and down the shore leisurely and nose the 

 water. Soon one or two would come back, 

 and in a moment the game would be in full 

 swing again, the others joining it swiftly as 

 the little creatures whirled about the rings, 

 exercising every muscle and learning how to 

 control their graceful bodies perfectly, though 

 they had no idea that older heads had planned 

 the game for them with a purpose. 



Watching them thus at their play, the 

 meaning of a curious bit of deer anatomy 

 became clear. A deer's shoulder is not 

 attached to the skeleton at all ; it lies loosely 

 inside the skin, with only a bit of delicate 

 elastic tissue joining it to the muscles of the 

 body. When a deer was headed suddenly 

 and braced himself in his tracks, the body 

 would lunge forward till the fore legs seemed 

 hung almost in the middle of his belly. 

 Again, when he kicked up his heels, they 

 would seem to be supporting his neck, far 

 forward of where they properly belonged. 

 This free action of the shoulder is what gives 

 the wonderful flexibility and grace to a deer's 

 movements, just as it takes and softens all 



