Author’s Note: The title and inspiration for this story came from a review that I received for my story “I’ll Be Seeing You”. The review, which was written by an anonymous Guest, asked for me to try to write a sequel to Bambi. I’ll do my best, but I make no promises that it’ll be good. This story is dedicated to the unnamed Guest. (To see "I'll Be Seeing You" and the review that the guest wrote for me, please visit my profile on fan fiction.net.) And in the meantime...enjoy this story!

Chapter One

Faline turned to her babies, smiling at the three of them. They were triplets, not twins, but the well-wishers only managed to see the elder two before Friend Owl had shooed them all out to give them a little privacy. She was grateful for that, as she needed to time to reflect on her situation. And she had not expected three children...she had never heard of a doe giving birth to three fawns at the same time. No, that wasn't true. She had heard of such cases from her mother, but they were uncommon...so rare that nobody thought that triplets could exist in the forest anymore. Twins were unusual enough. She had thought about telling the crowd of admirers about the baby they had overlooked, but decided not to. She couldn’t help but chuckle at how surprised they all would be when she and her children were strong enough to go walking together. The children would be confused, but she'd explain to them later why, when they were old enough to have children of their own...she hoped she would live that long to watch their children. She shuddered at the unpleasant thought and gazed back down at the babies.

The fawns were awake, but getting very sleepy. The boys—two of the three babies—had curled up and started to rest. The girl had fallen asleep well before them, and she showed no signs of waking up anytime soon. Faline nuzzled her sons first. One was larger than the other...the smaller one was so tiny and precious. He was probably the child that she had not realized she was carrying all these months.

“Geno and Gobo,” she whispered, naming them. And then she repeated the same gesture with her daughter, naming her Gurri, after her late mother-in-law. And she inclined her head up towards the sky, thinking happily about what the Owl had said earlier. “Prince Bambi ought to be mighty proud…”

She could hardly wait to show her mate their creations, the miracles of life. She nestled against her children and thought eagerly of when that day would come. With friendly fantasies in her thoughts, she curled around her children and fell into a perfect sleep of anticipation and exhaustion.

Her labors had been long, but whenever she looked at her children, she could see that it had all been well worth the wait. And the others of the forest would be great company for them, she knew.

Bambi and his father stood on top of a large cliff overlooking their kingdom. Bambi could see the trees that covered the glade that his mate lived in. Faline had given birth to their children after many long months of pregnancy, and he was impatient to meet them. He wished that he knew when the time would come. How old had he been when he first encountered his own parent? He couldn't have been older than a week. A week was only seven days, but it felt like an eternity to Bambi. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the Great Prince of the Forest, his father. He seemed to know everything. Nothing surprised him, but Bambi was still stunned by many things that he learned from his father, including the conversation that they had as they stood together.

“I must leave you now,” the older stag said simply, and Bambi stiffened. He understood what his father meant, and it pained him. Did he really have to lose another parent at such a happy moment in his life? He remembered that the first grass to grow during spring had come on the day his mother died. And now, on the first day of life for his children, a wise leader would have to leave. The irony was sickening and bitter. “You must take my place as the Great Prince of the Forest. But before I go,” the Great Prince continued, “there is one thing that I must ask of you.” Bambi nodded once, the prongs on his antlers glinting in the growing sunlight. He would have done anything for his father, but nothing had prepared him for this unusual request. “Do you promise me that you will not return to the thicket?” Bambi was puzzled, but he nodded solemnly, giving his father his word. “You can not go back,” the old stag told him sternly. “There is nothing for you there. Do not go back.” Then his voice softened, and he left Bambi alone on the cliff. The last words he said to his son were, “Farewell, my son. I loved you dearly.” As he walked off, he was muttering to himself, "I have to find a resting place now...where to go?" Bambi allowed himself a small, sad smile. Because for only a moment, the old stag sounded like a grumpy old-timer, not unlike Friend Owl did most of the time.

And as he shook a few small tears from his big, serious eyes, the new Great Prince of the Forest stepped closer to the edge of the cliff. He wished that there were no trees to hide the view of his family. He wished that he could see them, and that they could see him.

Review, please! Constructive criticism is appreciated.

Longer chapters ahead, I promise!