short, and its legs were burning. But the hunter was relentless, and it would only be a matter of time before it was all over. Suddenly, the animal was forced to a stop. An endless wall of sheer-faced rock abruptly ended the trail. The wall on one side of the trail was steep and coated with loose shale rock; the other wall was covered with thorny bramble bushes that went all the way up. There was no where to go. The animal was trapped. It turned around; the dog had rounded the corner and was headed right for it, eyes burning with rage and mouth foaming. A dreadful roar bellowed from its throat.

The small animal pressed itself against the rock face, its emerald eyes bulging with the inevitable death that awaited. It would be over in seconds. The creature closed its eyes and prepared for the explosion of pain that was to come.

There was a crashing sound, followed by the sound of snapping twigs and loose rocks showering on the hard ground. The animal opened its eyes to see a massive figure slide down from the shale rock wall and fly to the bottom of the canyon. It landed with a loud clash of hooves against stone between the raging dog and the frozen creature.

It was Bambi!

The stag reared on his hind legs and dropped his front hooves down upon the stunned hound, who slid to a stop; just short of being crushed by the stag's sharp hooves. It barked loudly and leapt to the side. Bambi blocked its path, so the dog ran to the other side. Again, Bambi cut it off, lowering his mighty crown at the offending canine. When Bambi thwarted the hound a 3rd time, the dog turned its frustration on the deer and attempted to bite the buck in the face several times. Bambi was pleased to have distracted the dog from the helpless creature. At least he had a chance against the vicious canine. He began to lunge out at the dog with his hooves and simultasiously began striking it with his still tender antlers.

The dance of the snarling dog and stomping deer finally came to an end when Bambi succeded in kicking the dog in the loin and throwing it into one of the rocky walls with his antlers. The dog howled in pain as it fell to the ground. Just as the dog yelped, a thunderous blast rang through the air. Bambi looked up in terror as he saw a blurred figure in the distance running straight at him. There was a second boom, and Bambi's head was suddenly jerked back with such force, he fell on his haunches. His head began to throb and his ears were ringing. He shakily stood up, shook off the weird sensation and wheeled around to face the shale-coated rock wall from where he dropped in. He looked at the gray animal, still cowering against the sheer wall.

"Quickly!" He barked at it, snapping it out of its stupor. "We must go, now! Come on!"

Feeing the urgency in his voice, the gray animal leapt up on Bambi's haunches and dug its claws in. Bambi ignored the pain and, with a mighty bound, sailed up to the shale-covered slope. After a few slips, he found his footing and galloped away, leaving behind two more gunshots that bearly missed him.

After a few short moments, the shale stopped flowing down the slope, and the deer was gone.

The hunter looked down, disappointed, at the dog, who was lying on the ground whimpering. It had suffered from several broken ribs and a shattered shoulder. A visit to the vet and several weeks of rest would have seen the animal good as new. But the hunter didn't have time for that. He didn't have time to doctor an injured dog. And he certainly didn't want to put food into a worthless animal. Without a shred of remorse, the hunter pressed the gun to the dog's head. With one more blast and a sharp cry, the dog was no more. The hunter then flung the strap of the gun over his shoulder and returned his gaze to where the stag had escaped with his prize. The hunter rested his hand on his belt and fingered the disembodied bobbed-tails that dangled from it.

All he needed was one more to complete his collection.

And he didn't plan on resting until he got that last tail...

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Bambi charged through the forest at a tremendous speed, trying to put that canyon of terror as far behind him as possible. It would be 10 miles of winding mountain trail and heavily treed hills before he finally came to a stop. Beyond the treeline, he could hear the trickling of the river. He knew now that they had found tranquility in the deep part of the forest. He stopped, his head hanging as he struggled to catch his breath. With a great big sigh, Bambi lifted his head again and looked over his shoulder with a cautiously optomistic grin.

"That was a close one..." He gasped as he caught sight of the little gray animal who sat in silence on the Prince's croup. It's head was down, and it certainly did not look as pleased as its rescuer. Bambi sighed again. "It's alright. You're safe now."

The animal looked up at him, its eyes still wide with fear. It was shaking nervously and even though Bambi had been the one to take them to safety, the little animal was almost as out of breath as Bambi was. It did look terribly sad as well.

"Don't worry." Bambi said gently as he lowered his rump, allowing the animal to slide off and into a cluster of bracken ferns. "In a couple of days, I'll take you back to your family."

The tiny animal with ears too tall for the rest of its body, dropped the tufted black appendages to the sides of its head. Its expression became even sadder. Its eyes glistened with tears. Bambi did not understand.

"What's the matter?" He asked in a gentle voice. "Don't you remember where you come from?"

The little creature gazed into empty air, as if it were looking beyond Bambi. It sniffled.

"My bwother and sister..." It whimpered in a feminine yet infantile voice. "They din't make it in time..."

Bambi winced. The baby female creature continued, her lower lip trembling.

"There was thunder...mommy got in the way..." Her voice cracked as the tears began to stream from her eyes.

Bambi gasped, his heart pounding now even harder than it was while he was running.

"I twied to wake her up...but she din't wake up. She never woke up again..." She pressed her chin into her chest and sobbed bitterly. "I want my mommy. I just want my mommy..."

Bambi closed his eyes tightly and turned away, but he couldn't stop the tears that flowed like waterfalls from his eyes. In this little frightened baby animal, Bambi saw himself as a fawn. Scared, alone, devestated by the loss of his mother.

Without thinking anymore on the subject, Bambi sunk to his knees alongside the crying baby animal. Still feeling unusually light-headed, he lowered his face to the baby and rubbed lovingly along her grizzled fur. She opened her eyes slightly; she could feel the moisture of his tears along her fur.

"It's alright..." He whispered softly in her ear. "I'm here. I'll take care of you. I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you. I'm here."

The animal sighed and soon found herself rubbing her face along his. She made an odd sound in her throat, but somehow, Bambi knew it was a sound of relaxation and affection.

They broke apart and looked lovingly into each other's eyes.

"My name is Bambi." He cooed. "What's yours?"

The kitten smiled, for once, her bright green eyes looked full of hope.

"I'm Ragamuffin."

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This is a story about love, friendship and fate.

Miracles of the Forest is actually a small series of stories; of Bambi's brave rescue and love of a hunted bobcat kitten and how welcoming the young creature into his family affects the lives of his herd: his older children, Geno and Gurri and his younger children River and Raven. This story will take a closer look into the very personal lives of the inhabitants of the forest and even a closer look at the infamous "Man" creature in his own habitat, which happens to be adjacent to Bambi's forest home.

Though each of the stories follow their own different plotline, they all come together in the end. Bambi is battling a lot more than Man and other stags in this heartwarming epic; he's going antler-to-antler with destiny itself. Is it possible that one single selfless act can bring about so much danger in?

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