Free The Siege of White Deer Park by Colin Dann Page B

‘It must be for the Beast!’
    ‘I don’t think that can be, Weasel,’ Whistler remarked. ‘It’s too big for one animal. And, besides, can’t the creature climb?’
    ‘Yes, yes. It wouldn’t hold it,’ Fox agreed. ‘Something much more subtle would be needed for that cunning character.’
    ‘It’s not – er – something that all of us could be put into, is it?’ Leveret asked hesitantly, afraid he would sound a fool.
    The others were amused at the idea but tried not to show it.
    ‘There would be no point in that,’ Fox reassured the hare. ‘Don’t worry Leveret.’
    A familiar hoot sounded and they looked up to see Tawny Owl flying towards them. He seemed to be in a great haste about something. He landed awkwardly, bumping into the heron’s long legs and making the tall bird rock.
    ‘Sorry, Whistler,’ he muttered in a flustered way. ‘The deer – the deer —’ he started to say. Then he stopped. ‘I must remember my age – shouldn’t fly so fast,’ he murmured to himself.
    ‘What of the deer?’ Fox asked eagerly. It was obvious something of import had occurred.
    ‘They’re being – rounded up,’ Owl told them with an effort. He had tired himself badly.
    ‘So that’s it!’ the others cried simultaneously.
    ‘Yes, there are men on horseback and – and – a couple of dogs,’ Tawny Owl went on. ‘I don’t know where they mean to take them.’
    Fox enlightened the bird. Then he continued, ‘The men must want the whole herd in one place. Easier to look after them, I suppose.’
    ‘They’ll have to feed them as well,’ Vixen pointed out, ‘if they’re not left free to forage.’
    ‘Well, one thing’s for certain,’ said Weasel. ‘It will call a halt to our silent friend’s activities.’ He spoke with great satisfaction.
    ‘Yes, indeed,’ said Whistler. ‘But wait – this Beast could still get at them.’
    ‘I think we should give the humans credit for a little more sense,’ Fox said wryly. ‘They’re not likely to leave a herd of penned-up deer unguarded, are they? They’re to be protected from its ravages, not left at its mercy.’
    ‘Of course,’ said the heron. ‘How silly of me.’
    ‘ And ,’ Fox emphasized, ‘there’s another aspect. The deer might also act as bait to lead the Beast on. Then our clever Warden and his friends will pounce and – the threat is gone!’
    ‘Poor deer,’ murmured Vixen, ‘to be used in such a way. I hope the Beast will show its cleverness again by seeing sense and leaving this hunting ground.’
    As soon as Vixen had finished speaking she and all the others realized at once the implications of what she had said. They looked at one another with serious faces. The thought had occurred simultaneously to them. The Beast might decide not to leave, but simply to change its diet!
    Leveret knew that he was the most vulnerable of the group then present. ‘The likes of me and the rabbits will be its fare again,’ he said in a whisper, looking ahead with frightened eyes as if he could visualize this nightmare. ‘None of you are at such risk from it – nor have you ever been.’
    ‘We must try and look on the bright side,’ Fox told him earnestly. ‘If the Beast has developed a taste for deer, then it might not wish to forgo the treat. So, what happens? It is captured – or destroyed.’
    ‘I’m not convinced,’ Leveret replied. ‘Thank you for your encouragement, Fox. I know you mean well. But, you see, there’s something about this creature – a kind of – er – invincibility.’
    ‘Well, we’ll see about that,’ Fox said grimly. ‘In themeantime, you and your family must lie low and not stray too far.’
    ‘Oh, we’ve been doing that all along,’ Leveret said. ‘But that’s no defence.’
    ‘Leveret’s right,’ said Tawny Owl. He turned to the hare. ‘I don’t know why you can’t take a lesson from your rabbit cousins and get yourself underground. You lie out in the open with no more than a