What are you talking to yourself about , Peter Rabbit ? '' Peter looked up with a start to find the soft , beautiful eyes of Lightfoot the Deer gazing down at him over the top of a little hemlock tree . `` It 's awful , '' declared Peter . `` It 's worse than unfair . It does n't give them any chance at all . '' `` I suppose it must be so if you say so , '' replied Lightfoot , `` but you might tell me what all this awfulness is about . '' Peter grinned . Then he began at the beginning and told Lightfoot all about Mr. and Mrs. Quack and the many dangers they must face on their long journey to the far-away Southland and back again in the spring , all because of the heartless hunters with terrible guns . Lightfoot listened and his great soft eyes were filled with pity for the Quack family . `` I hope they will get through all right , '' said he , `` and I hope they will get back in the spring . It is bad enough to be hunted by men at one time of the year , as no one knows better than I do , but to be hunted in the spring as well as in the fall is more than twice as bad . Men are strange creatures . I do not understand them at all . None of the people of the Green Forest would think of doing such terrible things . I suppose it is quite right to hunt others in order to get enough to eat , though I am thankful to say that I never have had to do that , but to hunt others just for the fun of hunting is something I can not understand at all . And yet that is what men seem to do it for . I guess the trouble is they never have been hunted themselves and do n't know how it feels . Sometimes I think I 'll hunt one some day just to teach him a lesson . What are you laughing at , Peter ? '' `` At the idea of you hunting a man , '' replied Peter .
`` Your heart is all right , XXXXX , but you are too timid and gentle to frighten any one .
Deer Forest Lightfoot Peter Quack Rabbit Southland day hemlock right