<TITLE>17. Par 58-60</TITLE>L-58 And while we were talking, up the road come something moving. I watched it. It was a opossum; and a opossum travels at night. If you have them here, you know they're night travelers. But I noticed him, he was dragging hisself like this.
Now, I said, "Look at that opossum, he's coming, dragging hisself in. Perhaps he's got rabies," I said to Gene and Leo. We went out to look at him. And when we did, I pulled a rake, garden rake, there over the opossum, and he... Instead of playing opossum, he started biting at that rake. And I noticed that all of his legs was all chewed off, and here he'd been hit by a car or chewed by the dogs, and he was in a dying condition. And then, there's only two animals that have pockets; that's a kangaroo and a opossum. And when the opossum let down, what's the reason she was fighting about, she had nine little naked babies about that long. And those little babies were trying to nurse.
And I said, "Come here Gene, you and Leo." I said, "Here is a opossum that's a dying. Now, this opossum is more of a mother than that woman was, 'cause she hasn't got thirty minutes to live." 'Cause there were fly blows, maggots all over it, and green flies where it was all swelled up.
And--and I said, "She's got about at least thirty minutes, will take her life. But she'll spend that thirty minutes for her babies. She'll fight for them."

L-59 Just at that time Mr. Wood, which is a book salesman in the meeting... His boy, had been healed, crippled up with polio, about a sixteen year old boy, and they... He was a contractor, just sold out and just followed the meetings. He lives no--neighbors to me. His wife is a veterinarian. They come up. Another man come up.
She said, "Well, Brother Branham, take the..." Now, the opossum is, perhaps, dying. She said, "Kill her, and then take the little ones," said, "They got round mouths, they can't be put on a bottle, they're too little, and just kill them."
I said, "Sister Wood, I can't do it."
And she said, "Well, Brother Branham, you're not going to let that poor old thing lay there and suffer." Said, "That's the humane thing."
I said, "I know you're right, but I can't do it."
"Why," she said, "Let my husband do it."
And I said, "No, I don't want to."
Said, "You mean, you're going to let that poor animal lay there and suffer like that?"
I said, "Well, I just can't kill her."
And said, "Well, just pick the little ones up and hit them and they'll be dead in a second and won't suffer."

L-60 So while she was saying that, she said, "Well, go and get one of your guns. You're a hunter," said, "Shoot them." Said, "You're a hunter."
I said, "I'm a hunter, but I'm not a killer." I said, "I just can't do it."
The old mother opossum, when I let her up, made her way up to my doorstep and exhausted. The boys are setting here now. She laid all that day, that night. The next morning, I got up. There she was laying there, like she was stretched out cold. She never moved any more through the day and those little baby opossums trying to nurse.


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