Parable 24 by Robert Dean Steel

Parable Twenty Four

   The family was quietly sleeping in their tent trailer in a local national park.  It was early in the morning when the paw of a grizzly bear came through the side of the tent trailer  One of the teenage boys woke up just in time an yelled as the paw just missed his head by inches.  He screamed, "There is a bear coming into the trailer."
   The entire family woke up with startled expressions and actions.  Immediately the dad, mom and two teenagers jumped up, opened the door and ran out into the morning light.  The mom however before she exited the trailer grabbed a 12 inch cast iron frying pan and a large pot.  As they rounded the corner on the other side of the side of the trailer they came face to face with the rather large bear.  The mother who was not even five foot tall and weighed only a hundred pounds, stepped forward and confronted the bear.  She raised her hands with the frying pan in hand and delivered a two handed downward blow to the nose and face of the grizzly bear.
   The bear immediately turned and ran away bawling as he went.  The mom immediately gave chase yelling and cursing the bear in three different languages.  As she was chasing the bear she was waving the pot and frying pan wildly.  The bear was almost out of range when she threw the pot at the bear`s rump.  The pot hit the bear`s rear end with such force it caused the bear to sit down and reduce to the pot to a mangled mess.  The blow from the pot caused the bear to run even faster into the underbrush a feet feet away.
   The mother stood at the edge of the underbrush, huffing and puffing and when she was sure the bear was gone retrieved the mangle pot and returned to her family.  As she arrived she said, "That bear better not come back or I will give him more, no one is going to hurt my family."
   True courage is measured on how we react when faced with danger and the protection of the people we love.