and Helos and told them," They were shocked and left at once. He then found young Bambi, Karene, their fawns and told them. Younger Faline was near them. Younger Faline broke down immediately and started to wail but followed her brother. He then went to Stabo's clearing and found them. They both saw him coming. Stabo must have seen it in his face. "Is it Bambi?" he asked.

He looked at Gena now in middle age, but still nice looking. "Gena, your mother passed in her sleep. You need to go to your Father, he needs you."

"No," she said in a whimper and then turned and buried her head in Stabo's side. Stabo let her cry there for a while before speaking up. "Gena, your Father really needs you now."

She turned back to him and nodded and silently left for the place she knew her mother and father liked to bed down. Her fawns followed her. Stabo looked closely at him. His son was thinking the same thing he had been thinking. How much longer before it was his turn?

"Go, my Son. Hurry, I will catch up later. I have to rest for a moment."

He watched his Son scurry after his mate and fawns. He stopped and leaned against a spruce tree. His side ached. He stood there breathing hard for a while before he could move on his own again. He hurried as quickly as possible. By the time he returned the others were all there looking at the still figure before them. Gena and Young Faline were standing next to Bambi rubbing his side. He had never seen the old deer so distraught. He stood in the back and just looked. The forest was now going to be lonelier now with Faline gone, just after it gotten lonelier when Claris had gone. Finally after a while he knew what had to be done. It was time to go and leave this place of death.

"It is time we leave," he said. "I will leave this place and not return like I did not return to the clearing Claris died in.

"Stranger is right," Bambi said looking once more at Faline. "There is nothing more we can do here. I am going to go and be by myself for a while. I will be back," he said and then walked off alone toward the deeper forest.

The rest of them left. He was the last to go and he walked back toward the edge of the forest by the meadow. The three Man families where still there playing together. He spent the rest of the day watching them and wondered if they suffered the same lost as he did.

He spent the next few days alone. He took the time to go walking back into his old forest to see how things were growing back. He walked back through the trees and headed for the remains of the tall oaks near were the Old Owl lived and later when Oswell took up residence. He looked at them and called for Oswell, but no one came out of the tree. He hoped that only meant that had flown away to avoid the fire. All around him the trees stood tall, yet he saw no sign of leaves except from a few trees. He did see lots of smaller plants growing up from the ground. He noted some grasses starting to grow. He walked to the old pond and the clearing Claris, Carie and he had shared with Bambi and Faline in happier days. He also saw the clearing that Balo and Stena had used. It was all burnt, but in the open areas there were green plants beginning to grow back. He drank out of the stream that flowed from the pond down the hill toward the stream that led out of the meadow.

In his travels he saw no animals larger than mice. Some insect were there, but anything larger was gone. He saw many collections of burnt bones from animals not lucky enough to have fled in time. His side hurt from time to time. He rested near the stream near their old view location. It too was burnt bare. He could not hide a fawn there now. The only thing that even looked close to as remembered it was the meadow itself. It was growing grass back.

The next night he ate on the meadow near his former home for the first time since the Man cave had burnt to the ground. He slowly climbed the hill that had met Geno on all those seasons before. His side was hurting like being kicked by the time he got to the top, but he could see the whole forest from here. This was only the second time he had been here since that day. He noticed the trees were not as badly burnt here. Some were even sprouting leaves and looking almost normal. As he walked he noted that things had not changed much here.

"Stranger," he head a familiar voice call.

He looked up and there on a branch was Oswell. He was happy. "You are alive," he called out.

"Yes, but I thought you were dead," the Owl said looking at him.

"I am alive, but most of the others are not," he told him and then spent most of the rest of the night bringing him up to date.

"So other than you and Bambi, the others are dead," Oswell said. "I am sad about that. I have a new mate Orell. Orwell then told him a story about his experience. They had a brood of new owlets in the tree when the fire came. Sorporra stayed with them thinking the fire would not get to them in the hollow of the tree. As it turned out they were not burnt by the fire but Oswell found them all dead in the tree without a mark on them.

"I am sorry," he said.

"There was nothing to be done," Oswell told him. "I hope things work out better for all of us."

""I hope so too," he told him sincerely. "Have you found enough food here for your family with the forest burnt?"

"The mice and other small creatures survived in their underground burrows. If anything it is easier now. It is more open, and it takes the mice longer to find food so more chance for me to find them. My owlets are doing well. I hope to fledge a clutch of four this season. How about you?

"My family is fine, but with Claris dead and me getting old, there will not be any more fawns. My children are having fawns so my family is growing."

"You will train them like the others?" Oswell asked seeming interested.

He did not feel like telling him he doubted he live long enough to do it so he just said. "If I get the chance I will." That was more or less the truth.

"Well I have to go. I have many mice to catch," he said and flew off.

At least that was some happy news in the forest. He was glad to see someone from the old days that was doing well. He walked back to his new home happier than he had been in days.

Chapter 5: Last Class

The early summer was a lonely time for him. Although Bambi came back, he made it clear he did not want company. He could still see he was hurting deeply with Faline's passing, but he was too much of a male to show it to others. He still felt the same way about Claris, but the difference between was, he knew there was nothing he could do about it, so he had to go on with something. All Bambi felt was the loss. Young Bambi was still hurting about the herd's rejection and he was not nearly as open and friendly as before. Stabo was still angry the herd had told him to stay when he wanted to go. He had become cooler. All around him, his family seemed more distant than ever. Only Stelar and Helos ever came to talk to him. He spent most of his time wandering around as much as the increasing pain in his side would let him.

The summer passed with a few more Man families visiting the new Man cave. None of the Men that came had killing sticks and he still took pleasure watching them. Some would even walk in the woods. Of course Man made so much noise when he moved, it was easy to avoid him. Sometimes he let Man deliberately see him, and again nothing happened. The only thing unusual was the small black rock that they carried and would point at things, but nothing came out of it so it could not be a killing stick. He had no idea what it was for.

It was after mid-summer that Stabo and Gena's daughter Kena found him in the forest one day. She seemed to be looking for him.

"Stranger, may I ask you some questions?" she said looking unsure.

"Of course," he said and nuzzled the side of her face. She responded the same way. Although a mature two year old, she was filling out and was going to be a nice beauty like Young Faline did. As of yet she had not shown any interest in any males yet. Being Stabo's daughter, and a member of his family, no male in his right mind would try and force himself on her.

"Stranger, what does it take to become a herd leader?" she asked.

He wondered why she was interested in that. "It takes a special type of deer. A deer that is more interested in what happens to others than what happened to himself. It takes courage, because of the dangers he may face. It takes wisdom to lead the herd when there is danger. It takes strength and skill to prevent others from harming himself or the herd."

"Can you teach that?" Kena asked next.

That question left him cold. He was not sure anymore how to answer it. "I used to think you could teach it to others. You can teach the skill, you can teach what to do when there is trouble, but for a deer to care more about others than himself, that has to be born in you. Some of my family have that ability like your Father, and your bother Koren. Some do not have the ability like my daughter Stena, and Delon"

"Do I have that ability?" she next wanted to know.

"I cannot answer that," he told her truthfully. "The deer has to show it. At one time I thought Balo and Stena had that ability, but later on I learned I did not know them well enough. The deer has to show his care for others by his actions for the herd. It is through a deer's action and not his words that you learn this, even for yourself."

"I wish I knew if I had that ability, but I do not know, and I am afraid to find out," she

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