Sarah Orne Jewett "A White Heron ".

             There were two similar, but different people that crossed each other's path one night. They would find how important a friendship would be, if put on the line for one's life. Sylvia would have to make a decision that would define everything she stood for in her life.

             " The woods were already filled with shadows one June evening, just before eight o'clock, though a bright sunset still glimmered faintly among the trunks of the trees. A little girl was driving home her cow, a plodding, dilatory, provoking creature in her behavior, but a valued companion for all that. They were going away from the western light, and striking deep into the dark woods, but their feet were familiar with the path, and it was no matter whether their eyes could see it or not"(Jewett 744).

             The two of them continued their journey home. Along the way they heard a sound coming from the bushes. They turned around and saw a hunter carrying his gun on his shoulder. The hunter spoke to her, "I have been hunting for some birds and I have lost my way, and need a friend very much" (Jewett 745). They introduced themselves and from that moment on they became good friends. They found that they both had a love for birds, but in very different ways. "All day long he did not once make her troubled or afraid except when he brought down some unsuspecting singing creature from its bough. Sylvia would have vastly liked him better without his gun; she could not understand why he killed the very birds he seemed to like so much. But as the day waned, Sylvia still watched the young man with loving admiration. She had never seen anybody so charming and delightful; the woman's heart, asleep in the child, was vaguely thrilled by a dream of love" (Jewett 747). The hunter is a very important character in this story. He is the antagonist of the story that gives Sylvia a great deal of pressure to deal with.