g, saying,

"That Daniel, which is of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee,
O, King, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition
three times a day."

The king was greatly disturbed at this, and set his heart on the
deliverance of Daniel, and labored till sunset to do it. But his
princes said it could not be done, because, according to the law of the
Medes and the Persians, no decree made by the king could be changed.

So Daniel was condemned to be cast into the den of lions, but the king
said,

"Thy God, whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee."

[Illustration: Daniel in the den of lions]

Then a stone was laid over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it
with his own signet, and with that of his lords, that the purpose might
not be changed.

That was a long night for Darius the king. He could neither eat nor
sleep, and he would hear no music, but very early in the morning he
went to the den of the lions and with a very sorrowful voice cried:

"O Daniel, servant of the living God! is thy God whom thou servest
continually able to deliver thee from the lions?"

Then up from the pit came a strong, cheery voice saying:

"O king, live forever! My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the
lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me."

Then there was joy in the king's heart and he had Daniel brought up out
of the den, and no hurt was found upon him, because he had believed in
God, but the men who had accused Daniel were cast into the lions' den
and destroyed.

Darius acknowledged the God of Daniel before all his kingdom, and
commanded the people to honor Him, so that Daniel and his people
suffered no more from their enemies during the reign of Darius. After
the death of Darius, Cyrus was made king of Persia, and he also was
kind to Daniel. The Lord gave him a tender heart toward the captives
of Judah who had been in his land for seventy years, so that he sent
them back into their own land and helped them to rebuild their city and
their Temple.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

THE STORY OF JONAH.

More than eight hundred years before the birth of Christ a prophet
named Jonah lived in the land of Israel. He had given the Lord's
messages to his own people, and they had listened to them, and a part
of their country had been saved by obeying the Word of the Lord as it
was brought to them by Jonah.

But when the Lord wished to send Jonah to warn a great city in Assyria
to re