Then , with a little sigh of relief , he lay down , where , without being in any danger of being seen himself , he could watch his old trail through the hollow at the bottom of the hill . If the hunter were still following him , he would pass through that hollow in plain sight . For a long tune Lightfoot rested comfortably behind the pile of brush . There was not a suspicious movement or a suspicious sound to show that danger was abroad in the Green Forest . He saw Mr. and Mrs. Grouse fly down across the hollow and disappear among the trees on the other side . He saw Unc ' Billy Possum looking over a hollow tree and guessed that Unc ' Billy was getting ready to go into winter quarters . He saw Jumper the Hare squat down under a low-hanging branch of a hemlock-tree and prepare to take a nap . He heard Drummer the Woodpecker at work drilling after worms in a tree not far away . Little by little Lightfoot grew easy in his mind . It must be that that hunter had become discouraged and was no longer following him . CHAPTER XI : The Hunted Watches The Hunter It was so quiet and peaceful and altogether lovely there in the Green Forest , where Lightfoot the Deer lay resting behind a pile of brush near the top of a little hill , that it did n't seem possible such a thing as sudden death could be anywhere near . It did n't seem possible that there could be any need for watchfulness . But Lightfoot long ago had learned that often danger is nearest when it seems least to be expected . So , though he would have liked very much to have taken a nap , Lightfoot was too wise to do anything so foolish . He kept his beautiful , great , soft eyes fixed in the direction from which the hunter with the terrible gun would come if he were still following that trail . He kept his great ears gently moving to catch every little sound . Lightfoot had about decided that the hunter had given up hunting for that day , but he did n't let this keep him from being any the less watchful . It was better to be overwatchful than the least bit careless . By and by , Lightfoot 's keen ears caught the sound of the snapping of a little stick in the distance . It was so faint a sound that you or I would have missed it altogether .
But XXXXX heard it and instantly he was doubly alert , watching in the direction from which that faint sound had come .
Deer Drummer Forest Grouse Hunter Lightfoot Unc XI hemlock-tree watchfulness