When Ruth wondered at his kindness and asked him why he was so good to a
stranger, he told her that he had heard of her love for Naomi and her
unselfish devotion, and he said: "The Lord reward thee, and a full
recompense be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings
thou art come to trust." He invited her also to sit with his reapers at
meal-time, and he waited upon her that she might have enough to eat and
drink.

When she had gone he commanded his young men to let her glean among the
sheaves and to drop some handfuls purposely for her, and not to find
fault with her or reprove her.

So Ruth worked in the field all day, and then beat out the barley which
she had gleaned and took it to the city to show Naomi, who was very
glad, indeed, and very thankful.

Naomi asked Ruth where she had gleaned, and when she had heard the whole
story, she told her that Boaz was a near relative and that it was well
for her to stay in his fields, as he had given her permission to do,
until the end of the harvest. So Ruth kept close to the maidens who
gleaned in the fields of Boaz until the end of both the barley and the
wheat harvests.

Then one night when Boaz was to have a winnowing of barley, Naomi told
Ruth to make herself ready, putting on her best clothing, and to go to
the winnowing and the feast and to ask Boaz what she should do.

The winnowing is the fanning out of the straws from the kernels after
the husks have been beaten off. A great many people helped about the