They eat the tender grass in the spring, and sometimes, if they live near farms, they break into the corn and wheat fields.
In the winter they eat the seed vessels of the wild rose, the hawthorn buds, the brambles and leaves. They like acorns, and, in the South, they eat the persimmons. The persimmon is a yellow plum. They feed in the night.
In hot summer days they like to wade into the ponds and rivers, and stand under water, all but their noses.
The young deer are called fawns; they are pretty spotted creatures. The mother keeps them in a quiet place where she thinks the hunters and dogs cannot get them; for men often hunt the wild deer. It is a great pity to kill them for sport, is it not?
HOW FLEET HE IS!
The deer hears quickly, and his scent is very keen too. When the hunters are after him, how fleet he is! Sometimes he leaps into the water and swims. Then the dogs lose the scent and cannot follow him. The male deer sheds his horns every year.
When the horns are growing they look as if they were covered with velvet.
