Reading Notes: Classical Unit, Part A – From Shepherd Boy to King

David, the shepherd boy.

(Source: Wikipedia Commons)

From Shepherd Boy to King (from the Jewish Fairy Tale Unit)

There once was a little shepherd boy named David who lived within soft and luscious rolling grasslands, speckled with little daisies and daffodils where the boy walked. He innately knew what the animals were saying, he knew where the streams wanted to go, he knew how tall the grass would grow. He found beauty in the songs of the birds, as they sang the songs of his life. One day, the song of the birds was interjected by a voice calling for David. "David. You will be the king of Israel". 

David looked for he who spoke, not seeing a person in sight down the rolling plains, but he did see a very high hill in the distance. He trekked to the mountain and saw that the tree has no branches or leaves and David knew the energy and the sound of a tree. He saw that the tree looked as if it was the horn of one of his goats. He couldn’t understand why there was no sign of growth on this mountain and out of nowhere,tThe ground began to shake and David begin to rise and saw the rise of a huge tail, pushing so much wind that it blew the blades of grass flat. David kept rising until the mountain was just a speck in his vision below and he was amongst the clouds. 

He saw his shadow below as he stood in front of the sun, seeing that he was holding onto the horn of a giant beast. David heard a sound he knew in the distance, the earthshaking roar of a lion. The lion was loud but he was still small compared to the creature that David sat upon. “Bow your head to me, for I am the king of the beasts”. The beast lowered his head, bringing David face to face with the lion. David swung his knife at the lion, and the lion jumped back, then lunging at David. David heard a familiar sound, the sound of a deer and a deer appeared, telling David to jump on his back, as his speed would save them both. The deer ran all the way to where David and his belongings were settled. “I saved you because you are to become king and it was my duty to do so. I will divert the lion from your settlement and then continued to run with the lion trailing behind him." 

David sang a song to the tune of the birds of his encounters of the day and he sang this song again and again when he became the king of Israel.

Story source: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa (1919).