{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.]