The Days of the Deer Read Online Free PDF Page A

without getting muddy. Plants of the shade proliferated at the foot of all the trees. Creepers, toadstools, and tiny worms that appeared whenever their feet dislodged a
stone were the most obvious signs of life. Piukemán had been here before, so he strode on to join the path again, even though it seemed to be deliberately concealed. They zigzagged from side
to side through thick vegetation as they advanced across the dark hollow. By now they were shivering, and their teeth were chattering. Not even the cloaks they wore wrapped tightly around them
offered much protection because the damp cold rose from their feet. Then all at once the path straightened out and the undergrowth thinned. They had reached the Owl Gateway.
    In front of them stood two enormous trees. The gap between them was about the width of a man with his arms outstretched. From a distance it was plain to see that the outline they made had the
shape of an owl. Wilkilén and Piukemán stood motionless, staring at the silhouette of the bird of many names, close kin to the Earth Wizards.
    Piukemán was the first to recover. With what he hoped resembled a gesture of defiance, he signalled to his sister that they should keep going. Clasping each other tightly by the hand,
they stepped towards the Owl Gateway. As they drew closer, the outline of the owl became less clear, making it easier for them to pass through the forbidden gate.
    Piukemán wanted to whistle to show he was not afraid, but the sound would not come. Not even Wilkilén, normally so talkative, could utter a word. Although everything around them
seemed normal, never before had the forest made them feel so sad.
    As it was, they did not manage to get much further. As they rounded a bend, in a clearing by the side of the path they caught sight of Kupuka. The Wizard did not seem to hear them. He was
squatting down, his back towards them. In one hand he held a branch in the shape of a snake; with the other he was drawing something on the ground that the children could not make out. His silvery
locks cascaded down his back, and below the deerskin cloak they could see his bare feet, toughened from walking through forests and over mountains.
    Quickly, the two of them hid behind a bush, fearful of Kupuka’s reaction if he discovered them on this forbidden territory. The Earth Wizard was chanting a sacred chant. When he finished,
he turned his head towards his heart, revealing his profile. As soon as they saw it, the children realized there was something different about it. This was not the face of the Kupuka they knew. The
change was hard to define, but was no less terrifying for that. His faring nostrils quivered strangely. His chin was jutting forward, and his breathing had threads of colour in it. If the brother
and sister had been able to move their legs, they would have run away as fast as they could, all the way back to Old Mother Kush’s welcoming arms. But their legs refused to move. All at once,
Kupuka gave a howl and leapt to his feet. He sang words in a language they did not recognize. As the two petrified children looked on in horror, he began to spin round on one foot, the other one
stamping the ground as he did so.
    Kupuka’s face seemed to change each time he spun round. His voice, though, stayed the same, and he went on singing, although the sound seemed to come from a long way off. At the first
turn, his face appeared to have grown feathers. The next time, he had a hare’s muzzle. A lizard’s tongue darted out from between the fangs of a wild cat as he came to a halt, sniffing
the air.
    Piukemán could not think. Wilkilén could not cry. They remained stock still, until a stab of pain roused them from their state of fascination. Red ants had climbed their boots and
begun furiously to bite their legs. Stifling the urge to cry out, they tried desperately to brush them off, forgetting Kupuka for a brief instant.
    Before they succeeded in getting rid of all the tiny creatures by