anything but surely thinking in unison, he is hibernating, so we should not be waking him up, but even just a couple of minutes of his time couldn't hurt. We are his friend, after all. So then Thumper did his unusual 'ritual', so to speak, and thumped his foot continuously to get the skunk's attention, which did wake him up immediately. We shared a short but friendly exchange before he went back to hibernating sleep, him knowingly not waking up again until the eventual spring. 

We could not help but notice how sweet and sensitive he was, and that was another reason why we liked him. I knew that he also cherished our friendship because he blushed and smiled so much every time we saw him. He was certainly a good addition to our little gang and I would never have wanted to let go of someone of his calibre.

From that first day, I thought that we would have enjoyed the season with its surroundings, but I was about to learn that in the wilderness, conditions in winter can get very severe and harsh. For many days thereafter, the wind got strong and snow continued to fall. This made visibility very poor and the temperature colder, so being exposed in the open seemed a risk, but we still had to go out every now and then when the weather was calmer to find food and water where possible. This was not easy, though, as all the grass that we would normally eat was buried underneath the snow, which forced us to find alternative options, so the bark on the trees was sufficient to keep us and the rest of the deer satisfied. We kept on eating the bark through the winter to the point that it was disappearing fast from the trunks of the trees and becoming harder to reach. Then when we were unable to reach it anymore, we had to handle a bit of time in the late season without food. We had a good supply before the scarcity and it was enough to keep us going, but it did not stop the hunger pains coming back.

Winter seemed so long to me, and I was wondering when it was going to end, but Mother told me to keep my chin up as the last days of winter were approaching and we should be able to find food around if we looked hard enough. That one time when we got lucky would not turn out so good, and this was where my life was about to change.

*

A turn for the worst (so it seemed)

As it was, Mother and I, along with the other deer in the forest, kept on searching in the late winter for any sign of feed. Food was still very scarce and there would be a lot of competition from the other animals to get the feed before them, so you had to be lucky, and whoever missed out might have had to wait until the beginning of spring. I feared that we might be among those who would or will, not that we would necessarily die of starvation because of the supply we maintained through the season, but hunger pains can creep up on you sometimes.

One overcast but calm day, Mother and I went out to the meadow to search for any hope of food. We came through here searching several times through winter, but we could not find anything. It also seemed a bit of a risk considering there might have been danger occurring again, but Mother told me that this was the rarest time of the year when Man would attack, and that one would have to be very unlucky to be taken because of that unpredictability of movement of both Man and animals at various times. Her being the expert, naturally, I took her word for this and we both took our chances.

Sure enough, out in the middle of the meadow, new spring grass had appeared though a thin patch in the snow. We both felt a sense of relief and joy because we were finally going to get our feed for the first time in I-do-not-know-how-many-days. It was also a sign to us that spring was approaching, so it was something else that we were looking forward to.

We went over to the patch and began grazing. I had waited a while to taste grass again, and I was thinking, I forgot how great this really tastes! It seems that it is more appetising when you come back to it after so long, so I was enjoying it. I am sure that Mother felt the same way.

The good feeling inside would be very short-lived, though, as Mother suddenly jerked her head up fast and turned it to various directions as if she had just detected something. Her face was filled with worry as she immediately realised that something was not right.

"Bambi!" She exclaimed. "Quick! The thicket!"

I stopped grazing, took an immediate hint of the threat of Man and ran back in the direction where we entered the meadow from. Panic began to rush through my head as I was running, along with the earlier assumption of the unlikely appearance of our worst enemy. Big mistake, that was! I exclaimed in my head. There would be no time to think any further as we had to get out of here as soon as possible, but strangely I seemed to be running faster than Mother was as she trailed behind me. I didn't understand why she would not be running beside me, but I know now that she was staying behind me for a reason, as I was about to find out soon.

I heard the deadly sound of single shots from guns behind us and that made me run faster. That and Mother's shouts of anxious encouragement made me understand that this is the time in your life when you run the fastest you ever have.

"Faster, Bambi!" She yelled. "Don't look back! Keep running! Keep running!"

I did exactly as was told and got to the edge of the meadow and back into the thicket right after I heard one last gunshot, but escape was all that was on my mind so I barely heard it. If only I knew what that exact shot meant.

I got back into the forest and kept on going without even thinking whether Mother would be behind me or not, because I had to focus on escaping from Man and making it to safety. As she had told me, I could not look back. But had I done so, I would have noticed that she was not behind me from the time that I ran through the forest to when I got back to the den. 

Once there, I thought that we had made it back safe together, until I realised that I was alone. I became anxious and left the den immediately to go and look for her, constantly calling her out in the process. As I did so, snow began to fall. It seemed a symbol of this current daunting experience, as I was about to find out.

I knew that something was wrong, but I could not tell for sure if it was what I though it was. I did not even want to think that way because it was too traumatising. I just kept on searching for Mother. I swear that I must have searched for quite a while, and it was getting to the point where the anxiety brought the tears to my eyes.

The worst fear was then realised when I was eventually stopped in my tracks after looking up at a surprisingly familiar face. It was none other than the Great Prince. He was likewise bearing a very solemn yet composed face, and the look pretty much said the hard words before he could reluctantly deliver them to me in a baritone voice:

"Your mother can't be with you any more."

I then stood there frozen for a short moment as I had just realised what had happened: That last gunshot I heard had taken Mother away. I immediately expressed shock and disbelief before it finally turned into mourning when I looked down at the ground. I was extremely saddened and ready to break down. I was thinking, No, she can't be gone! please tell me this is not true. This has to be a bad dream. Please tell me that Mother is still alive. 

I soon opened my eyes again and looked back up at the large stag in front of me to confirm that it was true. He remained staring at me in a sad way but said nothing for a little while. I assumed that he was giving me time to mourn. So it showed when the tears came to my eyes, and a few rolled down my face before the Great Prince sympathetically spoke again, this time confirming something that had been on my mind for a long time but what I was never told about and finally ended suspicion:

"Come...my son."

As much as I was grieving at this moment, I was simultaneously surprised after he said that. The Great Prince of the Forest is my father?! After all of this time wondering about my status as a prince, it is finally solved. No one told me, but maybe I should have figured it out myself. 

I remember Mother saying to me that the full story about me being a prince would have to wait until I was older, but now this had all gone away. I then began to question myself as to why I had not been told earlier. I mentioned in the first chapter the reason, but I was too young to understand it at this current point, so, again, I said nothing. Besides, I was in too much grief to think about it. The main and more important problem right now was the tragic event that had just occurred.

Without thinking too much about him being my father, I could see that he was now trying to aid me in this difficult time. Putting my trust in him now that I knew we were connected by bloodline, I obeyed his command and followed him as he walked a separate direction to where I came from. I assumed that he was taking me to his den. But as I was about to leave, I turned and looked back one more time to take in what had just happened and also quietly hope that Mother would appear from anywhere. Seeing that she didn't, I gave up hope and continued to follow who I now knew was my father into the forest. 

It continued to snow as we walked. We travelled a little distance and visibility was still quite poor through most of the journey, but, again, I was mourning too much to care. My father's presence certainly made