Although Nimble had lost his horns he managed to go through the winter without missing them as much as he had expected. And in time he had almost forgotten the pair of spikes1 that he had worn on his head the summer before. Then, one day, he made a great discovery. He found that new horns were sprouting3 to take the place of those that he had lost!
"Now I can have some mock battles again—when my horns get long enough," he thought. And then he stopped short. What if the Spike2 Horns of the year before had no more horns? If they were hornless they certainly wouldn't care to take part in any mock battles.
Nimble's fears were soon set at rest. His old playmates soon let him know that they were all going to have new horns too.
And then, a little later, Nimble made another great discovery. He was looking into a pool one morning when he saw something that gave him huge delight. His new horns were not like last year's horns. He beheld4, mirrored in the water, a handsome pair of Y-shaped antlers, each with two points!
"Hurrah5!" he cried. "I'll make those Spike Horns feel like hiding themselves again."
He had expected to have a pleasant time showing his new antlers to his old friends. When he met Dodger6 the Deer, Nimble called to him: "See what I've got! Antlers! Two points!"
"Ho!" said Dodger. "So have I got antlers. And they have two points, ............