Samson grew to be wonderfully strong. Great strength had been given him because he had much to do; for he was to deliver Israel from the Philistines. When Samson was grown up, he went to Timnath with his father and mother, to marry a young woman who was a Philistine. As he passed the vineyards at Timnath, a lion rushed out of the woods and roared at him. But Samson was a very bold man. He ran at the lion and tore it in pieces, without stick, or sword, or spear--by his own great strength alone. Samson said nothing of this to his father or mother, but went on and came to Timnath. After a time Samson passed again along the place where he had killed the lion, and it came to him to go and look at the dead body of the animal. He saw a strange sight. Some wild bees had made their home in the lion, and Samson found much honey there. He took it and ate it, and gave some to his father and mother; but he did not tell them where he had found it. [Illustration: SAMSON SLAYING A LION.] Once Samson made a feast at Timnath; and when the company were all talking merrily together, he said, "I will give you a riddle to guess; if you guess right, I will give you thirty sheets and thirty garments; but if you cannot guess, you shall give me thirty sheets and thirty garments." Then the people said, "Tell us the riddle, and we will try to guess it." So Samson said, "Out of the eater came forth meat; and out of the strong came forth sweetness." Now, the eater was the strong lion; and the meat was the sweet honey Samson found in it; but no one knew the story of the lion, and they could not guess the riddle. They tried six days, and then they called in their friend, Samson's wife, and said, "Ask Samson to explain the riddle to thee, else we will burn thee and thy father's house with fire." The woman then begged so hard and long for her husband to tell her that, at last, he explained the riddle to her; and she forthwith went and told the Philistines. Then they came to Samson and said, "What is so strong as a lion, and what is so sweet as honey?" But Samson quietly said, "My wife told you, else you could never have guessed my riddle." Samson was obliged, however, to give what he had promised to the men who found out the riddle. But he got the garments in a strange way. He went down to Askelon and killed thirty men of the Philistines and took from them the things he wanted to give to the men who told the riddle. Soon after, Samson's wife went away from him, and it was then that Samson began his war upon the Philistines. He caught 300 foxes and tied firebrands to their tails, and drove them into the corn fields belonging to the Philistines. All the corn and vineyards and olives were burned of course.