The Adventures of Lightfoot the Deer Page 6

  With a mighty bound, Lightfoot cleared the Laughing Brook and rushedover to the thicket in which that beautiful head had disappeared. Heplunged in, but there was no one there. Frantically he searched, butthat thicket was empty. Then he stood still and listened. Not a soundreached him. It was as still as if there were no other living things inall the Green Forest. The beautiful stranger had slipped away assilently as a shadow.

  All the rest of that night Lightfoot searched through the Green Forestbut his search was in vain. The longing to find that beautiful strangerhad become so great that he fairly ached with it. It seemed to him thatuntil he found her he could know no happiness.

  CHAPTER XXXIII

  A DIFFERENT GAME OF HIDE AND SEEK

  Once more Lightfoot the Deer was playing hide and seek in the GreenForest. But it was a very different game from the one he had played justa short time before. You remember that then it had been for his lifethat he had played, and he was the one who had done all the hiding. Now,he was "it", and some one else was doing the hiding. Instead of thedreadful fear which had filled him in that other game, he was now filledwith longing,--longing to find and make friends with the beautifulstranger of whom he had just once caught a glimpse, but of whom everyday he found tracks.

  At times Lightfoot would lose his temper. Yes, Sir, Lightfoot would losehis temper. That was a foolish thing to do, but it seemed to him that hejust couldn't help it. He would stamp his feet angrily and thrash thebushes with his great spreading antlers as if they were an enemy withwhom he was fighting. More than once when he did this a pair of great,soft, gentle eyes were watching him, though he didn't know it. If hecould have seen them and the look of admiration in them, he would havebeen more eager than ever to find that beautiful stranger.

  At other times Lightfoot would steal about through the Green Forest asnoiselessly as a shadow. He would peer into thickets and behind tanglesof fallen trees and brush piles, hoping to surprise the one he sought.He would be very, very patient. Perhaps he would come to the thicketwhich he knew from the signs the stranger had left only a few momentsbefore. Then his patience would vanish in impatience, and he would dashahead, eager to catch up with the shy stranger. But always it was invain. He had thought himself very clever but this stranger was provingherself more clever.

  Of course it wasn't long before all the little people in the GreenForest knew what was going on. They knew all about that game of hide andseek just as they had known all about that other game of hide and seekwith the hunters. But now, instead of trying to help Lightfoot as theydid then, they gave him no help at all. The fact is, they were enjoyingthat game. Mischievous Sammy Jay even went so far as to warn thestranger several times when Lightfoot was approaching. Of courseLightfoot knew when Sammy did this, and each time he lost his temper.For the time being, he quite forgot all that Sammy had done for him whenhe was the one that was being hunted.

  Once Lightfoot almost ran smack into Buster Bear and was so provoked byhis own carelessness that instead of bounding away he actuallythreatened to fight Buster. But when Buster grinned good-naturedly athim, Lightfoot thought better of it and bounded away to continue hissearch.

  Then there were times when Lightfoot would sulk and would declare overand over to himself, "I don't care anything about that stranger. I won'tspend another minute looking for her," And then within five minutes hewould be watching, listening and seeking some sign that she was still inthe Green Forest.

  CHAPTER XXXIV

  A STARTLING NEW FOOTPRINT

  The game of hide and seek between Lightfoot the Deer and the beautifulstranger whose dainty footprints had first started Lightfoot to seekingher had been going on for several days and nights when Lightfoot foundsomething which gave him a shock. He had stolen very softly down to theLaughing Brook, hoping to surprise the beautiful stranger drinkingthere. She wasn't to be seen. Lightfoot wondered if she had been there,so looked in the mud at the edge of the Laughing Brook to see if therewere any fresh prints of those dainty feet. Almost at once he discoveredfresh footprints. They were not the prints he was looking for. No, Sir,they were not the dainty prints he had learned to know so well. Theywere prints very near the size of his own big ones, and they had beenmade only a short time before.

  The finding of those prints was a dreadful shock to Lightfoot. Heunderstood instantly what they meant. They meant that a second strangerhad come into the Green Forest, one who had antlers like his own.Jealousy took possession of Lightfoot the Deer; jealousy that filledhis heart with rage.

  "He has come here to seek that beautiful stranger I have been huntingfor," thought Lightfoot. "He has come here to try to steal her away fromme. He has no right here in my Green Forest. He belongs back up on theGreat Mountain from which he must have come, for there is no other placehe could have come from. That is where that beautiful stranger must havecome from, too. I want her to stay, but I must drive this fellow out.I'll make him fight. That's what I'll do; I'll make him fight! I'm notafraid of him, but I'll make him fear me."

  Lightfoot stamped his feet and with his great antlers thrashed thebushes as if he felt that they were the enemy he sought. Could you havelooked into his great eyes then, you would have found nothing soft andbeautiful about them. They became almost red with anger. Lightfootquivered all over with rage. The hair on the back of his neck stood up.Lightfoot the Deer looked anything but gentle.

  After he had vented his spite for a few minutes on the harmless,helpless bushes, he threw his head high in the air and whistled angrily.Then he leaped over the Laughing Brook and once more began to searchthrough the Green Forest. But this time it was not for the beautifulstranger with the dainty feet. He had no time to think of her now. Hemust first find this newcomer and he meant to waste no time in doingit.

  CHAPTER XXXV

  LIGHTFOOT IS RECKLESS

  In his search for the new stranger who had come to the Green Forest,Lightfoot the Deer was wholly reckless. He no longer stole like a grayshadow from thicket to thicket as he had done when searching for thebeautiful stranger with the dainty feet. He bounded along, careless ofhow much noise he made. From time to time he would stop to whistle achallenge and to clash his horns against the trees and stamp the groundwith his feet.

  After such exhibitions of anger he would pause to listen, hoping tohear some sound which would tell him where the stranger was. Now andthen he found the stranger's tracks, and from them he knew that thisstranger was doing just what he had been doing, seeking to find thebeautiful newcomer with the dainty feet. Each time he found these signsLightfoot's rage increased.

  Of course it didn't take Sammy Jay long to discover what was going on.There is little that escapes those sharp eyes of Sammy Jay. As you know,he had early discovered the game of hide and seek Lightfoot had beenplaying with the beautiful young visitor who had come down to the GreenForest from the Great Mountain. Then, by chance, Sammy had visited theLaughing Brook just as the big stranger had come down there to drink.For once Sammy had kept his tongue still. "There is going to beexcitement here when Lightfoot discovers this fellow," thought Sammy."If they ever meet, and I have a feeling that they will, there is goingto be a fight worth seeing. I must pass the word around."

  So Sammy Jay hunted up his cousin, Blacky the Crow, and told him what hehad discovered. Then he hunted up Bobby Coon and told him. He saw Unc'Billy Possum sitting in the doorway of his hollow tree and told him. Hediscovered Jumper the Hare sitting under a little hemlock-tree and toldhim. Then he flew over to the dear Old Briar-patch to tell Peter Rabbit.Of course he told Drummer the Woodpecker, Tommy Tit the Chickadee, andYank Yank the Nuthatch, who were over in the Old Orchard, and they atonce hurried to the Green Forest, for they couldn't think of missinganything so exciting as would be the meeting between Lightfoot and thebig stranger from the Great Mountain.

  Sammy didn't forget to tell Paddy the Beaver, but it was no news toPaddy. Paddy had seen the big stranger on the edge of his pond early thenight before.

  Of course, Lightfoot knew nothing about
all this. His one thought wasto find that big stranger and drive him from the Green Forest, and so hecontinued his search tirelessly.

  CHAPTER XXXVI

  SAMMY JAY TAKES A HAND

  Sammy Jay was bubbling over with excitement as he flew about through theGreen Forest, following Lightfoot the Deer. He was so excited he wantedto scream. But he didn't. He kept his tongue still. You see, he didn'twant Lightfoot to know that he was being followed. Under that pointedcap of Sammy Jay's are quick wits. It didn't take him long to discoverthat the big stranger whom Lightfoot was seeking was doing his best tokeep out of Lightfoot's way and that he was having no difficulty indoing so because of the reckless way in which Lightfoot was searchingfor him. Lightfoot made so much noise that it was quite easy to knowjust where he was and to keep out of his sight.

  "That stranger is nearly as big as Lightfoot, but it is very plain thathe doesn't want to fight," thought Sammy. "He must be a coward."

  Now the truth is, the stranger was not a coward. He was ready andwilling to fight if he had to, but if he could avoid fighting he meantto. You see, big as he was, he wasn't quite so big as Lightfoot, and heknew it. He had seen Lightfoot's big footprints, and from their size heknew that Lightfoot must be bigger and heavier than he. Then, too, heknew that he really had no right to be there in the Green Forest. Thatwas Lightfoot's home and so he was an intruder. He knew that Lightfootwould feel this way about it and that this would make him fight all theharder. So the big stranger wanted to avoid a fight if possible. But hewanted still more to find that beautiful young visitor with the daintyfeet for whom Lightfoot had been looking. He wanted to find her just asLightfoot wanted to find her, and he hoped that if he did find her, hecould take her away with him back to the Great Mountain. If he had to,he would fight for her, but until he had to he would keep out of thefight. So he dodged Lightfoot and at the same time looked for thebeautiful stranger.

  All this Sammy Jay guessed, and after a while he grew tired of followingLightfoot for nothing. "I'll have to take a hand in this thing myself,"muttered Sammy. "At this rate, Lightfoot never will find that bigstranger!"

  So Sammy stopped following Lightfoot and began to search through theGreen Forest for the big stranger. It didn't take very long to find him.He was over near the pond of Paddy the Beaver. As soon as he saw him,Sammy began to scream at the top of his lungs. At once he heard thesound of snapping twigs at the top of a little ridge back of Paddy'spond and knew that Lightfoot had heard and understood.

  CHAPTER XXXVII

  THE GREAT FIGHT

  Down from the top of the ridge back of the pond of Paddy the Beaverplunged Lightfoot the Deer, his eyes blazing with rage. He hadunderstood the screaming of Sammy Jay. He knew that somewhere down therewas the big stranger he had been looking for.

  The big stranger had understood Sammy's screaming quite as well asLightfoot. He knew that to run away now would be to prove himself acoward and forever disgrace himself in the eyes of Miss Daintyfoot, forthat was the name of the beautiful stranger he had been seeking. He_must_ fight. There was no way out of it, he _must_ fight. The hair onthe back of his neck stood up with anger just as did the hair on theneck of Lightfoot. His eyes also blazed. He bounded out into a littleopen place by the pond of Paddy the Beaver and there he waited.

  Meanwhile Sammy Jay was flying about in the greatest excitement,screaming at the top of his lungs, "A fight! A fight! A fight!" Blackythe Crow, over in another part of the Green Forest, heard him and tookup the cry and at once hurried over to Paddy's pond. Everybody who wasnear enough hurried there. Bobby Coon and Unc' Billy Possum climbedtrees from which they could see and at the same time be safe. Billy Minkhurried to a safe place on the dam of Paddy the Beaver. Paddy himselfclimbed up on the roof of his house out in the pond. Peter Rabbit andJumper the Hare, who happened to be not far away, hurried over wherethey could peep out from under some young hemlock-trees. Buster Bearshuffled down the hill and watched from the other side of the pond.Reddy and Granny Fox were both there.

  For what seemed like the longest time, but which was for only a minute,Lightfoot and the big stranger stood still, glaring at each other.Then, snorting with rage, they lowered their heads and plunged together.Their antlers clashed with a noise that rang through the Green Forest,and both fell to their knees. There they pushed and struggled. Then theyseparated and backed away, to repeat the movement over again. It was aterrible fight. Everybody said so. If they had not known before,everybody knew now what those great antlers were for. Once the bigstranger managed to reach Lightfoot's right shoulder with one of thesharp points of his antlers and made a long tear in Lightfoot's graycoat. It only made Lightfoot fight harder.

  Sometimes they would rear up and strike with their sharp hoofs. Backand forth they plunged, and the ground was torn up by their feet. Bothwere getting out of breath, and from time to time they had to stop for amoment's rest. Then they would come together again more fiercely thanever. Never had such a fight been seen in the Green Forest.

  CHAPTER XXXVIII

  AN UNSEEN WATCHER

  As Lightfoot the Deer and the big stranger from the Great Mountainfought in the little opening near the pond of Paddy the Beaver, neitherknew or cared who saw them. Each was filled fully with rage anddetermined to drive the other from the Green Forest. Each was fightingfor the right to win the love of Miss Daintyfoot.

  Neither of them knew that Miss Daintyfoot herself was watching them. Butshe was. She had heard the clash of their great antlers as they hadcome together the first time, and she had known exactly what it meant.Timidly she had stolen forward to a thicket where, safely hidden, shecould watch that terrible fight. She knew that they were fighting forher. Of course. She knew it just as she had known how both had beenhunting for her. What she didn't know for some time was which one shewanted to win that fight.

  Both Lightfoot and the big stranger were handsome. Yes, indeed, theywere very handsome. Lightfoot was just a little bit the bigger and itseemed to her just a little bit the handsomer. She almost wanted him towin. Then, when she saw how bravely the big stranger was fighting andhow well he was holding his own, even though he was a little smallerthan Lightfoot, she almost hoped he would win.

  That great fight lasted a long time. To pretty Miss Daintyfoot it seemedthat it never would end. But after a while Lightfoot's greater size andstrength began to tell. Little by little the big stranger was forcedback towards the edge of the open place. Now he would be thrown to hisknees when Lightfoot wasn't. As Lightfoot saw this, he seemed to gainnew strength. At last he caught the stranger in such a way that he threwhim over. While the stranger struggled to get to his feet again,Lightfoot's sharp antlers made long tears in his gray coat. The strangerwas beaten and he knew it. The instant he succeeded in getting to hisfeet he turned tail and plunged for the shelter of the Green Forest.With a snort of triumph, Lightfoot plunged after him.

  But now that he was beaten, fear took possession of the stranger. Alldesire to fight left him. His one thought was to get away, and fear gavehim speed. Straight back towards the Great Mountain from which he hadcome the stranger headed. Lightfoot followed only a short distance. Heknew that that stranger was going for good and would not come back.Then Lightfoot turned back to the open place where they had fought.There he threw up his beautiful head, crowned by its great antlers, andwhistled a challenge to all the Green Forest. As she looked at him, MissDaintyfoot knew that she had wanted him to win. She knew that theresimply couldn't be anybody else so handsome and strong and brave in allthe Great World.

  CHAPTER XXXIX

  LIGHTFOOT DISCOVERS LOVE

  Wonderfully handsome was Lightfoot the Deer as he stood in the littleopening by the pond of Paddy the Beaver, his head thrown back proudly,as he received the congratulations of his neighbors of the Green Forestwho had seen him win the great fight with the big stranger who had comedown from the Great Mountain. To beautiful Miss Daintyfoot, peeping outfrom the thicket where she had hidden to watch the great fight,Lightfoot was the most wonderfu
l person in all the Great World. Sheadored him, which means that she loved him just as much as it waspossible for her to love.

  But Lightfoot didn't know this. In fact, he didn't know that MissDaintyfoot was there. His one thought had been to drive out of the GreenForest the big stranger who had come down from the Great Mountain. Hehad been jealous of that big stranger, though he hadn't known that hewas jealous. The real cause of his anger and desire to fight had beenthe fear that the big stranger would find Miss Daintyfoot and take heraway. Of course this was nothing but jealousy.

  Now that the great fight was over, and he knew that the big strangerwas hurrying back to the Great Mountain, all Lightfoot's anger meltedaway. In its place was a great longing to find Miss Daintyfoot. Hisgreat eyes became once more soft and beautiful. In them was a look ofwistfulness. Lightfoot walked down to the edge of the water and drank,for he was very, very thirsty. Then he turned, intending to take up oncemore his search for beautiful Miss Daintyfoot.

  When he turned he faced the thicket in which Miss Daintyfoot was hiding.His keen eyes caught a little movement of the branches. A beautiful headwas slowly thrust out, and Lightfoot gazed again into a pair of softeyes which he was sure were the most beautiful eyes in all the GreatWorld. He wondered if she would disappear and run away as she had thelast time he saw her.

  He took a step or two forward. The beautiful head was withdrawn.Lightfoot's heart sank. Then he bounded forward into that thicket. Hemore than half expected to find no one there, but when he entered thatthicket he received the most wonderful surprise in all his life. Therestood Miss Daintyfoot, timid, bashful, but with a look in her eyes whichLightfoot could not mistake. In that instant Lightfoot understood themeaning of that longing which had kept him hunting for her and of therage which had filled him when he had discovered the presence of the bigstranger from the Great Mountain. It was love. Lightfoot knew that heloved Miss Daintyfoot and, looking into her soft, gentle eyes, he knewthat Miss Daintyfoot loved him.