And the giant in all his armor came, and his squire carried his shield before him, and when he looked to see what champion the Israelites had found at last, there was but a boy,--a red-cheeked boy with a staff in one hand and a sling in the other. The giant was very angry. “Am I a dog,” he cried, “that thou comest at me with a stick? I will give thy flesh to the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field, and they shall pick thy bones.” And David answered, “Thou comest to me with sword and spear and shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord God of hosts, whom thou hast defied.” Thus the champions drew together, while the two armies watched in breathless silence. And David ran to meet the giant. And even as he ran, he put his hand into his shepherd’s bag, and took out a smooth stone and put it in his sling and slung it. Up went the sling, out went the stone, down went the giant. Straight as an arrow, the stone struck him in the forehead. And David ran, and with the giant’s sword cut off the giant’s head. Then did the Philistines flee, and the men of Israel raised a great shout and chased them. XXXV UNDER THE KING’S DISPLEASURE After David killed the giant, he kept the sheep no longer. He lived at the court with the king, and became a soldier. Saul made him a general of the army, and everybody praised him. When the Philistines came again, David led the men of war to battle, and when they came back in victory the women came out to greet them at the gate of every city as they passed, dancing and playing on instruments of music, and singing,-- “Saul hath slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.” But that displeased Saul, and in his displeasure his old malady returned. And now his insanity began to take a dangerous form. One day when his madness was upon him, and David was playing on the harp to quiet him, the king said to himself, “I will kill David!” And his spear was in his hand, and as David played he threw it at him. But he missed his aim. Now the king had promised that whoever killed the giant should have not only a reward in gold, but the hand [Illustration: DAVID ESCAPES BY THE WINDOW] 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.