate to the cage where the tree was kept was open.
"Ladies first," said Adam.
Eve walked in and looked at the fruit on the tree. It was like nothing she had ever seen. It was large and succulent, and very pleasing to the eye.
"What did God say about dying?" said Eve to her husband.
"He said the tree would cause death," said Adam.
"So, He didn't say that the tree was poisonous?"
"Nope."
"Well, I guess there's only one way to find out."
Eve took a huge bite from the fruit. It tasted very good. Adam looked at his wife and saw the fire in her eyes and he desired that fire for himself. So he too ate of the fruit. Then, the door to the cage surrounding the tree of knowledge slammed shut.
In a frenzy, Adam and Eve tried to find a way out, but their tools were all out of reach.
"Where has he been all these years," asked Adam.
"Who?" asked Eve.
"God."
"Who's that?"
"The one who made this tree, and this cage, and this garden and this land and that sky. I see his work everywhere, but I can't find him anywhere. I've been searching so hard for this tree that I forgot to look for him. Now, I fear, I will never find him again, now that we are trapped in this cage."
"Adam," said Eve. "Stop whining will you? It's making me sick."
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