Whiter than snow (session 3)

All right, now, where did we leave the story? We left the story with, oh, what had happened to Danny? Where was Lucien? And what was Annette going to find out? Well, in case you weren't here yesterday, that's what happened to Danny. He tumbled over the edge. He'd gone after the kiddie, but the kiddie hadn't fallen all the way down into the ravine.

He had grabbed hold of the side of the rock, but Danny didn't know that. Poor old Lucien. He didn't realize that Danny hadn't gone all the way to the bottom.

He thought he'd been killed, and you'll remember he had gone home to his barn, and he was up in the barn. It's now about mid-afternoon. Grandma had fallen asleep.

At half past one, she had started to get the meal ready. Now, I can't imagine what these taste like, and I don't wish to try, but she was preparing dandelions for vegetables, like cabbage leaves. Not quite sure I would fancy dandelions, but she had fallen asleep.

Two hours had gone by, half past three now, up to four o'clock, when she got woken up when Annette came into the room. Grandma! Grandma! Wake up! Oh, oh, where's Danny? I can't find Danny anywhere. Four o'clock? I've been asleep two hours.

Quick, fetch Dan from the barn, said Grandma. Danny went picking flowers for you ages ago. It's dangerous out on the mountains, isn't it? There's avalanches, there's fast-flowing rivers.

Danny could be in trouble. Quickly, you'd better go and find your little brother. And so, together, Annette and her dad started to take the long path up the mountain, a path they knew that Danny would know, and probably would have taken.

Neither of them, though, talked to each other. Dad was really worried. A little fella like Danny could slip anywhere.

An avalanche could bury him. Annette, on the other hand, there was only one thought in her mind. Lucian.

She had a funny feeling Lucian had something to do with this. Papa, she said, I'm going back to the farm of Lucian. I'm sure that hateful Lucian's got something to do with this.

All right, my dear, I'll see you later near the top. She went back over to the house where Lucian and his mum lived. As she made her way over there, let's just peek back inside her house, because grandma was doing something very important.

Something that all Christians will do, whether the circumstances are good or bad. But certainly, when things are going bad, it's the first resort that the Christian has, and that's to talk to the Lord in prayer. One of the wonderful things about being saved is he promised every believer, the Lord Jesus promised, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

In other words, if you get saved, you have a friend in the Lord Jesus who will always be there, who will always hear you when you pray. And here she is. She's praying to the Lord.

She's asking to guide Annette and her dad safely to find the little boy. But you might not see very well at the back, but this little picture here, it's like grandma's thinking. And she can just, in her mind, she can see an angel walking beside Danny.

And she was thinking of a verse in the Bible, and I have to look at it because I can never remember it. This is what the verse says. In heaven, their angels do always behold the face of my father, which is in heaven.

And grandma was at peace. She was sure that God was looking out for little Danny. God would be watching out for little Danny.

She carried on getting the supper ready. She also put a nice hot water bottle in his bed. She was sure God would answer her prayers and bring him home safely.

Meanwhile, back over on the farm where Lucy and Liv, Annette was trying to find him. There didn't seem to be anybody. Madame, madame, which is French for missus, mademoiselle.

They speak French in Switzerland. Nobody was answering. Lucien, Lucien.

Suddenly, Lucien's mum appeared. What is it, Annette? What's the problem? Have you seen Lucien? I can't find Lucien, and I can't find Danny. Well, I haven't seen him all afternoon unless he's in the barn milking already.

They went over to the barn, and as soon as they opened the barn door, they could hear something. Sounds like sobbing, says Annette. It's coming from up there.

Quickly, she climbed up the ladder, and there was Lucien's face buried down in the straw, slobbing his heart out. She went right over to him, grabbed hold of him, shook him. Lucien, where's my Danny? What have you done with Danny? It's not my fault.

It's not my fault. What's not your fault? He's dead. He's what? Did you say he's dead? Annette could hardly understand.

Where's my Danny? What have you done with him? Make him tell. Make him tell, madame, said Annette to Lucien's mum. Lucien's mum pushed Annette out of the way, turned her son's face towards her.

Lucien, where is Danny? You better show us, otherwise the police might have to get you to show us. Now, come on, what have you done with Danny? Without saying a word, Lucien climbed down the steps of the ladder and led them along the path, almost the same route as Annette's dad had taken. In fact, when they got to the ravine edge where that rock was where Lucien and the cat and everything had happened, as soon as they reached that point, Lucien pointed without going near the edge.

Down there. He's dead. He's down there.

Then he flung himself on the ground, buried his head again in his arm. Now, just at the moment that they'd arrived, Annette's dad had arrived and he had seen something that no one else had seen. He had spotted the cat was sitting on the top of the rock, licking his paws, trying to keep dry because the cat didn't like getting his paws all in the snow.

That gave dad an idea. He took off his big Swiss rope, tied it around the trunk of a tree and then slowly, as you can see, using his hands and his knees, very skillfully, like all the Swiss men were able, came down the side of the rock. The people up top knew he'd found Lucien.

He let out a cry of joy. He hadn't fallen all the way. He'd got caught on a rock and his leg was bent up and that's why the little lad was crying in agony because his leg was trapped and he couldn't move.

But the first thing when he saw his dad, he asked was, where's the cat? Where's Klaus, dad? Oh, he's up above. We'll pick him up on the way. Don't you worry.

Now you get a hold now. So daddy got a hold of his dad and with all his strength, he'd himself back up with the boy, picked up the cat, put the cat in his coat pocket and over the top of the cliff they came. Oh my, weren't they relieved and that hugger little brother.

Everybody seemed to be happy except for one boy. One boy was very sad, very lonely and very miserable and that was Lucien. His mum didn't speak to him, Annette certainly didn't speak to him.

Nobody spoke to him as they walked home. There's the kitty in dad's big coat pocket. As soon as they got home, grandma's warm bed was all ready.

She had some soup. They had their evening bible reading around daddy's bed and as you can see, it wasn't long before the cat got cosy and asleep. Grandma opened up the bible.

Dad read the lovely story of the lost sheep, of how the good shepherd went looking for one lost sheep out of a hundred. But Annette wasn't listening. Look at her.

Oh, she wasn't happy. She was plotting revenge. How she was going to get back at Lucien and even though grandma picked up on the story of how the Lord Jesus is the good shepherd.

The good shepherd who said, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Grandma explained how the Lord Jesus suffered and bled and died on Calvary's cross to make it possible for boys and girls to be saved from their sin.

She wasn't listening. That sin of hatred was deepening in her heart. She wanted to get back at Lucien.

Well, her chance came later that summer. Spring turned to summer and summer in the Alpine meadows was harvest time. Now every year, her dad always helped Lucien's mum bring in the harvest because her husband had died.

And Annette thought it was wrong. Why were they helping that family when it was Lucien's fault? But her little brother now was a cripple. He couldn't run and jump like other boys.

His leg said, his leg was all badly twisted. No dad, being a believer on the Lord Jesus, wanted to show kindness to Lucien's family still. Show them the love of God.

She hated the fact that every day she had to take her dad's lunchbox and leave it on the table right outside the house where Lucien lived. One day she plonked the box down and she was about to turn to run back to her farm when she saw something that just stopped her in her tracks. This beautiful horse carved out of wood as if it was galloping and its mane was flowing in the wind.

She picked it up. She had never seen anything so beautiful. What was this? Who had made this? Then she remembered.

Competition. The school competition. That's what it was.

All the children had to make something and bring it back after the school holiday. This must be Lucien, she thought. Well if he thinks he's going to win, he's not.

And with that she threw it on the ground and she stamped all over it and she broke it up into little pieces. Then she quickly ran. And as she ran she kept that secret in her heart.

She tried to console herself because she was being pricked in her conscience. How wrong that was. How sinful that was.

How unkind she had been. But she kept saying, he's a worse sinner than me. He deserves it for what he did to Lucien.

Poor Lucien was heartbroken. He had no proof that Annette had done it. He was sure she had done it.

But had she? How would he find out? What would happen when they got back to school? Come back tomorrow and we'll find out in the next episode of Why Tell.