The Young Traveler

Once upon a time there was a young man who was traveling along a lonely road. Walk, walk, walk, stride, stride, stride, step, step, step. And as he was walking along, he heard a voice from the top of a hill on the right side of the road, calling, "Young man, young man, do not travel that road, for there is a lion down that road and he will surely get you and tear you to pieces. Stop here and help me tell others and you shall be refreshed before continuing your journey."

The young man looked up and saw an old Preacher bent low with age and voice cracking from years spent in yelling the warning. "Who does that old man think he's yelling at? He surely isn't hollering at me! I'm not scared of any ole lion. Stop your ranting old man," the young man shouted. And the young man walked on. Walk, walk, walk, stride, stride, stride, step, step, step.

And by and by he saw a man lying on the left side of the road. As he strode by he heard a shaky drunken voice say pleadingly, "Young man, young man, please do not travel this road. There is a loin down there just around the bend. If you cross his path he will get you for sure." "What," said the young man, "is this drunken and sorry looking bun babbling about? I don't see a lion. You see a lion? I don't see a lion." And he laughed as he went on his merry way.

Walk, walk, walk, stride, stride, stride, step, step, step.

Then he heard it! A sweet sound that just tingled his ears, shook his spine, and jostled his toes. His very bones seemed to pick up the rhythm. Yes the road seemed to go right pass the place. From just around the next curve which seemed to take a sudden down-hill turn a few hundred yards further he could see the lights of the "good life".

But wait. A plaintive voice from that bush just up the hill on the right? What's that again? "Young man, young man, don't go any further down that road. Please stop and help me bind up my wounds that I've gotten from a vicious beast. If you go around the bend, there is a lion who will get you and tear you to little bitty bits of

pieces. Stop! Stop, I beg you!" But the young man did not heed the words of the voice that called to him. Rather he stuck his head up in the air and said, "Who do these people think they are -- always telling me what to do, always telling me where to go-- always telling me where not to go. I am big enough to do what I want, and I'll do as I please!" Walk, walk, walk, stride, stride, stride, step, step, step.

Down hill and curved to the left, and a little faster! Walk, walk, walk, stride, stride stride, stride, steps, test/Roarrrrrr snap, snap, snap, shake, shake, shake, and done!!

"Hey Mr. Preacher-man! Help me please." But the Preacher could not help because he had done all he could. Had the young man stopped, he would have been shown a new and different way. And would have missed the lion altogether.

Hey Mr. Drunken Bum! Please help me. I'm in the lion's jaws and can't get loose!" But the drunken bum was now respectfully sober. He looked at the awful scene, shook his head negatively, and went off in the opposite direction. He was not going to make the mistake of going near the lion again.

Hey, Mr. Voice in the Bush, you are closest to me -- Please help me," cried the young man. But the voice in the bush was silent, not even the sound of breathing. Had the young man stopped, he would have saved two lives, his and the Voice's owner. He would have also seen that the lion had just turned his erstwhile friend loose.

 Moral: