Long time ago in a country called Israel, there lived a young boy called David. He was the youngest son of Jesse, a shepherd of Bethlehem.
David was golden haired, and handsome. Thought very young, he was strong and brave. He wanted to be soldier in the king's army like his three older brothers. But his father wanted him to stay at home and look after his sheep.
Every morning David took the sheep to the hill nearby. While the sheep were grazing, he called flat, round stones from the place. If a wild beast ever came to attack the sheep, he would use his sling to hit the beast with a stone. Indeed he hit his targets so accurately and hard that several bears and wolves were among the wild beasts he had either killed or injured.
The Israelites were then at war with the Philistines. David's brothers, who were soldiers, had followed their king to the battle. The army of the Philistines stood on a mountain on one side. A valley lay between the two armies.
One day jesse called David and asked him to go to the camp of the Israelites. "Go and find your brothers in the camp. Meet them and inquire about their well-being. Tell them to have faith in God; God will grant them victory," he said.
The next day, David woke up early in the morning. He left his sheep with his friend and proceeded towards the Israelite camp. He met his brothers just as Israelite army was getting ready to march forth to the battlefield. His brother were annoyed when saw they David there.
"Why have you come down here? With whom have you left the sheep? You are naughty, irresponsible boy. You have come here only see the battle, nothing else," they admonished him in a stern voice.
Just then everyone's attention was drawn to a huge Philistine champion called Goliath. He was gigantic man, tall, stout and fierce-looking. He strode out of the Philistine camp. He had brass helmet upon his head and was armed with a heavy coat of mail also made of brass.
He roared in a loud challenging voice, "Israelites, send one of your strongest men to fight me. If he kills me, the Philistines shall be your servants. If I win against him, then you become our slaves and serve us."
"Who is that?" asked David.
"That is Goliath, the curse of the Israelites," said a soldier. "Everyday, for the last forty days, he has been challenging us thus."
"Why doesn't someone take up his challenge?" asked David.
"Who would dare to do so? Look at him! What a monster he is!" said the soldier.
"I will fight him," said David. "I have once killed a bear and pulled a living lamp out of a lion's mouth. I have stoned several wild animal to death with the help of my sling. I shall finish this Philistine too. Gods who saved me from the paws of the lion and bear will help me against this brute."
Now Saul, the king of the Israel, had made a promise to his soldiers. "The man who kills Goliath will marry my daughter. I will enrich him with gold and jewels. Thus he will be one of the richest men in Israel, " he had said
However, David did not get permission from the army officers to fight Goliath; so he went straight to King Saul to ask if he might fight the giant.
The king was surprised because David was only a boy. But since nobody else had volunteered to fight Goliath, he agreed to let David fight him. "Go, and may God be with you," he said to David.
The king offered his own sword , helmet and armour to David. But David politely refused. "I cannot go with these. I am only a shepherd. I have never used them," he told the king.
David was overjoyed. He ran quickly down to a nearby stream. He picked up five smooth stones from the brook. He put them in shepherd's bag which he carried. Then standing in front of the king's army, he challenged Goliath to a fight.
Goliath saw this unarmed youth come towards him. He began to laugh in a booming voice. But soon he grew angry. "Am I a dog, that you come to me with a sling? But come, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field," he roared.
David retorted,"You come to fight me with your sword, your spear, and your shield. I come to you in the name of God."
So saying, David ran towards the Philistine army to meet Goliath. When he was at the right distance, David took a stone from his bag and fitted it into his sling. Then he whirled the sling above his head.
The stone flew through the air and struck Goliath right on his forehead. The mighty warrior fell upon his face to the ground with a thunderous cry of anguish. He instantly became unconscious. David ran and grabbed the sword from the giant's hand and cut off his head with it.
When the Philistines saw their champion lying dead, they became panicky and fled helter-skelter. The king's army pursued them and drove them away across the mountain.
David took the giant's head and brought it to king Saul. The king was overjoyed because David had saved Israel. The happiness of the people of Israel knew no bounds. They hailed David as their hero and liberator. The women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing in honour of the giant-killer.
The king, too kept his promise and got his daughter married to David.
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