Now before he had gone far, he entered into a very narrow passage which had, at its far end, two great lions. One of them stood on this side of the way, and the other stood on that side of the way. At sight of them, Christian came to a sudden halt, exclaiming, “Oh no! ’Tis true! Mistrust and Timorous did indeed see two great lions. Oh, now what shall I do?”
Now the lions were chained. But because of the gathering gloom of evening, this he could not know. Therefore was Christian greatly afraid and sorely tempted to follow in the steps of Mistrust and Timorous. Then said he, “Oh! What to do? Before me, almost certainly, lies instant death! And yet behind me, more than certain, lies another death, albeit maybe not quite so violent, and perhaps not quite so soon.”
Now Watchful, the Porter of the lodge, having been told by his Lord to expect a traveler, was standing at an upper window with his spyglass stretched full length. Earlier he had watched with bated breath as Christian was accosted by Mistrust and Timorous. He had been puzzled to see him search frantically in his bosom and then, mysteriously, turn to hurry back over the Hill Difficulty. At the sight, thinking that Christian had abandoned his pilgrimage, his heart was nigh on to breaking. Also, he was not a little surprised, by reason of having heard better things of Christian. Later, just as the westering sun was sliding into darkness, he climbed the east tower for one last look and lo . . . Christian had reappeared at the top of the hill! With joy unspeakable he followed the weary traveler as he scrambled recklessly down the rocky descent. When Christian came to his halt to decide which death was the worse, Watchful called out in a loud voice, saying, “Is thy faith so small as that? Fear not the lions, for they are chained!”
“What?” answered Christian, a silver edge beginning to line the dark clouds of doom. “Chained, do you say?”
“Yes, chained. Keep in the midst of the path, and no harm shall come unto thee!”
“But, why are they here?”
“To show forth the faith of those that have it, and to send a-packing back those that have it not. Come straight on and all shall be well.”
“Can it be?” asked Christian hopefully. “Can it truly be?”
“Aye!” said Watchful assuringly. “Only be careful not to venture too far left or too far right.”
Then I saw that he gathered up courage from those brave words of the Porter and got himself into the very middle of the way; not too far left, not too far right. But still, it was with much fear and trembling that he came on. Now as he approached the lions, they began to stir . . .
“Oh dear,” cried Christian.
. . . and to stretch . . .
“Oh! Perhaps they are ten feet tall!”
. . . and to roar as they jerked and lunged toward the middle of the road.
Now this extreme test of faith would have been trying enough in broad daylight, when a pilgrim could see the chains securely anchored in stone. But now, with sun well down and moon not up, Christian could scarcely see the path between, let alone any chains. Therefore, did he stop to speak with himself thusly, “Do I dare go on? Are his words really true? Do the lions wear chains?”
Then, with an invitingly smooth path behind him and a virtual bloody death before him, Christian paused to reason with himself again: “If his words be not true, then this entire pilgrimage business is but a pack of lies—a delusion. And if I am entered upon a delusion, then there be no hope for me. And if there be no hope for me, then just as well that I die at the paw of the lion as to die of despair. So it seems clear that I have nothing to lose and all to gain. Therefore I choose to believe His promise. The lions do wear chains!”
Then Christian, having chosen to believe the good words of the Porter, went forward in faith. Now, to make himself as small as possible, he let out his breath and turned himself sideways. Then he began to inch his way, oh, ever so carefully, between the two great beasts. As he came directly between the two ferocious felines, he could sense the moisture of their breath-roars fogging his face. He could feel the breeze stirred by the powerful slashings of their massive paws. The loudness of their roaring he not only painfully perceived in his ringing ears but also felt with the sympathetic vibration of his entire body. But, as he inched his way precisely through the midst of them, he found that their razor-edged claws always missed him by at least the breadth of a hair. And so, inch by fearful inch, roar by chest-crushing roar, and swing by air-splitting swing, he squeezed safely between them. Only then did he feel it safe to take in a breath of air and clap his hands for joy, shouting, “Oh, hurrah! His words were true! Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!”