Just then, when White Tail was uncertain what to do, and so nervous that he couldn’t stand still, Downy the Woodpecker appeared. He fluttered in a tree just as if he had been there waiting for them all the time.
“Oh, Downy,” cried White Tail, “where are they? Are they on our trail yet? Did they get across Black Ravine?”
Downy finished hauling a grub out of its hole in the tree bark before he answered. “No,” he then said, “they didn’t get across Black Ravine, but Puma got in it. And he’s there now, screaming with rage.”
“He jumped and fell in it?” asked Young Black Buck.
“Yes,” nodded Downy. “He tried to show Timber’s family what he could do, and he made a pretty sight of himself. He missed the opposite side by a few inches, and if it hadn’t been for a small tree growing on the rocks he would have fallen to the bottom, and been killed.”
“I wish he had,” said Young Black Buck.
“Well, he wasn’t,” added Downy, “so it’s no good wishing for what didn’t happen. He’ll roll down, and get on his feet again. It’s pretty hard to kill Puma.”
“What did Timber and his pack do?” asked White Tail.
“They did just what you might expect of them. They jeered and laughed at Puma, and then Mrs. Puma interfered.”
“I thought that Timber and Puma were friends,” said White Tail.