Snow buried the grass. Food became scarce, and the deer scraped frozen earth for anything green. Gobo did not return. Aunt Ena listened for him at every rustle, while Faline grew quiet.
One bitter morning, people entered the forest from every side. Dogs barked. Pheasants thundered into the air. Bambi ran beside his mother through falling snow.
A terrible crack came from behind them.
“Keep running!” his mother called.
Bambi reached the thicket alone. He waited until night, then through the next grey day. At last the old stag approached.
“Your mother will not come again,” he said quietly. “You must come with me.”
The old stag showed Bambi where leaves remained under the snow and how to cross a path without leaving an easy trail. By spring, Bambi’s first antlers began to grow.
Years passed. He became a young stag and found Faline again. He also met two strong rivals, Karus and Ronno, who challenged him. Bambi had learned speed and courage; after fierce clashes beneath the trees, the rivals gave way. Faline stayed beside him.
Then a deer stepped from the bushes wearing a dark band around his neck.
It was Gobo.
He told them that a man had found him in the snow, carried him to a warm house, and fed him through winter. “He loves me,” Gobo said proudly. “I need never fear Him.”
The old stag appeared and looked at the halter mark around Gobo’s neck.
“You poor thing,” he said, and vanished.
Gobo laughed at the warning. One bright morning, though the jays screamed danger, he walked into the open meadow.
The thunder cracked.
Gobo fell. The man who had once cared for him had not known him from any other deer.
Bambi stood hidden beside Faline, shaking. At last he understood the old stag’s sad words. A warm stable had taught Gobo to forget the language of the forest—and the forest could not forget it for him.
The End