One of these stars is our Sun--yes, our Sun. The other stars would look the same as the Sun if we could get as close to them. But at that time, so long, long ago, our Sun was not just a big, round, white, hot ball as we see it in the sky to-day. It was then more like the fireworks you may have seen on the Fourth of July. It was whirling and sputtering and throwing off sparks. [Illustration: The sun sputtering and throwing off sparks.] One of these sparks which the Sun threw far off got cool just as a spark from the crackling log in the fireplace gets cool, and this cooled-off spark was-- What do you suppose? See if you can guess-- It was our World!--yes, the World on which we now live. At first, however, our World or Earth was nothing but a ball of rock. This ball of rock was wrapped around with steam, like a heavy fog. Then the steam turned to rain and it rained on the World, a a a n n n d d d i i i t t t r r r a a a i i i n n n e e e d d d until it had filled up the hollows and made enormously big puddles. These puddles were the oceans. The dry places were bare _rock_. Then, after this, came the first living things--_tiny plants_ that you could only have seen under a microscope. At first they grew only in the water, then along the water’s edge, then out on the rock. Then dirt or soil, as people call it, formed all over the rock and made the rock into land, and the plants grew larger and spread farther over the land. Then, after this, came the first _tiny animals_ in the water. They were wee _Mites_ like drops of jelly. Then, after this, came things like _Insects_, some that live _in_ the water, some _on_ the water, some _on_ the land, and some _in_ the air. Then, after this, came _Fish_, that live only in the water. Then, after this, came _Frogs_, that live in the water and on the land, too. Then, after this, came _Snakes_ and huge _lizards_ bigger than alligators, more like dragons; and they grew so big that at last they could not move and died because they could not get enough food to eat. Then, after this, came _Birds_ that lay eggs and those _Animals_ like foxes and elephants and cows that nurse their babies when they are born. Then, after this, came _Monkeys_. Then, last of all, came--what do you suppose? Yes--_People_--men, women, and children. Here are the steps; see if you can take them: STAR, SUN; SUN, SPARK; SPARK, WORLD; WORLD, STEAM; STEAM, RAIN; RAIN, OCEANS. OCEANS, PLANTS; PLANTS, MITES; MITES, INSECTS; INSECTS, FISH; FISH, FROGS; FROGS, SNAKES. SNAKES, BIRDS; BIRDS, ANIMALS; ANIMALS, MONKEYS; MONKEYS, PEOPLE; And here we are! What do you suppose will be next? 2 Umfa-Umfa and Itchy-Scratchy