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The Mystery Guest

By Nikki and Nichie

There once was a kitty named CoCoa and a pup named Max who lived in a meadow that had a meandering spring flowing through it. In the summertime, they would stroll down to the waterfront and sit and enjoy watching the fish as they swam and the birds as they jumped in the cool water and splashed about and preened.

Every day they made it a point to stop by the spring to enjoy the view and the water show but recently they noticed very strange foot prints by the water's edge. These were footprints they had never seen before and every day now they surely were visible. But no matter when they showed up at this spot, they could never find whose footprints these belonged to. This now had been going on for over two weeks - those darn footprints in the grass right by the water's edge. The prints were smaller than Max the dog's and a bit larger than CoCoa the cat. Both Max and CoCoa wanted to know who was at their spot and who these prints belonged to. Nothing else seemed out of place except those darn prints.

One day CoCoa said to Max - let's come upon the pond at night - maybe whoever this is only likes to visit in the evening.

So late one night, both Max and CoCoa quietly came to the spot - and what did they see? WOW - they saw a very small deer (possibly a Key deer) - just about the size of a dog sadly sitting by the water's edge. Upon hearing Max and CoCoa approach - the deer was ready to leap away but both Max and CoCoa said, please don't go - we won't hurt you. We promise.

The deer stood very still and waited. Max asked the deer,who are you and how did you get here.

CoCoa also asked, why are you here all by yourself?

The deer said his name was Donnor, and he sorrowfully explained he lost his herd and didn't know how to find them. He told them that he would come to the spring to drink water and hunt for food when he felt it was safe. He had never been alone before and missed the companionship of his herd.

Both Max and CoCoa assured Donnor that he was welcome to join them in their daily adventures and would be a welcomed addition to their extended family. Max and CoCoa also said that if they could, they would try and help the Donnorfind his family too - but assured Donnor not to be afraid because now he had two new friends who would watch out for him.

Where Donnor's herd went, is surely a mystery - and the new friendship that evolved with Max and CoCoa, that too is a mystery. But summer always holds mysteries - which makes it a very exciting time of year!
Done

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Sunday, 04-May-2003 22:03:51 EDT