{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.]