The next day, as we pulled into a lock, the lock keeper informed us a deer had fallen into the canal behind us. He was going to try to rescue it – if we didn’t mind waiting. Of course, we didn’t.
We looked behind us. At first we couldn’t see anything – then, a tiny head going back and forth across the width of the canal.
But it couldn’t get out. Steel barriers put up to stop erosion of the banks were also a barrier for the deer. The lock keeper, who had driven his VNF van down to where the deer was, was shouting and clapping – trying to get the deer to move towards the lock where there was a bit of concrete it might be able to use to climb to get out. Time was running out. There was now a real danger that if the deer didn’t get out soon, it would become exhausted and drown.
Finally, it began getting closer. And reached the concrete. It started to climb.
But it couldn’t do it. It would get partly up, fall, and side back into the canal. Each attempt was sapping what little strength it had left.
One more try and it was up and running into the woods. Applause from Jeannie and me.
The lock keeper told us the deer get drunk on fermented fruit they find on the ground. At least this story had a happy ending.