STEPPING-STONES 33 



was full of pitfalls. The calf must beware of them 

 aU. 



He learnt of the wonderful antlers his head would 

 one day carry, of their growing soft and sensitive 

 in spring and summer, until late autumn saw them 

 hard and bony, and winter their fall. 



When the calf would know why horns which had 

 taken so much strength and time to manufacture 

 should ever be cast off, his mother had no satisfac- 

 tory solution to offer. A wiser than the cow might 

 fail at answering that. 



As to why the bull moose is hornless at the very 

 season, of all others, when he might be of protective 

 use, she could not explain either. The advantage 

 of horns ? Well, for herself the moose cow had 

 observed that when it came to meeting an enemy 

 from whom it was impossible to flee, a real fighter 

 valued the striking power of his fore-feet far more 

 than he did the latent strength lying in his spread 

 of horn. In battling for a mate — ah ! then the 

 victory was to the best-antlered. 



With an odd little thrill of pride the calf pictured 

 himself next year perhaps, or at latest two seasons 

 hence, adorned by the glorious crown his mother 

 described so well, and was rather dashed to learn 



5 



