The story begins on Christmas Eve, 1793, seven years after the founding of the village of Templeton. The widowed Judge Marmaduke Temple, wealthy landowner, is returning to the town with his young daughter, Elizabeth, who has recently completed her schooling in New York. As they travel, they hear the cry of a pack of dogs, and Temple orders his slave, Agamemnon (“Aggy”) to stop the sleigh. Temple readies his shotgun, and a deer bounds across the road. Temple shoots, seemingly missing with both shots, and two more shots ring out from in the forest, killing the deer. Out of the woods emerges Nathaniel “Natty” Bumpo (or Leatherstocking), an aging but talented woodsman, and his young companion, Oliver Edwards.

Leatherstocking criticizes the Judge’s choice of a shotgun, rather than a long rifle like he uses, saying it is not suitable for killing deer. Temple insists he dealt the fatal blow, and they argue over who has the right to keep the deer, as game is becoming harder to find in the area. Leatherstocking says that he did not kill the deer either, but rather Oliver. He shows Temple where each of his pellets landed: four in the

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