The top dog in Germany isn’t a dog. He’s a stag. He’s der Platzhirsch: the toughest, biggest stag in the meadow. In autumn, he spends a lot of his time rounding up his harem of does and fighting off anybody who comes near them. The other stags stand around and bellow, but he doesn’t care because he has all the pretty girls to himself, plus the fast cars, Rolex watches, stock options, and vacation homes in the Caribbean. Does he need it all? No, but he keeps it anyway, and shows it off to his less fortunate colleagues. Because he’s a Platzhirsch. And that’s what they do.
Clare B. Dunkle
