{roe} deer           
                                
                                
                                    
                                          
                                          
 [picture  of a deer  head,  in a garland 
         woven of various grasses.        
 the deer has  a  crown  of rowan, and is 
         looking at the viewer.]          
                                          
                                     
                               
                                     
                                          
 in the north, the deer is  often used as 
 a  symbol for  the forest's  agency,  or 
    its self-knowledge. watching eyes.    
                                          
 warmer  regions instead  ascribe  it the 
 knife  (teeth,  rumors  of violence), or 
    obsession (unblinking eyes, always    
      awake, scrapie-like behavior).      
                                          
                                     
                               
                                     
                                          
 the deer  is a cross between a horse and 
 a  dog. it  bears  a  resemblance  to  a 
 young    salix   tree,    and    has   a 
     sweet-smelling nose, like honey.     
                                          
 the  horns of a deer is  called antlers. 
 they have  a  complex fractal shape, and 
 are  believed  to  enable  the  deer  to 
 "fold" through  passages which should be 
 too narrow for them.  antlers  from dead 
 deer   seem   to   lose    this   power. 
                                          
 a deer's heart  has  two chambers, where 
 it stores all the  secrets  it might see 
 during  the  course of  it's  life. with 
 age  the  secrets  will  harden  into  a 
    caramellized structure, which will    
 eventually block the flow of  blood, and 
              kill the deer.              
                                          
                                     
                               
                                     
                                          
 [picture of  a deer head. from  the  far 
 side,   looking   the  other  way.   its 
          antlers are bloodied.]