impact was like hitting Kragus again. His head rang. That dog was heavy yet he managed to throw him in the air. The dog hit the ground with a squeal. Meanwhile the others two dogs ran by the first two and tried to jump on their backs. He reared up and kicked out with his front legs hitting the dog in the face. Another squeal as the dog flew away bleeding from the mouth. The other dog had avoided Bambi's kick and jumped on his back and started to bite. He turned quick and aimed his rear hoofs and kicked up. He missed Bambi and hit the dog in the face with both hoofs. There was a loud crunch and the dog flew off. He could see the bite marks bleed on Bambi's back. By now one the dogs had regained his footing. He charged forward throwing the dog wildly into the air.

"AAAYYYY," he heard and looked up. Two Men holding killing sticks were coming up the hill. One of them started to bring his killing stick up.

"BACK," he yelled and pulled away and started to run. He then turned quickly and lurched forward.

"KKKKKAAAAABOOOOOMMM," he heard followed an instant later by dirt falling on his hindquarters

He ran behind the rock of Bambi's cave. He looked up. Bambi was in front of him, while tail up and running into the forest at full speed. He ran behind then. Suddenly Bambi changed direction. He did the same thing and ran even harder.

"KKKKAAABBBOOOOM," came again. This time he felt something fly between Bambi and him like a large Bee. A tree in front of him seemed to burst open. He changed directions again and lost sight of Bambi. He ran a few leaps and then changed direction again. He could hear the dogs yelping behind him.

"UNTER BACCC DOW,"he heard one of the Men shout. The barking stop, but he didn't.

He kept on running at full and changing direction every few leaps until he saw the tall tree of the Old Owl. At that point he was getting exhausted but he ran directly for it. He reached it as he ran out of breath. He started to breathe in heavily. His chest wheezed. A few seconds later he heard the bush move and Bambi almost ran by him. Bambi stopped, put his head close to the ground and also started to breathe heavily. They stood there next to each other for a while just trying to get their wind back. His heart was pounding in his ears.

"What is going on. . ." he heard the Old Owl started to say from above. He stopped and suddenly screeched out. "Bambi you are bleeding on your back."

He walked over and looked at Bambi; other than the bite and claw marks on his back, he looked fine. The bleeding wasn't serious, but it was enough for the dogs to track. He turned and looked back the way they came. He could still hear barking in the distance, but it was not close to them. Bambi recovered enough to look him over.

"There is a claw mark on your neck, but I see nothing else."

"Men fired at us two times with their killing sticks and did not hit us." he said to Bambi and the Owl. "Turning quickly does work," he said.

"We are alive," Bambi gasped.

"After a few more breaths he said out loud. "We cannot go back to the cave. Man might still be there with his dogs. He will leave after dark unless he builds a fire. Then he may stay there all night."

"He might still follow us," Bambi said. "With me bleeding, the dogs can track me. Stranger you go off back to the clearing and I will lead Man away from you and the others."

"No," he said. "If Man was after us we hear him and the dogs. I can hear them, but they are not getting louder." He looked up at the Old Owl. "Friend Owl can you see anything?"

"I see nothing, Stranger, but my eyes are not as clear as they used to be."

"We can go up the hill," Bambi told him. "Once we get near the top we can walk until we see the stream flowing from the other forest. We walk down to the stream and can follow that to the clearing. Man will have a hard time following us."

"I just hope the others are smart enough not to return to the cave," he said.

Bambi nodded and then looked up at the Old Owl, "Friend Owl can you fly to the clearing?"

"Yes, that will not take me long," the old boy said.

"If you see Faline and the others, tell them not to go back to the cave or the thicket. Stay in the clearing unless Man comes. If you see any of the herd, tell them the meadow and my cave are not safe."

"I will tell them," the Owl said and flew off.

"Let us go, it will be a while before we get there," Bambi said and walked off. "He followed him closely.

Bambi led him on a long round-about way through places in the forest he had not been to before. From near the top of the hill he could see the other forest in the distance. It was further away than the Man path forest, but looked much bigger. Between their forest and the other forest it was all open space. Any deer there could be seen from as far as anyone could see. They stayed inside their forest until the hill went down toward the small stream flowing from the other forest in the distance. From there the stream flowed into the pond, through the clearing, and down the small hill to the meadow below where it joined the stream from Bambi's old forest.

They followed the stream until they came to the clearing near dark. By now they were sure no one was on their trail. They came into the clearing that was by now crowded by other members of the herd. As they approach both Claris and Faline came out to meet them. They all nuzzled each other happy they were still alive. He went to stand in the middle along with Bambi and Jolo.

"Man came today to the cave and the thicket. We will check on it tonight, but while man is in the meadow, we cannot go there. Man is hunting anything that is large. They could not find the bear so they came after us instead. Bambi and I managed to stop them for now, but they will be back. Soon the herd will split up because of the Season. Then we must be extra careful. You fawns must stay off the meadow. When the herd breaks up, I think it be best if all the new fawns stayed here in the clearing until after the Season. I do not think you are big enough for Man to want to kill, but I am not going to take that chance. I will call to you fawns and then you go to the clearing and stay there until the Season is over. You larger deer already know better what to do. We are coming to the Season and Man knows this., so be careful all of you."

There were murmurings, but no complaints. He then called, "Stena, Gerta, Balo" come here. The he said loudly enough to be heard by everyone. "When the herd breaks up, you three will stay with the rest of the new fawns here until after the Season. You will not go back to the cave and thicket. If the meadow becomes safe, I, Jolo or Bambi will tell you. Otherwise you eat here. If Man comes toward here, you must lead the others fawns away. Go whatever direction you do not hear the Man noise from. If Man does come here, one of us will try and get back. Do not wait for us. As soon as you smell or hear Man or his dogs, you run."

"Yes, Father," Stena answered meekly.

Now the rest of you, find what food you can in the forest and stay well hidden, while you wait for the Season to begin."

He waited for comments and they were none. "I will see you after the Season," he told the others and walked out of the clearing with Bambi and Jolo and the rest behind him.

When he got well away Jolo came up to him. "I am sorry, I did not know what to do," he said meekly.

"You will know next time," he said before adding a silent, "I hope."

"I do not smell any smoke," he said to Bambi. "I think Man is gone from the cave."

"One way to be sure," Bambi said and followed him back to their homes. No man was there, for now.

Chapter 7:The Season Returns

They returned to their homes. Man was not there, but the remains of Man were. There was blood from the dogs and from Bambi. There was the scent of Man lingering and the smell of the killing sticks. There was also a large slit dug into the ground where the killing stick had hit behind him tearing the ground open.

"Come here," he said to the fawns. They all gathered around him looking at the opening in the ground. "That is what a killing stick does," he told them. "If it hits you, can you see what would happen?"

"It tear us to pieces," Gerta said.

"Come look at this," Bambi said from behind the rock outcropping of his small cave. All of them walked over. A few lengths into the forest they came to a large tree that also had a gaping hole in it. It was larger than his leg. He could see the sap running into the opening.

"This is where Man used his killing stick again, and here is what it did," Bambi told them. "Think what it will do to one of us."

"It kills us in an instant," Balo spoke up for one of the few times he had ever heard him talk.

"Yes," Bambi said. "It would kill one of us in an instant."

"Man used his killing stick twice on you and Bambi?" Stena asked.

"Yes," he answered.

"How did you live?" she asked. "I did not think Man missed with his killing sticks."

He wondered about that himself. Were they lucky, or was what he heard from the Old Buck in his first forest correct? "Remember what I said to you before, if you must run from Man never run in a straight line and turn quickly several times as you run?"

"The fawns nodded.

"That is what Bambi and I did and Man did not hit us. However, do not think that will work all the

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