Oh Deer

Oh Deer

The deer of Three Meadows were quite proud of their neighborhood. It was a single entrance, single exit neighborhood with three cul-de-sacs. This made it very safe for the fawns since fewer cars and slower speeds translated into fewer collisions which meant fewer injuries and fewer deaths for the deer herd. In real terms, the Three Meadows herd could boast that in the 50 years since the first houses encroached on their territory, there had been no collisions of cars and deer. Not so, however, on the through streets just outside the neighborhood where several fatal deer fatalities occurred every year.

Despite warnings from the Mama Does, and their antlered leader, Buck, every year or so a fawn or yearling’s curiosity got the better of them and they ventured into the high traffic areas outside Three Meadows. For this reason, the disappearance of Jimmy, one of the yearlings, was of great concern for Jane, a doe, who was Jimmy’s mother. She had fawned over him ever since his birth and she was quite beside herself in fear for her son’s safety. She checked with all twelve of the members of the small herd, but Jimmy’s whereabouts was unknown. Jimmy had last been seen right after dusk nibbling on the tiger lily salad Mrs Mayhew had planted for the herd in her front flower bed. No one had seen him since then.

Jimmy was not far away, but he was in the next neighborhood having crossed the through street he had been warned about. He didn't understand what all the fuss was about. He saw no danger when he crossed the street. The dog barking startled him at first, but he could see that it was a fenced-in dog, and therefore no threat.

Plus, it could not be too bad in this new neighborhood because he had come upon another herd of deer. They didn't exactly welcome him, but the lead stag checked him out and decided he was too young to be a threat to his leadership, and decided to just ignore Jimmy.

Just when Jimmy started getting bored, he heard a soft voice behind him say, "Hi, Are you lost?". He turned and beheld the prettiest young female deer he had ever seen. "I, I'm not lost, " he stuttered, although he was lost in the roundest deepest brown doe eyes one could imagine. "I'm Jimmy... from across the big street."

"Oh. We never go over there. It is far too dangerous. Was it scary?"

"Not for me,," Jimmy said, puffing out his chest hoping to impress her. "Nothing scares me."

"By the way, my name is Julia," she said. "You must be very brave."

Feeling more and more confident, Jimmy said, "Yes, I must, ah, I mean, I am," he said, beginning to feel a little foolish. "Would you like to see where I live? We could go there now."

"But, the street, the danger?" she hesitated.

All the while Julia's mother watched and listened to their conversation. Julia looked over at her mother questioningly, and saw her mom nod "Yes."

So Julia said "Yes" to Jimmy. Julia followed Jimmy to the street, and after they both looked and saw nothing that would attack them, they hurried across the street, crossed through Mrs Adams and then Mr Mullins back yards, and found Jimmy's herd.

Jane, his mom, was greatly relieved. She assessed Julia and said, " Well, this one time, it's Okay, since you met Julia, but promise me you'll never cross that street again.". " I promise, Mama," he said. "Well, be sure you do. In the meantime let's take Julia to Mrs Mayhew's salad bed. She has some new, tasty shoots growing in pots, plus those yummy tiger lilies you like so much."

Mrs Mayhew looked out her window and said, “Oh, Deer.”