A Tale of Terror and Suspense

The following is inspired from true stories: (written by Patty Piccolo)
Once not too long ago there was an agronomist.  This agronomist was the local farmers' best friend!  He checked all of their fields in a timely manner and gave good recommendations.  One day when the agronomist was out checking a corn field he was driving his 4-wheeler around the edge, and all of a sudden, just a few yards in front of him, he saw something dart into the corn field.
"What was that?"  He exclaimed.  He hadn't gotten a very good glimpse of it, but it was pretty good sized (the size of a big cat at least) and it had a long tail.  Well, he still had to make his check, so he went about half a field circle length from where the unidentified creature had gone in the field, and cautiously entered the field.  Everything seemed normal at first.  But that all changed when he stopped to check the leaves for spidermites.  He heard a low groan to his right... and it was getting closer...
To be continued! (very soon indeed!)

Part 2 (the last two parts of the story are strictly from the author's imagination; but it is what could have happened if the author stuck around long enough to find out!)
... the agronomist heard a low groan to his right, it seemed to be turning into more of a growl as it got closer.  "Uh oh!"  He thought.  But he didn't move, for fear that he would give away where he was at.  The corn was very thick, and had a full canopy, so he couldn't even see what was in the rows of corn next to him.  Suddenly, the growl ceased and it was quiet for a few moments. 
"Did it leave?"  The agronomist breathlessly hoped.  He decided to check and see what was in the rows of corn next to him.  So, he carefully, cautiously, and as confidently as possible, pulled back the leaves of the corn, and pushed the corn stalks to the side...  And right there in front of his eyes was the meanest, biggest, and ugliest mountain lion he had ever seen!  And did you see his teeth?  The mountain lion looked about ready to eat him.  The agronomist's eyes got very wide and he was shocked into a still silence.  What should he do?  If he moved, the lion would likely pounce on him, but if he stayed, he might be eaten alive.  Either way it looked like he was going to be someone's lunch!  What seemed like hours passed as the agronomist and the mountain lion looked each other in the eyes.  Neither one of them moved.  The agronomist was as terrified as a grown man can be, and the mountain lion was as angry as a very angry thing.  And can you guess what happened next?
The End of Part 2.  Come back next time for Part 3!  Are you mad at me yet?

Okay, I am not being very suspenseful and am just giving you each part after the other...
Part 3...  Last time we left off with me asking you if you could guess what happened next?  Well, the thing that happened was about as preposterous of a thing as you could imagine!  Simply astonishing!
The mountain lion started LAUGHING!!!  What?!  Mountain lions do not laugh.  Well, this one apparently does, because it was a low chortle far down in the lion's throat.  It was as if he just couldn't keep it in any longer. 
The agronomist then did something very uncharacteristic, he let out a scream that shook all the corn rootworm beetles off of the corn plants around him.  He was so frightened and surprised by this odd and unreal behavior of the mountain lion. 
"What's he going to do next?" The agronomist moaned, shaking in his boots.
Well, you'll never guess what happened next.  The mountain lion lifts up his paw... and raises it to his head... and rips off a mask to reveal the face of the agronomist's brother!!!  "What?  What is this?"  The agronomist was completely stunned.  "This can't be possible.  It was a real mountain lion!"
But no, it was just a very real looking costume, and his brother had played the part perfectly until he couldn't keep from laughing anymore and revealed himself.
Needless to say, the agronomist did not find the whole incident as funny as his brother did, but in later years, did chuckle some at how afraid he had been.
The End!  For real this time.  Did you expect that kind of ending?  I thought about doing a morbid ending... but decided to do a different twist instead.  =P


And there is your story, straight from the pen of Private Eye Patty Piccolo!  =)