A Game of Hide and Seek explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Fear and Survival

  Lightfoot's desperate game of hide and seek with the hunter highlights the constant threat of death and the need for vigilance.

• Wisdom and Experience

  Lightfoot relies on lessons learned from previous hunting seasons to outwit the hunter, demonstrating the value of experience.

Characters to notice

• Lightfoot the Deer

  The main participant in the hide and seek game, using his senses and memory of past hunting seasons to evade the hunter.

• Sammy Jay

  Warns Lightfoot of the hunter's presence by screaming 'Thief, thief, thief!' from a distance.

• The Hunter

  The antagonist who moves noiselessly through the Green Forest, searching for Lightfoot with a terrible gun.

• The Merry Little Breezes

  Carries the man-scent from the hunter to Lightfoot, aiding Lightfoot in locating the hunter.

• Danny Meadow Mouse

  Mentioned in a comparison to illustrate the difficulty of Lightfoot's game of hide and seek.

Key passages

• “There was a game of hide and seek that Danny Meadow Mouse once played with Buster Bear. It was a very dreadful game for Danny. But hard as it was for Danny, it didn't begin to be as hard as the game Lightfoot the Deer was playing with the hunter in the Green Forest.”

  Danny Meadow Mouse once played a terrifying game of hide and seek with Buster Bear, but that was nothing compared to the life-or-death game Lightfoot the Deer was playing with the hunter.

  Comparison between Danny's and Lightfoot's games to emphasize the greater danger Lightfoot faces.

• “He had learned many lessons in the hunting season of the year before and he remembered every one of them. He knew that to forget even one of them might cost him his life.”

  Lightfoot remembered all the lessons from last year's hunting season, knowing that forgetting any could be fatal.

  Highlights Lightfoot's reliance on past experience for survival.