STORY 111

A Boy Who Fell Asleep

A Boy Who Fell Asleep

OH! OH! What’s happening here? Is the boy who is lying on the ground hurt very bad? Look! one of the men coming out of the house is Paul! Can you see Timothy there too? Did the boy fall out the window?

Yes, that’s just what happened. Paul was giving a talk to the disciples here in Troʹas. He knew that he would not see them again for a long time because he had to leave on a boat the next day. So he kept talking until midnight.

Well, this boy named Euʹty·chus was sitting at the window, and he fell asleep. He fell over, and right out the window, three stories to the ground below! So you can see why the people look so worried. When the men pick up the boy, it’s just as they fear. He is dead!

When Paul sees that the boy is dead, he lies on top of him and hugs him. Then he says: ‘Don’t worry. He’s all right!’ And he is! It’s a miracle! Paul has brought him back to life! A wave of joy sweeps over the crowd.

They all go upstairs again and have a meal. Paul keeps on talking until it is daylight. But you can be sure that Euʹty·chus doesn’t go to sleep again! Then Paul, Timothy and those traveling with them get onto the boat. Do you know where they are going?

Paul is just finishing his third preaching trip, and he is on his way home. On this trip Paul had stayed three years in the city of Ephʹe·sus alone. So this is an even longer trip than his second one.

After leaving Troʹas, the boat stops at Mi·leʹtus for a while. Since Ephʹe·sus is just a few miles away, Paul sends for the older men in the congregation to come over to Mi·leʹtus so he can talk to them for the last time. Afterward, when it is time for the boat to leave, how sad they are to see Paul go!

At last the boat comes back to Caes·a·reʹa. While Paul is staying here at the house of the disciple Philip, the prophet Agʹa·bus warns Paul. He says that Paul will be made a prisoner when he comes to Jerusalem. And sure enough, this is what happens. Then, after being in prison for two years in Caes·a·reʹa, Paul is sent to Rome to stand trial before the Roman ruler Caesar. Let’s see what happens on the trip to Rome.