CLOSE CALL

Andreas was an avid hiker, and early spring weather had lured him out to a national park to explore the wonders of nature.  After following a marked trail for awhile, he decided to venture off into a rocky area on the side of a mountain.  A mile or so into the rough terrain, he came upon what looked like a cave.  Bending down and peering in, he could see only darkness.  Although he was sorely tempted to enter the cave, he had no flashlight with him and thought it would be too risky; there might be loose rocks, and he didn’t want to take a chance on falling.  So he turned around and retraced his steps back to the trail.  An hour passed.  Then at the mouth of the cave appeared a dark brown snout, sniffing the spring air.  Two little snouts also appeared, copying their mother’s sniffing.  The grizzly mother was wary.  She had just awakened from her winter slumber and was hoping to feed herself and her cubs, but her sniffing brought her aggressive tendencies to the fore – she had detected the scent of a human!  Her mouth opened, showing her yellow fangs.  She sniffed again, and decided that the scent was fading, so she led her babies out into the sunshine to explore the wonders of nature.   Andreas, now back on the marked trail, was heading toward his car and civilization, blissfully unaware of his close call with the dangers of nature.