OLD ,--.. V STORIES QP THE EAST BY JAMES BALDWIN AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY NEW YORK CINCINNATI CHICAGO COPYRIGHT, 1895, BY AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY. COPYRIGHT, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1928, BY AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY. G P RIGHT, 1923, BY JAMES BALDWIN STO, OF THE EAST, XL Xv - to PREFACE. THERE are few stories which in themselves are more intensely interesting than those that have come down to us from antiquity through the medium of the Hebrew Scriptures. Yet they have been so generally and so exclusively employed for the purpose of imparting religious instruction, that their purely literary qualities have not always received the attention which they merit. By very many persons, grown-up people as well as children, they are regarded as being inseparably connected with the services of the Sunday school and the Church, and hence scarcely to be thought of during the secular days of the week. There is really no good reason why this should be so. Indeed, there is no good reason why children in the day schools should not read these old stories of the East with as much freedom and with as eager zest as they peruse the classic myths of Greece or the ever-charming tales with which the world of modern fiction abounds. In the present volume it has been the aim of the author to retell these stories from a literary standpoint, and in exactly the same manner as he would retell other stories pertaining to the infancy of the human race. He has endeavored to represent the actors in them as real men and women inhabiting the same world as ourselves and, while it has been neither possible nor 3 desirabfe tt omit freqtient aHustcSns to-ibe, supernatural, care has been taken ppt to trespass on the domain of the religious teacher. In order tlie better to carry OB t this plat, tiie Hebrew names are used sparingly and are often, omitted in favor of their English equivalents. It is believed that this device will not only give to some of the stories a flavor of newness, but that it will in many instances help the young reader to a readier appreciation of their beauty. While each of the twelve stories in this volume is wholly inde pendent of the others, and may be read without any knowledge of those which precede it, there is nevertheless a continuity from the first to the last, giving to the collection the completeness of a single narrative. It comprises, in short, the history of the origin of the Hebrew race, and of the chief events connected with the life of that people down to the period of their greatest prosperity. Whether or not this presentation of the subject may be an incentive to a closer acquaintance with the matchless volume from which the stories are derived, has not been a matter of considera tion on the part of the writer. His sole aim has been to prepare a book which all children at school may read with pleasure, both because of the simple language in which it is written and because of the conceptions of beauty and truth that are found in the stories which it contains. CONTENTS. PACK THE GARDEN OF DELIGHT . 7 THE Two BROTHERS 14 THE FLOOD OF WATERS 18 THE GREAT CHIEF. I. The Promise 27 II. The New Name ........ 30 III. The Strangers 31 IV. The Burnt Offering 36 V. The Faithful Servant 39 VI. Beauty and Laughter 45 THE MASTER OF THE LAND OF THE NILE. I. The Dreamer 51 II. The Journey 53 III. The Dry Well 58 IV. The Caravan 63 V. The Prison 67 VI. The Dreams 70 VII. The Ten Strangers 77 VIII. The Little Brother ....... So IX. The Discovery 83 THE GREAT LAWGIVER. I. The Kings Daughter 88 II. The Shepherd 93 III. The Burning Bush 97 IV. The Ten Plagues ....... 101 V. The Long Journey ....... 106 5 u THE MAN WHOSE EYES WERE OPEN. I. The Soothsayer 112 II. The Vision 115 III. The First Mountain 119 IV. The Second Mountain 123 V. The Third Mountain 125 THE BEE AND THE GAZELLE. I. The Bee 128 II. The Gazelle 132 III. The Song 139 IDOL BREAKER. I. The Idol 143 II. The Angel 145 III. The Camp .151 IV. The Flight 155 THE STORY OF SPLENDID SUN. I... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.