The boys were moody and restless. They’d been cooped up too long. Today, like the days before, they had worked hard. Now, tired and sore, they pleaded, “Please, Father, can we go out tonight?”

“No, sons, not tonight,” he replied. “Soon though. The dove just returned with an olive branch.”

Matthew is a retired computer systems programmer who has produced over 200 books for Project Gutenberg.