ld things brought no sense of danger
with it. It searched out the spots behind their velvet ears where they
love to be rubbed; it wandered down over their backs with a little wavy
caress in its motion; it curled its palm up softly under their moist
muzzles and brought their tongues out instantly for the faint suggestion
of salt that was in it. Suddenly their heads came up. All deception was
over now. They had forgotten their hiding, their first lesson; they
turned and looked at me full with their great, innocent, questioning
eyes. It was wonderful; I was undone. One must give his life, if need
be, to defend the little things after they had looked at him just once
like that.

When I rose at last, after petting them to my heart's content, they
staggered up to their feet and came out of their house. Their mother had
told them to stay; but here was another big, kind animal, evidently,
whom they might safely trust. "Take the gifts the gods provide thee" was
the thought in their little heads; and the salty taste in their tongues'
ends, when they licked my hand, was the nicest thing they had ever
known. As I turned away they ran after me, with a plaintive little cry
to bring me back. When I stopped they came close, nestling against me,
one on either side, and lifted their heads to be petted and rubbed
again.

Standing so, all eagerness and wonder, they were a perfect study in
first impressions of the world. Their ears had already caught the deer
trick of twitching nervously and making trumpets at every sound. A leaf
rustled, a twig broke, the brook's song swelled as a floating stick
jammed in the current, and instantly the fawns were all alert. Eyes,
ears, noses questioned the phenomenon. Then they would raise their eyes
slowly to mine. "This is a wonderful world. This big wood is full of
music. We know so little; please tell us all about it,"--that is what
the beautiful eyes were saying as they lifted up to mine, full of
innocence and delight at the joy of living. Then the hands that rested
fondly, one on either soft neck, moved down from their ears with a
caressing sweep and brought up under their moist muzzles. Instantly the
wood and its music vanished; the questions ran away out of their eyes.
Their eager tongues were out, and all the unknown sounds were forgotten
in the new sensation of lapping a man's palm, which had a wonderful
taste hidden somewhere under its friendly roughnesses. They were still
licking my hands, ne