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As long as he can remember, 13-year-old Danny Leo has lived a good life in El Dorado, Arkansas. But when his dad, Ned, told the family they had to move because of another job, though Ned and Danny's mom, Elizabeth, accepted the change with ease, Danny knew his life would be different, and the same could be said for his two younger sisters, Sharon and Michael, and Danny's little brother, Adam. Danny had loved El Dorado and the friends he knew from the church he went to.

Soon they all moved to Gunnison, Colorado, where they moved into a house that was a near a big hill called Tomichi Dome. And near their house, was a Boy Scout camp, though it looked more like a ranch than a camp. Then Ned noticed that his son, Danny, was looking a little blue; then an idea struck him on how he could cheer Danny up. On the fourth day in Colorado, Ned took Danny to the camp next door to see if Danny could join the Boys Scouts. Now Danny had plenty of experience being a Boy Scout back at El Dorado, so he thought he might give it another shot for his father's sake.

They arrived at the camp, and it was the day summer camp started, and the whole place was filled with boys that were around Danny's age or older. Danny had never seen so many Boy Scouts in one place. When Ned and Danny were shown to the camp director, Danny had a worried feeling that he would have trouble liking his new leader. But the camp director, Mr. Darius King, was an understanding man who was just the person impossible not to like and this made Danny feel better already.

Five years later, Danny had turned 18; the camp was filling up with the sounds of Boy Scouts again. Danny had become a successful group leader in every annual summer camp-out. Later, Mr. Darius asked Danny to see him in his office. This made Danny worry. Was it something I did, he wondered to himself. But when Danny entered the office, he found Mr. Darius smiling. He had asked Danny to his office to ask him if he would like the position of assistant camp director. Danny was surprised to hear this. And so Danny accepted the offer, and he and Mr. Darius agreed that Danny would become assistant camp director after the summer campout was over.

But what they didn't know was that two other Boy Scout group leaders, both Danny's age, were overhearing them. When the two leaders heard whom Mr. Darius was choosing for assistant camp director they were furious. "Who's he to choose someone without considering to tell us?" complained the first leader, whose name was Jason. "Danny's lucky that he's a Boy Scout," muttered Lee, the second leader. They decided to plan on how to get rid of Danny. Then Jason had an idea. "We can tell Mr. Darius that tomorrow morning all the group leaders should go out on a long hike together and sleep out-doors." And Lee replied, "Yes, and after all, you, me and Danny are the only group leaders in this camp!" So the two leaders set out and put their plan into action that afternoon. They were surprised to hear Mr. Darius agree so easily. Their scheme had worked.

And Danny was surprised when he heard he was going hiking with Jason and Lee, but he didn't know anything about Jason and Lee's sneaky little plan. The next morning, Jason and Lee were waiting for Danny. While they were waiting, they were discussing about what they were going to do once they were far away from the camp. "I hear there are mountain lions around Tomichi Dome," whispered Jason to Lee. "I've got it! Why not leave Danny there and the next day, let's see if he's 'mountain' lying!" snickered Lee. But not far from them, Adam, Danny's little brother who recently joined the Boy Scouts too, had overheard Jason and Lee. He was shocked when he heard of their most despicable plan.

Soon Danny was ready and the three group leaders set off to Tomichi Dome. Adam got out of his hiding place and tried to go after them but he was not allowed out of the camp without someone 18 and over; he was too late. The three leaders walked on and on until they could no longer see the camp. It was close to evening and the three leaders stopped in an area where there were rumors of some sited mountain lions. Jason and Lee's chance had come. They told Danny that they would set up camp where they were now. Danny, already tired, agreed and set up camp. Jason and Lee said they would get wood for a fire and they were bringing their stuff with them. But once they were both out of Danny's site, they grabbed some mud, smeared it all over their faces, roughed up their packs and headed straight back to the camp. When the two arrived, they pretended to limp a little, as if they had an accident. When everyone asked what had happened and where Danny was, they told them that a mountain lion had attacked and killed Danny. "There was nothing we could do," sobbed Lee tearfully, though they were tears of joy. Adam heard what Jason and Lee said. He knew they were lying, but he couldn't help but believe most of what they were saying. Adam turned to Tomichi Dome and whispered, "Danny, where are you?" The news about Danny was pretty hard on Mr. Darius and he dare not tell the boy's parents, not until they had found Danny's body for hope he might still be alive. Before Mr. Darius went to bed that night, he looked out the window and said, "Danny, may God save you."

Meanwhile, Danny was waiting for Jason and Lee to return, but they didn't come. This made him worry. Suddenly there was a growl from behind. Danny slowly turned around on the log he was sitting on and found a huge mountain lion staring straight at him with huge bright eyes. Danny's mind raced; he didn't know what to do. He just sat there, stiff as a statue. The mountain lion drew nearer, but instead of showing its fangs, like most mountain lions do when they are stalking their prey, it just kept its mouth closed the entire time, except when its tongue was hanging out panting. It came closer, closer. Danny shut his eyes and put his arms in front of his face for he knew he would feel claws and teeth in a minute. But what he felt was soft fur rubbing against his side and a soft purring. Danny's eyes fluttered open and the surprise of his life almost made his heart stop. The mountain lion had not clawed him up as he expected, but instead it lay down beside Danny on the log and crossed its front paws and laid its head down on Danny's lap like a regular house cat. Then Danny did something he had never done before. Lifting his hand slowly, Danny started to stroke the silky brown fur on the lion's head, and then it purred softly. What Danny didn't know was that the mountain lion was actually from a nearby wildlife reserve which it had escaped just to see the outside world and when it found Danny, it thought he was one of the friendly park rangers that always came to visit it.

The next morning, a search party was sent out from the camp with Jason and Lee leading Mr. Darius, a few park rangers, and all the other Boys Scouts, one of them being Adam. When they reached the place where Jason and Lee said Danny was killed everyone got the shock of their lives. There was Danny lying next to the biggest mountain lion you ever saw and he was stroking its head like it belonged to him. No one dared make any noise for they feared that the mountain lion would wake up and think they were all breakfast. It didn't take very long for Danny to wake and find so many people around him. The lion woke up too, but he didn't attack or runaway, he just kept on sleeping, though it was enjoying the attention. Soon Danny got up and welcomed them all, and all of a sudden Mr. Darius gave him the biggest hug he could ever give. Although he did look a little silly, Mr. Darius didn't care, and then Adam ran up to them and joined the hug too. Danny told them all what had happened and also mentioned that he named the mountain lion Judah. When the mountain lion heard his name, he cantered up to Danny. Everyone jumped back but Danny just kneeled down and scratched Judah behind the ears. It was an incredible site to see that a Boy Scout had made a bond with a mountain lion that could have killed him. Then Adam said aloud, so everyone could hear, "Jason, Lee, I thought you said a mountain lion killed my brother?" This made everyone turn to face the caught boys. Then Jason and Lee confessed everything they did, from Mr. Darius making Danny assistant camp director all the way to the part of deserting Danny in the woods when it was just starting to get dark, all because Mr. Darius was going to make Danny assistant camp director when Jason and Lee said they should have the title. When it was time for everyone to go back to where they came from, Danny asked the park rangers if he could say good-bye to his new friend Judah. They did, and what an emotional farewell it was for both boy and beast, though Danny did promise to visit Judah at the wildlife reserve once in a while. The lions' eyes twinkled happily and then Judah gave a big lick of his tongue on Danny's face and Danny hugged him back.

No other Boy Scout in the world could be known for making a friendship with a mountain lion than Danny Leo. Later back at the camp all the boys asked Danny to tell them once more about how he met Judah. As for Jason and Lee, they were sentenced to wash the dishes, clean out the stables, and mop the floors and a lot other jobs as punishment for being so devious and they never did anything out of jealousy again for they had learned their lesson. When Danny and Adam told their family what had happened to Danny the night he was lost in the woods and Judah, the whole family rejoiced for having Danny back safe and sound. As for Judah the mountain lion, he is back in the reserve and is always glad to see Danny on his visits. And what happened to Danny? Well, he is now official assistant camp director and at campfires, he always tells everyone the story of how he met Judah. And as it is said in Daniel 6:27: "He rescues and saves people; he performs miraculous signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions."