In telling the story of Balak and Balaam be careful not to leave the child with a superstitious belief in the efficacy of a curse, not only because superstition is in itself evil, but because the association of religion with superstition becomes very dangerous to the former when the child reaches an age at which he will in all probability see the unreasonableness of the superstition. Make it plain that Balak's sending for Balaam to curse Israel does not mean that Balaam actually possessed this power, but merely that Balak believed him to possess it in accordance with the superstition of his day. The point of the narrative should lie in the discomfiture of Balak, which teaches that when God is bent on blessing, no human being can effectively curse, and that God had destined Israel for blessing. Do not make this explanation as a digression from the story, but weave it into the narrative itself by suggestion as follows: "Now Balak, the king of Moab, had heard that there lived in Mesopotamia, a famous sorcerer named Balaam, and that whomever this Balaam blessed would be sure to have good luck, and whomever he cursed, bad luck, and, being very superstitious, as were most of the people in his day, he believed that Balaam really had this power, and so he sent presents to him to persuade him to come to Moab and curse Israel for him so that the Israelites should be defeated in battle." Do not attempt to rationalize the miracle of the ass's speaking to Balaam. If the child wants to know how it was possible for the ass to speak, answer that it is no harder for God to give an animal power to speak than a man. No baby is born with the ability to speak and we only learn to speak when God gives us the power and intelligence. By answering the question in this manner one attaches to the commonplace the mystery associated with the supernatural. By attempting to rationalize, one would reduce everything to the level of the commonplace. At a later age, when the pupil has developed a concept of natural law, this answer may not prove satisfactory, but it would be absurd to attempt a philosophic reconciliation of the natural and supernatural for children at an age when they lack the concept of either. CHAPTER XVI THE DEATH OF MOSES Numbers 27.12 to 23. Deuteronomy 31.14 to 34.12