'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the bush,
Nothing was stirring, not a single fleabitten 'toosh;
The tree-stand was hung in the eucalypt with care,
In hopes that the Stag would soon be passing there.
The deer were resting all snug in their bed,
While visions of giant racks danced in my head,
And 'mamma' sambar with her baby new calf
Had just settled in the wallow for a muddy bath.
When from behind me there arose such a clatter,
Cautiously I turned my head to see what was the matter,
Away to the left my eyes were in time to see a flash,
A swift movement I caught, a sneaky quick dash.
The moon in the sky gleamed on the bracken below,
Gave a lustre of midday to my traditional bow,
When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a big, a massive, a trophy sized deer,
With antlers so big, wide and the ends tipped with white.
I knew at that moment, on my wall he'd be a sight,
More rapid than eagles his course towards me it came,
And he pawed, he rubbed, then settled in vain:
"Now, come on, show me what you got!
Oh, get up, please get up and give me a shot"
To the edge of the wallow, 20m from the tree,
This old deer could not fail to hear and see,
My white face high up in the tree being blown by the breeze,
My heart, had stopped beating, had started to freeze.
So up towards the tree with my stand he stepped,
And now with a broadside shot, into my hand the bow leapt.
And then in a twinkling, I heard far and aloof,
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof;
As I drew the string and was picking my spot,
Down the game trail another deer came at a trot.
He was all dark and furry, from his head to his toe
But his antlers were tarnished with dirt to my woe,
A bundle of grass he'd flung onto his back,
And he looked like a bunyip just opening his pack.
His eyes - how they twinkled! His nostrils so flared!
His antlers! So perfect I simply stopped and stared,
His neck was massive, muscled and strong,
It had to be to hold up his head for so long,
And the mist, it encircled his head like a wreath,
The ground, with his footsteps it trembled underneath.
He was majestic, a wraith, regal and mighty,
The other deer with fear simply became flighty,
With a shake of his antlers and a stamp of his leg,
The dominant stag took down the second a peg.
He made not a noise, but went to his work,
And stepped into the wallow with splash and a jerk,
And laying his antlers to the nearest rub tree,
His head was suddenly turned facing away from me.
Pulling the arrow til I got into my back,
It sailed silently from my bow to hit with a crack,
I'd displayed the most elemental of beginner signs,
And focused entirely on the size of his tines.
Then as the deer turned to spring far away,
I saw it as clear as a cloudless and blue sunny day,
My throat it clammed up, I choked and I coughed,
I'd nearly ended Christmas, I'd just missed Rudolf!!
Topic: 'Twas the night before Christmas (Read 1147 times)
