hear, so she decided to stop and rest. She laid down on some leaves and listened carefully. For a while, she heard nothing, and then the nearby bushes started to move in the distance. It was too quiet for coyotes. A familiar scent came to her nose. Through the bushes fled a large deer. It was Kelo. He looked tired and he was alone. She got up and called to him. He ran over, looking exhausted.

“Where are the others?” she asked.

“I do not know,” he gasped. “The coyotes were chasing some of us. I thought I heard someone scream, but I do not who. We all scattered. I heard you call twice so I ran toward you.”

“Well rest here,” she told him. “I cannot hear or smell any sign of danger. We can wait until tomorrow for the others to come.”

“We can wait here a while. It seems a nice place,” Kelo said looking around.

“No, there is no water nearby,” she said. “There is a lake over there,” she pointed with her nose. “We can wait until morning and then we have to go to the lake.”

“But the others,” Kelo said.

“There is no telling where they went or if they are even alive,” she said.

“We can go back after them,” Kelo said.

“Go back toward a pack of coyotes,” she said shaking her head. “You are asking to die. A pack can kill any deer they smell. They did not smell you or me and that is why they did not chase us. I am not going back so they can find us again and maybe kill us this time. You can do as you please. I will leave for the lake in the morning. Believe me; if there was another way, I do it.”

She lay down again in the leaves. Kelo lay down several lengths from her on some leaves. She could not believe that fool wanted to go back and maybe run into to those coyotes again. Did his mother teach him nothing? Her Father would never do that. She knew if everyone in that small herd had all run together when they first heard the pack, they might have all gotten away. One thing for sure, with a pack of those scavengers around, that part of the forest was no longer safe for any deer. She just kept quiet and waited.

She was still waiting when the great light came up the next day. No one else had come. She got up, tested the air and started to walk away. Kelo did not get up and looked at her go. “You can stay if you want,” she said. “If you want to come later, I will leave a scent trail for you to follow. It is not far to the lake.”

“I will not leave the others,” Kelo said.

“Fine,” she told him, “Goodbye. I hope to see you again.”

With that, she left the male still lying on the ground and went back toward the lake. As she traveled in the forest, she would empty herself from time to time to leave her scent on the ground. The others should easily be able to follow her.

The great light was now high overhead before she got to the lake. She stood inside the trees and waited. The wind was now blowing in her face, so she was sure there was nothing in front of her. She could not tell if there were any dangers near the hills. She did not see any smoke. She slowly walked around the lake until she came to the small stream that came from this lake and went to the larger lake. She stopped to drink. The meadow was nearby, but she was as interested in seeing her Father’s herd again as she was to see those coyotes. After dark, she would go back to the trees she stayed in before. She remembered Man had been in this part of the forest. She did not think he was still here during the day. Still, traveling during the day was as foolish as going back to run into that coyote pack. She would not then travel any more during the day. Instead, she would rest here.

It was late, almost dark when she heard movement behind her. The footsteps were light, but not as silent as either she or her brother was. She turned and saw Kelo moving with his nose close to the ground following her scent. He was still alone. He let out a cough that got his attention. He came over to lay down a few lengths from her.

“No one came,” he said in a sad voice.

“After dark, I will show you a good place to find food. Until then, Man may be nearby so we stay still when it is light.”

The big deer looked nervously around him. “I am more frightened of Man than any pack of coyotes. At least they have to catch you to kill you. Man kills you even if you are far away.”

“That is why we wait until dark,” she said and closed her eyes. This male was either not bright or had not been taught as she and her brother had.

Once darkness fell, she led Kelo around to the other side of the lake where the grass was better and the trees grew thicker and were easier to hide in. They got there while it was still dark so they ate in the open area and then drank in the lake. After she finished, she moved away from her bedding area and emptied herself. It was easy to find a spot to rest near where she and Weasel had been before.

“You can sleep where you like,” she told Kelo.

“Can I sleep near you,” he asked with a slight smile.

“Not next to me,” she told him flatly. “I told you before I am not looking for a male. You want to sleep anywhere else, it is fine with me.”

Kelo got the message and slept several lengths away from her. The last thing she thought before she drifted off to sleep was despite her wish to get away from her Father, brother, and the herd, she was right back where she started. Somehow, that did not seem fair to her, but that is how things happen.

The day passed quietly with no noises from any danger. After dark, she left for the open area near the lake to eat the grass that grew there. Kelo followed her and did as she did. She did notice that often Kelo would stand downwind of her and sniff the air but did not approach her. Finally, she just stopped eating and asked.

“Is my scent so unusual you need to sniff it?” she asked.

Kelo took a step back shocked at her forwardness. “Ah Ah, no,” he said with surprise. “You have a very pleasant scent. Rongi told me that is why he got close to you because your scent is so wonderful to sniff.”

“Oh,” she said with some embarrassment “Thank you, it comes from my mother. She has a very pleasant scent also. I do not mind if you smell me from a distance, but not like Rongi did.”

“You also look beautiful,” the male said.

She knew that from the attention she got on the meadow that males, especially younger males, had an interest in her. She never considered herself nice looking, although her Mother was a real beauty. All the deer said that.

“Thank you,” she said again feeling slightly embarrassed. She also could see Kelo was not paying much attention to anything else. Something her Father would never do. “Now instead of looking at me, you should instead be looking for danger,” she went on. “I will not kill and eat you, others will.”

It bothered her that while this male was a season older than she was, it was her teaching him. Did his Mother ever teach him anything? Did his herd never show him anything? It seemed strange to her. Her Mother taught her as soon as she was old enough to understand. Then both her Father and Grandfather taught her. Maybe what she learned was more than other fawns learn. It would certainly explain some of their actions. Males did not think with their heads at times, except for her Father and Geno. At least he was someone to talk too and he did not treat her like an empty-headed doe. She could take comfort in that.

This went on for several nights. No one bothered them. By now, she knew they were into the long days of summer. One night when she was eating, she heard a sound off toward her Mother’s thicket. She turned and saw two herd males moving quickly toward the lake. They were moving nervously as if being chased by something. She barked a warning to Kelo and raised her tail. Both males stopped by the edge of the lake to drink, and then they looked up and saw her. After a moment’s hesitation, they started toward her. She stood her ground and Kelo came up close to her. Both males had normal size racks. Kelo’s rack was larger and he was bigger. She recognized them from her Father’s herd but did not recall their names. They came up to her. When they got closer, she saw they looked angry.

“You,” one called out. “You are Bambi’s daughter,” he spat out.

She went into a guard position. “My name is Gurri,” she told him coldly.

“Your father killed our friend Ronno,” the other told her, eyes blazing. “Your brother killed Enos and badly hurt Malon.”

“My brother killed a herd male,” she said. “I find that hard to believe. What did you do to deserve this?”

“We want your Father gone. He should not be herd leader,” the first one yelled at her. “We cannot beat them, so instead we will beat you!”

The first one lowered his head and charged her. She saw it coming and leaped back, but he still grazed her with his budding rack along her side. It hurt her. The first deer ran by her. The other started to lower his head. That she was ready for. As he put his head down, she raised up with both her front legs kicking him in the face as her Grandfather taught her. She kicked hard and felt her hoofs tear into his flesh.

“BUAAAAHHH,” the second one cried out. His head shot up revealing cuts along his mouth and on the side of his head. His face was bleeding. By now the second one had stopped and turned around and was facing her rear.

“I will kill you for this,” he

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