He knew the leaves would do that. "You need to rest," Bambi said. "I will stay near here. When you wake up you must get food and water in you. My son will bring you more of the leaves to heal you."

He put his head on the ground and closed his eyes. Even though there were many deer around him, he fell fast asleep.

He was awakened by a foul stench. He opened his eyes and realized the stench came from him. He had fouled himself in his sleep just like a little fawn. He forced himself to get up on his feet. His head was dizzy for a moment but then the forest stopped spinning. He walked over to the stream, got down and let the cool water run over him washing the foulness off of him. He rested there for a while before getting up and eating the grass that grew along the side of the stream. He noticed it was the middle of the day. His nose still did not smell properly, but he felt no danger around him. He kept eating until he felt full. It was then he heard a sound behind him. The yearly male was standing a few lengths away. He caught hold of the scent and knew it at once.

"You are Gorro, Bambi's son," he said remembering. "The last time I saw you, you still had spots."

The young male looked embarrassed and walked over to him with more of the leaves. "My father said you should eat these." He then dropped the leaves at his feet. He ate the bitter leaves and stood up and looked around.

They were by the edge of a large lake. There were trees near them, but they were in the open here. "Let us talk over in the trees, I do not like being in the open even if there is no scent of Man."

He walked over and went into the forest until they were enclosed by the protection of several large spruce trees. Then he felt he could relax.

"Are you feeling better Stranger?" Gorro asked.

"Yes," he answered, "But I still feel a bit weak. That will pass in a few days. I would not want to fight those dogs again now, but I will be fine thanks to you and your father and mother."

"You are welcome. I still remember you and Claris before mother and father left for the forest. My father always told me you were his best friend."

"As your father is mine," he said. "I like to speak with your father and mother tonight if they are not busy."

"I will take you there after dark," Gobo said. "I do not like moving about in the daylight."

"Wise deer," he said. "You father has been teaching you." With that he started to yawn again.

"I will sleep again until night. When the lesser light rises, wake me even if I am still asleep."

"I will," Gorro said.

He lay down on a patch of grass and in a short while was sound asleep again.

He woke up a little before the greater light vanished. He went into the forest to empty himself and chew some of his cud. It helped with the weakness that he still felt. His back was still sore, but not as sore as this morning. He came out and took a long drink of water. He heard a noise behind him, it was light footprints. Bambi had been teaching Gorro how to walk silently. Like little Claris, he still needed practice, but he would learn.

"Can you walk?" Gorro asked.

"Yes I can walk," he told him stretching his back slightly. "I don't want to run yet. I am afraid I may open the wounds again.

"My father's place is at the end of the lake," Gorro told him.

"Let us be off," he said and followed the yearling.

Bambi's forest looked and smelled much the same as his. Many of the same animals lived there. The one thing he did notice was the smell of bobcats. They used to be in his first forest after he escaped from Man, but few were in his forest. There were several here. The lake here was much larger than the pond in his forest. It was so big it had a small piece of land in the middle of it. As they got closer to the far side he noticed the tress were much smaller. Many looked burnt away. Bambi had told him this part of the forest had been burnt by a great fire when Bambi was a yearling. New growth was everywhere but it many seasons more before the forest was back to normal. As they got to the far end of the lake there was a large hill from where water fell into the lake. Gorro took a sharp turn and went toward a place where there were many brushes that grew as tall as he was. Gorro stopped outside a thicket.

"Father, Mother, I am here with Stranger," he called.

He heard movement and saw two deer coming out. He also saw a doe fawn following Faline. He walked over and put his head down. The little doe looked at him and then started to lick his face. He did the same. She was beautiful, sleek, and had a wonderful scent, like her mother.

"What is her name?" he asked.

"Eta," after my mother's sister.

"She looks like you," he said to Faline.

'Faline just smiled. Bambi came and looked over his back and smelled him along the where his wounds were."

"I still smell some sickness there," Bambi said and felt along his forehead with his nose. "Your fever is still not gone." He then looked at Gorro. "Please go get some more of those leaves for Stranger."

"Yes, Father, I will get them now," he said and then left almost silently.

"You have been teaching him and teaching him well," he told Bambi. "In another year he will travel through the forest like a light breeze. However, I am glad he is gone, what I have to say is for us."

"I understand," Bambi said.

"I want to see Claris," he said.

"Bambi let out a deep breath. "I know, but she still feels the same way as before. She asked me to tell you to go away and find another doe."

He turned away trying not to show anger to his two oldest friends. "Bambi, I did not come all the way here and almost get killed by four dogs to be told to go away. I also would not have come here if I was interested in just another doe. I am going to see Claris."

Bambi walked up next to him. "Stranger, I do not think she will go back with you. She is sure she cannot have any more fawns. I myself have told her I think that is foolish."

"I do not think she is wrong," Faline said.

He turned and looked harshly at Faline. "How can you or anyone else know that?"

"Because a doe can tell when she cannot have any more fawn. As Eta once told me she knew when she had her last fawn. When the Season came around she had no interest to be with a male anymore. The males had no interest in being with her. Something changes inside you."

"We are not close to the Season yet. How can she tell that now?" he wanted to know.

"Because something inside tells her. I cannot explain better. I have already told Bambi, I will not have many more fawns. I am getting too old."

He had to admit what she said might be true for an older doe, but Claris was not old. "Faline, Claris is one season younger than you, and little Eta looks very healthy to me."

Faline went on as if she hadn't heard him. "There was also the trouble with Sterus and Stera. She should not have had problems, yet she did. She did not have enough milk for both. I helped as much as I could, but they never gained the weight or got healthy enough."

Faline stopped talking yet he knew that was not all. Faline looked concerned almost frighten of something. She was fidgeting. There was something else, something Faline was not telling him.

"Tell me all of it, Faline, please I have to know," he pleaded. Even Bambi looked puzzled at what Faline was saying.

"I told Claris I never tell anyone what she said to me," Faline said in a low voice. "She did not want you or anyone else to ever know. She was afraid you would leave her or treat her badly."

He was stunned. What could make him treat Claris badly? She was the first doe he ever knew that had treated him as if he was not some freak of the forest. What could have happened that Claris would think he would not treat her like he always did? It all made no sense to him.

"I do not understand," he said. "I know that I have always felt for Claris. I never knew anyone else I could feel this way for. I will not give her up unless I know the whole story, good and bad. I have already watched two of my children die. It cannot be worse than that."

"Yes it is," he heard Claris's voice from his back.

He turned around quickly and saw Claris and her mother Ate standing near the edge of the lake. He wanted to run over to her, but she didn't look like his Claris. There was something different. She was standoffish like the first day he knew her. He stayed where he was. Something was very wrong here he knew.

"Then what is it, Claris?" he had to know. Even Bambi looked confused. Claris came close to him. He could already see tears running from her eyes as well as from her mother.

"It was my last fawn," Claris sobbed. "You remember I left our place right after I told you he was dead. I told you I wanted to be away from that place. I really did that because I never wanted you to see it."

"Why, Claris," he said slowly. Now he knew there was something horribly wrong.

Claris dropped her head to the ground and sobbed uncontrollably. She tried to speak but could not. Her mother looked at her and then looked directly at him.

"She did not want to tell you that what came out of her did not look like a fawn," Ate said in a stern and firm voice. "What she gave birth too was not a fawn or even look like a deer. It was something else. Thankfully it was something that did

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