s, all the more
kind because she was a stranger in Israel. Boaz said: "I have heard how
true you have been to your mother-in-law Naomi, in leaving your own
land and coming with her to this land. May the Lord, under whose wings
you have come, give you a reward!"

And at noon, when they sat down to rest and to eat, Boaz gave her some
of the food. And he said to the reapers:

"When you are reaping, leave some of the sheaves for her; and drop out
some sheaves from the bundles, where she may gather them."

That evening, Ruth showed Naomi how much she had gleaned, and told her
of the rich man Boaz, who had been so kind to her. And Naomi said:

"This man is a near relation of ours. Stay in his fields, as long as the
harvest lasts." And so Ruth gleaned in the fields of Boaz until the
harvest had been gathered.

At the end of the harvest, Boaz held a feast on the threshing-floor. And
after the feast, by the advice of Naomi, Ruth went to him, and said to
him:

"You are a near relation of my husband and of his father, Elimelech. Now
will you not do good to us for his sake?"

And when Boaz saw Ruth, he loved her; and soon after this he took her as
his wife. And Naomi and Ruth went to live in his home; so that Naomi's
life was no more bitter, but pleasant. And Boaz and Ruth had a son,
whom they named Obed; and later Obed had a son named Jesse; and Jesse
was the father of David, the shepherd boy who became king. So Ruth, the
young woman of Moab, who chose the people and the God of Israel, became
the mother of kings.

THE STORY OF DAVID, THE SHEPHERD BOY

Living at Ramah, in the mountains of Ephraim, there was a man whose name
was Elkanah. He had two wives, as did many men in that time. One of
these wives had children, but the other wife, whose name was Hannah, had
no child.

Every year Elkanah and his family went up to worship at the house of the
Lord in Shiloh, which was about fifteen miles from his home. And at one
of these visits Hannah prayed to the Lord, saying:

"O Lord, if thou wilt look upon me, and give me a son, he shall be given
to the Lord as long as he lives."

The Lord heard Hannah's prayer, and gave her a little boy, and she
called his name Samuel, which means "Asked of God"; because he had been
given in answer to her prayer.

Samuel grew up to be a good man and a wise Judge, and he made his sons
Judges in Israel, to help him in the care of the people. But Samuel's
sons did not walk in his ways