Mountain Buck and Village Doe

　　Once upon a time， in northern India， there was aherd of village deer. They were used to being nearvillages； they were born there and grew up there. Theyknew they had to be very careful around people. This wasespecially true at harvest time， when the crops were tall，and thc farmers trapped and killed any deer who camenear.

　　At harvest time， the village deer stayed in the forestall day long. They only came near the village during thedark of the night. One of these was a beautiful young doe.She had soft reddish-brown fur， a fluffy white tail and bigwide bright eyes.

　　During this particular season， there was a youngmountain buck who had strayed into the same low forest.One day， he saw the beautiful young doe， and immediatelybecame infatuated with her. He didn't know anythingabout her. But he imagined himself to be deeply in lovewith her， just because of her reddish-brown fur and herfluffy white tail and her big wide bright eyes. He evendreamed about her， although she did not know he existed！

　　After a few days， the young mountain buck decidedto introduce himself. As he was walking out into theclearing where she was grazing， he was entranced by herappearance and could not take his eyes off her. He beganspeaking： "Oh my sweet beauty， as lovely as the stars andas bright as the moon， I confess to you that I amdeeply――" Just then the young buck's hoof got caught in aroot， he tripped and fell， and his face splashed in a mudpuddle！ The pretty village doe was flattered， so shesmiled. But inside， she thought this mountain buck wasreally rather silly！

　　Meanwhile， unknown to the deer， there was a dan oftree fairies living in that part of the forest. They had beenwatching the mountain buck， while he secretly watched thevillage doe. When he walked out into the clearing， beganhis speech， and fell in the mud puddle ―― the fairieslaughed and laughed. "What fools these dumb animalsare！" they cried. But one fairy did not laugh. He said， "Ifear this is a warning of danger to this young fool？

　　The young buck was a little embarrassed， but he didnot see it as any kind of warning. From then on， hefollowed the doe wherever she went. He kept telling herhow beautiful she was and how much he loved her. Shedidn't pay much attention.

　　Then night came， and it was time for the doe to godown to the village. The people who lived along the wayknew the deer passed by at night. So they set traps tocatch them. That night a hunter waited， hiding behind abush.

　　Carefully， the village doe set out. The mountainbuck， who was still singing her praises， went right alongwith her. She stopped and said to him， "My dear buck， youare not experienced with being around villages. You don'tknow how dangerous human beings are. The village， andthe way to it， can bring death to a deer even at night.Since you are so young and inexperienced （and shethought to herself， 'and foolish'）， you should not comedown to the village with me. You should remain in thesafety of the forest."

　　At this， the tree fairies applauded. But of course， thedeer could not hear them.

　　The young buck paid no attention to the doe'swarning. He just said， "Your eyes look so lovely in themoonlight！" and kept walking with her. She said， "If youwon't listen to me， at least be quiet！" He was so infatuatedwith her， that he could not control his mind. But he didfinally shut his mouth！

　　After a while， they approached the place where thehunter was hiding behind a bush. The fairies saw him， andbecame agitated and frightened for the deer's safety. Theyflew nervously around the tree branches， but they could0nly watch.

　　The doe could smell the hiding man. She was afraidof a trap. So， thinking to save her own life， she let thebuck go first. She followed a little way behind. When the hunter saw the unsuspecting mountainbuck， he shot his arrow and killed him instantly. Seeingthis， the terrified doe turned tail and ran back to theforest clearing as fast as she could.

　　The hunter claimed his kill. He started a fire，skinned the deer， cooked some of the venison and ate hisfill. Then he threw the carcass over his shoulder andcarried it back home to feed his family.

　　When the fairies saw what happened， some of themcried. As they watched the hunter cut up the once noblelooking buck， some of them felt sick. Others blamed thecareful doe for leading him to the slaughter.

　　But the wise fairy， who had given the first warning，said， "It was the excitement of infatuation that killed thisfoolish deer. Such blind desire brings false happiness atfirst， but ends in pain and suffering."

　　The moral is： Infatuation leads to destruction.

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