3.  The dog, as it approached the spot where the fawn lay, suddenly stopped.  The little animal saw him, and started to its feet.  It had lived more than half its life among the dogs of the village, and had apparently lost all fear of them; but it seemed now to know that an enemy was near.  In an instant, its whole nature seemed changed; all its past habits were forgotten; every wild impulse was awake; its head erect, its nostrils dilated, its eyes flashing.

4.  In another instant, before the spectators had thought of the danger, and before its friends could secure it, the fawn was bounding away through the street, and the hound in full chase.  The bystanders were eager to save it; several persons immediately followed its track; the friends who had long fed and fondled it, calling the name it had hitherto known, in vain.

5.  The hunter endeavored to whistle back his dog, but with no success.  In half a minute the fawn had turned the first corner, dashed onward toward the lake, and thrown itself into the water.  But if for a moment the startled creature believed itself safe in the cool bosom of the lake, it was soon undeceived; for the hound followed in hot and eager chase, while a dozen village dogs joined blindly in the pursuit.

6.  A large crowd collected on the bank—­men, women, and children—­anxious for the fate of the little animal so well known to them all.  Some threw themselves into boats, hoping to intercept the hound before he reached his prey.  The plashing of the oars, the eager voices of men and boys, and the barking of the dogs, must have filled the heart of the poor fawn with terror and anguish,—­as though every creature on the spot where it had once been caressed and fondled, had suddenly turned into a deadly foe.

7.  It was soon seen that the little animal was directing its course across a bay toward the nearest borders of the forest.  Immediately the owner of the hound crossed the bridge, and ran at full speed, hoping to stop his dog as he landed.  On swam the fawn, as it never swam before; its delicate head scarcely seen above the water, but leaving a disturbed track, which betrayed its course alike to its friends and foes.

8.  As it approached the land, the interest became intense.  The hunter was already on the same side of the lake, calling loudly and angrily to his dog; but the hound seemed to have quite forgotten his master’s voice in the pitiless pursuit.  The fawn reached the shore.  With a leap it had crossed the narrow strip of beach, and in another instant it would reach the cover of the woods.

9.  The hound followed true to the scent, pointing to the same spot on the shore; his master, anxious to meet him, had run at full speed, and was now coming up at the same critical moment.  Will the dog listen to his voice? or can the hunter reach him in time to seize and control him?  A shout from the bank told that the fawn had passed out of sight into the forest.  At the same instant, the hound, as he touched the land, felt the hunter’s strong arm clutching his neck.  The worst was believed to be over; the fawn was leaping up the mountain side, and its enemy was restrained.  The other dogs, seeing their leader cowed, were easily managed.