The Fawn and His Mother

Deep in the green shade of the wood, a young fawn lay beside his mother and looked her up and down. He had been thinking hard all morning.

"Mother," he said, "you are bigger than a dog. You are faster than a dog. You have run more miles than any dog alive. You even have horns to fight with." He sat up in the grass. "So why do the hounds frighten you so?"

His mother smiled and went on chewing for a while.

"My son," she said, "all that you say is true. I am big. I am fast. I have these horns. I know it as well as you do."

She turned one long ear towards the trees.

"But when I hear the bark of just one dog, my knees go weak and I feel ready to faint. And then I run, as fast as I can, and I do not look back."