[folio 3]
DAVID THE
SHEPHERD BOY
THOMAS NELSON & SONS
NEW YORK
[folio 4]
BOOKS IN THIS SERIES
- JOSEPH THE DREAMER
- THE BABE IN THE BULRUSHES
- DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY
- THE CHILD JESUS
- THE GOOD PHYSICIAN
- THE GOOD SHEPHERD
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Up amongst the hills, perched like the nest of a bird onone of the long low ridges, lies the little town ofBethlehem. It was but a small town at the time thisstory begins, and there was nothing about it to makeit at all famous. It lay out of the beaten track, andany one wanting to visit it must needs climb the longwinding road that led from the plain beneath, througholive groves and sheepfields, up to the city gate—asteep, difficult road, leading nowhere but to the littletown itself.
It was in these fields on the slope of the hills thatDavid, the shepherd boy of Bethlehem, spent his dayswatching his father’s flocks. That father, whose name[folio 6] was Jesse, was one of the chief men of the town, andDavid was the youngest of all his sons.
There were seven big brothers at home, and it wasno wonder Jesse was proud of his sons. They were tall,splendid young men, all of them doing men’s work now,and taking very little notice of the youngest, who was stillonly a small boy, chiefly useful in looking after the sheep.
But though David was but little thought of, no onecould say that he did not do his work well. There wasnot a more careful or watchful shepherd on all the hillsaround Bethlehem. He knew each one of his sheep,and never allowed one to stray. He always led themto the best pasture, and found the coolest and freshestwater for them to drink. Then, too, he was as brave asa lion, and if any wild beast came lurking round hopingto snatch a lamb away, David was up at once and wouldattack the fiercest beast single-handed. Nothing couldever do any harm to his flock.
Now it happened that one day while David was, asusual, out in the fields that a sudden stir of excitementawoke in the little town of Bethlehem. Men gatheredround the city gate, and with anxious, fearful eyes lookeddown the long white road that led up from the plainbelow. And yet there seemed nothing there to makethem look so terrified and anxious. Only an old feebleman was slowly climbing