Flurr, The Snow Fawn

Flurr, the Snow Fawn
written by Dianna Hesselman



In a snowy land far away, there once lived a family of beautiful Snow Deer.  Flurr was a young fawn at the time and she loved their home in the pine forest.  She was glimmering white, with a dappling of black and gray spots.  So were her baby brother, Shaden, and her older sister, Shadow.  And their mother was dazzling silver-gray with a dusting of white spots.  Father was smokey gray, with ebony black spots that glinted the sun like shards of black obsidian.  Both parents were very proud of their pretty girls and handsome little buck.

Every morning bright and early, Flurr, Shaden, and

Shadow, would rise from their cozy beds of pine

needles in the woods.  Mother would nudge them to the opening of their home and go with them to forage for their breakfast.  They would nibble the tender growth on bushes and sweet, young grass shoots just beneath the snow.  Then they would shake their sleepy little heads until the ice crystals glistened all around them in a beautiful circle of Color.  They were always amazed at the beauty of the Color Circle as it hung there in the air! 

 In fact, much of their time was spent at the edge of

the Great Meadow, running through the powdery snow

and creating a great Dusting in the air.  Then they would

stand absolutely still and watched the colors sparkle

all around.  But try as they might, they just could not

catch the colors and take them home with them. 

Oh, how they would love to keep some it...especially Flurr, who just KNEW in her heart that it would make such Beauty in their home if she could just bring it there! 

She spent a bit of time everyday thinking about

how to catch the pretty little specks of color.  She made

up her mind that when she grew up, she would gather

color and share it everyone that lived in her snowy

world.  Now all she needed to do was to make a Color Catcher.

One day, Flurr watched her brother and sister

breathing rings of fog into the air with their breath. She

pondered the funny little puffs that floated lazily away

from them, finally disappearing.  She tried it, too! 

"Whooo!," she puffed.  "Whooo-hoooo!" Little circles of cloud floated in front of her.  Flurr laughed with delight!  Such magic!  She was so joyful that she pounced over the snow in skips and leaps, stirring up the drifts and making the air sparkle around them. 

After the crystals had settled to the ground, something sparkling overhead caught her attention.  

  There, a row of icicles hung on a small

branch!   In fact, many of the branches were decorated with them!  The morning sun was shining on them now,

and making colors dance and shimmer!  With great care, Flurr stood up on her tiny hind hooves and gently pulled the tender branch off the tree with her teeth.

"What happened to the Colors?" She pondered.   But as she walked toward her home in the forest, the sunbeams followed her and the icicles burst into color! "So that's it!" Flurr amazed to herself.  "The Sun and the ice and snow are Friends! They have a Color Mixing Party whenever they meet!" 

"Shadow!" she called.   "Shaden!!  I found a Color Catcher!"  Shaden looked up from his play and Shadow from watching her baby brother romping about with a

family of Snow Bunnies.  Both Shaden and Shadow bounded toward Flurr so they could see her Treasure.   How pretty the icicles sparkled!  "Way cool," breathed Shaden, as an big puff of steam burst from his mouth!  Shadow looked knowingly down at her little brother and sister, and smiled. 

Flurr took the icy branch to their hollow in the forest and sat it on the large boulder by her bed of pine needles.  The Sun and Ice mixed colors that beamed brilliantly all around them.   Flurr was very happy!

The three fawns went out to the Great Meadow and played through the morning.

They chased bunnies.

They had races on the edge of the Meadow. 

They blew fog rings into the crisp air.

Flurr noticed that when they came in for lunch, the Color Catcher was seemed smaller.  The day still lay before them with so much fun to have that she almost forgot about her Color Catcher.

They burrowed a snow tunnel.

They ate holly berries for snacks.

They played Keep Away From The Wolf.  Shaden loved being the Wolf! 

As the Sun sank down behind the forest, Mother's voice echoed out to her babies, "Come in for supper!"

"Bet I can beat you!" sang out Shaden.

 "Last one home is a stinky skunk cabbage!" yelled Flurr. 

"Haha! I win!" laughed Shadow, as she bounded ahead of them and she tripped and skidded right into their home.  Holly berries went flying in every direction!  "Thank you for setting the table, Shadow," Mother said with a sigh and a shake of her head.  Father chuffed.  If you haven't ever heard of a chuff, well, it is kind of like a locked up laugh.  

After stories and songs at bedtime, Flurr thought of the Treasure that she had found today.  But when she looked on the bedside boulder, only the branch remained.  But Flurr was not worried or sad at all. 

"Good night, beautiful world!" She yawned.  The three Snow Fawns stretched out and finally curled up in their warm cozy bed. 

 "I will find more Colors tomorrow," she said sleepily.  "Because I know where the Color Catchers grow."  She thought she heard Father chuff again.

 

The End