He had understood the screaming of Sammy Jay . He knew that somewhere down there was the big stranger he had been looking for . The big stranger had understood Sammy 's screaming quite as well as Lightfoot . He knew that to run away now would be to prove himself a coward and forever disgrace himself in the eyes of Miss Daintyfoot , for that 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 on the back of his neck stood up with anger just as did the hair on the neck of Lightfoot . His eyes also blazed . He bounded out into a little open 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 ! '' Blacky the Crow , over in another part of the Green Forest , heard him and took up the cry and at once hurried over to Paddy 's pond . Everybody who was near enough hurried there . Bobby Coon and Unc ' Billy Possum climbed trees from which they could see and at the same time be safe . Billy Mink hurried to a safe place on the dam of Paddy the Beaver . Paddy himself climbed up on the roof of his house out in the pond . Peter Rabbit and Jumper the Hare , who happened to be not far away , hurried over where they could peep out from under some young hemlock-trees . Buster Bear shuffled 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 , XXXXX and the big stranger stood still , glaring at each other .
Beaver Daintyfoot Forest Fox Jay Lightfoot Possum Reddy Sammy Unc