deep forest; the part that he and the other deer lived in now. That part of the woods had not burned in the great fire two seasons ago when he first bred Faline. He made his way around the lake toward a hill on top of which was a cave he knew his father liked to stay in. From there you could see the entire forest without ever being seen.

He walked among the trees looking about him. Man seldom went here and he could smell no trace of him. Other than the bears, there were no hunters here. He could relax as much as he dared here. He moved silently around the dense canopy of trees leaving no trace of his passing. As he started to move up the densely wooded hill, a brief scent caught his nose. It was familiar, but it was so brief, he could not place it. Then it vanished. That put him on his guard. He moved on carefully until he got to a patch of thick foliage. He stopped and got down low on the ground.

“Tish,” sounded from far away. It was someone rustling up leaves. Someone was following him; following him downwind so he could not smell him. Whoever it was, he was quiet. He waited and from time to time heard an ever so slight movement of leaves. He also heard occasional light footsteps. Then he smelled two different scents and knew at once, who was behind him. He smiled because of how well they were moving. No Man could hear that. He remained absolutely still and sure enough, he saw motion in the trees. There were two deer following him. When they got closer, he could see it was a male and female yearling deer. They were both entering their second spring. He watched them get closer and the stop maybe ten lengths from him.

“Is he near here,” the young doe whispered.

The young male stopped, looked around, and then started to smile. “No, sister, he is right in front of us, aren’t you Father.”

He stood up so he could clearly see both his children, Geno and Gurri born last spring. He was happy; they had learned their lessons well on moving silently through the forest. Both he and his Father had spent many nights with them after last Season before the harsh winter started. They had been practicing. They were getting very good. Geno was smart and even Gurri caught on quickly.

“Where are you two going?” he asked.

“Mother is getting ready for the birth of her new fawns so we went out on our own,” Geno said. “It is time for us to find our own way in any case. We came here hoping to find both you and Grandfather.”

“We are hoping you will teach us more like you did before the winter got so hard,” Gurri added.

“I also need to start learning how to fight,” Geno said. “I will have a rack this year and I want to know how to use it.”

They were both right. It was time they went out on their own. They would stay this season with the other yearlings. They were still too young to join the herd males and the bred doe with fawns. It was hard to believe that just one spring ago he remembered two twitching mounds of spotted brown fur that Faline had given birth too. It did not seem possible they had grown so big so quickly.

“You have both done well,” he said proudly. “It is time for you to learn more. You have already learned much. I hardly heard you behind me. You still need to practice some more but soon you will be as silent as your Grandfather.”

“Indeed they will,” a deep voice said from beyond some trees.

Out walked an old, gray deer. His Father looked thin and ragged like he did, only more so. He had never heard him or smelled him approach from downwind. Gurri walked over to him and licked the side of his face in affection. The Great Prince returned the jester. Geno then went up and rubbed his side against the old deer’s flank. Both of his children had learned from the Great Prince of the Forest, as he had learned.

“I had almost forgotten how good that feels,” his Father said. His red eyes were shinning. Suddenly he started to shake in the flanks and then turned quickly away from them. He started to cough hard and loudly. Soon something red and awful smelling came out of his mouth.

“I am sorry,” he gasped. “It is the sickness from last winter. I have not gotten over it yet.”

“Grandfather, can we help?” Gurri asked.

The old deer shook his head no and then turned and coughed some more, but nothing came out this time. “No, my child, you cannot help me,” the old deer said looking toward her. “It will soon pass.”

“Are you sure, Grandfather?” Geno said not looking convinced.

“I am very sure,” his Father said with finality. “I am also sure it is time you learned that there are other things you need to learn that go with getting your rack other than fighting. The first is once you get your rack, you will become a deer for Man to hunt. That means he will start trying to kill you. You need to know more to prevent that from happening to you.”

Geno swallowed hard as did he, but his Father was right. His Father had a big rack, he had a big rack, and Geno would likely have one. “Yes Grandfather,” his son said meekly.

His Father then turned toward Gurri. “You will likely be a big doe like you mother and Bambi’s mother so you also need to know how to stay away from Man. It is not only males Man uses his killing stick on.”

“Yes Grandfather,” Gurri said quietly.

The old stag nodded his approval. “Good, now both of you go find resting places and your Father will come over and teach you. I need to speak with your Father alone so if you two will excuse us.”

With that, both his children walked away into the forest still being as quiet as possible. Once he was gone, his Father turned to him. “They are learning well. I am proud of them,” the old deer said before starting to cough again.

“I know,” he said. “I am glad Geno is showing interest in learning. He will need it. I think he will be a herd male next season, perhaps a senior male soon afterward. I am most surprised at Gurri. For a doe, she seems very smart.

“Doe can think too, my son. She may also be of help to you also.”

His Father stopped, coughed again, and then turned and walked silently away. “Come with me, My Son, I have to talk to you and time is short.”

His father led him away from the hill with his cave and toward the forest behind the hill. Most of it had burnt with the fire, but the undergrowth was growing back. On more than one occasion during their walk, his Father had to stop and cough again. More red foul smell liquid came out of his mouth. This was not just sickness from the winter. This was something else and he worried about him. They finally came to another hill he vaguely remembered on his walks with his father as a yearling. When they got to the top of the hill, his Father lay down in the grass.

“You see the little stream down there?” his Father asked.

“Yes, Father,” he answered.

“That is where I first met your mother. That is where we played along the bank. She made me feel young again. I bred her there and you were the result. It was the best time of my life and she gave me the greatest gift of my life, you. That is why I came here to end.”

“End!” he thought. “Father, what are you talking about?”

The old stag put his head on the grass as if waiting for something. “My illness is not going away. It is getting much worse. Soon, I will be gone from here. You must now take my place as Great Prince of the Forest. You are ready to do this. I have taught you everything I know. You must now take over from me. It is time I go join your mother. I have heard her voice at night calling to me. I must go to her.”

“Father, NO,” he protested. “I am not ready to lead like you did.”

“Yes you are, My Son,” the old deer said. “In any case, there is nothing more anyone can do for me. Take my old cave. From there you can see what is going on in the entire forest without anyone seeing you. Teach Geno and Gurri as I taught you so they may follow you when it is your time.”

He could not do this. He just could not let his Father die like this in front of him. There had to be something he could do. “No, Father, I will not let you suffer and die here,” he said fighting back tears.

His Father raised his head took at him and smiled as if he was a fawn again. “You have no choice, My Son, it is my time. I taught you all things have their time. This is mine. I do not mind. I have lived a good life. Do not worry about me. I will die here, but I will not suffer. I have already made sure of that. Now go and leave me. In this time, I am alone. Please leave me here. Know that I always have loved you and I always will. You are the best in me.”

With that, his Father put his head back on the grass and closed his eyes. He did not know what to do. He stood there paralyzed. It was not long before he saw the futility of it. He felt the coldness in his stomach that his Father was really going to die here and there was nothing he could do about it. He turned and walked slowly off the hill. He walked back to the bottom of the hill and started back to his Father’s cave when he caught the scent of fat and earth. It was a bear, a large one. He had seen this bear before. His Father had even told him his name, but he had forgotten it. It moved by him ignoring his presence and slowly walked up the same hill he just came down. He realized if the bear saw his Father, he would be easy prey for him to eat. He started to turn around and run up the hill to warn his Father when he realized in an instant the bear was not here by

Previous Page

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Next page