There was little else he could do but make himself as small as possible and watch the action. The action, however, turned out to be wonderful to behold. Not at first. At first, all Bill saw was a rolling tangle of furry bodies, arms and legs,glinting claws and flashing teeth, rolling this way and that on the ground—and occasionally threatening to roll in his direction. But then the whole tangle rolled over the bank of a little stream runningthrough the clearing and splashed into the water; at which point it immediately separated into two individuals. But the battle was not ended. Sweet Thing and Perfectly Delightful wasted no time climbing out onto the bank and joining in combat again. Only this time there was a difference. Apparently, the first time around, Sweet Thing had been too worked up to use whatever knowledge she had about fighting. Now, cooled off by her dip in the stream, she proceeded to demonstrate that she knew more than enough to compensate for the difference between her size and the size of Perfectly Delightful.
