Once there was a little girl who lived in a small cottage at the edge of the woods on the outskirts of a small village. She lived in this home with her father, her mother, and her little brother. She was a happy little girl, but her joy became increasingly greater the day that her grandfather came home from his work carrying a long-legged fawn. This baby with its tawny hide and cream-colored spots brought such laughter to this little girl. Do you know that the grandfather carried this fawn right into the house where that baby deer hid behind the sofa? Grandfather carefully picked up the frightened fawn in his arms and knelt down beside the little girl and helped her to cradle the baby. What happened next is unclear, but the little girl never saw the fawn again.
No clear "Happily Ever After" for this little fawn.
No clear "Happily Ever After" for this little fawn.
leg·end
/ˈlejənd/
noun
- 1.a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated synonyms:
Have you ever had a memory that, as you tell it and retell it, you are a little unsure that it really happened? You have the memory...you think. But what if it was a dream that had become a memory? Or what if it really was a memory and you maybe added a couple extra details to make the story more interesting? Your story becomes its very own legend. You regard it as historical, but it has remained unauthenticated for many, many years.
Then one day, you pull out the big plastic storage container full of old family photos that you have stored in your garage and never taken the time to go through.
And the very first picture that you pull out of the stack of faded pictures is your legend. Your dream turned memory. In that picture, you find that it really was not a dream at all but a real memory! In fact, a memory that was pretty well-remembered!
I have told the kids about the baby deer that my Grandpa Bellman brought into our house late one afternoon. Right into our living room. My memory included the deer going behind the couch. I have told this memory many times, but over the years, I have wondered if it was accurate...or even real.
Today I pulled out that big plastic storage container and found that my dream...my legend...was real.
au·then·ti·cated
verb
- 1.prove or show (something, especially a claim or an artistic work) to be true or genuine: synonyms:
Here is that very first picture...
(maybe 1972?)
And here is the grandfather from the story
helping the little girl to cradle the fawn in her arms...
This is the picture that surprised me the most.
My brother and I are standing where the couch should have been.
I called my dad to see if he could authenticate this story, and I was assured that the baby did go behind the couch, so it had to be pulled out, away from the wall.
Look at the little brother.
He is so happy!
Today that little brother has a little girl who is the spittin' image of him!
I did wonder about the beginning and end of this story. You know, where did this little guy come from and where did he go when he left us? Thankfully, my dad remembered the details that I had never thought to ask.
Grandpa had gone out to the neighbor's field to cut down corn stalks. While working in the field, he saw a momma deer run across the field toward the woods. Where she had been, he saw a fawn lying very still. Grandpa decided then that he wanted to share this sweet little miracle with his grandkids, so he brought it up from the field to share it with us. After we had squealed and pet and held the baby, he took it back to the field and placed it where he had found it. He then backed away and watched. The momma deer came back to get her baby and the two of them ran off to the woods.
I am so relieved that the momma and baby were reunited. I often wondered if the baby was all alone. Then, when I found out the rest of the story, I wondered how scary that was for the momma deer. Do they feel fear? Do they panic when they lose sight of their little ones?
I am so thankful that my story now has a "Happily Ever After."
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