"Then there was a crash, and everybody's eyes flew open. There lay Big-Horn on the ground, looking mighty puzzled, as if he wasn't quite sure what had happened. And there sat Old Man Coyote, grinning at him! They were still staring at Old Man Coyote as if they couldn't believe their own eyes when some one cried, 'Look at the horns of Big-Horn!'
"Instead of being long and straight, those great horns were curved over and round into almost a circle, and there was no longer danger from their sharp points. What had happened? Why, at just the right instant Old Man Coyote had leaped over Big-Horn, and Big-Horn had butted into that great rock with all his might. He had hit so hard, biff! bang! that he had bent his horns, just as crafty, clever Old Man Coyote had hoped he would.
"When Old Mother Nature heard of the affair and saw those bent horns, she chuckled at the cleverness of Old Man Coyote and decided to leave those horns just as they were for the safety of Big-Horn's neighbors. And so they remained as long as Big-Horn lived, and just so have been the horns in his family from that day to this," concluded Digger, and once more began to watch his shadow grow longer.