His face brightened again as he turned to the four blue eyes across
the table.

"Shall I tell you how the shepherd sees to it that the sheep have a
good drink every day? Listen:

"There are wells and fountains all through the vast regions where
the flocks roam, and in some parts there are cisterns, though the
sheep like the living water best. The shepherds know where these
drinking-places are all through the treeless country where streams
are few. It is a fine sight to see the shepherds bring their
flocks '_beside the still waters_' at some well or fountain, while
the wide, silent country over which they and many other sheep have
wandered, spreads all around them, and the full expanse of the sky
arches over them.

"The shepherd makes a certain sound; all his sheep lie down and are
quiet. Then he fills the drinking-troughs. The bubbling of the
fountain, or the current, if it be by a stream, is no longer there
to trouble the sheep. They can drink now undisturbed. This is the
delicate meaning of that word 'still.' As the Hebrew words put it,
'He leadeth beside the waters of quietness.'

"Then the waiting sheep hear a whistle or a call. They never
misunderstand; they know their shepherd's voice and never respond
to the wrong shepherd if several flocks have come up together. And
strangest of all, the sheep come up by groups; the shepherd makes
them understand. So in groups he leads them until they stand
'_beside the still waters_.' And, oh, how they drink, with the