Frank,
a city boy, one day went into the woods to look for strawberries. When he was
returning home he was caught in a violent storm and all around him was thunder
and lightning. Frank was very frightened and sought refuge in a tree trunk, not
realizing that lightning seeks tall trees as its victim.
All
of a sudden he heard a voice calling him: “Frank, Frank! Come here, come here
quickly!”
Just
as he climbed out of the tree trunk a lightning struck the tree with a
frightening force. The earth shook under the feet of the terrified boy, who had
the feeling of finding himself in the midst of a fire. He was not hurt,
however, and joining his hands together, he prayed:
“
That voice came from heaven and you, my God, have saved me. I thank you with
all my heart.”
But
the same voice continued to call out: “Frank, Frank, can you not hear me
calling you?”
All
of a sudden the lad noticed a lady who was calling out his name. He ran to the
lady and cried out: “Here I am. What is it that you want from me?”
But
the woman replied: “I was not calling you, but my little boy Frank whom I had
sent to feed the geese near the stream. He must have hid here because he is
afraid of storms. Oh, look here he comes now!”
The
city boy told the lady that he had considered that voice as one from heaven.
The
farm lady joined her hands together and said: “My dear child, thank the good
Lord all the same. The voice , it is true, came from my mouth but it was the
Lord who disposed that I should call you by name without knowing you. He saved
you from the great danger in which you found yourself.”
“Oh,
how true!” exclaimed the boy, as the tears swelled up in his eyes. “It was you
who called me, but the help came from heaven.”
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