As soon as Ab-sa-lom had all the men he thought he would need, he set out to fight with Da-vid. And Da-vid drew up his men in line, and put Jo-ab at their head. And the king said, I will go out with you. But the men said he should not; so Da-vid staid by the gate and saw them go out to the fight, and bade them be kind to Ab-sa-lom for his sake. [Illustration: THE DEATH OF AB-SA-LOM.] The fight took place in a wood. Ab-sa-lom rode on a mule, and as the mule passed 'neath a great oak, Ab-sa-lom's head caught in a branch, and he hung in mid air, while the mule went off down the road. And a man saw it and told Jo-ab. And Jo-ab said, Why did'st thou not kill him? And the man said he would not kill the king's son, for he had heard Da-vid ask them to be kind to him. But Jo-ab said, I can-not waste time with thee. And he took three darts in his hand and thrust them through Ab-sa-lom, so that he died. And he was thrown in-to a pit that was in the wood, and a great heap of stones was piled on him. And all the men who had been with him went back to their tents. [Illustration: DA-VID HEAR-ING OF AB-SA-LOM'S DEATH.] Da-vid sat in the gate, and when men came back with news of the fight, he would ask of each one, Is Ab-sa-lom safe? And at last one of them said, May all the king's foes be as this young man is. Then Da-vid knew that Ab-sa-lom was dead, and he went to his own room and wept. And he cried out with a loud voice, O, my son, Ab-sa-lom; my son, my son Ab-sa-lom! I would that God had let me die in thy stead, O, Ab-sa-lom, my son, my son! Da-vid was king for two-score years, and was an old man when he died and had hosts of friends. And when he felt that his death was near, he bade his men take Sol-o-mon to a place called Gi-hon, and pour oil on his head. Then they were to blow the horn and cry out. God save King So-lo-mon. And this was done; and when Da-vid died, Sol-o-mon sat on his throne and ruled Is-ra-el. CHAPTER XV. SOLOMON, THE WISE MAN. SOL-O-MON gave his heart to God when he was young, and tried to lead a good life, and to do no wrong. And God spoke to him in a dream one night and said, Ask what I shall give thee. And So-lo-mon said, Grant me, I pray thee a wise mind that I may know right from wrong, and judge well those who look up to me as their king. This speech pleased the Lord, and he said, Since thou didst not ask me for great wealth, or for long life, or that thy foes might be put to death, I will make thee wise, and will give thee both great wealth and a long life if thou wilt serve me and keep my laws. There came two wo-men to the king. And one of them said, My lord, I and this wo-man live in one house, and we each of us had a son. And this wo-man's child died in the night, and while I slept she came and took my child from me, and laid her own child by my side. And when I woke, and went to feed my child, it was dead. And I knew it was not my son. It is your son. It is not; the child that lives is mine.