{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.]