{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.]