Page 35 - The Black Deer and Charlie Rabbit

A DECOY
Boughs on the wild cherry and crab apple trees exploded into tumbling fluffy pink and white garlands. A lazy wind stroked the long pasture grass and carried dandelion seeds away to places new. Above the meadow, the sky was a perfect blue and only the bravest of white clouds dared to bounce across it. The trees in Barns Wood had burst into life and were wearing their summer best. Tender young leaves danced in dappled sunlight as branches reached out to form intricate canopies high in the sky.
As if to compete with nature, the woodland animals seemed to be livelier and at peace with their surroundings. The younger animals had made dens and climbed trees, but despite the relaxed atmosphere that surrounded the fairy kingdom, for Charlie Rabbit, fear was never far away. The