The boy knelt down, and stripping off the lilies, he tuned his harp and began to sing. The poet tells how he played for the mighty king; and what do you think it was? Just the tune all his sheep knew; always it brought them, one after one, to the pen door at evening. It was so strange and sweet a tune that quail on the corn lands would each leave its mate to fly after the player; and crickets—it made them so wild with delight they would fight one another. Then he played what sets the field mouse musing, and the cattle to deeper dreaming in the sunny meadows.
He sang of green pastures and water brooks, and the morning joy of shepherds bounding over wide pastures. The light shines in streams, the hungry, happy sheep break out, and the long golden day is to be lived!
Then he sang of the peace that comes to shepherds at evening, when the gentle sheep and sleepy, bleating lambs go home across the sweet wide meadow, and the stars come out in the serene heavens. Then it is to the shepherd as if nature and man and God are all one, and love is all there is in the whole world.
At last the boy David sang of the perfect gift that will surely come; and he sang until the evil sorrow itself grew into peace.
The king stirred and raised his head. It was to him as if it had rained, and flowers had sprung up in the desert.[Contents]
[A GUIDE TO PRONUNCIATION]
The diacritical markings in this list agree with the latest edition of Webster's International Dictionary, and are as follows:
| ā—as in fāte. | ô—as in lôrd. |
| ă—as in ădd. | ŏ—as in nŏt. |
| [+a]—as in pref´ [+a]ce. | ö—similar to u in fur. |
| ä—as in fär. | o̅o̅—as in so̅o̅n |
| ȧ—as in grȧss. | ŭ—as in ŭs. |
| a̤—as in a̤ll. | [+u]—as in [+u]-nite´. |
| ē—as in ēve. | ụ—as in fụll. |
| [+e]—as in [+e]-vent´. | u—similar to u in fur. |
| ĕ—as in ĕnd. | y̆—as in pit´ y̆. |
| ẽ—as in hẽr. | eû—as in ûs. |
| ī—as in īce. | (prolonged). |
| ĭ—as in pĭn. | oi—as in oil. |
| ō—as in rōw. | ou—as in out. |
| [+o]—as in [+o]-bey´. |