The Stranger: Visitations

By Wilber Arron

Introduction

This is the fourth installment of a series of stories regarding "The Stranger" that I have written. I do appreciate the comments from readers. One of the main criticisms I have received is that it is hard to keep my characters straight as well as understanding the locations and backgrounds in the stories. Anytime you have a multi generation story, characters come and go, and without a score card sometimes it is hard to keep track of who is who. I have also heard that it is hard to picture my settings since they contain at least three different forests and the open spaces between them. I shall start with description of the locations.

Settings

The Stranger's forest is located in the Southeastern USA in a hilly area in those highlands that lead into the Appalachian Mountains. The Stranger's forest is built around the Meadow. The Meadow is an open piece of land free of trees and bush located in a valley between two parallel ridges. These ridges are heavily forested and contain a variety of plants and animals. The Meadow is an open spot approximately 150 yards long and 50 yards wide. If you assume the long axis of the Meadow runs north-south, then the parallel ridges run the same way. On the north side of the Meadow is a split ridge with a depression in the middle. This area is also heavily forested. It is fed by a spring near where man built a building to act as a temporary lodge for hunters. This water runs from the spring, through the meadow, and out between the split ridges in the North. To the north, over an open grassy area and a two day walk by a deer is Bambi's old forest that was seen in the 1940 Walt Disney Movie. As you recall much of it burned in that movie. To the south of the Meadow lies the Man path forest called that because man built a road through it to access the hunting lodge. To the east side of the Meadow is where many of the other animals live including the bear. Once over the east ridge you come to an old forest from which the Stranger came from on his travels. Over the west ridge is a large upland grassy area that extends a long way followed by another much larger forest which can be seen in the distance and for which the characters know very little except that is where Geno went after being kicked out of the Stranger's forest. A small stream from that forest flows through the uplands flows between the west ridge and the ridges to the north. It flows down into the stream flowing from the local spring. The now larger stream flows out of the Meadow forest toward Bambi's old forest where it empties into the large lake there. It is near this stream from the large forest that The Stranger and his family makes their home and is where the pond and small clearing are located.

Time

The stories are set in the 1930-1940 period. Many of the hunting techniques and technologies described are obsolete by today's standards.

Point of View

These stories are told through the mindset of The Stranger. Despite what some have said, this is not your standard noble animals/savage Man story. I have asked myself, if a deer could have the cognitive abilities of my characters, what would he or she think about what was happening around them. Nothing more is being implied. Although this author does not hunt himself, I have had ample training in the use of firearms and has seen the deadly results of their use first hand. Although not a wildlife biologist by any means, I had seen deer in the wild for many years. Do I think deer can have the clarity of thought or the deep inner feelings of my characters: most likely not, but like Felix Salten, I try to tell this story as an allegory? However since I have never been inside the head of a deer, frankly who knows what they think and feel.

Characters

The Stranger: A deer orphaned almost immediately after birth and raised by the local hunting lodge ranger and his family until a yearling. He was never given a name. While living with man he watched and studied his caretaker and his family as their house pet. He also saw other hunters and what they did. He saw how man behaved. He was traumatize by what he saw and fled at his first chance. He lived several years alone and had to learn as a young adult the ways of the forest. He eventually wandered into the Meadow forest where the stories begin.

Claris: A young doe that becomes the first mate of the Stranger. Although she was initially afraid of The Stranger, she has come to understand him as no other deer and truly cares about him. Due to unknown causes she can no longer breed and have fawns.

Carie: The second daughter of Claris's older sister. She is the second mate of the Stranger because she can and does breed. Although she cares for The Stranger, she does not have the depth of feeling for him others do.

Bambi: The classic character by Felix Salten represented as a white tail deer rather than a roe deer. Through their adventures he and The Stranger become the closest of friends. He is known as one of the wisest deer in any forest and one of the strongest.

Faline: Bambi's mate from book and film. A wise deer in her own right and can hold her own when the situation demands. The depth of feeling both Bambi and Faline have for each other is extraordinary

The Children

Geno and Gurri" Bambi and Faline's first children and presented in Felix Salten's book "Bambi's Children." Both were born in Bambi's old forest and elected to remain there when Bambi and Faline and most of the herd came to the Meadow forest after the great fire. Geno was teased and became bitter and took over his Father's forest by force. Gurri became mated with Delor who was killed by Man mostly due to Geno's refusal to listen to reason. When Bambi returned, Geno beat his Father who would not fight back. Geno was later kicked out of his forest by the other males and went to the Meadow forest where both Bambi and the Stranger kicked him out. His current whereabouts is unknown. Gurri came to the Meadow forest and mated with Jolo, a lead male in the Meadow forest. Both were killed by Man in a hunting ambush.

Veron: Bambi and Faline's second son and unlike his elder brother, he learned the lessons of his father well. He is now herd leader in the Man path forest.

Gena: Bambi and Faline's second daughter. Not as smart as her mother, she paired early with Stabo and now lives with him in the Man path forest helping her brother.

Gerta: Bambi and Faline's third daughter who showed great promise, but was tragically killed in the same ambush as Gurri and Jolo.

Gorro: Bambi and Faline's third son who looks to inherit Bambi's old forest. He is brave, strong and wise like his father with none of the faults of Geno.

Eta: Bambi and Faline's fourth daughter; she is still too young to have developed any skills or promise.

Stabo: Stranger and Claris' first son. He is strong and brave, but not as wise as his father. He helps Veron with the Man path forest.

Stena: Stranger and Claris' first daughter. She is smart like her father, but not being a male cannot rule in her own right. She mated with Gurri's son Balo and they live happily helping The Stranger.

NOTE Strange and Claris had three other children, but all died before the end of their first year or immediately after birth. They do not play any part in the story.

The Grand Children Note while deer recognize parentage and know their sons and daughters, they do not recognize grand children as such. They only see them as family like fathers, mothers, sons and daughters.

Young Bambi or Bambi-II: Eldest son of Veron and Alana his mate.

Young Claris or Claris-II: Eldest daughter of Stabo and Gena. She seems to have no interest in the males of any forest. She can be extremely stealthy and is quite a beauty.

Koren: Eldest son of Stabo and Gena

Young Faline or Faline-II: Eldest daughter of Veron and Alana.

Delene: Eldest daughter of Stena and Balo: Precocious, intelligent, stealthy, and a fast learner. She has her own ideas about what she wants.

Other Characters

Balo: Son of Gurri and Delor and orphaned while still a fawn when his mother was killed. Formed an early and intense bond with Stena and the two are inseparable. He is the chief help of the Stranger and likely the next heard leader. Reserved, he lets Stena talk for him, because he knows she is smarter. He does have a temper and will put his hoof down.

Jolo: A deer from the Man path forest that left when Man built the road through it. Big, strong, he was being trained by the Stranger and Bambi to take over if something happened to them. Mated with Gurri and killed with her and Gerta in the Man ambush.

Alana: Veron's mate. Little is known about her only she seems to have a happy relationship with Veron who cares deeply about her.

Ronno: Another character from Felix Salten's book and from the movie. An enemy of Bambi, he came to a live and let live relationship with him. He followed Bambi from his old forest and then went back with him. He was briefly herd leader in Bambi's old forest, but made a mess of it requiring Bambi and Faline to return. He was killed by Man along with his mate Marol and their infant son.

Kragus: A character similar to the one in Felix Salten's book, but here a smaller, belligerent deer who challenges Stranger and gets beaten. Seeking revenge he tries to kill Claris at the time of mating. He is beaten badly by Stranger, chased onto the Meadow, and killed by Man.

Duro: A somewhat conceited senior male in Stranger's herd. Although openly disrespectful, he has neither the strength nor courage to challenge Stranger openly. He lives on the periphery of the herd on the north ridges.

Sinno: A dim witted 3 year old male and follower of Duro. Also lives on the north ridges. He is known for his ability to unwittingly lead possible enemies to other deer.

The Old Owl: Another character from Felix Saltin's book and the movie. He was a lifelong friend of Bambi and Faline and became a good friend of Stranger, helping him out in difficult circumstances. He died recently of old age much to the grief of all the characters.

Oswell: A new younger Owl that is now living in the Old Owl's tree burrow. Not as wise as the Old Owl, but he will still help out if asked.

The Bear: A huge black bear that live in a den near the top of the east ridge. He will kill and eat any deer he can catch, but for some reason will not hurt the Stranger or his family. It is thought this is because he and Stranger see the forest in the same way and see their places in the forest the same. He has saved the Stranger's life when he was shot. The Stranger has also risked his life to warn him about Man. Him and Stranger are good friends much to the astonishment of everyone else.

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

"Are you alright?" he asked looking down at Carie.

She was resting and covered in perspiration, but she was alive and looked healthy. He leaned over and put his nose next to the quivering bundle of white spotted brown fur that was still fidgeting. He smell the fur still wet and took in a deep breath both to commit the scent to memory and also to detect if he smelled any sickness or deformity. Thankfully, he detected neither.

"I am fine, Stranger," she said, her voice still weak. "It was difficult, but everything is fine. You have a new son. I like to keep the St names you had for Claris' children, but I want it to sound differently. I was going call your son Stuben."

"Stuben sounds like a fine name," he said and nuzzled his son along his tiny face. The fawn looked up and started to lick his face repeatedly. His eyes became misty. It had been done. He was able to have other children other than Stabo and Stena. Now here was another to carry on after him."

"The best within us continues," he said repeating the comment the bear had told him.

With that he put his nose under the little mound of fur and bones and very gently tried to lift him. The little legs extended and the young male fawn staggered on his feet. He held him up gently until he got his feet under him. It seemed to take an effort but soon the fawn stood upright on his short legs and looked around. Carie got up and moved over to him and showed him where he could get the nourishment he would need to live. He was thankful it took Stuben almost no time to find that what he needed most and soon started to nurse at his mother's rear legs.

He stood back up and rubbed Carie along the side of her mouth nuzzling her gently. "Thank you for this greatest of all gifts," he told her gently.

She returned the gesture while Stuben filled himself from her. She then looked into his black eyes and said, "I am just glad you have a new son who will follow you. I want you to teach him as you taught the others. I want him to follow you as herd leader one day."

"Perhaps," he said. "That is something no one can foresee, but when the time comes I will teach him."

He then looked around; he saw no sign of any predators were drawn to birthing site. "I will stay nearby for a while until he can run and you are ready to take him to the meadow. I do not think any scavenger will bother him, but until he is stronger I will remain."

"Thank you," she said and remained standing. Carie looked as sure on her feet as Stuben. He walked out of the little clearing and stood nearby. Shortly he heard another deer approach. It was Claris. She walked up to him and nuzzled the side of his face.

"How is she," Claris asked.

"Weak, but alright," he answered. "I have a new son, Stuben."

"Wonderful, Stranger, I knew you wanted one," Claris said. "I just wish I…," and then her voice trailed off and she turned away.

"There are many things even a herd leader cannot fix. I would gladly have you provide me with children if you could. Did you see Stena?" he asked.

"Yes, she and Balo have a son that they named Delon. He looks healthy. Balo is almost beside himself with joy. He cares about Delene, but like you he wants a son to follow him."

"What about Delene?"

"She has gone to her own place in the forest. I suspect some male will want her when The Season comes again."

"Very well," he said. "I will stay near here in case a scavenger comes looking for an easy meal. With me here they will think twice or have my hoof put into their face."

"I understand. I will go back to our clearing." Claris said and walked away. He watched her go with a mixture of sorrow and pity. He knew how much she wanted his children, but from some reason she could never have another fawn. He still felt as strongly as ever for her, but he needed a doe to have his children and that would never happen again with Claris.

He then went around the area near Carie and marked it with his scent in several places. Any scavenger who did want to come near would know who protected this place. He ate when he could and slept when he was able for several days until Carie was ready to bring Stuben out onto the meadow.

It was still mid spring when they all walked onto the meadow at night. The Man cave was still dark and there were no problems. He was saddened to note four doe that had given birth, but came out with no fawn." Either they were born dead, or died soon afterwards. He left them alone; it was easier on all that way. Most doe two seasons or older had fawns, and almost all of them looked healthy.

He saw his daughter Stena and Balo walking onto the meadow with their new fawn. Delene was walking behind them. He walked up and nuzzled their fawn that then looked up and licked his face. "He seems healthy and fit," he said to Stena.

"And hungry," Stena added.

He stood up and looked at the fawn's Father. "I am glad you have your son Balo, what are you going to do?"

"Teach him as you and Bambi taught me when the time comes," he said look down at his child who seemed excited by all the attention.

"Good, that makes me feel happy," he told them.

They then looked at Stuben and the two male fawns immediately started playing with each other as fawns will do. By the way they ran after each other he could see there was no sickness or weakness there.

"Now that we are all healthy I am going over to visit the Man path forest to see how Veron and Stabo are doing. I will go tomorrow after we eat. I will be gone only three days."

They ate quietly on the meadow. There were a couple of more paired deer, but mostly the deer separated with the males in one group and the females and fawns in another. The yearlings also seem to gather together in their own group. It was late enough in the spring where bear would be out of his den and certainly too early for anyone else to be with him. By now could see the first hint of the new day. Balo called to the herd to leave the meadow. He was halfway across the meadow when he heard the noise. It was like a roaring noise that came from the Man path forest. He looked at the path and saw movement. Then suddenly two huge bright eyes blazed bright at him, catching him in their glow.

He bolted back to his side of the meadow. "Run!"he yelled.

He started running at full speed. The Man machine did not stop near the Man cave, but came onto the meadow. The white glow was lighting him up as bright as day. He darted for the woods and started changing course remembering never to run in a straight line.

"WHAMMMMM," he heard behind him. Something that sounded like an angry bee went by him close to his head.

"AAAAHHHHHHOOOOOOOO," he heard from the Man machine.

He changed direction and was almost to the forest when his hoof fell into a soft spot of earth and he stumbled. He went forward almost burying his face into the dirt. There was an intense pain from his right front leg. He lay there for a second before.

"WHAMMMMM, he heard again as another bee went over him. He got up and stumbled into the forest. He dodged behind some trees and went on but he was limping badly from the front leg. His leg felt twisted and would not take any weight. He limped on three legs until he was far enough into the woods where he could not see the meadow any more. He stopped and lay down on his side, his right leg hurting intensely.

After a while he found he could move it, but the moment he put any weight on it hurt like being hit by Man again. He looked around his body. He was not hit. He was not bleeding. He decided to rest and try going back to his clearing later. He lay on his side to take pressure off his leg. Since he had not grown much antler yet, it was easy to do.

He felt asleep and rested. He was tired and he slept easily and deeply. He thought he heard someone call his name, but he was not sure. He woke up in the late morning. His leg still hurt. He tried to stand, but the leg still would not take much weight. It was easier to move, but there was no way he was going to run.

During the day there was a lot of shouting from the meadow. Several Man voices were yelling very loud, as if having a good time. Then as the greater light was overhead he heard their call. Then the voices got louder and louder. He heard trampling noises through the woods toward where the Man cave was. These Men were much noisier than the others. They also kept shouting to each other in the wood. A fawn could avoid them. Occasionally he could hear "WHAMMMMM," in the forest. Finally there was more shouting and the voices went back to the Man cave. He rested until night and slowly made his way back to his clearing.

As he was moving slowly through the forest, the wind started blowing from the meadow. The odor that came to him was the smell of burning deer flesh. They had managed to kill some deer, but he had no idea who. It should have been easy to avoid them. He stopped to rest many times and finally got to his clearing. There was no one there at the time. He found some grass and ate it, but he did not want to walk any more. No doubt the others were eating in the forest tonight since the meadow was not safe. He rested on the ground and waited for the others to return. It was nearly morning before he heard something from nearby.

"He was not where Oswell said he was" he heard Stena say almost sobbing.

"I did not smell any blood although I could smell his scent," Balo said. "Maybe the Men took him."

"That smell from the meadow" Claris said and then her voice trailed off.

"There should still be blood," Balo added.

"Then where is he?" Carie said.

"If you are talking about me, I am here," he said and stood up still favoring his right front leg.

The male and three doe looked at him as if he fell from the lesser light. There was a collected gasp. "Are you alright," Claris stammered out.

"I twisted my right front leg so I cannot walk well or run, but yes I am alright." he told them.

Claris ran up to him and kissed him on the mouth. "We thought you were hit by Man," she said. "We saw you stumble as Man used his killing sticks on you. Oswell said he saw you lying on your side and you did not move when he called you. He thought you were dead."

"We went looking for you," Stena said also nuzzling his side.

"You went looking for me with young fawns?" he asked knowing how foolish that was.

"No Stranger," Carie said smiling at him. "Stena left her fawn with me up in the hills and I stayed with them while they looked for you."

"When we smelled the burnt deer meat, we thought it might be you," Stena told him with relief.

"Well right now I suggest you find some grass to eat, drink and then rest for the day. These Men are not like the others. They seem wilder, more ignorant of the forest. We need to avoid them."

He was surprised at all the bother. He had told his family for many seasons that one day he felt it would be him who would be gone and the forest would go on without him. He certainly did not expect his family to risk themselves for his purpose. Even through his leg still hurt he got up and faced the others.

"Listen to me," he said firmly. "You know I care about all of you and I know you all care about me. For that I am grateful. What you did was still foolish. You should have never gone into the forest to look for me if you thought I was gone. Stena you have a young fawn to look after. Balo, if I am gone you will have a herd to look after. None of you can do this is if you are gone with me. If I am hurt and can come back I will. If I am hurt and cannot come back, or worse, then your lives will go on without me. Risking yourself to find me accomplishes nothing. If this ever happens again, and one day it will, you are not to do this. You go on and do the best you can without me."

"But Father . . .," Stena started to say."

"No but Father," he interrupted loudly. "One deer is not as important as the herd. You must think about what is good for the others. That is what Bambi taught me and what I have tried to teach you. You must not do this again. Am I understood?"

He looked around at his family who seemed more in shock at his outburst. He gazed sternly at the others. Stena and Balo turned away and went back to their bedding area, little Delon following them. He turned and looked at Claris and Carie.

"It is late and I am tired. Let us rest," he said to them

Claris said nothing but also turned and walked away. Carie remained.

"I agree with what you said, Stranger," Carie said, "But they really were afraid you were gone and wanted to know for sure. They care about you."

"I know," he said nuzzling her, "But they should not care as much as to risk themselves. Now, let us rest."

"Right after I feed your son," she told him and then presented her underside to the fawn who needed little encouragement. He eagerly reached up and drank at his Mother's side. He lay down on his hurting leg and watched. He was glad of one thing. His son looked strong. He was eager to drink and at times eager to play. He waiting until Stuben was done."

"I will be back shortly," Carie said. "I need to drink."

He got up, "I will watch him." He told her. She went off and he lowered his head. Stuben recognized the offer to play and immediately charged into him. He pushed back slowly, but forcefully. Even through pushed back, Stuben came at him again and again. He was not weak of that he was sure. Finally the little fawn stopped and emptied himself on the ground and then walked up to him. He reached over and nuzzled his son who looked at him affectionately with two coal black eyes and licked the side of his mouth. He realized in that moment how much he wanted to stay around in the forest and raise his son and teach him what he knew. Inwardly, he felt the intense desire to show him everything so one day he could be a better deer than him and one day perhaps become herd leader himself. That was something that would happen long after he was gone from the forest, but he did not mind.

He found Claris already bedded down, her face turned from him. He nuzzled the back of her neck and then Carie and finally little Stuben who wiggled between him and Carie. He fell asleep thinking how wonderful it is to have a family that cares, and how bad it could be if they cared too much.

The noise from the forest continued the next day. Again well after the greater light rose they go stumbling through the forest. There was no noise from the killing sticks. That night there was more loud shouting. And again the smell of burnt meat, but this time is was not deer they were burning. The deer remained off the meadow and nibbled on the grass they could find in the forest. By now the herd knew if they heard Man sounds from the meadow, stay off the meadow even at night.

The following day near the rising of the greater light he heard something different. First there was a strange noise like a huge bird calling very loudly. It called high and low and it sounded like there was more than one of them. Then there was loud shouting from the direction of the Man cave. Next he heard the sound of killing sticks, but these were not as loud as the ones he normally would hear. After that he heard nothing for a while and then more of the strange bird calling and more yelling. Then after some more loud noises, he heard nothing.

None of this he had heard before and he looked to both Claris and Carie who also seemed puzzled. There were no more noises, no more sound of Man walking through the forest. It was as quiet and peaceful as before.

"What was all of that?" Claris asked.

"I do not know, but if I hear nothing else, I will go look at the meadow after dark. Until then, I hear or smell nothing so I am going to try and get some sleep."

After dark, Balo and he watched from their normal viewing place. The meadow was empty, the Man cave was dark, and there was not a hint of the scent of Man."

"It looks safe to me," Balo said looking it all over carefully. "I see no trace of Man."

"Nor do I, but watch." he told him.

He walked out into the meadow near the trees and called as loud as he could. He did not call for anyone, just wanted to call out and see if anything happened. After a while, nothing moved on the meadow. He then called for the rest of the herd to come to the meadow. In twos and threes they came until the entire herd was there. They all started eating the fresh grass on the ground.

"He was eating when he saw a young doe come up toward him. He did not recall her name, but she looked upset at something. She walked forward looking upset.

"Herd Leader," the doe sobbed, "My fawn is gone. Man took her."

"Man took her," Stena said looking at her strangely.

"When Man came into the forest, I hid my fawn and then ran trying to lead Man away. Man did not follow me but instead went near where my fawn was. I head the killing stick so I did not go back until after dark. Where I left my fawn, there was the smell of Man and a pool of blood. My fawn's scent was in the pool. My fawn is gone."

Balo took a deep breath. "First Gerta and now this," Balo growled.

Now he knew where the burnt smell of the deer meat came from. Man killed an infant fawn and burned that. What pleasure could anyone have killing a defenseless fawn for enjoyment?"

"I am sorry," he said to the doe. "You are right, your fawn is gone."

Maybe the doe hoped that he could give her some good news about her fawn, but there was none to be had. The doe turned and walked away. There was always next year he hoped.

"I so much wish there was something we could do to stop this," Stena said.

"Not any more than I do," he said and walked away suppressing his own boiling anger.

Chapter 2: Unusual Guests

It was in the afternoon of a late spring morning that he heard the noise from the meadow. It was the voices from Man, only these sounded differently. He raised his head. This awaken Claris on his left and Carie on his right, who both raised their heads along with him. Little Stuben remained asleep. He continued to listen. There was no banging of things together. There was no loud shouting. Instead there were Man voices, but the voices were not the deep menacing voices of before. These voices were quieter and sounded much different. There was the sound of only one barking dog instead of many. There was a fire on the meadow his nose told him, but no smell of burning meat. This was different and he needed to know what type of danger Man posed this time.

"Both of you stay here," he told them "There is something strange here and I want to see what it is."

He would not normally move about in the daylight with Man around, but the noise was stationary and nothing alerted him. He moved down to his viewing spot and looked.

He saw two Man animals lying still near the Man cave. Outside there were many Men, but not the same as before. These were not tall, there were smaller Men, almost tiny. They were also running around together playing like new fawns. He saw one dog running after the smaller Men, but this was a small dog, hardly a threat to even a fawn. There were larger Men there, but these were also different. They wore outside skins that did not cover their bodies, and they did not have killing sticks. From here he could not pick up their scents, but from his time living with Man he could recognize these were Man doe and Man fawns. It did not look like they were getting ready to hunt.

He caught a brief scent of Balo and Stena behind him with young Delon. He got down on his knees and lay looking into the meadow. The others came up to him.

"I heard the noise," Balo said, but it was different so I came to look with Stena."

"I heard it to," he said. "Come over and lie down next to me," he said to them. "I want to show you something I have not seen for many seasons."

"Can we stay also," came Claris's voice from a distance.

He did not know what bothered him the most: that Balo brought Stena and Delon in daylight to something they knew nothing about, or that his own mates had come even after he told them to stay where they were. He let out a deep breath.

"Well you are all here now so yes, please come in and lie down. There is no danger here, I think," he told them trying to keep any trace of anger out of his voice.

As soon as they all lay down and relaxed he turned to Balo. "Very well Balo, now what do you see?"

Balo looked over the scene carefully. "These Men are different. They look differently, they wear different skins. They seem to be more playful this time. Not like the others were have seen. The dog also looks different.

He waited until he was sure Balo was finished. "What are they carrying?" he asked him.

Balo looked carefully and then he finally saw it. "They do not have killing sticks," he said.

"Correct," he told them. "I have seen this before when I lived with Man. The shorter Men with the longer fur from their heads are Man doe. The small Men are Man fawns. What you see is a Man family."

All of them looked at him in amazement. None of them have ever seen anything like this. Usually only the Man males came into the forest with killing sticks. These Men had no intention of hunting.

"Why would they bring their doe and fawns into the forest?" Claris asked him.

"I have no idea," he told them. "However these Men are not here to kill and that little dog is of no threat. I think we can still use the meadow at night. We will watch them to make sure no more join them."

"You do not think of Men having families like us," Stena said looking curiously.

"The Man fawns run around like our own fawns," Carie added.

"Yes, that is true," he told them. "Yet, Man must have families. The Men must come from somewhere. I have never seen Men fawns except near a Man cave. When I was a fawn myself, some of the Man fawns would play with me. That changed when I got older. They left me alone and put me in a very small clearing. That clearing had like vines or something else surrounding it so that I could not leave. I stayed there until one day the part of the vines the small Man came through was left open. I found a way to leave." He put his head back on the ground. "Since we are all here and there does not appear to be any danger, I plan to sleep here today. We can see more tonight."

Everyone nodded their approval. First both Stena and Carie fed Delon and Stuben and then walked them both around a while so they would empty themselves before leading them back. Stuben like his brother and sister before him would get between him and Carie and go to sleep almost immediately. Little Delon would do the same between Stena and Balo. He lay on the ground and watched the small Men run and play until he finally fell asleep.

It was the smell of a fire that woke him. He looked across the meadow. The wind direction had shifted blowing the wind into his face. With the wind came the smell of burning meat, but it was not the odor of deer, birds, or even bear. This was meat, but a different meat. He remembered the odor from when he was a fawn. One thing he was sure of, these Men did not go hunting during the day. So if they have meat, it came with them. The others woke up and looked at the scene.

"I do not care," Stena complained. "I do not like the smell of burning meat. It brings painful memories."

"Yes," Balo agreed and started to walk away.

"These Men should go into their Man cave later on," he told them. "I do not see any killing sticks so after the Man cave goes dark, it should be safe to eat on the meadow."

"We will come back then," Balo told him and led his family away.

He could not blame them. He did not like the smell either. He turned to Claris and Carie. "Both of you should go with them. I will be back tomorrow night. I want to look at something. "

Carie stared at him, a look of worry on her face. "Be careful please?" she asked. Claris said nothing; she knew better.

"I am always careful, but something here needs to be looked at closely and it is best if I do this alone," he said and walked off down the other side of the meadow.

He traveled down the bear's side of the meadow taking care not to make a sound. He stopped when he was directly below the bear's den. He let out a single low bleat before walking on. He was approaching the Man cave from the other side of the forest. Something he would never try to do if Man was present, but those were men with killing sticks. There were no killing sticks here. Something was bothering him. He had seen Man come into the forest before. Every time he had seen them, Man was there to kill something. These Men did not seem interested in killing. He wondered why. When he lived in the Man cave, there were times when killing did not happen and the Man fawns would play with him. They all seemed to have fun. Then other Men with the killing sticks would come and there was no more fun, only killing. What was the difference between the two? Why did Man turn from playful fun to deadly killing? The bear and the others killed for food. What made Man kill for pleasure? It was always the one thing he never understood and he wanted to know.

He found a spot he could watch the Man cave and he waited. Outside the Man cave the Man fawns were still running around shouting. The small dog and the large Men and Man doe would chase the small Men. There was laughter and they seem to be having fun. A short time later he heard the bushes move behind him and heard the pounding of large feet on the ground. The bear came up behind him.

"I heard you and the Men. Why are you so close to them?" the bear asked.

"No killing sticks," he told the bear. "Also look, there are Man fawns and Man doe down there running around playing. This is something I seldom see. I do not think they are here for killing."

"That is odd," the bear said in a deep growl and continued watching with him. Both of them remained silent. The Men had no idea they were there.

"I smell they are still burning meats, but I do not know what kind. Certainly not my kind or your kind," the bear went on.

"Remember when I told you that Man has others kill his meat and then gives it to them," he said quietly.

The bear just nodded his large head. The bear's fat and meat smell were almost worse to his nose than the burning meat below him.

"Well that is the smell when they ate that meat. I never knew who the meat came from."

It is not like any creature I have smelled in the past," the bear said.

Both he and the bear continued to watch them. After they finished eating it was fully dark and the lesser light rose. Soon afterwards the small Men went inside the Man cave and the larger Men stayed outside. It was then they started to light themselves on fire and drink. They continued talking to each other for some time and then finally they put out the fire and all the Men walked into the Man cave. Soon the Man cave went dark and all was quiet. By now he too was hungry.

"I am going to eat some grass over by the spring," he said. "I will stay here tomorrow. "

"There are some early berries that are coming ripe at the top of my hill," the bear said. "Then I will go over the hill and will mostly likely stay there until summer. That was interesting Stranger. I have never seen Men behave like that. It is curious, but I am still going to avoid Man as much as I can."

"That is wise" he said, "But it tells me one thing. If you see no killing sticks, then Man is not dangerous. That is something I will remember. Stay well bear. I hope to see you before The Season starts."

"If I am not with a female of my own kind," the bear said. "You will smell her and know."

With that the bear turned up the hill and vanished into the darkness. He moved quietly over by the spring and found lots of fresh grass uneaten by any animal because it was so close to the Man cave. He ate there and then took a long drink from the spring. The water from the spring tasted fresher to him than water from the stream. After he ate and drank his fill he went as deep in the forest as he could and still be able to see the Man cave. After empting himself, he lay down as the first light of the new day started to light the sky.

He slept for a while and soon he could hear Men coming out of the Man cave. They started a fire and started to burn other things on the fire that all the Men ate. Soon the small Men came out and started playing around the Man cave. Then they started playing with the small dog. They kept throwing a stick that the little dog would pick up and carry back. It was as the greater light was rising that the wind began blowing over his tail. Soon afterward the little dog started to run away from the Man cave and toward him. One of the small Men ran after him. He had no fear of one dog that size or the small Man, so he stayed in place and watched the small dog run toward him. The little dog came into the same clearing as he was and stopped. The little dog started barking at him.

"Here, Here," the little brown dog barked just like the larger dogs that hunted them. He stood still. The little dog made no attempt to try and attack him. He was far too big, but it did make a lot of noise. He saw the small Man run toward him. It looked like a small doe fawn to him. It came into the same clearing as him and the dog. The fawn looked up at him standing there and backed up a step. The doe fawn was wearing an outer skin like all Men, but this one was a different color that he had not seen before. It was like a red, but not the same. He stood still. He felt no danger.

"Dar nar deeer," it said.

He wondered if it was asking if he was a deer. He nodded. The fawn came up and looked at him, but did not get too close. This Man fawn did not look like she wanted to kill him. She was too small to carry a killing stick. She looked happy he was there. He put his head down until it was only as far about the ground as the Man fawn stood. She took a step closer and then another. She reached up with her small front hoof and touched him on the head. She rubbed her hoof on his face like she was a fawn of his own. The Man fawn seemed even happier. There was no desire to kill him in this creature.

"I am Stranger," he said to the doe Man fawn.

"Nee da Iane," she said calmly almost as if she understood him.

"Iane," he said out loud. "That is a pretty name. Is that your Mother and Father there?"

"Pa Pa," she said pointing to the Man cave.

He had no idea what that meant. It was funny, he never understood Man before, but he had only known the Men where he grew up. Those Men were not nearly as small as this Man doe fawn was.

He bent over again and again the Man fawn came up to him and this time tried to put her hoofs around his neck. For a moment he felt she was going to attack him and he started to pull back. Instead she pulled his face close to her and she rubbed her face against his. Just like a fawn would do. She liked him as strange as that sounded to him, she did like him. Why were not Men all like this?

"Iane," he heard one of the large Man doe call from near the Man cave

"Aye Aye," the doe fawn said and picked up the dog before running out back towards the Man cave. He watched her get close to the Man doe and then point with her front hoof toward where he was. Was that Man doe her mother? The Man doe called out something and soon a Man showed up and she pointed toward him. He decided then he had seen enough and went back into the deep forest and away from the Man cave.

He circled around the meadow and made his way back to his clearing. The greater light was high overhead before he got there. The others were already bedded down for the day. He did not want to disturb them so he lay by the small pond and slept until the greater light was down and darkness fell across the forest.

He met the others in the small clearing that night and after they fed, he told them the story. Almost none of them believed it. He had a hard time believing it too. Man was always the killer, yet this fawn did not want to kill him and in fact seemed glad to be with him.

I never heard of any Man who wanted to be friends with us." Balo said.

"Nor have I," he explained, "And yet there it was. She seemed to want to play with me," he told them. "I have no idea why. I thought all Men wanted to do was to kill us. This little Man doe did not want to. There was no desire to kill me or any animal in this doe fawn. She acted just like one of my own fawns."

"If that is the case Father" Stena asked, "What then makes Man change?"

"I wish I knew," he muttered.

Chapter 3: The New Deer

It was two nights after the Man family left that they first appeared on the meadow. At first he did not notice them but as they ate he noticed Balo paying attention to a small group of deer eating on the meadow about half way to the Man cave. There were two males and several females. The light breeze was blowing across the meadow so he could not get a scent on them, but they did not look familiar. Soon others started to notice them and shy away from them. Finally Marco, a three year old male, came over to him with Balo and Duro just behind him.

"Stranger, do you know who those deer are?" Marco asked politely.

"No," he had to admit. "They are strangers. I do not think they are from the Man path forest either."

"They look a little thin," Duro added. "Could they be from Bambi's old forest?"

"They do not look familiar," he said studying them closely. Duro was right both males and the females looked thin and there were no fawns which at this time of year; that was unusual. Something was not right here. By now the rest of the herd was gathering around them.

"One way to find out," he said out loud. "Balo, please come with me, the rest of you stay here."

With that he walked slowly toward the group of deer. Balo was behind him looking intently. "Do you expect trouble?" Balo asked.

"A herd leader should always expect trouble," he answered. "The males do not look old enough or heavy enough to fight us. Approach closely and use your nose. Smell for sickness. If they are sick, I do not want them near our herd."

"Understood," Balo said and walked behind him.

As they approached the doe stopped eating and stood behind the two males who came forward. He got within several lengths of the larger male and stopped and turned to face him.

"I am called Stranger and this is Balo. We are the herd leaders. May I ask who you are?"

The second male came forward. They looked nervous, even a bit afraid. It was then he noticed it, there were scars on the smaller male's flank, old scars. Some male had slashed his side with antlers some time ago. The first male looked scarred in his front as if in a fight during the last Season. Both males started to turn and walk away.

"Stop!" he ordered. "I will not harm you as long as you do not try and harm my herd. I can see you are thin and you have been in fights. I will not fight you unless you force me too. Now please tell me your names?"

The deer looked among each other not seeming to know what to do. Finally the larger one stepped forward. "I am Relno," the bigger male said in a meek voice. "This is my younger brother Rasno. The females are Kelane, Kelris, Lacine, Nalene, and Geran. We have come to seek shelter from our old forest. We are hungry and food is not as abundant in our old forest as it is here."

"What forest do you come from?" he wanted to know.

The male pointed his nose toward the bear's den. "Over that hill is another forest. In that forest are many deer and not as much food. We came to find a better place to eat."

"That is understandable," he said looking them over. Again he wondered about the lack of fawns. He could clearly see some of the doe were nursing. "I do not see any of your fawns," he said.

"We were not sure we would be welcomed, so we left our fawns hidden," Relno said.

Balo walked up to him and whispered in his ear. "They seem safe enough and I do not smell any sickness, do you?"

"No," he said in a low voice. He then slowly walked over until he was within three lengths of Relno."Very well, you may stay here if you wish. If you want, you can join the herd here. In the meantime, please fill yourselves and feel free to eat with us. I recommend staying on this side of the meadow. Man sometimes visits the Man cave there and on the other side lives a large bear and he may go after your doe or fawns.

He could almost see the relief on the faces of all the deer. With that he turned around and walked back to his own herd. He called the older males together and any of the doe that were interested and explained the situation. No one seemed to care much. In this forest there was food enough for all.

They stayed on the meadow until he saw the first hint of the greater light and he called the heard away. Even the other deer left the meadow going back to their bedding areas. As he, Claris, Carie, Stuben, Balo, Stena and Delon left the meadow and walked past the little clearing he stopped and sniffed the air making sure no one was about.

"Something is not right here," he said in a low voice. "I used to live in that forest before I came here. There were many deer that lived there and there was always plenty of food. Now suddenly there is no food there. Some of those deer were close to starving."

"You think they are lying?" Balo asked suspiciously.

"No," he said. "They had the scent of the deer that live over there, and I did not detect any falsehood in their talk. No something has changed in the other forest and changed for the worse. If it is that bad over there I am afraid these may only be the first to come to our forest."

"If too many come over there will be little food for us!" Stena realized.

He nodded his approval. "You are correct my daughter. We must keep a close watch on this. Tell me if you see or smell any new deer on the meadow. Do not discuss this with the others."

"Do we do anything now?" Claris asked.

"No, for now we watch and see," he told them. "Now it is getting light and I am tired. Let us get some rest while we can."

"With that they parted and he went back to his bedding area. Carie fed Stuben and walked him around the forest until he emptied himself. Then they all bedded together with Stuben again slipping in between him and Carie. They all soon fell asleep and rested until the greater light had almost set.

That night on the meadow the seven new deer came back, each doe had a small fawn. When he looked at the fawns he was shocked that they were all so thin. It was still late spring. There was still plenty of time before The Season and winter to have them gain weight. They came early and ate for a long while. He waited until they looked finished before he and Balo went over to Relno again. He seemed to relax more this time.

"I am looking at those fawns," he said sounding concerned. "They need to put on weight or they will not survive winter."

"I know," Relno said. There was not much grass in the forest where most of the deer eat so there was not much milk."

"Well you will find plenty of grass here, so eat hardy," Balo added.

"Thank you," Relno said with a bow of this head. "Some of the doe are already starting to look better and there is more milk for the fawns."

"I used to live in your forest and there was plenty of grass," he said to Relno, but loud enough to be heard by the others."There was a big open meadow with a large stream that ran through it. There was lots of grass there."

"I know," Relno said. "I remember hearing the older doe talk about the strange deer that lived with us before disappearing over the hills. That was in the better seasons."

"What happened?" he wanted to know.

"Razor came and killed the old herd leader and then he and several larger males took over the herd. He told us only they could eat on the meadow. Everyone else had to make do with what they could find. When my brother was caught on the meadow, although only a fawn himself, he was slashed by one of the males."

"That is stupid," Balo said.

"Yes it is, but many deer have more muscles than head," he said thinking of Tarro in Bambi's forest."Well we do not do that here."

The next night he saw four new deer on the meadow. They were in the same shape as the others. One doe had newly made wounds on her side. When he questioned her, he was told she had been kicked by one of the lead males for trying to leave the forest. The following night two more new deer came. Now he was getting concerned. It seemed like the entire herd would find its way to his forest. The new deer mostly stayed together, but they did move closer to his herd. Once they knew he wasn't going to chase them out they relaxed and became friendlier. All told him the same story. Razor and several males were trying to control the entire herd over there. It was flee, and maybe get killed, or die of starvation for sure.

That was the last of them. Over the next few nights no one new came to the meadow. He kept watch, but he saw no new signs of deer. Two nights after the last group showed up Balo finally said.

"Do we do anything about this?" he wanted to know.

"As long as we do not get any more coming over, I would say no. He knew his herd had many deer. His herd numbered two for every three deer on the meadow. It would mean using most of the meadow and that meant eating closer to the Man cave which made him nervous.

Although he kept his eyes open for new deer, he saw none. Slowly Relno and the other started eating closer to his herd. It was not very long before they started to fill back out and the fawns looked much healthier. It was several nights later he got a surprise. Veron walked out of the forest and into the meadow. It was the first time he had seen him in this forest since he left. Both he and Balo walked quickly over to him.

"Veron, I am happy to see you," he said and nuzzled his forehead.

Balo did the same and he returned the gesture of friendship. He then looked around and seemed to get very serious. "Stranger I need to talk to you and Balo alone."

Balo and he looked at each other, both of them concerned at Veron's serious tone. Something must be wrong. "Come with me," he said and ran into the forest not stopping until he got near the old Oak.

He smelled around and satisfied they were alone, he nodded. "Veron, what is wrong?"

"Have you had any new deer come into your herd recently?" he asked.

"Several," he told him. "They all come from over the hill in the other forest. There is a group of males making life hard for the rest of the deer."

"I have had many come to my forest. I am concerned about that. If too many deer come, it will bring more of Man. Right now the herd is small and so Man does not bother with us. If there are many deer, we will have Man all over the forest come The Season."

Veron was right. Man did not hunt in places where there were few deer. "How many have come?" he asked.

"About as many that went with me when we started," Veron said.

"What about food?" Balo asked.

"We have plenty of food; all we have to do is go deeper into the forest to get it. It is not the food that I am worried about. It is Man."

He thought about this for a while. What could he do? If they chased the deer back over the hill, they most like die in the next winter. If they stayed here, then what Veron was afraid of could easily come to pass, not only in the Man path forest, but here as well. No matter what, he would not send deer away to die of starvation.

"Veron, I do not know how to stop this," he said. "You have seen those deer, they were starving. It was come or our forests or die. If we send them back they may all die and I will not be responsible for that. Your Father would not allow it either. You will need to spread the herd out more so not all of them live close to our forest."

"That is where I sent them," Veron explained, "But deer like to be together so they are always coming into the area where we live in. And that is not all," Veron added. "There have been sightings of large males in my forest. So far neither Stabo nor I have seen them, but others have. They seem to be looking for these deer."

"Most likely the males in charge of that herd," he realized. "This may mean trouble if many of them come around. We might have a big fight in our forests; a fight we will be outnumbered in."

"That is what Stabo told me," Veron went on. "I need your advice Stranger. If my Father was near I would ask him."

"I know," he said letting out a deep breath. This was serious. Those males could come here and kill all of them. He could fight well, but he knew he could not fight that many at once. Stabo and Veron while good fighters could not fight that many either. If more than three came at once, it would be hard for him and Balo to beat them by themselves. Stabo and Veron were in the same condition.

It was then he smelled Claris approach from the meadow. She was walking in a hurry. He bleated once so she could find him. She trotted into the small open spot looking out of breath.

"Stranger there is a large male standing at the other edge of the forest across the meadow. I am sure he is not from our herds and he looks too healthy to be trying to run away from the others."

"It starts," he said. "Claris get the others off the meadow. Go now!"

Claris took off at a run heading for the meadow. He turned to face Balo and Veron. "You two come with me. Let us see what this male wants."

He led them away at a trot and came into the open of the Meadow. There across the meadow stool a large male. Not quite his size, but as large as Balo or Veron. He had a good rack that was growing out. He moved toward him with Balo and Veron behind him. As he got closer the deer noticed them and started to study them closely. The male didn't move, he didn't say a word, and just stood there and stared at them. When they got more than halfway across the meadow the large male turned quickly and ran up the hill without a sound. This deer knew how to move.

"What was that about?" Balo asked.

"He wanted to know if this herd was defended. Now he knows for sure it is and by how many. He will go back and tell whoever sent him."

"Do we go after him?" Veron asked cautiously.

"No, not now," he answered "Did you see how he disappeared without a sound which means he is experienced. The wind is also blowing the wrong way for us to follow him. For now we have to let him go. Besides I am not interested in him. I am more interested in who sent him and why. I can take a guess at who and why, but I like to be sure."

"Razor," Balo said.

"Correct," he said. Now he was sure there was going to be some kind of a fight. Only he did not know how many and how big they were. He did not like where this was going and he did not like their chances. They needed a plan.

"Veron," go back to your forest and stay with Stabo. I will come in a few days and we will discuss what we can do. One thing for sure, if we try and fight them in a stand up fight, we will lose."

"Thank you Stranger," Veron said. "I will ask Stabo to think of something."

He hoped Stabo could come up with something because right now he had no idea what to do. He watched Veron trot off toward his forest. He looked over and saw the first sign of the rising of the greater light.

"Go back to Stena," he told him. "I need to think."

Balo left silently. He went back to his clearing and again lay between Claris and Carie. He found he could not sleep and got up when the greater light was overhead.

He left the others and walked into the woods by the old Oak tree and tried to think of a way to beat these deer. It was not long before he heard a voice from above.

"Stranger," he heard Oswell call. He looked up at the young owl and someone new. There was a female owl with him in the big tree.

"This is Sofora, my mate for this season," he told him. "We are raising a brood in the old tree."

"That is good," he said with gladness.

Oswell and Sofora seemed happy. "What brings you here? You deer normally sleep in the day like us."

"Oh I have a problem I need to think about," he said.

"Maybe I can help," Oswell said.

It could not hurt to tell him so he explained the whole story about the new deer, why they came, and the possible threat from the other forest. It took a while to explain.

"So I am trying to figure out a way I can fight the other deer if I am forced too. We will be out numbered."

Oswell seemed to pause for a second and whispered to Sofora. They chirped together and finally he said. "My Mother once told me that some small animals run together to form a pack when I hunt them. They believe that by being all together they will scare me off or confuse me so much I do not attack them. My Mother told me in that case just pick one out and attack it. The others will still be there when you get back."

He thought about it for a moment. He had many deer coming for him, and only Balo, Veron and Stabo to fight them. Could they just pick one or two out and fight only them? If Razor and his males stayed in a group, he could not, but what if they split up looking for them. He could fight one or two together and not be out numbered."

"Thank you Oswell," he said showing appreciation in his voice. "You have given me an idea."

With that he hurried back to his bedding area, happy for the first time in days.