Camp Fire Legends of Wood Folks 325 



this, and especially how Red Buck had killed 

 his offspring, she looked very grieved, and her 

 heart was full of trouble. She was kind and 

 gentle herself, and she wished all the wood 

 folks to be the same. Of course some of them 

 had to kill others for food, and this was ex- 

 pected, but to kill one's own relations in this 

 way was too much. 



" ' Red Buck shall be punished,' said the 

 Wood Nymph when she had heard all the 

 complaints. ' I have made him too beautiful, 

 and have given him too large and too strong 

 a set of antlers, but I cannot take them away 

 from him entirely, for that will leave him de- 

 fenseless. He must still have some weapon 

 with which to fight the battle of life.' 



" It was a very vexing question, and for 

 a long time the Wood Nymph did not know 

 what to do, but she finally decided to take 

 down Red Buck's pride by taking away his 

 horns for a part of the year, leaving him horn- 

 less only for that portion of the year when 

 he needs them the least. 



" So every year, a few weeks before the new 



