INTRODUZIONE
“A New World” è il primo libro di Mosè, più noto come la Genesi, raccontato in modo unico. Versi scorrevoli in rima baciata ed un incalzante ritmo trasportano il lettore dalle delizie verdeggianti del Giardino dell’Eden, oltre Noè e l’alluvione e le avventure di Abramo e Isacco, fino all’arrivo di Giuseppe in Egitto e la sua ascesa al potere come braccio destro del Faraone. Uno stile scanzonato ma mai irriverente, porta in vita i personaggi di questa storia biblica e fa di ‘A New World’ una lettura molto piacevole sia per bambini che per adulti.
Per trarre il massimo beneficio dalla traccia audio, si consiglia di fare l’ascolto almeno una volta prima di passare alla lettura del testo.
Noah
and
the flood
[Genesis 4:18]
Adam’s children’s children had sons and daughters too,
With each new generation their numbers grew and grew.
We hear of men like Enos, Jared and Tubalcain,
Mahalaleel, Methuselah, and many a curious name.
By the time we get to Lamech, some had grown quite old,
Six or seven hundred years is what we have been told.
As the population grew and started forming nations,
Selfishness and greediness brought endless tribulations.
God was really quite upset to see his children fight,
He’d tried to make them virtuous, but something wasn’t right.
And so the Lord decided to rid the world of men,
And once the job was over, to start from scratch again.
He’d had enough of all the hate, the fighting and the blood,
He’d make it rain for forty days and drown them in a flood.
Afterwards, he’d start again, more carefully and slower,
He’d save a family from the flood, the family of Noah.
Noah was a righteous man deserving of God’s grace,
And he would be the perfect dad for God’s new chosen race.
So God went round to Noah’s and knocked upon the door,
And after tea and biscuits, he let him know the score.
He told him that the rain would last for many a day and night,
The water would rise up and up, and cover all in sight.
He told him he should get to bed and rise up with the lark,
And gather lots of gopher wood to build himself an ark.
He should make the ark at once and fill it to the brim
With two of every animal, if he could squeeze them in.
He only had a week or so to organise it all,
Before the heavens opened and the rain began to fall.
But Noah got the message, he was not a stupid man,
He set his sons to work at once, Japheth, Shem and Ham.
The four of them got cracking with hammers, nails and wood,
And had the whole thing ready as quickly as they could.
They lined up all the animals and helped them all on board,
In two by two they entered, as ordered by the Lord.
When everything was ready, they checked their stock of grain,
Closed themselves inside the ark, and waited for the rain.
They didn’t have to wait for long before the storm clouds burst
And floods began destroying all the men that God had cursed.
For forty days and nights it poured, just as God had said,
And when the storm blew over, everything was dead.
Only Noah’s ark was left, bobbing on the sea,
All the rest had disappeared: mountain, hill and tree.
Conditions were not easy inside old Noah’s ark,
The air was hot and stuffy, the rooms were small and dark.
They waited grimly for the day the blackened skies would clear,
The raging waters would abate and land would reappear.
Their tempers and the food supply were quickly running out,
When suddenly they felt a bump, and someone gave a shout.
The ark had come to rest at last upon a mountain side,
Noah fell down on his knees and in his joy he cried.
He opened up a window, just as he had planned,
And sent a dove and raven out to see if there was land.
The raven wasn’t seen again, the dove returned quite soon,
The earth, it seemed, was still submerged beneath a vast lagoon.
When he freed the dove again, after one more week,
It came back with an olive leaf held tightly in its beak.
He let another week go by and sent it out once more,
But as it never reappeared, he opened up the door.
Back on dry land once again, he gave thanks to the Lord,
And offered him a sacrifice to show he was adored.
God was pleased with Noah and promised, there and then,
That he would never rid the world of man and beast again.
The land would be more fruitful, man would have no fears,
He would feast on bird and beast and live for many years.
But God would make it difficult, much harder than he’d planned,
Man would have to fight and fend, his blood would stain the land.
All these things he promised, and then he made a sign,
To guarantee he’d not forget until the end of time.
He drew a glowing rainbow high above his head:
Violet, indigo, blue and green, yellow, orange and red.
It meant the sun was on its way to dry all beasts and men,
And God would never cause the rain to flood the world again.
Old Noah turned to farming, he planted many a vine,
And soon found out to his surprise, that grape juice turns to wine.
It wasn’t long before the wine was spinning in his head,
So taking all his clothes off, he lay down on his bed.
Ham, his son, discovered him, all curled up and mute,
And much to Ham’s embarrassment, in his birthday suit.
Ham informed his brothers, who came to where he lay,
And as they covered Noah up, they looked the other way.
Everybody knew about it when old Noah woke,
His ranting and his raving were clearly not a joke.
He had it in for Ham who’d seen him naked on his bed,
“Your son will be your brothers’ servant,” Noah sternly said.
Your comments are always very welcome.
Ingliando 