The Banyan Deer by Rafe Martin

Author:Rafe Martin [Wehrman, Rafe Martin Illustrated by Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wisdom Publications
Published: 2010-07-23T04:00:00+00:00

But the great deer only shook his head. “O, King of Men, I cannot go,” he said. “What of the other herd? If my herd and I now leave they will only suffer all the more, will they not?

“Day in and day out your arrows will only fall on them.

“What’s more, the doe with fawn that I came here to save is in that herd. She and her unborn fawn would soon die once my herd and I left.

“What would be the point of buying our freedom at such a cost? How can I be free unless the other herd is free too?”

Seeing all this from my place of safety, I was stunned and filled with hope. My heart leapt with such fierce joy. The human king seemed astounded too.

Again he tugged his beard and stared down speechlessly into the stockade.

Then he said, “So, you would actually risk your safety and that of your herd, for this other herd, though they are none of your own?”

“I would, Great King,” said the Banyan Deer.

“I shall.”

“This is a great lesson, indeed,” admitted the human king. “Very great.” He sighed deeply. “Then so shall it be. Go now and live in peace, for I shall free the other herd as well.”

But the Banyan Deer did not leave. He again shook his head and said:

“Too long have I lived with danger to let it fall so heavily on others now. All the other four-footed animals of the forest will suffer terribly if I leave. They will be hunted without limit or mercy. How can I abandon them and be at peace myself, knowing that my freedom was bought at such a price? I know the terrors of the hunt. I, too, have lived in the midst of that fear. Free them as well, Great King—if you really mean for me to be happy and at peace, it is the only way.”

The king hung his head and pondered. Again, he sighed.

“It seems that you are determined to make crop farmers of us all! But I see your point. The wisdom of your words is clear. If you go, others will suffer all the more. So, what can I do? All the other animals shall be freed from my hunt as well.

“There. I am finished. It is done.You have been my teacher and now I feel that I have learned enough. The price of your wisdom is steep. But what you say is true. So, go and live in peace, Great Banyan King.You have freed the other herds and forest beasts.”

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