A Coyote Finds a Bean

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In the silence of the night, a lone coyote prowled. Overhead, a full moon cast its silver light. It gleamed off the quivering aspen leaves and created shifting shadows on the forest floor as it sifted through the spruce boughs. The silence was eerie, broken only by the stirrings of a mink in the leaves or the soft murmur of an owl in the trees. Quickly and quietly the coyote moved, her quavering nose close to the earth as she searched for promising smells. At the slightest rustle, the dog’s ears pricked. But she kept moving, for the hours of the night were few, and she must make good use of time before the red rays of dawn lit the mountains.

She hunted alone, for she preferred the quiet to the noisy cries of the pack. As she went along, she suddenly picked up a scent that made her nose quiver and her hair stand up on end. For a minute she stood still, studying the odor and the trail. Then, she began moving more quickly, excitedly, and her tail swung back and forth.

As the scent grew stronger, the coyote hurried faster, and before long, she could hear a sound; a squeaking sound, as if some little animal were crying.

Some little animal was crying. It was a prairie dog. A tiny, pink, hairless prairie dog whose eyes were still tightly shut, because he was so young.

Other prairie dogs were curled up cozy and snug in their burrows, fast asleep. But this little baby was alone and cold and exposed to the eerie moonlit night. No one wanted him. No one cared about him. For he had no parents as other prairie dog babies had.

When the coyote reached the end of the trail and saw the innocent pink creature squirming on the ground and crying, something stirred in her heart, something she was not used to feeling. The coyote felt pity. Pity for this poor abandoned orphan who had been left out all alone in the darkness to die.

“Poor little baby,” the dog crooned as she gently caressed the infant with her warm tongue. “He’s all alone in the dark and cold, where an owl or mink or bobcat or pack of coyotes could easily find him.”

Ever so carefully, the kind coyote picked up the tiny prairie dog in her mouth. Then, she brought him back to her warm den. She heated up some milk for him, and when his tummy was round and full, she made him up a cozy bed and tucked him in. Happy and satisfied, the tiny prairie dog fell fast asleep.

So that is how a prairie dog came to live with a coyote. For the coyote raised the small animal as her own child. She even gave him a name, Bean, because he was so tiny.

As the days passed, Bean grew bigger and bigger. Before long, his eyes opened, and then he could sit up. Now every morning, he woke up with the sun, and he sat up on his bed and squeaked noisily for his breakfast until his mother, the coyote, got it for him.

Soon, Bean grew old enough to play outside. He squeaked and scampered, chasing butterflies and pouncing on dandelions. And all the while, Mrs. Coyote lay in the doorway of the den and watched him. For she was older and wiser than he, and she knew many things that Bean did not know. She knew that there were all kinds of dangerous creatures around who would love to eat a young prairie dog. So she scanned the sky and the forest with her watchful eye, and she told Bean that he must be alert as well.

“This world is not a safe place for a little prairie dog,” she said to him. “You must always watch the sky and the trees even as you play. And you must never stray far from the den unless you are with me.”

Bean listened to her, and he thought to himself, “Oh, yes, I’ll never go far from the den, and I’ll always watch for predators.”

But Bean had never seen a predator before, so he wasn’t super concerned. And so next time he played outside, he forgot all his mother’s warnings and became so lost in his play, he had no time to look for danger. He was not like other prairie dogs, who, in all their play and foraging for food always keep one eye on the sky. If so much as a shadow of a hawk passes overhead, the watchful prairie dogs will chirp out a warning, and then they will instantly disappear into their holes.

As the days went by, Bean grew tired of staying always just in front of the den or with his coyote mom.

“There aren’t a lot of predators around here,” he said to himself, “at least, not any that I’ve seen. And I can watch out for myself.”

One day, when Mrs. Coyote was busy around the den, Bean wandered off farther than he ever had before. He kept looking back over his shoulder to see the den, and it kept getting farther away. But he kept saying to himself, “I’ll just go a little further. I can still see the den.”

Then, eventually, he turned around and could not see the den at all. He felt very scared and excited and guilty all at once. But most of all, he felt adventurous, and he liked the feeling.

“I’ll just go a little further,” he said again. “I can watch out for myself.”

So he did. He explored through the woods until he came to the stream. He had never been to the stream by himself before. Bean played all that day by the stream. But as usual, he was not watching the sky or the trees. He did not know that there were eyes studying him from under the stream bank and peering down at him from the branches of the trees. Hungry eyes.

Bean skipped downstream all the way to where the water came out of the trees and ran along a wide, open field. Without so much as a thought about the danger, Bean skipped right out into the field. It was an incredibly foolish thing to do, for Bean had no hole to run into, and now he did not even have trees for shelter.

Suddenly, there was a swoop and a whoosh above him. Then Bean felt himself being caught up in a crushing grip— and he was in the talons of a massive hawk! Bean squeaked in terror as the great bird of prey soared up into the air. Fields and forests stretched out far below them, but nowhere could Bean see his den or his coyote mother. How he needed her now!

After a while, the hawk began to fly lower. Spreading out his wing feathers and stretching out his legs, he made ready to land on a sturdy fencepost. There was a terrible jolt as he came to a stop. Then he blinked, shook out his feathers, and looked down at the squirming creature in his claws.

For the first time in his life, the trembling little prairie dog was seeing a real live predator! The hawk’s narrow eyes gleamed yellow, and his beak was cruel, sharp, and curved. He looked at the helpless animal struggling to escape his grasp, and he laughed, deep within his evil self. He opened his beak and let out a piercing shriek of triumph that froze Bean’s blood. Then he lowered his head and poised to strike.

But that strike never came. For right at that moment, both the prairie dog and the hawk heard a tremendous racket of furious barking. They both looked up and, to Bean’s delight, an enraged coyote was streaking towards them as fast as she could run. She made a lunge for the hawk, teeth bared, and the hawk fell back in surprise. And he let go of Bean!

For a few moments, there was a flurry of claws, teeth, and flapping wings. Then, in a burst of feathers, the hawk managed to shake himself away from the dog and fly off. But he didn’t have Bean.

Bean hurried over to his coyote mom. He was shaking all over and crying. Mrs. Coyote nuzzled him with her nose and licked him all over with her tongue. Then she scolded him, and finally, she picked him up carefully in her mouth and carried him gently home, for he was very tired.

As you can see, Bean the baby prairie dog had learned a valuable lesson. Now, Bean is always alert and watchful like other prairie dogs. He never strays far from his den. And he never goes anywhere without his faithful coyote mother at his side, for she protects him from all harm.

We’ve finally come to the end of our study on the armor of God! I hope you have enjoyed it! See if you can remember now all the pieces of armor we’ve discovered. There’s the belt of truth that keeps on course. There’s the breastplate of righteousness that guards our hearts from evil, and there are the Good News shoes that bring peace to the world. We’ve looked at the shield of faith that protects us from the devil’s darts and the helmet of salvation that saves us from God’s anger. Finally, we learned about the sword which is the Word of God.

If you have been following along in Ephesians 6, you may be surprised. The sword is the last piece of armor, isn’t it? You’re right, but if you keep reading, Paul gives us one last instruction. He tells us to pray “. . . at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance. . .” (Ephesians 6:18). We are to be always praying and always alert.

Now, think back to the story. Bean was a tiny abandoned orphan who would never have survived the night. But the coyote came and rescued him and loved him and made him into her own child. Doesn’t that remind you of what God has done for Christians? He has loved us and rescued us from His anger. He has made us His children instead of His enemies. And He is strong and powerful to protect us from evil. He is much stronger than the devil (Psalms 108:13; Romans 5:8-9, 8:14-17; Ephesians 2:1-5; Colossians 1:21-22; James 4:7; 1 John 5:18).

It was silly of Bean to go off by himself when he had a strong, powerful dog to protect him. But how often do we go off to work or to school or to the store and forget to ask God to protect us from sin?

A lot of times we don’t even realize that we are in danger—we forget that the most dangerous thing we can do is sin. We are not alert. We do not watch carefully to keep ourselves from the devil’s traps—when he tries to make us sin.

God always wins against the devil. You need his help. So never forget to pray all the time. Pray that God will keep you from sinning. Talk to God as you walk along just as if He were walking beside you—He is always with you if you are a Christian (Matthew 28:20b; John 14:18, 15:1-17, 16:33; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Hebrews 13:5).

Watch and pray—don’t learn this lesson the hard way like Bean!

Today, tomorrow, the next day, all your life, never forget what you have learned these past few months about God’s special armor. Put it on every morning and so prepare yourself for the battle ahead. Because every day is another battle in the great war against sin that God will one day win. Fight well, friend, until together we finally triumph on that glorious day (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; Jude 24-25; Revelation 12:10-12a).

©2025 by Anchor & Fish Ministries. All Rights Reserved.

Featured artwork by Daniel Venturo. All other artwork by Joshua Venturo.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Used by permission.  All rights reserved.