{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.]