was not so tall as his fighting brothers, but he was
stronger, and knew how to use the sword, bow, club, sling, and spear;
for all the young men of the villages learned the use of these weapons
in their sports and games.

The lad was also fond of music, and could play and sing. Sitting in
the shade of a shadowy rock, or at the mouth of a dark cave, as he
watched his sheep wandering to and fro in the sunshine, he often played
strange music upon a rude harp made by himself; and he would sing songs
of his own making about the white flocks and herds, the green hills and
cool streams, the red-cheeked women at the well, and the young men of
the village where he had his home. He was called the "sweet singer,"
and his skill on the harp was well known in the villages round about
Bethlehem.

When he left his own village and went to live with Samuel's young men
at Ramah, to learn to read and write, he learned also to play upon the
pipe and guitar, the tambourine and large harp, and to sing, not songs
of love and war, but praises of God and of His goodness to men. Under
the teaching of Samuel his heart opened towards God as a flower to the
sun. Yet he did not always stay at Ramah, but often came back to his
home, to help his father, and to watch the sheep with his brothers, who
thought him too forward and did not like him much.

King Saul was now very unhappy, for the aged prophet Samuel would not
see him, and the king felt that God was not with him; and he often had
fits of sickness when he was in deep trouble, and only music could
soothe his mind. Hearing that a harper was wanted for the king, one of
David's friends praised his playing, his wisdom, his bravery, and his
good looks, saying that God was with him; and when King Saul heard this
he sent a messenger to Bethlehem for the shepherd-harper. Now no one
ever came before the king without a gift in his hand, so Jesse sent
with David an ass laden with a sack of wheat, a kid, and a skin of
wine, as a present to King Saul.

With his ruddy cheeks, and his long fair hair falling upon his blue
tunic, David pleased the gloomy king as he stood before him; and when
the youth played softly upon the harp, and sang shepherd songs of love,
passing from these into songs in praise of God, the king loved the
youth greatly, and sent word to his father that he would keep David
beside him.

Jonathan, the king's son, and Michal, the king's daughter, also learnt
to love the shepherd-si