David was a shepherd boy who lived at home with his three older brothers Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah. He also lived with his father, Jesse. David's three brothers had joined the army. David stayed home and took care of the since he was the youngest. He would also take food to his three older brothers. David wanted to go with his brothers to fight the Philistines, but his father said that he was too young. So, David stayed home and took care of the , except for the trips he made to the army camp with food for his brothers. Each time David went, he wanted more than ever to be a soldier.
One day David was bringing food to his brothers at the army camp. When he got there, he began to talk to his brothers. While David was talking to his brothers, a shout rang out across the army camp. All the soldiers became quiet. Then, a voice called from the Philistine army. "Send someone to fight me!" the voice cried out. David look across valley and there he saw the biggest giant he had ever seen. He was almost 10 feet tall! "Who is that?" David asked some of the soldiers. The soldiers trembled. They were so afraid of the giant that they were shaking! "Goliath of Gath!" they answered David. Then, some of the soldiers started to run away. David was angry at the giant because he was trying to fight God's people. So David went to King Saul and told him that he would fight the giant if the other soldiers were afraid to. "You're too young!" answered. But David knew that he could do it! thought for a moment. None of the other soldiers were brave enough to fight the giant. told David he could fight . He gave David a big suit of armor and a sword. But David wasn't used to fighting with armor and a sword. He told the king that he couldn't wear them. He just wanted to fight the giant with his slingshot. On his way to fight the giant, David picked up five smooth stones from the brook. When saw David, he began to curse him. Then, David put on of the five stones into his slingshot and whirled it around and around. With a snap, the stone flew from the slingshot toward the giant. Suddenly, Goliath cried out and fell to the ground. The stone had cut deep into his forhead. David ran to , pulled out his , and cut off the giants head! The battle was over. When the other Philistines saw that David had won, they were afraid. They ran and ran all the way back to their cities. But, the soldiers of Israel (God's army) ran after them. They chased the frightened Philistines to their homes. David had saved the whole army of Israel from defeat! David became a soldier in the army of Israel at last. He was even put in charge of thousands of soldiers!