The Adventures of Lightfoot the Deer

The Adventures of Lightfoot the Deer, by

Thornton W. Burgess This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: The Adventures of Lightfoot the Deer
Author: Thornton W. Burgess
Illustrator: Harrison Cady
Release Date: August 19, 2006 [EBook #19079]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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[Illustration: Wonderfully handsome was Lightfoot the Deer.]

LIGHTFOOT THE DEER

BY
THORNTON W. BURGESS

With Illustrations by HARRISON CADY

GROSSET & DUNLAP
Publishers New York
Printed by arrangement with Little, Brown, and Company

COPYRIGHT 1921 BY THORNTON W. BURGESS
ISBN: 0-448-02741-0 (TRADE EDITION)
ISBN: 0-448-13721-6 (LIBRARY EDITION)

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY ARRANGEMENT WITH LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Dedication
TO THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF OUR
FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS IN THE GREEN FOREST
WITH THE HOPE THAT THIS LITTLE VOLUME
MAY IN SOME DEGREE AID IN THE
PROTECTION OF THE INNOCENT
AND HELPLESS

CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I PETER RABBIT MEETS LIGHTFOOT 1
II LIGHTFOOT'S NEW ANTLERS 8
III LIGHTFOOT TELLS HOW HIS ANTLERS GREW 15
IV THE SPIRIT OF FEAR 22
V SAMMY JAY BRINGS LIGHTFOOT WORD 29
VI A GAME OF HIDE AND SEEK 34
VII THE MERRY LITTLE BREEZES HELP LIGHTFOOT 39
VIII WIT AGAINST WIT 44
IX LIGHTFOOT BECOMES UNCERTAIN 49
X LIGHTFOOT'S CLEVER TRICK 53
XI THE HUNTED WATCHES THE HUNTER 58
XII LIGHTFOOT VISITS PADDY THE BEAVER 63
XIII LIGHTFOOT AND PADDY BECOME PARTNERS 68
XIV HOW PADDY WARNED LIGHTFOOT 73
XV THE THREE WATCHERS 78
XVI VISITORS TO PADDY'S POND 83
XVII SAMMY JAY ARRIVES 88
XVIII THE HUNTER LOSES HIS TEMPER 93
XIX SAMMY JAY IS MODEST 97
XX LIGHTFOOT HEARS A DREADFUL SOUND 102
XXI HOW LIGHTFOOT GOT RID OF THE HOUNDS 107
XXII LIGHTFOOT'S LONG SWIM 111
XXIII LIGHTFOOT FINDS A FRIEND 116
XXIV THE HUNTER IS DISAPPOINTED 121
XXV THE HUNTER LIES IN WAIT 126
XXVI LIGHTFOOT DOES THE WISE THING 131
XXVII SAMMY JAY WORRIES 136
XXVIII THE HUNTING SEASON ENDS 141
XXIX MR. AND MRS. QUACK ARE STARTLED 146
XXX THE MYSTERY IS SOLVED 151
XXXI A SURPRISING DISCOVERY 156
XXXII LIGHTFOOT SEES THE STRANGER 161
XXXIII A DIFFERENT GAME OF HIDE AND SEEK 165
XXXIV A STARTLING NEW FOOTPRINT 170
XXXV LIGHTFOOT IS RECKLESS 175
XXXVI SAMMY JAY TAKES A HAND 180
XXXVII THE GREAT FIGHT 185
XXXVIII AN UNSEEN WATCHER 190
XXXIX LIGHTFOOT DISCOVERS LOVE 195
XL HAPPY DAYS IN THE GREEN FOREST 200

ILLUSTRATIONS
Wonderfully handsome was Lightfoot the Deer. Frontispiece
FACING PAGE
"I don't understand these men creatures," said Peter to little Mrs. Peter. 28
"My, but that's a beautiful set of antlers you have!" 71
"I tell you what it is," said Sammy Jay to Bobby Coon, "something has happened to Lightfoot." 143

LIGHTFOOT THE DEER
CHAPTER I
PETER RABBIT MEETS LIGHTFOOT
Peter Rabbit was on his way back from the pond of Paddy the Beaver deep in the Green Forest. He had just seen Mr. and Mrs. Quack start toward the Big River for a brief visit before leaving on their long, difficult journey to the far-away Southland. Farewells are always rather sad, and this particular farewell had left Peter with a lump in his throat,--a queer, choky feeling.
"If I were sure that they would return next spring, it wouldn't be so bad," he muttered. "It's those terrible guns. I know what it is to have to watch out for them. Farmer Brown's boy used to hunt me with one of them, but he doesn't any more. But even when he did hunt me it wasn't anything like what the Ducks have to go through. If I kept my eyes and ears open, I could tell when a hunter was coming and could hide in a hole if I wanted to. I never had to worry about my meals. But with the Ducks it is a thousand times worse. They've got to eat while making that long journey, and they can eat only where there is the right kind of food. Hunters with terrible guns know where those places are and hide there until the Ducks come, and the Ducks have no way of knowing whether the hunters are waiting for them or not. That isn't hunting. It's--it's--"
"Well, what is it? 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 doesn'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