"...HONKhonkHONKhonkHONKhonkHONKhonk!!!..."  Rather than the Lord Jesus walking through the door and saying "Peace be with you.", this was what Ane Kirstine heard on Easter Sunday night!

Although this "wild goose chase" took place a few weeks ago we thought it worth retelling here. 

   On Easter evening Ane Kirstine was walking around the lake at the end of the hour of prayer. The Canadian geese have a nest and she got too close. The last she looked they were on the other side of the lake but suddenly she heard a noise and turned around to see this gander, about five feet above the ground, torpedo flying at her. She had a book in her hand and warded him off somewhat, at least the beak, breast and feathers hit her. It knocked him down but undeterred he came back at her and knocked her down!

    Christie was sitting up by the monastery and could not see but heard the commotion and Ane Kirstine yell, "Alright, I'm leaving!" Ane Kirstine meanwhile had dropped her book and it was between her and the goose who was still hissing. She considered leaving the book but it was a good one (a Gregorian missal!) so she braved another attack and retrieved her book and took off running, by now late for her kitchen duties. She had on her Easter best, a grass stained white shirt and muddy jumper. Thanks be to God she was not hurt though she relived it in her dreams that night. All the years we have been here she is the first one to actually be assaulted though they threaten plenty. You have to hand it to the geese for being fearless in protecting their young when you consider how many times bigger Ane Kirstine is than a goose. 

  Moral of the story: Do not approach a nest of Canadian geese even if they seem absent!