[Illustration: THE LOST PIECE OF MONEY.]




THE PRODIGAL SON.


A certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his
father, "Father, give me the portion of thy wealth that would fall to
me at thy death." He did so, and a few days after the younger son
gathered all his wealth together and journeyed into a far country.
There he met with evil companions, and wasted his money in riotous
living. When he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that
land, and he began to be in want of bread to eat. So he went and hired
himself to a man of that country, who sent him into the fields to feed
his pigs. And he was so hungry that he would have been glad to have
eaten the coarse food such as the swine eat; but no one gave it to
him.

His sufferings brought him to his senses, and he thought how foolish
he had been, for he remembered that his father's servants had food
enough and to spare, whilst his father's son was perishing with
hunger. He said, "I will leave this land and go to my father and tell
him how I have sinned against heaven and him. I will tell him I am no
longer worthy to be called his son, and will implore him to make me
one of his hired servants." And he arose and went towards his father's
house, but when he was still a great way off, his father saw him, and
was sorry for him, and ran and embraced him. Then he told his father