The Lion at the Window

The house was very quiet.  Everyone but my cousin Susie and I were sound asleep.  Susie and I had been entertaining each other with scary stories of wild animals that existed outside when we all were in bed.  Being from the piedmont area of the mountain range, we just knew that bears, panthers, and bobcats roamed the area at night.  They came down from the mountains at night and carried away livestock and small children.

This was the time when no one locked their doors, and we slept with the windows up in the summer.  Thank goodness it was a little cool that night, and we had our bedroom windows down.  We lay there in the dark talking about the animals that could be lurking outside right that very minute.

Susie and I had an active imagination.  We liked nothing better than to work ourselves up into pure fear with each sound in the night.  Susie and I loved to take a situation and hang in there with it until we were scared out of our wits.  This was exactly what happened that dark night.

Our house had a hallway with a bathroom at the end of the hall.  On one side of the bathroom was my brothers' room and on the other side was my room.  As you started down the hall to the bathroom, was our parents' bedroom.  Mama and Daddy were sound asleep.  I could hear Daddy snoring.  I recognized that sound and I was sure that it was not a wild animal which had made its way through the unlocked door.

In the quietness and darkness of the night, Susie and I heard a sound outside of my window.  It was a low growl.  We got very quiet and listened.  The growl grew a little louder. Was that closer than before?  We got up and slowly made our way to the hallway.  It was extremely dark as I felt my way to the door.  We stepped into the hallway and as I put my hand around the bathroom door to flip the light stitch, it happened.  The lion let out a roar!

I left Susie to fend for herself as I hurried down the hall.  Actually I don't remember going down the hall.  One minute I was standing next to Susie and the next minute my knees were in Daddy's stomach!  When he was able to talk, he was not a happy man.  Of course, I couldn't get out the word "lion"!  I stammered and sputtered until Susie was standing next to the bed.  She finally got it out what we had heard.  A lion was outside our window!  We heard it!  It as going to get in the house!  An unhappy Daddy told us to go back to bed.  There were no lions in the yard.  Can you believe he made us face our danger and go back to bed?

It is me again, Lord, thanking you for a loving Father who watches over us even in our hour of fear.

A little Georgia Wisdom:  Never, under any circumstances, jump on your dad with your knees in his stomach.  It takes his breath away!