The rising action of the story begins when the hunter, a representative of the story's antagonist -- society -- happens upon Sylvia in the woods. Tension begins to build at this point because she fears him; she is "horror-stricken to hear" his whistle and she thinks of him as somewhat "aggressive," not like her animal friends, but an "enemy." The hunter begins to win her over, presenting her with gifts and promising riches, and when she climbs the great pine tree in part II, she does so with the intention of spotting the heron so that she can direct the hunter to its nest.
