of the princess. But there were two princesses, Merab and Michal. Saul had intended to give David the hand of Merab, but already Michal had given him her heart. While David was only a shepherd and a minstrel, the young princess, listening to his music, had fallen in love with him. And David, as he played, had played to her.
So the mad king made a plot. “Very well,” he said, “you shall have Michal, but first you must bring me as a dowry the heads of a hundred Philistines.” For he thought that in the battle, David would be killed. But David went out into the enemy’s country, and when he came back he brought two hundred Philistine heads. So he married the princess, amidst great rejoicing.
But hardly had the wedding guests gone home when the king made another plot. He determined to send men to seize his son-in-law and kill him. But Michal heard of it. And that night, as she looked out of her window, the princess saw in the dim light the forms of men moving about among the trees. And she said to her husband, “David, you must save your life this very night; to-morrow will be too late.” And she took a stout rope and let it down out of a back window, and when nobody was looking David climbed down and ran away.
Then Michal took a wooden image which stood in a corner of the best room and carried it to David’s bed. She laid a pillow of goat’s hair under its head, and tucked in the bedclothes about its chin, and in the dark it looked like David. Pretty soon there came a loud knocking at the street door.
“Who is there?” said Michal.
A man’s voice answered, “We are come from the king with a message for David.”
“Well,” said Michal, “you can’t see him to-night; he has gone to bed sick.”
So the men went back to Saul, and the delay was long enough to enable David to get out of the city, where the king could not find him.
Then the men returned and knocked again, louder than before.
“Who is there?” said Michal.