To See A Deer!

    The dusty green van pulls off the gravel road and into the empty campsite area. The van’s doors slide open and out pops a little boy and a smaller girl, along with an elderly man.

         “Grandpa, can I get some firewood while you and Laurie set up our tent?” asks the boy.

         “Good idea BJ,” answers Grandpa.

         “Grandpa, do you think there are some deer in this forest?” asks B.J.

         “More than likely. After we set up camp and get something to eat, we will go for a walk and see what we can find.  Maybe we’ll see a deer, if you’re quiet!” replies Grandpa.

         Shortly, the tent is set up, the firewood is stacked by the fireplace, and they have finished supper.

         “Well everything is ready! Now we have to be quiet when we walk through the woods. If we make too much noise we will scare away the animals,”  informs Grandpa.

The three of them head down a path that takes them to an evergreen forest.
         
“Grandpa!” shouts Laurie, “Look at all the birds and butterflies!”

“They are pretty.” answers Grandpa, “but remember we have to be quiet if we want to see some of the animals that live in the forest.”

         Just then there is a chattering sound high up in a near by tree.

         “What’s that noise?” asks Laurie.

         “Look! It's a squirrel!” replies B.J. “But I don’t see a deer.”

         “Let us climb that hill maybe there is a deer on the other side!” says Grandpa.          

         The three of them climb the gently, slopped hill and as they reach the crest they see a field filled with yellow, purple and white flowers.

         “I can not see a deer,”  Laurie says, “but look at all the flowers!”

         “LOOK! An old log cabin,” says B.J. “Maybe there’s a deer behind it!”

         As they approach the old cabin, they see that some of the walls have fallen and the roof is gone.

         “This old cabin was built by a fur trapper long ago,” informs Grandpa. “You can almost feel him overlooking us. Maybe he will guide us to a deer.”

         “I hope so,” says B.J. “We have been quiet but still have not seen a deer.”

         “You know B.J., good things happen when you least expect it,” replies Grandpa.

         “Look! Grandpa and B.J., these chipmunks are taking the seeds right out of my hand!” informs Laurie.

         “Laurie and B. J., it is getting late and it’s time to go back to camp,” informs Grandpa. “Maybe we will see a deer tomorrow.”
         
“The campsite is just over this rise, LOOK!” whispers B.J. “There is our deer, right by the tent! Grandpa, you were right, good things do happen when you least expect them!”

A big buck is grazing by the tent. He looks up and sees the three of them, then slowly saunters away into the forest.

         Grandpa laughs, “What a wonderful day, but its time to go to sleep.”          

         Crawling into their sleeping bags, B.J. says, “Maybe tomorrow we will see a MOOSE!”