{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.]