"As the bridegroom, the young man who was to be married, was late in coming, the ten bridesmaids grew sleepy, and finally all fell asleep. They slept until midnight, when suddenly they were awakened by the shout, 'Here comes the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' "Then all the girls got up and began trimming their lamps. The careless, foolish ones said to the wise and thoughtful ones: "'Come, let us have some of your oil. Our lamps are going out.' "But the wise bridesmaids answered them, 'No, each one of us has brought just enough oil for her own lamp. If we should divide our oil with you, then none of us would have enough to keep her lamp burning and we should all be in the dark together. You must go to the store and buy for yourselves!' [Illustration: The coming of the bridegroom] "So, in the middle of the night, while the bridegroom was coming, those foolish women had to go to the town, and wake up the oil-sellers and buy more oil. While they were on their way buying oil, the bridegroom and his party came; and the bridesmaids who were ready went with them to the marriage-supper. When they were all inside the room, the door was shut to keep out strangers who had no right to enter. "After a time, the rest of the bridesmaids came and found the door shut. They called out to the bridegroom: "'Oh, sir, oh, sir! Please open the door for us!' "But he answered them, 'I tell you, I do not know who you are!' "So," said Jesus, "I say to you, keep on the watch, and be ready at all times, for you do not know either the day or the hour when your Lord will come." [Illustration: Watch-tower] The Parable of the Talents CHAPTER 83 THE SECOND of the three parables with which Jesus closed his long talk to his disciples on the Mount of Olives was "The Parable of the Talents." In some parts it was like "The Parable of the Pounds," given to the crowd at Jericho only a week before, but in other parts it was different. In that parable, there was a king, going to a distant city to have a kingdom given to him. In this parable, it was a rich man going on a long journey. In the parable of the Pounds, all the servants began with the same amount of money; in this parable, they received different amounts, one of them five times as much as another received. In the parable of the Pounds, one gained ten times, the other five times what had been given to him; and they obtained different rewards, one the ruler over ten cities, another over five. But in the parable of the Talents, each faithful servant doubled what he had received, and both had the same reward. But we will give the parable of the Talents, and you can see how it differs from the parable of the Pounds. Jesus said: