SAMMY was a little Nigerian boy with a round chubby face, big black eyes, and frizzy hair. He became an enthusiastic scholar at the mission school, and soon everyone knew about his frightening experience.
His home was just a mud hut with one door and no windows, in a small native village. The people were very often afraid for some of the tribes were very fierce, especially the cruel head hunters. Sammy shivered when the people of the village warned him about their evil deeds.
One day some white people came to his village and asked the chief if they could start a school for boys and girls. The chief granted them permission and Sammy along with others attended the class. It was there he first heard about the Lord Jesus. The missionary told him about God who lived above the sky, and had sent His only Son Jesus down into this world to be the Saviour of all who trust Him. Sammy liked going to school and he liked the teacher. Every day he learned more and more about the Friend for little children.
One day he had to go a long way to the market and started off along the forest path with his little bundle. By and by he caught up with an old man going the same way. They talked about many things but just as they came to a fork in the road three men caught up with them. The old man asked one of them which road led to the market and the man told him to take the path to the left. So Sammy and his companion started off along the path.
By and by it began to get dark. Then Sammy felt terribly afraid when he saw these three men coming up behind with their spears raised. They were head hunters.
“They’re going to kill us,” cried the old man. “Run for your life, little boy, and shout to Mohammed to help you. Run for your life.”
Poor Sammy ran but it was too late for one of the men threw his spear which went right into Say’s back. He fell to the ground unconscious, yet before he passed out he called to the old man saying, “No, I’m not going to shout to Mohammed. I’ll ask Jesus to help me.”
“No, no,” replied the old man, “Jesus cannot help. Ask Mohammed to help you, and run — run, little boy.”
The head hunters were laughing as Sammy and the old man lay on the ground. One man lifted Sammy and the two others took the old man. They were carried into the mountains and Sammy was thrown into a hole in the rocks. He was still unconscious and to make sure he would be killed, the men dropped a big stone on top of him. However, the stone only jammed between the rocks and Sammy wasn’t killed. The men went away and didn’t come back. But the Lord Jesus heard the little boy’s prayer.
By and by he opened his eyes and remembered all that had happened. He was very frightened. Then he prayed to the Lord Jesus once again.
“Please, Jesus,” he said, “help me to escape from these wicked head hunters.” Then he thought, “I must try to get out before they come back.” And he began to wriggle from under the stone jammed between the sides of the crevice. He struggled until bit by bit he got free.
He felt very weak and ill, but he ran down the hill and into the forest; then he came to the river and felt too weak to wade across it, but even as he lay down to rest he heard someone coming and saw the head hunters standing in the clearing. They were looking at the blood stains left by Sammy’s bleeding back. They had followed the trail of blood and knew he was somewhere. Then Sammy prayed again, “Lord Jesus, help me to escape from these awful men.”
Then he felt he heard a whisper saying, “Go into the river and try to cross.” He believed that the Lord Jesus was speaking to him, and so making as little noise as possible, he stepped into the water and began to wade toward the other side. The current swirled around him; again he prayed to Jesus, but the river swept him away.
Then quite suddenly some men appeared on the opposite bank and one of them plunged into the water and pulled Sammy out of the river. He told them that the head hunters were after him. The men were terribly angry when they saw the wound in Sammy’s back. They took him to a Christian mission and the missionary washed the wound and bound it in clean bandages. Very soon Sammy was strong and well again.
The wicked head hunters were captured and turned over to the police. Sammy inquired as to what happened to the old man who had told him to cry to Mohammed, and learned that he had been killed. His prayer had never been answered. Mohammed was dead, so how could he help anyone.
Sammy sat down and was very thankful to the Lord Jesus for helping him. He stayed in the mission school and became one of the keenest scholars. He was a bright Christian and loved to tell other children the story of how the Lord Jesus answers prayer and had saved him from death.
ML-06/17/1973