Disappeared Deer, a story from Bangan Forest, by Laurie Fraser

Disappeared Deer 

When Wolf howls at Moon, it is said that all Disappeared Deer hear their names. He howls each name, and they know he is looking for them; they know they are not forgotten. Their mothers and fathers hear the howling as anguish coming out of their own hearts. Wind joins in sometimes, wailing and moaning around trees and dens, calling out their names with Wolf: “Ada, Ruth, Cheyenne, Rhonda, Azraya, Edna, Marilyn, Cheryl, Delaine, Beatrice, Gladys…”

When Councillor Wolf howled the names of Disappeared Deer each night, most animals in Bangan Forest stopped to listen. It was respect for missing female deer, but it was respect for Wolf too. He was their protector. Wolf was lone by choice- he chose his own battles.

Wolf usually patrolled Forest’s edge between the border crossings. The border crossings were manned by bears, called Border Bears, who mostly apprehended contraband: designer watches, human-made food, especially sugar- which caused addiction. Animals tried to smuggle sugar in many ways: in drinks and juices, crackers and macaroons, breakfast cereal and peanut butter. Chocolate was highly valued- a delicacy for only the most powerful animals, or animals with the right connections.

Although Wolf watched for smugglers carrying packs filled with contraband, he was more involved in preventing poaching. Poachers rarely went through regular crossings. They travelled directly in and about and out of Forest without using paths. They could be any species, but poachers were usually human.

Just a week previous, Wolf had spied a young human carrying Runt Rabbit in a cage out of Heavy Woods into North Meadow. He could see Runt’s little mouth in a round O, but he couldn’t hear Runt’s faint screams. It had been an easy enough case- the human was a mere youth and easily frightened. He ran when Wolf bolted toward him. Once the cage was dropped on Grass, it was a simple matter of Wolf using his teeth to twist the metal bars of Runt’s jail door and set him free.

“I won’t forget,” said Runt, twitching wildly in fresh green grass, his nose filled with scents: Buttercup and Red Clover.

“Your silly Bunny wouldn’t last long without you.”

Runt hung his head. Bunny embarrassed him. “That’s true.” He hopped close to Wolf and hugged his ankle. “Oh Wolf, thank you. You saved me, and you saved Bunny too, and truly,“ he twitched, “you saved all our little babies. We’ve had another litter, 9 of them in Hollow Log right now.”

Wolf asked about Runt’s capture and he was led back to a knotted net set very cleverly under Low Bushes near Red Clover where rabbits love to munch. Wolf disabled the trap with his strong teeth and claws. Then he bid Runt, “Bamapii” and he loped off into Tall Birch, heading for Outer Meadow where mother deer waited.

“Bama,” answered Runt, waving. He knew Wolf was busy.

Small creatures like rabbits, turtles and snakes were caught by humans, usually young humans, and sold to pet stores in town. They even collected crickets, mice and worms to feed human pets! Bears and other large animals were sometimes “rescued” when they were children, and they ended up in Townzoo- a very uncomfortable and restrained existence indeed. It was rare though because Bangan Forest’s animals had ways to look after orphans, and they quickly became hard for poachers to find.

Yes, all of these crimes occupied Wolf, but they didn’t worry him the way deer worried him. The Deer Clan was experiencing a heartbreaking crisis: deer, often fawns, were disappearing. It had been going on for years.

Little fawns would bleep, “Meh! Meh!” and their mothers would hear and come running. But too late, they couldn’t find their baby girls. That was the odd thing about the kidnappings, (technically deer-nappings)- only females were taken.

Of course, girls are very pretty at that age: little freckles on their noses, gorgeously-awkward legs, saucy white tails. Their backs were dappled, perfect for camouflage in meadows on days with Sun.

Deer are often frightened of wolves. They have a bit of history there- well, to be honest, wolves eat deer quite often- so it was a real effort on Councilor Wolf’s part to earn the trust of mother deer when it came to investigating disappearing fawns. All told, 36 had disappeared in 3 years, just from the Bangan area. Apparently, it was happening in other forests as well.

Deer suspected their usual predators: wolves, humans, bears and cougars. They’d become more vigilant than usual. Instead of one scout watching out while Deer Clan ate, they had four scouts always on duty. Even though their mothers grazed nearby, even though they were well-hidden and sleeping soundlessly in Long Grasses, even though they had no scent yet, newborn babes simply disappeared.

Desperation convinced mothers in Outer Meadow to involve Councillor Wolf this year. Only Councillor Wolf, mind you, no other wolves. And so it happened that Wolf was allowed to come close in May when babes were born in that one particular meadow.

He waited on the edge of the feeding clan, his beige and black coat blending in with Forest and Shadow and Low Bushes. He didn’t move a whisker- he was the exact opposite of a twitchy rabbit. He knew humans couldn’t smell him, but he stayed downwind anyway.

It was only 4 days before Dozy Doe appeared. Wolf barely glanced at her- a female deer wandering through Dandelion, Red Clover and young Fireweed, grazing here and there, while 4 scouts watched over the whole group of grazers. Dozy didn’t appear threatening to anyone. If Scout raised her white tail flag and stood still, others would do the same thing. If they decided the danger was real, they would hightail it into Forest, leaping into Shadow nearby, watching over fawns lying helpless in Outer Meadow’s hiding places.

But Dozy Doe didn’t cause any flags- red or white. She meandered through Outer Meadow feasting on young Fireweed. She picked herself one pretty beige fawn with white spots, named Fawnish by her mother. By the time Fawnish realized she was being carried away and started to cry, “Meh, meh,” Dozy was already headed deep into Forest, and Deer Clan had missed the main event.

For the first time, however, someone did witness the fawn-napping, and for the first time, the victim did not disappear. Wolf’s sharp golden eyes had seen Dozy roll Fawnish into a small sack and saunter quickly out of Outer Meadow without any mothers noticing. Fawnish did say: “Meh! Meh!” but she didn’t say it until she realized she was in a burlap bag, and then it was too late.

Too late for her mother to hear, but not too late for Wolf to hear, for he was only a few steps behind. Wolf followed Dozy Doe through Forest for almost a day. It was late afternoon when she shook her sack beside Long Creek and Fawnish rolled out, bleating and sweaty. Wolf watched Dozy give Fawn some water. Then they curled up and took a nap in Shade, among Primrose, her pale yellow blossoms nodding with them.

Wolf was still watching when Dozy Doe stirred a few hours later. She blinked her eyes and checked her surroundings, using her ears and nose more than her eyes. She did not sense Wolf, of course, he was very skilled at his job. As Dozy stood, Fawnish awoke. She was frightened and hungry. “MehMeh,” she called for her mama. Dozy turned away and ate Clover and Stinging Nettle and Daisy. She had no milk to give Fawnish.

Evening stayed a very long time as he waited for Summer Solstice to arrive. Solstice was due in a few weeks. So, it was nine o’clock before Dark was completely in control; even Moon was hidden by Cloud. Fawnish was finally sleeping again. Dozy had made a juice with Hops, a lot of Hops, and when Fawnish drank it, she became quiet and calm. Dozy rolled her back into the burlap sack and tossed it over her right shoulder.

With Wolf close behind, Dozy stepped daintily through Bangan Forest, making her way out of Forest’s Centre without using any of the hundreds of available paths. She moved stealthily as she got closer to Widest Path. Wolf crept behind her, just as stealthy, just as quiet.

It seemed that no one moved at all in Darkness, but of course, raccoons and skunks and bats were everywhere. Lynx watched from Spruce’s Lowest Branch. She saw exactly what was going on- Lynx could see what others could not. She knew who was in the burlap bag.

Council had met, of course, many times about Disappeared Deer. Experts had been brought in, studies studied. Theories abounded, most of them involving foul play, humans and poachers. Councillor Eagle couldn’t let go of the UFO angle and he was harshly judged for his alien theory, but to be fair, Eagle really does fly awfully high, sometimes quite close to Sun, and sometimes he reports seeing things that the residents of Bangan Forest can hardly believe.

When Dozy Doe’s sharp hooves finally reached Widest Path, she held her head higher. She moved more slowly as she click-clacked her way down safe passage. All animals were respected on Mnaadendmowin as the ancestors called it. No blood was spilled there; in fact, arguments were rare.

Widest Path was busy with animals of all kinds. From mice to buffalo, animals used the north-south thirty-mile trail to effectively get from one end of Bangan to the other, with Debwewin River at one end and Danger Road at the other. Dozy Doe was safe in the crowd and she dallied at times, to eat some greens along the edge of Widest Path. It took Dozy Doe 6 days to reach the border at Danger Road.

Wolf was wondering how Dozy planned to get her burlap sack past Border Bears. Big and tough, Border Bears guard every legitimate crossing out of Bangan Forest. Runaways and poachers avoided busy crossings such as this one at the end of Danger Road; they knew they would be questioned and possibly searched.

Dozy had arrived with Morning and the crossing was busy. Wolf was hiding behind Buffalo’s gigantic suitcase when Dozy stepped up to Border Bear #5. Wolf could hear every word, but they barely spoke.

Border Bear #5 nodded at Dozy. She blinked her long lashes and handed him the burlap sack.

Wolf furrowed his bushy eyebrows.

Border Bear peeked into the burlap sack and then tucked it into Hollow Aspen Stump nearby. As he dumped Fawnish into Stump, he pulled out a small packet wrapped in green leaves like a gift. He handed this to Dozy. Dozy simply said, “Thank you Border Bear #5,” and she turned around and walked back down Widest Path, away from the crossing.

Wolf had one second to decide: follow Dozy Doe or stay with Fawnish.

Wolves are clever, you know, almost as clever as humans, and in a split second, Wolf came up with a third option. He darted to Hollow Aspen Stump, grabbed the burlap bag in his teeth and raced after Dozy. When she saw him coming, she started to run. It was instinct; she didn’t have to run from him on Mnaadendmowin where every creature is respected. He was unable to hurt her there, even if she was a deer-napper.

Yes, you are quite right: now is a good time to admit that this was one of the weaknesses of safe passage- occasionally wrongdoers did take advantage.

Dozy Doe was ahead of Wolf, and she was getting hard to see in the crowd. Wolf skidded to a stop, held the bag containing Fawnish close to his heart, raised his nose to Father Sky and howled. He howled the names of the missing: “Loretta, Mae, Kayleigh, Mercedes, Abigail, Barbara, Jocelyn, Donna, Trisha, Susan, Virginnia, Liz, Katelynne.”

All animals on Widest Path stopped walking and talking, so that they could hear the names. Even Cardinal and Sparrow and Wren stopped flying and settled on branches to listen. Dozy Doe had no choice but to stop running down Widest Path for as everyone knows, Mnaadendmowin is a path of respect.

“Josephine, Helen, Eveline,” howled Wolf as he approached Dozy.

“Stop it!” She hated his howling, night after night, she hated it.

“Jane, Delta, Chloe, Kelly.”

“Please stop!”

“Show me the green package you were given at customs.”

Dozy Doe hung her pretty head and pulled the package out of her pocket. Wolf took it in his paws and unwrapped giant Burdock Leaf to reveal 2 boxes of sugar cubes and one box of individual sugar packets.

“Thank you,” he said to Burdock Leaf and then put her in his mouth to chew. “Are you running a coffee house now?” he asked Dozy.

Dozy started to cry. “Give it back. You don’t understand. I need it.”

“Look at what you are doing to feed your sugar addiction. You had children once. Can you imagine someone taking them away from you?”

“Someone did do that to me.” her head was still hanging low and her voice was solemn. “My children were taken and my heart was broken and so when the sugar called my name, I had no reason to say no.”

Wolf opened the top box and handed her a sugar packet. She stood straighter then and looked around at the nearby traffic: 3 groundhogs holding hands as they waddled across Widest Path instead of down it, Jumpy Rabbit eating Red Clover off to the side, Turtle in a black cap finally making some progress.

Dozy shook the sugar packet with a shaky hoof.

“What happens to fawns?” Councillor Wolf asked her. “Where do they go next?”

“I don’t know,” shrugged Dozy, tearing the corner of the sugar packet.

“They never come home Dozy. Where are they?”

“Adopted, maybe?”

Wolf raised one angry eyebrow. “You don’t know?”

“I heard that they travel around the world, singing and dancing and having a wonderful time.”

“Heard from who?”

“Blue J.”

“You get your news from Blue J.?” He raised one bushy wolf eyebrow. Wolf dismissed stories that came from Blue Jays. Only blue jays care about what other blue jays think and that’s a fact.

Wolf performed a proper investigation at the border, even planting an informant among bear border guards, but no new information came to light. Border Bear #5 went before The Council of Seven. He testified that he always left the burlap sacks of deer in Hollow Aspen Stump at night and in the morning, deer would be gone, and two parcels would be left in her place: a bundle of berries and bark for him, and a package of sugar for the next deer-napper. He lost his job as a Border Bear and went back to his childhood name: Greedy Bear. Council asked him to join the Winter Food Cupboard Crew and over time, Greedy Bear did learn a little bit about giving.

Dozy Doe went before Council and admitted her membership in Forest Boys, a local gang mostly occupied with smuggling sugar. Eagle used Love to heal Dozy’s broken mama heart and after some time, Dozy gave up the sugar… and criminal activity too.

Fawnish was carried home on Councillor Wolf’s back. She was weak then, in need of her mother’s milk, but he got her safely back to her mama. Can you imagine the joy in Outer Meadow? It was a sight to see: deer dancing and laughing and prancing!

And now, I must tell you something difficult. Yes, the truth is hard sometimes, but we can still work together for a happy ending to this story.

This is the terrible truth: fawns continue to disappear to this day. There must be other routes, other deer-nappers. Of course, the older females are different- they choose to run away or work in Town – but they disappear too, and they are just as loved, just as hard to find.

It is still a mystery, the facts are not known, hundreds of females are lost out there- maybe as close as the nearest Town, maybe as far as a stage in Japan. They might be travelling the world. They might be trying to get home. There’s a chance, and no one wants to talk about this possibility, but there’s a chance that they’re dead. All of us here in Bangan Forest miss these fawns very much. They were supposed to grow up here, helping us, as deer do, with pruning and so on. They were our future Council members and who knows- teachers, ballet dancers, valuable protein meals.

There’s a chance too that they are singing and dancing in your town.

Could you keep an eye out for these dappled deer with gorgeous legs? Their mothers want to see them. Their fathers feel helpless. Wolf howls their names every night. You can know them if you listen: “Loraine, Nashie, Shelley, Minnie, Verna, Spring, Laura, Savanna, Jordina, Viola, Margaret, Regis, Mitzi, Rebecca, Paula, Maxine, Theresa, Vivian, Mary, Tashina, Sarah, Robyn, Patrina, Melissa, Lynn… “

After he howls the names, Wolf runs around Mother Earth, circles her every single night looking for Disappeared Deer. Moon assists, but even so, Wolf could use a hand at this point. I mean, if you see some pretty female deer on the street, please, just take a moment and ask: “What’s your name? Where are you from? Do you want to go home? How can I help you?”

Deer at Mud Lake eating Sumac

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