There lived a beautiful deer king in the forest. Its ribs were golden and shiny like gold, and the fur in the rest of the place was also very beautiful, often glowing with nine colors, so everyone called it the "nine-colored deer." He was kind-hearted and often helped others, earning the respect and support of the deer herd.

One summer, it rained heavily in the mountains for days, causing floods to cause disasters.

The Deer King led the group of deer to the river and saw that the river was deep and wide, the water was fast, and the roaring waves rolled around the big trees on the mountain, galloping towards it, and all the birds and beasts dared not approach the river. The Deer King suddenly found a man walking down the river, haunting among the waves, calling for help in a weak voice: "Mountain God, Tree God, Sky God, Dragon God! Have mercy on me, save my life!"

When the Deer King saw this scene on the shore, he thought to himself, "The current is so fast that even a big fish can't get through it. Can I save this person with little strength? However, saving him is what I should do. I would rather drown in the water to save him than watch him die." He thought again, "If this person is surrounded by elephants on land, I must have a way to save him, but now that he is in the water, I may not have the strength to save him. If I rush to save him, others will laugh at me for not being able to do anything." But then he thought, "Saving people is more important!"

The Deer King jumped into the water and finally swam to the man's side, shouting to him, "Don't be afraid! Grab my horns, ride on my back, and I'll carry you to the shore."

The man rode the Deer King like a horse.

The stones and tree trunks in the water hit the Deer King, causing him to be bruised and painful. But the Deer King still held on to the drowning man and tried his best to finally reach the shore.

The drowning man didn't know how to thank the Deer King for saving his life. He said to the Deer King, "If it weren't for you, the body given by my parents would no longer exist. Now my life is given to me by you. Although you are the Deer King, my life belongs to you. Please call me when you need me."

The Deer King replied, "I don't want fame or gain. I'm willing to sacrifice my life this time, but I can't bear to see death! You should know that I am a beast living in the mountains, free to search for water and grass everywhere, never offending the houses of the people, nor the hunters; I have no one to protect me, so I am very careful, and no one outside can ever see me. This time because it is wrong to see you falling into the water and not to save you. If you really want it, I ask you only one thing - don't mention me to anyone."

When the drowning man heard this, he felt a mixture of joy and sorrow, and he knelt on the ground and saluted the Deer King, saying, "Your teachings are like good medicine, you are my first loving father here, and you are the person I respect the most. I am leaving here now, but my heart will always be with you, and I will never forget your life-saving grace! I will never tell anyone about seeing you." After said that, he reluctantly set out on the road.

After watching him leave, the Deer King returned to the herd.

The queen of this country had a dream one day that there was a beautiful deer in the forest, with gleaming hair of nine colors. She wanted antlers and skin so much that she couldn't afford it.

The king asked, "Why haven't you got up yet?"

The queen said, "I dreamed last night of an unusual deer, whose fur was nine colors and whose horns were as white as snow. How I wanted its skin for clothes and its horns for dust handles! Your Majesty! Please find a way to get this deer for me! Or I will die."

The king comforted her and said, "Don't worry about it, I am the king of a country, what else can I not get?"

The king issued a notice to the whole country: "If anyone can capture the nine-colored deer, I will divide the country with him and give him a silver bowl full of gold grains and a gold bowl full of silver grains."

When the drowning man heard that the king had used such a gift to catch the nine-colored deer, he became greedy. His mind was filled with countless evil thoughts, and he hurried to report to the king and said, "Your Majesty! I recently saw a beautiful deer in the mountains, and its fur was nine colors, as gorgeous as the seven treasures, like the full moon among the stars! The queen used its skin to make clothes, which was really good. I know where the nine-colored deer is." After saying that, his face was covered with sores.

When the king heard his words, he was really surprised and delighted, and hurriedly said, "Tell me about that place! I will catch it myself."

The man took the king into the forest. He walked to the front, followed closely by the king's army, riding thousands and thousands.

The Deer King was sleeping, and many birds in the sky saw a large group of people approaching in the distance, and the smoke billowed on the road. They guessed: "Needless to say, this must be for the nine-colored deer."

A kind-hearted crow quickly found the nine-colored deer, landed on its head, and pecked its ears.

Deer King was startled and woke up. He felt very strange and thought, "In the past, crows and other birds didnot dare fly near me." Every time they saw me, they flew around.

The Deer King immediately said to the herd of deer, "Don't panic, all of you! The king's army is here to capture me, and it has nothing to do with you all. Now we have two ways, one is that I try my best to escape, I believe I can escape, and I can also disperse the king's army; the other is that I will throw myself into the net to see the king. If you take the first method, you will all have to flee and die; so I decided to take the second method and go directly to the king. Don't be afraid, everyone, I promise you will be safe! Although I will be killed by the king when I go to see him, you will be safe, and I will die without regret." Saying that, it said goodbye to the beloved herd of deer and walked towards the king.

The king brought many soldiers and archers to search for the nine-colored deer in the mountains.

An archer was shocked when he saw a majestic and colorful deer calmly walking out of the jungle. He immediately drew his bow and arrow. The king looked at him and quickly stopped him. "Wait a minute! This deer is unusual, could it be the incarnation of a god?"

The Deer King said, "Your Majesty! Please don't kill me yet, give me some time and let me make things clear. Your Majesty! You shouldn't kill me, I am kind to your people."

The king asked, "What favor do you have for the people of our country?"

"I once saved a man from your country."

At this time, the drowning man came over. As soon as he saw the Deer King, he was surprised and delighted, and immediately pointed at him and shouted to the king, "Your Majesty, that is it! It's it!"

But unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, his hands suddenly fell from his body, like ripe rotten apples falling from a tree.

When the king saw this, he was taken aback and quickly asked, "What's wrong with your arm?"

The drowning man was too frightened to say a word.

Seeing that the king was panicked and scared, the nine-colored deer comforted him and said, "Why are you sweating, as if you are very afraid? Is it because of me? I have always been kind and never hurt anyone, please don't be afraid."

Hearing his words, the king felt a little more at ease and asked, "Why did this man break his arm when he pointed at you?"

The Deer King said calmly, "You are the king, and you should know that according to the law, if you harm people or do bad things, you should be sentenced to a heavy sentence. He is the same! This man betrayed the kindness of others and committed a great crime. His hand was broken, and he did it for himself, not me to punish him."

The king was eager to know the details.

The Deer King said, "You don't have to ask me, please ask him."

The drowning man had no choice but to tell the truth.

When the king heard this, he said, "You have done something bad yourself, shouldn't you be punished? In times of difficulty and crisis, should any little thing that others do for you be kept in mind, let alone such great kindness? Not only do you not repay your kindness, but you want to harm your benefactor, so you should be punished. Just as in hot weather, a person rests under a big tree and is protected by the shade of the tree, so he should not damage even a leaf, let alone save his life!" Saying this, the king knelt down to the deer king and said, "What is your wish that I can help?"

The Deer King said, "We beasts live in the mountains and forests all day long, looking for grass and water by ourselves. We have nothing to ask for. We only hope that the King will protect us."

The king immediately agreed to it and informed the whole country that hunting would be prohibited from now on.

From then on, the nine-colored deer and its herd lived happily in the mountains and forests.