Creation

  In the beginning, there was Clay.  It was good, rich clay and it was everything; until one day a Potter came and found the clay, and his skilled fingers began to work it into millions of mismatched globes.  Some he named Planets, and some he named Stars, and he hung them carefully upon a blanket of Infinite Nothing which he named Universe.  The Potter nodded and said,
 
"Things shall be thus."

  Next the Potter created a tiny little Seed.  This he planted upon one of the new planets and lo! there sprung forth a tall and delicate cherry tree.  More seeds fell from this tree, and soon the planet was covered in green, leafy plants.  The Potter nodded again and was just beginning to speak when he saw his plants wilt, and when he bent low to listen to them they whispered of thirst and dryness.  The Potter knew he must create water, but he did not know how and his beloved foliage cried out to him as it withered and drooped.  In his grief, the Potter wept great salty tears which rolled down his nose and flooded across the planet, settling and collecting into rippling pools.  Now the Potter had created Sea, and small rivers flowed from its shores and quenched his parched forests.  Sniffing, the Potter wiped his eyes and said,

  "Things shall be thus."

  Pleased with his good fortune and craftsmanship, the Potter sat back to light a pipe.  But the flare of the match caught a star and set it blazing alight - much to the joy of the plants, who stretched out their leaves and stalks in rustling, blossoming glee.  The Potter saw their gentle leafy smiles and lit the other stars as well, filling the universe with a pinpoint scatter of sparkling light.
 
Now the Potter decided, as he watched the smoke from his pipe curling and dancing above his head, that he ought to create living creatures to run and play and breathe upon the world he had created.  Working more carefully than ever, he began to sculpt fauna of every description: from the stealthily sinister snake to the blundering, brawny bear, he breathed life into them all.  They sidled and slithered and sprinted and soared and swam until every corner of the planet had its own unique family of animals.
 
"Things shall be thus,"
 
smiled the Potter - but he still felt that something was missing.  He thought and thought, but his plans never seemed complete.
 
Finally, the Potter realised he must begin his most challenging work yet.  He must create a being in his own image, to rule over all that he had made.  He began work on this masterpiece that very day, painstakingly crafting every detail to perfection.  His creation took shape, and began to resemble the Potter more and more - it was identical to him in every way, with three arms, a long trunk-like nose, and three furry tails.  It took him a long, long time, but eventually the effigy was complete.  The Potter could not supress his proud smile as he lifted his creation to his lips, preparing to breathe the gift of life into its damp clay lungs... but then the unthinkable happened.  The beautiful masterpiece slipped from the Potter's grasp and shattered into pieces on the floor.
 
The Potter gave a small gasp of horror as he scooped up his broken work.  He stared at it desolately - its trunk had snapped off, one arm had crumbled away and each tail was smashed to bits.  As the Potter gazed, he saw a glint in the little clay eye, and thought perhaps he'd felt it move as it lay there on the palm of his hand.  The Potter shook his head and blinked.  It couldn't have moved - it was just a lump of clay, he hadn't given it life yet.  Walking over to the open window, he drew back his arm and threw the little clay figure as hard as he could.  It shot through the inky black sky and landed far away, in a place where there was nothing but darkness.  And at that moment the clay body, with two arms and two legs, sat up and took a deep breath, filling its lungs.

Genesis chapter one, verse one:
"In the beginning..."