by bit.
In a few weeks they have all fallen off, leaving the elk's head
bare, with just a ridge or rough stump on it. Then, early in the
spring the new antlers start growing from the top of the stump. They
grow very fast, and in five months are as huge as ever.

But while the new antlers are growing, they are not hard. As yet they
are soft and tender, and all that time they have an outside covering
like hairy leather, to guard them from harm. But as soon as the elk
feels that his antlers are quite grown, and are strong and hard, he
strips off the outside covering by rubbing the antlers against trees.

Of course, while his antlers are still growing, and are soft and
tender, the elk cannot use them to fight another animal; so during
that time he hides in the bushes. But as soon as his new antlers have
become hard and strong, he is very brave again, and is ready to fight!

Does the elk fight much? He does! He fights most awfully when he has
his new antlers. What he fights about, and with whom he fights, I
shall tell you in another book.

There are a few other kinds of deer in America, but the funniest of
them is called the _mule deer_, which lives along the Rocky Mountains.
He is called the mule deer because he has very long ears, like a
mule's ears. And perhaps you have seen a mule bucking--that is,
jumping about while holding his legs quite stiff. Well, the mule deer
can buck just like that.

And while he is running at a gallop, he will often jump off the ground
with stiff legs, and then hop on and on many times like that, with
stiff legs, finishing up with another gallop.

That makes him look very funny, and because he jumps like that people
in Canada sometimes call him the _jumping deer_.

_Other Kinds of Deer_

I must now tell you about some other kinds of deer that live in
jungles and forests in other countries.

The _fallow deer_ lives in Europe. When he is wild, he lives in a
forest; but when he is tame, he lives in a park. He is a small deer,
about the size of a donkey. His coat is very soft and glossy and
beautiful. In winter his coat looks dark brown, and his legs and the
under part of his body are light brown. But in summer his coat becomes
a lovely light red in color, with white spots jotted all over it. Then
he is very handsome.

In India also there is a handsome deer, which the people call the
_lion deer_. He looks quite gentle and mild. Then why do the people
call him the lion deer? Because h