The Dance of the Deer

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Molly and her Mommy loved playing outside.  Nearly everyday, they would chase each other around the yard, play on Molly’s playset- they especially loved the swings!- or pick up twigs to play with.  But perhaps their most favorite thing to do, was to rush to the field of soft ground that lay behind their yard, and look for deer tracks.





          Deer footprints were sometimes difficult to see, as there were a lot of weeds and grasses, so they made a game of seeing who could find one first.  Molly especially liked it when she found tiny hoofprints.  She imagined a small baby deer walking through her back yard at night, maybe the deer even played with its Mommy in the yard like Molly played with hers!





          One day, when it was close to Christmas and very cold outside, Molly and her Mommy bundled up and went outside.  Molly’s Mommy went to pick up a gardening flag that the wind had blown from its pole, and Molly went straight back to the footprint field. She laughed as she trotted along, but then stopped still, a very serious look on her face.  The grasses and weeds of the field were laid over and smooshed flat in many places. What in the world had done this? 





          She called her Mommy over and Mommy shook her head, saying, “I’m not sure, perhaps a deer rolled around on the ground here and there.  That would make the grass lay down like that.”  Then she walked away, but Molly didn’t.  She was curious and could not stop thinking that she’d never seen this before.  She wondered what would cause the deer to start rolling around like that.  She thought and thought until her Mommy called and asked if she wanted to play Hide-n-seek, but even then, she did not forget.





          At dinner that night, she asked her Daddy, “Daddy, what would make a deer lie down and smoosh the grass?”





          Daddy answered, “Well sweetie, sometimes deer do that to stay warm, or to scratch an itchy spot on their backs.”





          “Oh,” answered Molly, then she ate the rest of her mac and cheese. 





          At bedtime, Molly brushed her teeth, put on her pjs, and said her prayers, then climbed in bed like always.  But, when Mommy and Daddy turned off the light and gave kisses goodnight, Molly waited until she heard them retreat to their bedroom, then she got out of bed.





          She snuck quietly to her window and softly raised the blind.  She peeked out into her backyard and saw the field beyond.  Luckily, the moon shone bright that night, and gave enough of its blue glow that Molly could see pretty well.  She decided to see if the deer would come out tonight, and if they did, maybe she would see why they had made the grass get squished.





          Suddenly something emerged from the woods behind the field.  A pure white deer!  She’d never seen anything so lovely!  The deer gracefully trotted to the middle of the field, and then something incredible happened.  It began to dance!  It trotted in dainty circles, then lept through the air, throwing two legs forward and two legs back.  It spun and bowed, as if to a King, then raired up on it’s back legs and pawed the air. 





          It came back down and bowed low, it’s head touching the ground.  Then, it leapt up high and ran in larger and larger circles, then dove onto the ground, rolling and wallowing in the grass.  Then up it popped again, with front legs in the air, then back down again, rolling. 





          After it had repeated these lovely motions for some time, the white deer bowed on final time, as if there were some invisible royalty there watching the fine dance.  Then, it walked slowly and peacefully back to the woods.





          Molly was astounded! So this is how the grasses were being smooshed!  She watched this show every night from her room for several days, until it was Christmas Eve.  She knew it would be difficult for her to fall asleep that night anyway, so decided to take a chance on getting closer to the deer.





          After Mommy and Daddy went to bed, Molly crept silently through the house.  She soflty opened the door and went outside.  She snuggled next to her playset, and watched the woods for any sign of the white deer.  She didn’t have long to wait.





          Very soon, she watched as that majestic creature emerged and began its dance.  It was the most beautiful dance Molly had seen the deer do yet, with higher leaps and faster circles and more ups and downs and rolls.  It was simply breathtaking to watch. 





When the deer ended with a bow, Molly couldn’t help herself, and she began to clap.  The deer looked up quickly and saw her.  It took a step toward the woods, but Molly spoke to it.





“Please don’t run away!  Your dancing was so beautiful, I just had to watch.  I won’t hurt you, I promise!”





Then, to Molly’s great surprise, the pure white deer spoke to her.  In a soft and smooth voice, it said, “I am glad it blessed you, dearheart. I dance for my king, but I am happy you saw me, too.”





“Who is your king?” asked Molly, “Is he invisible?” she still couldn’t believe she was talking to a deer, but the deer seemed so friendly, that she didn’t mind.





The deer responded, “The king is your king, and mine, and he is very visible, when you know what to look for.  He is in the cold air we breathe, and the frost that is already forming, and the blue moon shining above.  Meeting you in this way, well, that’s him, too.”





Molly didn’t understand exactly, but she thought aloud, “That sounds like God. He is everywhere in His creation, and He makes magical things happen.”





The deer nodded and said, “Especially on Christmas Eve.  There is much of the old magic left from the birth of the famous one.  I come here to dance every year at this time, and especially on Christmas Eve.”





“Magic.” Whispered Molly. “Maybe God’s magic is letting me talk to you now.”





Then both the deer and Molly were so in wonder of what God was doing right there for them, that niether of them spoke again.  But they both began to dance.  Dancing together, they dipped and bowed and lept and worshipped the visible, invisible king.





When they were done, the deer nodded to Molly and returned to the woods, and Molly returned to her bed.  The next morning was Christmas and she tried to tell her parents about the dancing deer, but they told her it was just a lovely dream. 





“Maybe they’re right,” Molly thought, but she never forgot it and she never forgot to dance on Christmas Eve.

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Published on December 19, 2020 13:52
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