The Stranger Steps Out

By

Wilber Arron

 

Historical note: I know many of you hunters out there will tell me that the hunting tactics I use in this story are completely out of date. I know this, but remember this story occurs in the late 1930s where such hunting parties and off season hunting were more common according to my research.

Chapter 1: Lonely Spring

"Father, are you alright?"

The Stranger looked down at his daughter Stena looking up at him with worry on her face. Her mate Balo was standing next to her also looking at him with a concerned stare. Next to Stena stood a small spotted doe fawn hardly more than a few days old. The fawn also looked up at the huge deer next to her, but also seemed to know something was wrong.

"I am fine," he said leaning down to nuzzle the small fawn standing next to his daughter. The infant returned this embrace and started to lick the side of his face. He straightened up and looked back at his daughter and Balo. "I will be fine," he repeated. "It is your mother that I am worried about. Losing her fawn along with the deaths of your younger brother and sister last winter has made your mother feel terrible. She has this feeling that somehow this is all her fault. I have told her that is silly. These things happen."

"I know father," Stena answered looking at her own healthy fawn. "I can go see her if you wish?"

"For now she wants to be alone," he told her. "You will have all you can handle with your first fawn. You pay attention to little Delene. I will take care of your mother."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Balo asked. Balo seldom talked much. He was content to let Stena speak for him most of the time.

"You can watch the herd and let me know if anything is going on," he said. "I am going to be spending a lot of time around Claris. She needs me now."

"One other thing," Balo said. "I saw the bear yesterday. He had come down from his den after his winter's sleep. I think he was looking for you."

"You did not go near him, did you?" he wanted to know. The bear would not eat him he knew; other deer he was not so sure of.

Balo shook his head no. "No, I stood several lengths away and just introduced myself. He said he knew who I was and then went away. You may trust him Stranger, but I do not."

"Good," he told the now two year old male deer. "You never go near him unless I am with you," he reminded him.

"I know," Balo said sounding a little annoyed he was still being lectured too.

"I will go see him now," he said. "I feel need to talk to someone. I wish Bambi was here. I could always depend on him to give me good advice."

He regretted saying that the moment he uttered the words. I made him sound like he didn't trust his daughter and her young mate, but they were only two years old. They did not have the years of experience Bambi and the bear had. He looked at his daughter and Balo. Both looked hurt. He lowered his head and spoke in a low tone. "I am sorry; I did not mean it like that. I just miss my old friends at a time like this."

With that he walked away toward the other end of the forest. Even though it was barely spring, and there was no sign of Man, he did not take the shorter route by crossing the meadow in the open. He walked around the far end of the meadow well inside the trees and crossed the stream that ran out of his forest and toward the big forest Bambi and Faline had come from and then had gone back to last year when things there were in such a poor state. Once he got to the other side of the meadow he started to walk up the hill towards the bear's den. Normally this would be the height of folly for a deer since the bear could easily kill him with one blow. Yet the bear had saved his life now three seasons ago and could have eaten him easily where he was lying more dead than alive after being hit by Man. The bear had become his friend. They rarely spoke, but each had come to depend on the other for information to keep them both alive. He trusted the bear. One day the bear might eat him, but that is the fate of most deer to be eaten by others or to be killed by Man. Very few like Bambi's father live long enough to die of old age.

The hill got steeper and soon his rear left leg again started to protest at the effort. It had never fully recovered after being hit by two of the small black stones from Man's killing sticks. He was tired by the time he got to the top of the hill. The wet fur and dead meat smell of the bear filled his keen nose.

He called out, "Bear."

From the den out came a large black mound of muscle, black fur, four huge paws, and the biggest head he had ever seen. The bear walked until he got within five lengths of him and lay down. He came in closer and lay down also.

"Hello, my friend," he said.

The bear studied him for a second. "Hello," he responded. "What has happened?"

Was he that obvious; so much for hiding his emotions? "It has been a bad winter for me, and the spring has also been poor."

"Your family," the bear said. "You had said in the fall you were worried about your youngest son and daughter."

"Yes they never got as big or as strong as they should have during last summer. Claris had a difficult time when they were born and did not have enough milk for them both. Faline helped out, but neither of them grew like they should have. When the snow came both got sick and died. There was nothing Claris or I could do. Then Claris lost the fawn she was carrying. It was born dead. Now she blames herself for what has happened and won't listen to anything I tell her."

"I am sorry, my Friend, but these things do occur," the bear said. "I have heard there are some doe that cannot make healthy fawns."

"I know, but Stabo and Stena are certainly healthy and are getting as strong as me. She had made two very healthy fawns." He had thought the same thing, but usually doe like that never make a healthy fawn and often die before they get very old."

"I would not know about deer. Among my kind that does not appear to happen. All the cubs I have seen are healthy. In cases where there are many cubs in a litter, one or two will be the weaker than the others and die soon after birth, but that is just normal. What will you do?"

He let out a deep breath. "Help her," he said trying to hide his exasperation. "What else can I do except try again next season? I still do not believe I cannot have healthy fawns with Claris."

"Have you seen anything of Man?" the bear wanted to know.

"Nothing, even the hunts last year were done elsewhere. Maybe they will leave us alone again this year, but I would not count on it."

"Nor would I," the bear said. "They killed one of the large bears in the forest over the hill last year. A couple of young males are moving in there and may challenge my presence. I do not have much to worry about yet. I am still far too big and powerful for them to fight me and chase me out. However that will not continue. Like you I am getting older and I am starting to feel it."

"I know," he said calmly. "That is why I am hoping Balo grows as big as his father was said to be and learns all he needs to know. Claris hates it when I say this, but neither of us will last too many more seasons. If I must give up being herd leader, I rather give it to someone I know and trust. That is assuming Man does not kill me first."

"Me too," the bear said.

"Did your mate have cubs last winter," he asked.

"I suppose so," the bear answered. "I am going to go over the hill and look for her, but I will not try and get close to her. She would attack me. Still I know that my other cubs are growing. One of the males I told you about I think is mine."

"Good," he said getting up. He felt it was time to go. The bear got up also.

"I need to go back to Claris," he told him.

"I need to feed over the hill," the bear said.

"Stay healthy, bear," he said and bowed his head.

"You too herd leader," the bear said and walked up the hill.

He walked around the end of the large meadow and to the small stream. He followed the stream past Bambi's old cave, past the pond, and the smaller clearing until he came to the woods. He smelled the scent of other deer including Stena and Balo along with the rabbits, squirrels, mice and other creatures of the forest. For the most part they paid him no attention. They were busy hunting food without becoming food. Life in the forest went on around him as it had done all of his life and would continue long after the scavengers made a meal of his dead body. Maybe Claris was right, and he should not think about that, but he had seen so much of other dead deer as he grew up in the Man cave, he could not picture it any other way. Maybe that is why he was truly the Stranger. He went to the thicket in the woods near the small clearing and found Claris standing. She looked at him, walked up slowly, and nuzzled his face.

"I need to talk to you alone," she said pulling away from him. Her voice was tense. He looked into her eyes and her green eyes that were usually sparkling were dull and pale.

They walked until they were both sure they were alone and she turned to him. "Stranger I have been thinking," she said in a low voice.

He did not like this. "What?" he asked.

"Stranger," she choked out. "I still feel much for you, but I feel I must go away."

That took him by

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