A par-a-ble is a sto-ry of some-thing in real life that will fix in our minds and hearts the truth it is meant to teach. Je-sus said the king-dom of heav-en was like the mas-ter of a house who went out at morn to hire men to work in his vine-yard. The price was fixed at a pen-ny a day, and those who would work for that were sent out to the vine-yard. At nine o'clock in the day he went out and saw men in the mar-ket place who were out of work, and he said to them, Go ye to the vine-yard, and I will pay you what is right. And they went their way. He went out at noon, and at three o'clock, and found more men whom he sent to work in his vine-yard. Later in the day, when it was near six o'clock, he went out and saw more men, to whom he said, Why stand ye here all the day i-dle? They said to him, Be-cause no man has hired us. He said, Go ye in-to the vine-yard, and what is right I will give thee. So when night came, the lord of the vine-yard had the work-men called in, and each one was paid a pen-ny. When the first came they thought they should have more, and when they were paid but a pen-ny they found fault, and said, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast paid them the same as us who have born the toil and heat of the day. [Illustration: LA-BOR-ERS IN THE VINE-YARD.] The mas-ter said, Friend, I do thee no wrong. Didst thou not say thou wouldst work for me for a pen-ny a day? Take what is thine, and go thy way; for I have a right to do as I will with mine own. And the last shall be first and the first last. Je-sus told them a par-a-ble of ten maids who went out to meet the bride-groom. For in those days the man who was wed brought his bride home at night, and some of his friends used to go out to meet him. These ten maids had lit their lamps, and gone out to meet the bride-groom. But he did not come as soon as they thought he would, and as the hours went on they all fell a-sleep. Now five of these maids were wise, and five were not. The wise ones had brought oil with them, so that if their lamps should go out they could fill them. Those who were not wise had no oil but that which was in their lamps. At mid-night those who were on the watch cried out, Lo, the bride-groom comes! Go ye out to meet him. And the five wise maids rose at once, and went to work to trim their lamps. The five who were not wise, stood by and said, Give us of your oil, for our lamps have gone out. But the wise ones said, Not so; for we have no more than we need. Go ye and buy of those who have oil to sell. And while they went out to buy, the bride-groom came, and those who were in trim went in with him, and the door was shut. Then the five maids who had been out to buy oil came to the door, and cried out, Lord, Lord, let us in. But he said, I do not know you; and would not let them in.