Mood:
incredulousTopic: "M-G-M Material"
Part of Frodo believes that there is always something rational to explain a miracle. The Red Sea parted, probably, because of the confluence of tidal factors. A Star appeared to Wise Men, probably, because the orbits of heavenly bodies converged together in a predictably occasional event. Then, there is always the nagging assertion that sometimes events simply transcend reason.
A few weeks ago a young girl was kidnapped and beaten by her abductors. The seven men were trying to force the young girl into marriage. In her land, more than 70 percent of all marriages begin with abductions such as this. In this case, the girl refused the opportunity provided to her, so the stalwart males proceeded to beat the hell out of her. Apparently, the disturbance attracted three of the approximately 1,000 lions who wander freely in the deserts of Ethiopia. The abductors fled, leaving the young girl bloodied and whimpering to the "mercy" of the lions.
The lions stood guard over the young girl. They stayed with her until police and relatives found her outside the town of Bita Genet. They never harmed or threatened the young girl, they simply guarded her from further harm until proper help arrived.
Stuart Williams, a wildlife expert with the Rural Development Ministry in Ethiopia, stated that "A young girl whimpering could be mistaken for the mewing sound from a lion cub, which probably explains why they didn't eat her."
The black-maned lions are Ethiopia's National Symbol. Despite a recent crackdown, hunters kill the animals for their skins, which can fetch more than $1,000 even in this impoverished nation.
If Frodo were a lion, he probably would have voted to give humankind one more chance. "Friends," he would say, "we could eat this child, and fend off starvation for several days. We might then be blamed for her death, and thereby further inflame the hunter's zeal."
"Friends, let us observe this human child, and protect her until the members of her pride come to claim her. This would be at least one human, of which there are more than 70,000,000 in this land, who would know that our lives are important."
"Frodo, you are a fool," so would say the lion named Rove. "Real lions drive humans away from their hunting grounds, we kill their young, and they never bother us. That is why we have the strongest prides and the best hunting lands. I, Rove, say 'Eat her and be done with it.'"
The third lion would pace all around the young girl, sniffing; smelling the blood, and listening; hearing the moans of pain. "Frodo is surely wise, but he is lean and he does not provide as well for his family as does Rove, who is well-fed with fat cubs. Is it not our purpose to provide for our own? This human child is small and provides little meat for us, or our prides, so why should we not go on about our hunt for more substantial game? There is no reason for us to stay here and look over the offspring of those who do not respect us, the symbol of this very nation of humans."
Just then human voices are heard nearby, so the lions stand their ground until they can observe the nature of the disturbance, and the size of the intruders. Seeing that they are many, and that they have guns, the three lions slip away over a sand dune and into the scrub brush below.
Frodo supposes that sometimes simple civil discourse brings solutions to even the biggest problems. That is a miracle that even science can't explain.
Four of the seven abductors have been captured. Frodo hopes it was by lions.
Posted by loveysdaddyga
at 9:58 PM EDT
