The “House Critters” Rainy’s Romp

  The day started normally for the house critters. Henrietta Bobbie Bunny, Blue Booby, Ducky Duck, Big Bunny, and Rainy Reindeer were resting on the couch after breakfast. They were planning out the day when Rainy said, “I am going out into the woods behind the back yard fence to find the deer we saw while looking out the window”.

 This caused some discussion, as the rest of the critters did not think Rainy would find them. It had been quite a while since the deer had jumped the back yard fence and gone into the woods. Rainy decided to go look for them anyway after being warned that not all the outside critters were friendly. Barb went down to the basement which let him get into the entryway. A short time later Bob came in from outside and Rainy slipped out for his romp in the woods.

 The critters watched out the dining room window as he walked through the back yard. While the real deer had jumped over the fence, Rainy walked under the bottom rail and steped over the concrete ledge that surrounded the flower bed.  He had never been here by himself before and now wondered if this activity was a good idea. He looked back at the house and saw the other house critters waving at him. Now he had to go on, but which way would be best. They had talked about cats and dogs before he left, so he decided to get into the woods as quickly as possible. He trotted across the open space behind the back yard and into the woods where he stood by a tree. He scanned the area around him and then just listened for a while. Rainy, like all deer did not have good long distance vision. His smelling and hearing were very good, especially when compared to humans. He hoped to get a clue of which way to go, but not a scent or noise helped him with that decision. It was time to do something, but he was scared of going further into the woods. Would just standing here a while longer then going home be a better idea? He could tell the others that he looked around and did not see the deer, just what they all though would happen.

 While he waited he noticed more noises in the woods, saw other critters, and actually felt more relaxed. There was another tree not too far from where he was that took him toward the bigger part of the woods, then another tree that did the same thing. He went on like this until a small clearing was in front of him, where he smelled the other deer. They were not here now, but this was the place they used to bed down for the day when they were in the woods. He was very happy that going further into the woods had been a good decision, as he now knew where to look for them if he tried again. After walking around the clearing and smelling everything, something all critters seem to do, Rainy decided to head home back through the woods using his tree to tree route.

 He had not gone far when he heard the noise he had been afraid of hearing. Barking sounds were coming from ahead of him. He could not just move faster toward home. He tried to move behind the tree next to him, but was surprised he could not move. He did not know, because he had never been this scared, that one of a deer’s natural instincts is to not move. While an outside deer would be ok with this it made Rainy even more scared and the longer it lasted the worse he felt. It seemed like a long time went by before he started to feel less frozen and also noticed that the barking had stopped, which made him feel much better. Just to be on the safe side listening for a while seemed like a good idea and then he continued on his way. Soon the open area behind the house was in view, but instead of going straight into it he remained in the woods until getting to the tree he started at. Rainy did not know a word for how he felt. He felt good with his friends and the home he got to stay in, but the feeling was different about his romp in the woods. He decided he liked that feeling and would come out into the woods again real soon!