It was freezing. The frost nipped at the doe's hooves, chipping away at her fur and crusting her mask in ice. A shiver escaped the sleeping animal, before her eyes slowly opened. She let out a sigh, watching her warm breath condense into a misty fog afront her face. Slowly, she rose her head, shivering as she did so. A bellow finally escaped her lungs, it's tone unsteady as she shivered in the cold. Her ears perked, but no reply.

Uno managed the stand up, shaking her fur free of the ice-cold sprinkles that had collected atop it. The deer let out another soft bellow, finding comfort that the warm cloud of breath gave her. Once again, no reply. She lowered her head, shaking it back and forth in dissapointment.

As her legs took a step forward to walk, the once graceful doe managed to stumble, tripping over the ice that now blanketed the once soft layer of snow. It crackled beneth her hooves, soon giving way to the icy powder beneath it. There was stillness, and soon she was wondering if shelter was even in sight. Nonetheless, she pulled her hoof free of the trap, and trotted clumsily into the direction of she what thought to be the Great Oak.

It's not admittable that the treck was easy, nor quick. She soon found the icey layer to be a useless act of nature, understanding little on why it came to be so slippery. Why would a human-faced deer know any of the sort? All knowledge was gained by experience, little to be found written down as of yet. She knew nothing of words, of stories, of why ice pleaded with her balance. Uno only knew of dancing, music, and the rythm that came with the one song she always danced to. Even that didn't have a name however, and yet she could recite out the tune with the flick of a hoof.

Finally, the tired doe spotted the mother of all trees, running to meet it only to find that the ice prevented all forms of transportation. She feel once again, her head face first into the thick layer of ice that sat snuggly atop the snow. Crash! Her ears perked for a few moments, before realizing that she had once again, clumsily, fallen into the ice's trap.

Before long however, she began to giggle, an enlightening combinaiton of bellows and whispers. She lifted her face from the ice, and although bruised, it appeared that the Gods had spared her a broken appendage. Carefully, she scrambled to her hooves, her eyes widening only to find that many other deer took shelter beneath the 'humming' tree as well! And yet, they giggled also, finding humor in Uno's silly mistake of clumsiness.

At last, the doe settled in, the lack of ice within the tree a sighing relief, and the amount of heat that lay within a warmth to her bones. And, as she lay, she looked curiously outside, wondering how many deer would trip on the ice as well-



Ah, but only non other than her sister to fall atop the ice as well!