Bambi

Spirit of the Young Prince: The Autobiography

Foreword by the Great Prince of the Forest

Foreword

I remember that one day in the late snowy winter where things changed for probably the best of the lives for both my son and I. It probably did not turn out that way at the start considering the tragic circumstances that we had to go through after my beloved mate was taken by poaching humans - or Man. It was especially hard on my son because he was young and so very close to his mother. There was not a single day in his childhood when they were never together and the bond they shared was very special. So I imagined it would have taken him a while to accept her absence before moving on.

I, however, had to be strong and leave it in the past. As much as I grieved the loss, I understand that it is unwise to look back and attempt to change what has already happened. As the Great Prince of the Forest, it is my duty to patrol and look after the herd, and I cannot let grief interfere with my duties.

But after that sad event, I took the young fawn under my wing before having to find him a new mother so that he could be happy again. This would have to wait, though, as harsh winter conditions made it difficult for the does to find food and feed their own young as well as themselves, so I reluctantly kept him until springtime when feed would be plentiful enough and a doe would be able to take him. 

At first I was not sure if I would be able to take care of him in the right way considering my main responsibility as leader of the forest and that I had never taken care of anyone before. Taking care of a child while attending to your duties is no easy task, plus until what happened to his mother, I had only met him once and never got to know him properly, so I knew that I had to endure and learn.

But after being with him for a little while, I discovered a side of him that I never knew. I saw a very spiritual and innocent-hearted fawn who was friendly and playful but also very obedient, willing to learn and determined to be courageous to prove himself to me. There were certainly one or a few incidents along the way, but he overcame that and performed a couple of very brave feats that not only saved the life of another doe in danger and the other animals of the forest, but also earned my respect. I can honestly say that I was so proud of him after what he achieved, especially at a young age when he had not even got his antlers as of yet.

That also goes for the courage and endurance he showed at an older age when Man returned and set fire to the forest. He fought a number of the enemies' dogs and was able to run and escape the deadly flames alongside me even after he got shot. From then on he definitely proved himself a great and worthy leader, and as both the Young Prince and my son, I had never been more proud of him.

The point is, after his mother departed - though it was hard at first - it was good in a way because it brought us closer together. I believe now that we needed each other more than ever given the circumstances. I taught him my wisdom, and he taught me - through actions, not words - how to be a free spirit and enjoy the goodness of life. Regardless of the grief of losing his mother, he was always very optimistic and believed that you have to make the most out of what you have been given to live in peace and harmony. 

Through this, I realised that he really was my son, and it just made it harder to have to eventually give him away. I knew that it might have been the best thing for the both of us as the young being raised by does and a prince looking after the herd were the general rules of the deer. But for everything we did for each other, I really loved him too much to abide and therefore decided to take him permanently. His mother would have wanted this. So I am very happy that we stuck together, and the good times will last long in my memory.

In short, Bambi deserves to be loved by everyone who knows him. Why is because he is a lot more than determined and brave. That is him on the outside. But inside he is spiritual, open-hearted, obedient, and very willing to learn. I could certainly see a lot of myself in him when I was a fawn, and so the genetic inheritance had clearly passed down. But his unique personality is everything that any great family member or friend could ask for.

His example is a fine one for others to follow. What makes a great individual is not necessarily what he or she has achieved in his or her life, but who they are. If you can achieve great things and show good spirit in character with compassion and generosity, your true status as an icon will be revealed.

Bambi is an icon and a legend and I believe his name and legacy will be remembered for much time to follow. I am very proud to call him my son.

GP.

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The most popular kid in school

My first day on the face of the planet is certainly one that came as a surprise. Everyone knows that when a new child is born, excitement builds and they come to witness him or her at face value, but on this occasion it seemed like the whole forest wanted to see me. When I first opened my eyes and looked at this amazing sight at so many eyes staring at me, I honestly did not know how to take it. I just thought, it is wonderful to come into this world and look forward to living a good life, but am I really THAT popular? 

No one even gave me an inkling that I was the son of the Great Prince of the Forest. I had not yet met him and nor did anyone mention who he was. All I did was take to the fact that everyone liked me and immediately I made many friends, so it was nice to have some good surrounding company at first impression.

After my first meeting with everyone, my sweet mother eventually told me that I was the Young Prince, and that was why I was so popular. I then thought that Mother was like a queen or princess if I was known like this. She said that it was a little bit like that, but that there was more to the story. When I asked her what it was she said that it would have to wait until I was a little older and then I would understand. I know now that if I was told that I was the son of the Great Prince too soon, I would probably have become too excited at that fact and urged Mother to let me see and be around him, when, as I understand now, he is the leader of the forest and he must attend to his duties looking after and observing the herds to ensure they stay safe from danger, and he would hardly have had time to spend with me. Therefore it was the best thing for me to have this information kept inside until I was old enough to understand.

But this never really bothered me in the beginning, because I was enjoying my time walking through the forest with Mother and hanging around my friends. I saw most of the forest animals every day, but I mostly hung around Thumper the rabbit along with his sisters and mother. I was always curious as to why he liked me so much, but he in fact was born not too long before I was and he was also very used to being around his family, so I guess he wanted to have a friend to hang around so that he was not around the same family space all the time. I also noticed that although he never had a real issue with his sisters, they had a knack of constantly pestering him to play with them. Personally, I thought it was cute, but it annoyed him over time and so he thought that being around me gave him the 'freedom' he desired. I believe that he was just being a bit of a whiner, but that is just me.

He was an important part of my young development, though, because during my first days walking through the forest with Mother he was showing me how to walk properly when I was still a bit wobbly, encouraging me to get up when I fell, jumping over obstacles, and showing me how to pronounce correctly when I said my first words. I succeeded in almost all of that except the hopping, but that would eventually improve as I will explain later. So his help and advice was valuable.

I will also mention that, as with any newborn fawn, I really had trouble walking  and staying balanced on these long legs. I am just guessing because I never asked, but I think that Mother might have gotten me walking too soon before I could comfortably balance myself when standing up. It doesn't matter to me, but I was indeed rusty to begin with, and Thumper did say that I was wobbly and not walking well against his mother's wishes because she demanded manners, but I would have told her if I could have that he was right and he was free to say what he wanted.  

When it came to speaking my first words, I was taught the names of certain living species. I understood what everyone was saying to me, so I was able to pick that up fine, but when it came to identifying things, I needed help there and Thumper was especially helpful. Then when my first encounter with a young skunk came, I ended up mistaking him for a flower since that was the previous word I had been taught right before then. He was very surprised when I called him that but at the same time not so fussed, and Thumper tried to tell me, after a slight hysterical amusing moment, what animal he really was before the skunk interrupted:

"Oh, that's alright. He can call me a flower if he wants to. (Shy chuckle) I don't mind."

So I took his word for it and said to him (with the words that I knew at the time):

"Purtty. Purtty flower." I was meant to say 'pretty' but that is the way Thumper always said it, and so I just followed on from him.

He then