I read this story to a friend of mine back east. After he got through laughing he told me this one...
He was walking in the forest of upstate NY one year in the early fall. The leaves were a riot of multicolors and if he remained still he could see critters preparing for winter. At one point he stepped off a deer trail and sat on a rock a few yards away, facing downhill/down-trail. He watched the forest life for about five or ten minutes and was preparing to leave when a deer came down the trail.
He stayed still, wondering if the deer would smell him and bolt or just walk past him, just out of arm's reach and screened by the bushes. He waited. As the deer approached cautiously, it stopped on the trail and suddenly stuck its head through the bushes, reaching for a particular branch.
Their eyes locked. A heartbeat or two went by with both of them staring at each other.
Then, like in a cartoon, John let out a loud
Boo!
And, just like a cartoon, the deer jerked back, lept into the air with all four legs in motion. Unfortunately, gravity worked and he came down, gained traction and bolted.
Right over John.
Worse, was in the process, the deer was emptying both bladder & bowels as he fled.
It's bad enough to stagger home with lumps, welts, contusions and bruises. It's worse when you smell like a well used deer latrine.
