DO 1761 Jan.'82—A Grandpa Story as told to Techi! Portugal

—Dora Techi Chapter 63 2-10/12 years old.

1. (WE WERE IN PORTUGAL, IT WAS JANUARY 1982‚ & TECHI WAS 2-3/4 YEARS OLD. Dad had been talking about the change in plans, that we should go to the East instead of to South America where Faithy, Juan & others had been expecting us. Referring to them, Dad said:)

2. I FEEL SORRY FOR THE THREE POOR LITTLE BABES IN THE WOODS THAT ARE OVER THERE IN SOUTH AMERICA WHO NEED OUR HELP & COUNSEL & GUIDANCE‚ & WE CAN'T EVEN GET THEM ON THE TELEPHONE! (Techi: Babes?) The 3 little babes in the woods. Didn't you ever hear about the 2 little babes in the woods? (Techi: I don't know about it!)

3. WELL, THESE 2 LITTLE TOTS ABOUT YOUR SIZE, TODDLED OFF ONE DAY INTO THE WOODS, where they shouldn't have gone in the first place, right? And they shouldn't have gone without permission & without an adult, without a grown-up, without a caretaker or a keeper or a nurse or a governess or somebody. (Techi: They shouldn't go without a big girl or without a big boy or children.) They shouldn't have, no. So these 2 little toddlers about your age toddled off into the woods & got lost!

4. THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE JUST GOING TO TAKE A LITTLE SHORT WALK IN THE WOODS, but they got out in the woods & they couldn't remember which way they'd come & which way to go home! (Techi: Were they all blocked up?) They weren't blocked, but they were lost. They just couldn't find their way. They didn't know which way was home.

5. WHEN YOU GET IN THE WOODS, YOU KNOW‚ THERE ARE TREES ALL AROUND YOU, & IF YOU AREN'T VERY CAREFUL & PRAYERFUL about which way you came from, you might not be able to find your way back, because all the trees look alike & every way looks the same. Daddy almost got lost in the woods, remember, up in Yosemite? It was a miracle I ever got back!

6. WHEN NIGHTTIME CAME, OH, THE PRETTY LITTLE BABES WERE CRYING BECAUSE THEY WERE LOST! And when nighttime came they began to get cold. They lay down underneath the tree. (Techi: Did they sleep there all the time at nighttime?) They slept there all night, but first, think what a smart thing they did! It started to get cold, so they covered themselves up with leaves! It was Fall & all the leaves had been falling off the tree.

7. THEY SLEPT UNDER THE TREE TO TRY TO KEEP THE RAIN FROM GETTING ON THEM & they covered themselves all up with leaves to keep warm, so that when the people found them in the morning, they were all covered with leaves & they'd kept nice & cozy & warm & safe & sound, & the Lord didn't let the wolves or the bears or anything get them!

8. THEY FOUND THEM ALL SAFE IN THE MORNING! Pretty smart, wasn't it? (Techi: Who did?) Their Mommy & Daddy & neighbours & friends went out searching the whole woods for the babes. They tried searching at night, but they couldn't see anything, so they went out early in the morning & searched & searched, & as soon as it got light, they looked & looked by combing the woods.

9. HERE'S THE WOODS‚ SEE? THEY LINED UP ALL ALONG THE EDGE LIKE THIS: One person every few feet, like that, so they could be within sight of each other & so they could go completely through the woods & cover every foot of the woods, every bit of it, so they would be sure to find them! And they did!—Lying nice & peacefully asleep under a tree under the leaves!

10. WASN'T THAT GOOD? JESUS TOOK CARE OF THEM! At least that's my story! I don't know about the old one. (Techi: The Lord banged the wolves!) Yes, He must've banged them to keep them away, & the bears too!

11. WHEN I WAS OUT WANDERING AROUND THROUGH THE WOODS AT NIGHT‚ THE LORD BANGED THE BEARS so they wouldn't chase me, because they were hungry up there in the mountains, & the ranger said, "Don't go near the bears in the mountains! They are hungry!" But the Lord kept them away from me & I got home safely, minus the seat of my pants & the seat of my underwear & minus a little bit of skin off my hiney!

12. I SLID NEARLY ALL THE WAY DOWN THAT MOUNTAIN ON MY REAR END, HA! I couldn't climb down, it was too steep, & I couldn't see well enough to find the steps & places I had used going up. It's lots easier to climb a mountain than it is to go down. It's easier when you're climbing, you can see where you're going & you can see where to put your hands & see where to put your feet. But how are you going to go down unless you back down, you know?—The same way you came up, which is a little difficult.

13. IT WAS JUST A MIRACLE I GOT DOWN! I guess the Lord was saving me for something! I sang at the top of my voice for 3 miles through the woods! I figured if anything would keep the bears away, it was my singing!—But of course it was really the Lord!—End of Story!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family