Frank J. Wilstach, comp. A Dictionary of Similes. 1916.

Shy

Shy as lightning.
—Thomas De Quincey

Shy
As some stray fawn that seeks its mother.
—Austin Dobson

As shy and secret as a maid.
—James Russell Lowell

Shy as the squirrel.
—George Meredith

Shyer than the forest doe
Twinkling slim through branches green.
—George Meredith

Shy as a wren in the hedgerow.
—George Moore

Shy as the fawn.
—Ambrose Philips