st of the fire, and they
have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."

Then he went near the door of the furnace and cried,

"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God,
come forth and come hither!"

Then they came out before the king and all the people, who saw that the
fire had no power over their bodies, for no hair of their head was
burned, and no smell of fire was upon their garments.

Then the king was very humble, and acknowledged the God of heaven,
"because there is no other God" he said "that can deliver after this
sort." And he promoted the young men to still higher places in his
kingdom.

CHAPTER XXXII.

THE MASTER OF THE MAGICIANS.

The Lord saw that the heart of Nebuchadnezzar was lifted up with pride
because he was king of a great people, and had conquered many weaker
nations. He was proud of his royal city, Babylon. The walls of
Babylon were sixty miles in length, and in them stood one hundred
brazen gates. There were wonderful palaces, and statues, and bridges,
and gardens. The river Euphrates ran through the city, and near the
king's palace was a hill covered with trees and flowering plants from
many lands, called the Hanging Gardens.

Babylon was built on a plain, but the king had these gardens made for
his wife, who had come from a country of hills.

The king was praised so much by the princes and rulers that he thought
only of his own power and riches, and became proud and cruel. So the
Lord sent him a dream. He saw a tree great and high, standing in the
midst of a wide plain. It grew until it reached the heavens, and its
branches spread to the ends of the earth. It was thick with green
leaves, and heavy with fruit; the birds lived in it, and the beasts lay
in its shadow, and all things living came to it for food. Then he saw
an angel coming down from heaven crying,

"Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches; shake off his leaves, and
scatter his fruit; let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls
from his branches; nevertheless, leave the stump of his roots in the
earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the
field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be
with the beasts of the grass of the earth; let his heart be changed
from a man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him, and let seven
times pass over him."

This dream was given that the king might be taught tha