Then he said to him-self, The men my fa-ther hires have more food than they can eat, while I starve for want of what they can well spare. I will rise and go to my fa-ther, and will say to him, Fa-ther, I have done wrong in thy sight, and in the sight of God, and have no more right to be called thy son. Let me come back to thy house, and be as a ser-vant. So he rose and went to his fa-ther. And while he was yet a long way off his fa-ther saw him, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, Fa-ther I have done wrong in thy sight, and in the sight of God, and have no more right to be called thy son. But the fa-ther said to his hired men, Bring forth the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring in the fat-ted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and be glad. For this my son was dead, and now lives; he was lost and is found. And tears and sighs gave place to smiles and songs of joy. [Illustration: THE PROD-I-GAL'S RE-TURN.] Now the son who had staid at home and kept his share of wealth that his fa-ther gave him, was at work in the field. And as he came near the house he heard the gay sounds, and called one of the hired men to him and asked what it all meant. The man said, Thy broth-er is here, and thy fa-ther has made a feast, so great is his joy to have him back safe and sound. And the young man was in a rage, and would not go in the house; so his fa-ther came out and coaxed him. And he said to his fa-ther, For years and years have I been true to thee and broke none of thy laws. But thou didst not kill a kid for me that I might make a feast for my friends. But as soon as this thy son was come, who spent thy wealth in ways of sin, thou didst kill the fat-ted calf for him. And the fa-ther said, My son, I have loved thee all thy life, and all that I own is the same as if it was thine; yet it was right that we should be glad and sing songs of joy, for this thy broth-er was dead and now lives; he was lost and is found. In this way Je-sus taught those who found fault with him, that God was glad to have men turn from their sins and come back to him. He loved them in spite of their sins, and when they made up their minds to leave them, and to do what was right, God met them more than half way, and gave peace and joy to their hearts. A prod-i-gal is one who wastes all that he has. Then Je-sus spoke to those who were proud, and felt as if no one else was quite as good as they were. And he said, Two men went up in-to the church to pray. One of them--a Phar-i-see--chose a place where all could see him; and he stood up and said, God I thank thee that I am not like oth-er men. I fast twice a week, and I give to the aid of the church a tenth part of all I own. [Illustration: THE PHAR-I-SEE.]