and get up when I wake. Thank you again, my friend."

With that he fell into a deep sleep. Just as he passed into sleep he felt the warm fur of the bear next to him. It was just like being next to Claris if not for the smell."

He woke later, only this time there was a different, but familiar smell. It took him a moment to place the scent.

"Bambi," he called out.

"I am here," Stranger," the familiar voice told him. You slept through the day and most of the night. I am here with the bear."

"The others," he called out. "What happened to the others?"

"They are mostly all fine," Bambi said. Then he looked at him with pain in his eyes. "We cannot find Stelar," Bambi said. "She may have fled a different way."

That hurt almost worse than his side. He could only hope his daughter was alright, but there was little he could do one way or the other."

"Many of the others wanted to come with me, especially Stabo and Young Bambi. They were all worried about you. They were afraid you were gone."

He felt pain in his body and in his legs. He could feel them again. He could raise his head again. He tried moving his legs and they moved when he told them too,

"I think I can move," he told them.

"Can you get up?" Bambi asked

"I would have been gone if not for the bear," he said with a smile. With that he rolled over onto his legs. It hurt like fire was on him. He pushed up his back with his rear legs and then his front. So far it was doable until his weight shifted to his left. Then a wave of pain almost made him collapse again. He would have fell down if Bambi had not held him up with his own body. He slowly staggered over to the small stream near the bear's den. He slowly bent over and drank. As he did he felt pressure build up inside of him. He moved quickly over the stream and turned away from his friends. He side hurt again.

"Get away from me, I have to empty myself," he warned the others. He then let go and his body emptied a large amount of waste from his back and underneath. It was as foul smelling as that of a young fawn."

"I am sorry," he said and went back to drinking his fill. "The water tasted like ash. The water also smelled burnt, but it was the only water he had. He then ate a few acorns he found lying on the ground. He walked slowly. He got three steps and his legs suddenly collapsed under him with no warning. He felt to the ground like a cut tree. The agony shot through him. "AEEEEE," he cried out. He could feel a cold numbness again in his legs. He could taste blood in his mouth. He knew what that meant.

"Bear, you will need to go over the hill. There is no food for you here. Bambi you need to go back to the herd. I will be fine here. No one will want to come here with all this burnt forest."

The bear looked at him. "What about you? I want to make sure you were alright. Besides it is almost day. I think we should stay here until night."

"I am not going to go anywhere. The pain is worse, there is numbness back in my legs, and there is blood in my mouth. I am not going to get better this time."

"No," Bambi cried out. "You need to get up and move."

"No," he said groaning in pain. "Not this time."

Bambi looked around at the first sign of the rising light starting to break overhead. "Staying here is a good idea. It would be hard to hide now in this forest. We will rest here, and go on later," Bambi said.

"No, I will stay here and you two go on without me," he said and tasted the blood in his mouth again. He felt and increasing coldness taking hold of his entire body. He was going to go to sleep and this time he felt he would not wake up.

"I am going to sleep," he told them. "This is not like when Bear saved me, or when I fought the dogs, or all those other times, I am not going to get better from this. I think it be best if you told my family you found me dead. I do not want them or you two to be here and watch me die."

"Stranger, no," Bambi said his black eyes getting moist. "You can get better from this. You have to."

"Sorry, not this time. You and the others will take care of the herd now. Stabo, Young Bambi, Balo, and the others can lead the herd. We taught them well. We all know this was going to happen someday. Well today is the day. Now I want you both to go and just leave me here. Soon the scavengers will come and make a poor meal of me."

"No," Bambi said stamping his hoof. "I will not go back without you."

He looked up. His sight was getting foggy. "You have no choice. I cannot get up. We also know what that means. Now please leave. I feel like I am going now."

Bambi leaned over and he nuzzled his face and then he was filled with a great fatigue. He could not hold his eyes open. He put his head on the ground, closed his eyes and felt darkness fall over him like night.

How long he stayed there he did not know. At first he heard the wind, felt like rain on him, and heard voices, but it was all unfamiliar to him. He did not feel tired and he did not feel pain. He was at peace. His eyes were filled with clouds. He could see nothing for a while. All was formless and shapeless. Time passed, but he could not tell how long, but then off in the distance he saw a large brown object. It got closer and clearer. It slowly took form before him. It was a deer. A very large male with the biggest rack he had ever seen and bulging muscles along his legs and flanks. He walked up to him head high and looked down at him.

"You can get up, if you want too," he told him in a deep voice that sounded like Galin.

He found he could get up effortlessly now and looked the big male in the face. He had red tinged eyes. He remembered how Bambi described his father to him.

"You are the Old Prince, Bambi's Father," he said.

"Very good, Stranger; you are very clever." He looked into his eyes and smiled at him.

He seemed young not more than five seasons old, yet he had been dead for many seasons. That meant one thing.

"I am dead too," he said.

"Only if you want to be," the Old Prince said. "Very few deer get this choice. You see you can either come with me now and join the Great Herd, or you can go back to your family."

"How can I," he said. "I was hurt by the Man cave. I felt I was dying I felt myself dying inside. How can I be any use now? Besides I was old and not much use to anyone."

The Prince smiled broadly even affectionately. "I felt the same way when I was old. Then a beautiful doe gave me an awkward, stumbling, at times agitating son. After his mother was killed I had to raise him myself. I found out then I still had a purpose. I taught him the best I could and watched him grow up to take his place as a herd leader. He is a great deer; I think greater than me. Only after I fulfilled that purpose was I allowed to rest knowing I had done the best I could. You can do the same thing, Stranger."

"Your purpose was to train Bambi," he realized. "He is the best deer I know. You should be proud of both him and yourself."

"I am," he said. "He became a fine deer he has lived and still living a good life. His place in the Great Herd is already prepared and is waiting for him even now, as is your place and the places for your family in their time. There may even be room there for a bear. Your choice is simple. You can go to the Great Herd now, or go back and help the others."

"What more can I do for them?" he wanted to know.

"There is more to be done," the Prince said. "That is the only thing I am allowed to say to you. I can tell you if you go back, there will more pain. You will see your friends and some of your family precede you. However, you will be able to do more good. Not just for you, but for the herds as well."

"My injuries?" he asked. "Right now I am almost useless."

"Most will pass in time, but some of the pain will remain with you for the rest of your life. You will still be able to be useful. That I can tell you, Stranger, that is your choice. Come with me or go back to your herd. You have to choose now."

He was sorely tempted to just go with the Great Prince. He felt he had done enough in his life. Whether it had done any lasting good he was less convinced of that than the Old Prince standing before him. He still had trouble accepting that he had any more to give. He had given his life to try and train others; how could he give more. But there was the nagging question in his mind. "I can still do good there?" he asked.

"Yes," the Prince answered empathically, "A lot of good."

He would be with his family again. He could lie next to Claris again. He could play with his children again. He could be with his friends again. That was worth something even with the pain. "Well then tell the Great Herd they will have to wait a little longer for me. I just hope I do not lose my place there."

"I can tell you that will never happen as long as you stay who you are," the Prince said.

"Send me back," he said. "And let us hope both of us do not end up regretting this."

"We will not," the Prince said with another huge smile. "Now rest."

Again the great fatigue fell over him and he again felt darkness fall over him. He felt his body lying on his side in the dirt. He could hear the sound of running water next to him. He moved and a jolt of pain ran through his side. He eyes popped open.

"Ahhhhhh,

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