The Bell Beneath the Snow

The mountaineer had followed the little bells for three days, though they never sounded twice from the same direction. At dusk, he found their keeper waiting beneath the stone overhang: a white forest stag with ember-colored ears and snow caught in its whiskers. It watched him loosen his pack, then lowered its antlers. Tied to one tine was a red thread, frayed at the end. He knew it at once. His sister had worn that thread in her scarf.