It Began with a Rock

This is a ROCK -- a rock you can pick up from the ground.
You can see rocks all over the land -- big rocks -- little rocks -- boulders and pebbles.
Rocks are used to build houses, rocks are used in building fences.
Some rocks fit in your hand.

A long, long time ago, when people wore only animal skins and not clothes like we wear today,
there were rocks all over the land -- rocks that people threw at animals to kill, to eat.

Someone named OM got mad at someone named OG.
OM threw a rock at OG
and OG threw a rock at OM and killed him.
OM got killed by the rock that OG threw at him.

To be killed means you cannot wake up anymore.
To be killed is not just going to sleep.
To be killed is to die -- DEAD...

When a person is dead, there is no waking up
-- no more eating -- no more talking -- no more hearing others talk -- no more walking --
no more anything for that dead person here on earth.

It is not good to kill people.
You cannot play with a friend if your friend is dead.
Your friend cannot play with you anymore if YOU have been killed -- DEAD...

Time passed. Years and years went by.
When one cave man tied a ROCK to a stick, he made a club.
With a club the cave man could have his own hammer like a Daddy uses to make things.

Only -- the cave man threw his hammer or club like a ROCK to kill little animals,
and not so little animals, to eat.

But when GLOG Caveman hit GLOM cave man with his club,
GLOM cave man hit GLOG cave man with the point of a long rock or bone.
The sharp point went inside GLOG cave man's body
and blood came out and GLOG cave man died.

A knife had just been invented.

It is not good to play with a knife.

If you want to use a knife for cutting or for poking into an apple
or to toss around like in mumbledy-peg
you must ask your Mommy or your Daddy if it's okay.

But if you just go ahead and play with a knife you might cut yourself--
and you might get hurt--
and blood might come out--
and the pain will feel bad-- and you won't like it--
You might die...

So you must use a knife only if your Mommy or Daddy tells you that it is okay to use a knife.

A pointed ROCK or stone or a bone
tied to the end of a long stick made a spear.
The spear was used to kill animals.
It could also kill people.

Time passed. Years and years went by.

People began to make a knife and a spear out of metal.
Metal is not like ROCK or bone but it can be just as hard and sharp.
Metal can be heated very, very hot.
Metal can be hammered into shape
when it is very, very hot and ready to melt.

People began to make knives and spears
out of metal when they learned that it was easy
to work with metal-- easier than with a bone or a ROCK.

Later, people began to make the sharp metal points longer
and also sharp on two edges to make a sword.

A sword was used to fight PEOPLE and to kill PEOPLE,
only PEOPLE, not animals.

If you find a real sword, DO NOT PLAY WITH IT. It can cut you or poke you.
If you make a sword from a stick DO NOT POKE SOMEONE WITH IT.
Do not use a sword to poke your friend in the eye or anywhere on your friend's body.
Your friend might go blind.
If your friend pokes YOU in the eye with something sharp
like a sword, YOU might become blind.
You will not see anything if you are blind

It does not feel good to be blind because you cannot see with a blind eye.
You cannot watch TV, you cannot see a friend coming,
you cannot see your toys, you cannot see Mommy or Daddy.

So, do not play with sharp sticks or swords
because you might poke each other in the eye
and someone could go blind.

DO NOT use Mother's kitchen knife like a sword.
You might hurt yourself and it will not feel good, or you might hurt your friend. Your friend might get killed. Or YOU might get killed.

Time passed. Years and years went by.

When people began to use GUN POWDER, they found out that GUN POWDER could throw a piece of metal faster and f a r t h e r than one person could throw it. The power of GUN POWDER was way too much for one person to stop it.

GUN POWDER was used in rockets. GUN POWDER was used in cannons.
GUN POWDER was put into little shell casings that looked like a metal tube that was closed on one end.
On the other end is a round metal point called a BULLET.

A BULLET can be shot from a gun very fast. You cannot get out of the way of a BULLET aimed at you.

A BULLET can get into a person's body and kill that person. You might know a little boy or a little girl who got killed by a BULLET.
Many little boys and little girls were killed by BULLETS. Even big boys and big girls have been killed by BULLETS.

In war, many men and women were killed by BULLETS.

A BULLET can go into your body so fast that you cannot say "M A M A !" or "DADDY, HELP ME..." You might get killed and not be able to tell anyone. A BULLET is that fast!

So, do not play with a GUN or with BULLETS. Some people make toy guns. If Mommy or Daddy says it is okay to play with toy guns, then you can play with toy guns.

Some guns only look like toys. Be careful. It might be too late to know when a BULLET kills you.

If you find a BULLET or a GUN, do not play with it. Give it to your Dad or Mom or a to a Policeman or to a Fireman.

It is so much better to tell a friend, "Hey, you know what? I found a real BULLET and I gave it to a Policeman."

Or you can tell your friend, "You know what? I found a real BULLET and gave it to a Fireman."

It is so much better to do this than to be hurt by a BULLET -- or to be killed by a BULLET.

All this is what began with a ROCK.