White Tail stood over him. “Call me leader!” he snorted.
“Never!” grunted Young Black Buck, and tried to rise. White Tail knocked him flat again before he could rise.
“Call me leader!” he challenged again.
“Never!” came a fainter cry.
Again White Tail flattened him out, and issued the challenge the third time, and once more Young Black Buck refused.
Four times White Tail flattened him on the ground, and the fifth time Young Black Buck could not rise.
“Call me leader!”
There was no response. Young Black Buck was too weak to answer. White Tail stood over him. Three times Young Black Buck tried to rise, but fell back. He was too weak to respond to the challenge or to get to his feet. The battle was over! White Tail was victor!
“Who challenges my leadership now!” White Tail bellowed, glaring around. And none replied! Their very silence made him their choice. In the next story White Tail succeeds his father and becomes leader of the herd.