A long, long time ago, there lived a man named Noah. He was a good man, and God loved him. Noah had a wife and three sons. He and his family were happy, but it wasn't a very happy time on the earth. There was a lot of fighting, lying and stealing. This made God very angry.
One day, God said to Noah, "There are too many bad people in the world, so I will send a great flood. Everyone will die—all except you and your family."
To prepare for the flood, Noah made a large ship of wood. He put two animals of every kind—elephants, giraffes, dogs, doves, snakes and even ants—on the ship and locked the door. When the flood came, they floated for many days and nights.
One day, the rain stopped, so Noah let a dove fly out of the ship. In the evening, the dove came back with a green olive branch in its mouth. This meant that land was near and the danger had passed.
Since then, people have always taken the dove and the olive branch as symbols of peace. They are used at many world events today. In most opening ceremonies of the Olympics, people fly doves to show their wish for peace and friendship.