Bambi Chapter: 22 And 23

Tonight we read chapters 22 and 23 of the timeless classic, Bambi, by Felix Salten. Tonight's reading describes Bambi getting older in years and experiencing a difficult time. This audio is perfect for children or adults who want to discover magic or find adventure before a great night's sleep.

Transcript

Bambi by Felix Salton,

Chapter 22 One morning,

Something very bad happened to Bambi.

The feeble grey of dawn was creeping its way through the forest.

A milky white mist rose from the meadow,

And the quiet that breathes the change in that time of day stretched itself out everywhere.

The crows were still not awake,

Nor the magpies,

And even the jay was asleep.

Bambi had come across Faelene in the night.

She looked sadly at him and was very shy.

I'm by myself so much,

She said quietly.

I'm by myself too,

Bambi replied hesitantly.

Faelene seemed disheartened and asked,

Why don't you stay with me more?

And it pained Bambi to see that Faelene,

Once so gay,

Once so bold,

Had become earnest and downtrodden.

I have to be alone,

He replied.

He had wanted to say it in a soothing way,

But it sounded hard.

He heard it himself.

Faelene looked at him and quietly asked,

Do you still love me?

Bambi did not hesitate and answered,

I don't know.

She went calmly away and left him alone.

There he stood under the great oak tree at the edge of the meadow,

Looking carefully out there to see that all was safe,

And drank in the morning wind.

Every time there had been a storm the air was moist and refreshing.

It smelt of the earth,

Of dew and grass,

And of wet wood.

Bambi breathed deep.

He suddenly felt free in a way he had not felt for a long time.

He felt gay as he stepped out onto the misty meadow.

Then came a clap of thunder.

Bambi felt as if something had shoved him and made him stagger.

In a panic he leaped back into the woods and continued running.

He did not understand what had happened.

He was quite unable to collect his thoughts,

But just kept on running.

His terror kept a tight grip on his heart and took his breath away as he blindly rushed forward.

Then suddenly a piercing pain ran through him.

He did not think he would be able to endure it.

He felt how it ran hotly over his left thigh,

A narrow burning thread starting from the place where he had first felt the pain.

It forced him to stop running.

It forced him to walk more slowly.

Then his shoulders and legs seemed to go lame.

He collapsed to the ground.

He was seen by Labzol as he was just laying there resting.

Get up,

Bambi,

Get up!

The elder stood beside him and pushed him gently on his shoulder.

Bambi wanted to retort,

I can't,

But the elder said again,

Get up,

Get up!

And there was such urgency in his voice and such tenderness that Bambi said nothing.

Even the pain he felt in every part of his body abated for a moment.

Now the elder spoke hurriedly and in fear.

Get up,

You've got to get away from here,

Son.

It seemed to be too soon as this word slipped out of his mouth that Bambi hurried back up to his feet.

Right then,

Said the elder.

He took a deep breath and continued to urge Bambi on.

Now come with me,

Just stay with me all the time.

He hurried forward.

Bambi followed him even though he was yearning to drop to the ground,

To lay still and rest.

The elder seemed able to see this and spoke to Bambi without pause.

Whatever the pain is now,

You've got to just bear it.

You can't even think about laying down.

Never think of that at all,

As that by itself will make you tired.

Now you've got to just save yourself,

Do you understand,

Bambi?

Save yourself,

Otherwise you're lost.

Just bear in mind that he's coming after you,

Do you understand,

Bambi?

He won't show any mercy.

He'll just kill you.

Come with me,

Just come with me.

It'll soon be gone.

It's got to go.

Bambi no longer even had the strength to think of anything.

The pain surged up in every step he took,

Robbed him of his breath and of his senses.

And the line of heat that burned down into his shoulder brought a deep,

Delirious excitement into his heart.

The elder went round in a broad circle.

It took a long time.

Through his veil of pain and weakness,

Bambi was astonished to see that they were suddenly beside the great oak once more.

The elder stopped and smelt the ground.

Here,

He whispered.

Here,

He's here.

The dog,

Come with me,

Faster.

They ran on.

The elder suddenly stopped.

Can you see,

He exclaimed,

This is where you were lying on the ground.

Bambi saw where the grass had been pressed down and saw a broad pool of his own blood soaking into the ground.

The elder smelt the place carefully.

They've already been here,

Him and the dog,

He said.

Now come with me.

He walked slowly on,

Continually stopping to smell the ground.

Bambi noticed the drops of red on the leaves of the bushes and on the grass.

We've already been past here,

He thought,

Although he was not able to speak out loud.

Good,

Said the elder almost gaily.

Now we've gotten behind them.

He went for a while in the same direction.

Then he turned suddenly to one side and set off in a new circle.

Bambi staggered on behind him.

They arrived at the big oak tree once again,

Though this time from the other direction.

They arrived once again at the place where Bambi had fallen.

And then once again,

The elder took a new direction.

Eat some of this,

He ordered.

He had stopped,

Pushed the grass to one side,

And pointed to some tiny leaves,

Short and dark green,

Fat and fluffy,

That were sprouting out from the bare ground.

Bambi did as he was told.

The leaves were horribly bitter and had a repulsive smell.

After a while,

The elder asked,

How are you feeling now?

I'm feeling better,

Bambi prompted.

All of a sudden,

He was able to speak again.

He could think clearly.

He felt less tired.

After another pause,

The elder ordered him,

You go ahead now.

And after he'd been walking behind Bambi for some time,

He said,

At last,

They stopped.

Your blood has stopped running out of your wound,

So it won't show where you are anymore.

He and his dog won't be able to find where you go.

The elder looked very tired,

But there was cheer in his voice.

Come on then,

He continued.

Now you need to have a rest.

They arrived at the broad gully that Bambi had never seen or been across.

The elder climbed down into it.

Bambi tried to follow it,

But it took a lot of effort to climb up the steep slope on the other side.

The fierce pain he felt began once more to go through him.

He fell over,

Pulled himself back up,

Fell over again,

And began to gasp for breath.

I can't help you here,

Said the elder,

You've got to get up here yourself.

And Bambi did get up to the top.

He began once more to feel the hot band of pain that shot down his shoulder and felt for the second time that he was losing his strength.

You're bleeding again,

Said the elder.

That's what I expected.

It's not too much though,

And it doesn't matter anymore.

They made their way very slowly through a grove of beech trees as high as the sky.

The ground was soft and smooth.

It did not take too much effort to go through it.

Bambi yearned to just lay himself down,

To stretch himself out and to not move.

He just could not go any further.

His head hurt.

There was a buzzing in his ears.

His nerves were quivering and his fever began to shake him.

His eyes went dim.

There was nothing more inside him than the yearning for rest and a vague astonishment at how his life had suddenly been interrupted and altered.

At how he once used to go through the forest in good health and without injury,

Just that morning,

Just an hour earlier.

Seemed to him now like the happiness of a distant time,

Had long since vanished.

They passed through a low thicket of oaks and dogwood.

The fallen trunk of a beech tree lay across their path,

Deeply embedded in the bushes.

It was very big,

And they could see no way of getting past it.

Now we've got there,

Bambi heard the elder say.

He walked the length of the beech trunk and Bambi followed him,

Nearly falling into a hole in the ground.

All right,

Said the elder,

You can lie down here.

Bambi sank down and did not try to move anymore.

He saw that the hole in the ground under the fallen beech trunk was deeper than it had seemed,

Creating a small chamber.

The bushes at the edge of it closed over him as he entered,

So that nobody could see in.

Once he was down there,

It was as if he had disappeared.

You'll be safe here,

Said the elder,

Stay here and don't go anywhere.

Days went by.

Bambi lay in the warm earth.

The bark of the fallen tree slowly rotting above him,

Listening to his pains as it grew inside his body,

Became stronger,

Then abated,

Became weaker and went down,

Steadily softer and softer.

Sometimes he would struggle outside where he would stand,

Weak and unsteady,

On his tired and unreliable legs,

And take a few steps to look for food.

He began to eat herbs that he had never noticed before.

Now they had suddenly begun to offer themselves to him,

Called to him with their scent that had a strange and tempting sharpness.

What he had until then despised,

What he would have thrown away if he inadvertently got it between his lips,

Now seemed tasty and spicy.

Many little leaves,

Many short stalks,

Continued to seem unappetizing even now.

But he nonetheless ate them under some kind of compulsion,

And his wounds healed more quickly and he could feel how his strength was coming back to him.

He had been saved,

But he still did not leave his chamber.

He would only come out at night and take a few steps around,

But in the daytime he would remain quietly in his bed.

It was only now,

When his body was feeling no more pain,

That Bambi realized all that had happened to him.

He was able to think once more,

And a feeling of great horror arose within him.

His character had been shattered.

He was not able to simply wipe it away,

Not able to stand up and run about as he had before.

He lay there and felt many emotions,

Alternately disgusted,

Ashamed,

Astonished,

Disheartened,

But soon afterwards full of melancholy.

Soon afterwards,

Full of happiness.

The Elder was nearby at all times.

At first he was at Bambi's side day and night.

Then there were times when he left him alone for short periods,

Especially when he saw that Bambi was lost in his thoughts.

But there was no time when he was not close by.

One day there had been a storm and thunder and lightning.

The sky had been swept clean,

And that evening the sun,

As it went down,

Shone over a sky that was blue.

The blackbirds sang out loudly from the treetops,

And the finches flapped their wings.

Bambi stepped out from his underground chamber.

Life was good.

The Elder was standing there as if he'd been waiting.

They wandered slowly off together,

But Bambi never went back across that gully,

Never went back to see the others.

Chapter 23 One night,

When the autumn leaves were falling and whispering through the hole of the forest,

The tawny owl gave his shrill cry through the treetops.

Then he waited.

But Bambi had already seen him in the distance,

Through the now sparse foliage,

And now he kept still.

The owl flew closer and gave his shrill cry even louder.

Then he waited.

But this time,

Too,

Bambi said nothing.

The owl could not hold back any longer.

Aren't you startled,

Then?

He asked discontentedly.

Oh,

Yes,

Bambi answered gently,

A little bit.

Well,

The owl grumbled,

Only a little bit.

You always used to be terribly shocked.

It was always such a pleasure to see how shocked you were.

What's happened,

Then?

What's happened that means you're only a little bit shocked?

He was annoyed and repeated,

Just a little bit.

The owl had grown old,

And that had made him even more vain and even more sensitive than he'd been before.

Bambi wanted to answer.

I was never startled before,

Either,

But I just said it because I knew you liked it.

But he decided he would rather keep this information to himself.

He felt sorry for the good old owl as he sat there being cross.

He did his best to calm him down.

Maybe it's because I was just thinking about you,

He said.

What?

The owl became cheerful again.

What?

You were thinking about me?

Yes,

Answered Bambi hesitantly.

Just when you began to screech.

Otherwise,

Of course,

I would have just been startled as ever.

Really?

The owl purred.

Bambi could not resist.

What harm could there be in it?

Let the little old boy have some pleasure.

Really,

He confirmed and went on.

It pleases me.

It goes through all my limbs when I suddenly hear you like that.

The owl puffed up his feathers,

Turned himself into a soft,

Brown,

And light gray fluffy ball,

And he was very pleased.

That's very nice of you to have been thinking about me.

Very nice indeed,

He cooed gently.

It's such a long time since we saw each other.

A very long time,

Said Bambi.

Maybe it's that you don't go along the same old paths anymore,

Inquired the owl.

No,

Bambi spoke slowly.

I don't go along the same old paths anymore.

I've been seeing a lot more of the world too lately,

Remarked the owl,

Puffing his chest out.

He did not tell Bambi that he'd been driven out of the old territory he'd inherited from his ancestors by a young and reckless lad.

You can't always stay in the same spot,

He added.

Then he waited for Bambi's reply.

But Bambi had gone.

By now he had learned the art of disappearing in silence,

Almost as well as the elder.

The owl was dismayed.

Shameless,

He grumbled.

He shook himself,

Buried his beak into his plumage,

And philosophized to himself.

You should never think you could make friends with these posh types.

They might seem ever so likable,

But one day they'll shamelessly.

.

.

And then you sit there looking stupid,

Just like I am now.

Suddenly he fell vertically down to the ground like a stone.

He had seen a mouse,

Which then,

Caught in his talons,

Had the time to squeal just once.

He flew away.

What does Bambi matter to me,

He thought?

What does any of those posh people matter to me?

Nothing.

They don't matter at all.

He started to screech,

So shrill,

So long that a pair of wood pigeons he'd passed by were woken up,

And with much loud flapping of wings,

They fell out of where they'd been sleeping.

The storm blew through the woods for many days,

Tearing the last of the leaves from the twigs and branches.

The trees now stood there naked.

In the gray of the morning twilight,

Bambi was making his way home in order to sleep together with the elder in their chamber.

A thin voice called to him,

Two times,

Three times in quick succession.

He stayed where he was.

Then the squirrel swooped down from the tree like lightning and sat on the ground in front of him.

It really is you,

Then,

He piped with respectful astonishment.

I recognized you straight away when you passed by me.

I didn't want to believe it.

How come you're here,

Bambi asked.

The cheerful little face in front of him took on a worried expression.

The oak tree is gone,

The squirrel began to complain.

My lovely oak tree,

Do you remember?

It's terrible.

He's cut it down.

He lowered his head in sadness.

It really did hurt his soul to hear about the wonderful ancient tree.

It all happened so quickly,

The squirrel told him.

All of us who lived on the old tree,

We all ran away,

And we could only watch as he bit through it with enormous blinking tooth.

The tree screamed out loudly from his wound.

He just kept on screaming,

And the tooth screamed too.

It was so horrible to hear it.

Then the poor,

Lovely tree fell over,

Out onto the meadow.

It made all of us cry.

Bambi was silent.

Yes,

Said the squirrel with a sigh.

He can do anything.

He looked at Bambi with eyes wide open and pricked up his ears,

But Bambi was silent.

We've all got nowhere to live now,

The squirrel continued.

I don't even have any idea of where the others have got to.

I came over here,

But it'll take me ages to find another tree like that.

The old oak tree,

Muttered Bambi to himself.

I've known it since I was a child.

No,

But it's good to see that it's really you,

The squirrel became quite contented.

We all thought you must have died a long time ago,

But there was some who said you were still alive.

Some said that someone or other had seen you,

But we couldn't find anything definite,

So we just supposed it was an empty rumor.

The squirrel looked at him searchingly.

Well,

That was because you didn't come back.

He sat there waiting for an answer.

You could see that he was very keen to know what had happened.

Bambi was silent,

But he too felt a slight anxious curiosity.

He wanted to ask about Feline,

About Aunt Ina,

About Rano and Keras,

About everyone he had known as a child.

But he was silent.

The squirrel continued to sit in front of Bambi and examined him.

Look at that crown,

He exclaimed in admiration.

What a crown.

Apart from the old prince,

No one has a crown like that.

No one anywhere in the forest.

Sure,

Bambi would have felt very pleased and flattered by an observation like this.

Now he just said warily,

Yes,

I suppose so.

The squirrel nodded his head vigorously.

It really is,

He said in astonishment.

Really,

You're beginning to go gray.

Bambi walked away.

The squirrel saw that the discussion was at an end,

And he swung to the branches.

Bye then,

He called down.

Look after yourself.

I enjoyed seeing you again.

If I see any of your old friends,

I'll tell them you're still alive.

They'll all be glad to hear it.

Bambi heard this and once again felt those slight stirrings in his heart,

But said nothing.

You have to stay alone,

The elder had taught him when Bambi was still a child.

And the elder had shown him many things,

Told him many secrets,

And continued doing so up to the present day.

But of all the things he'd been taught,

This was the most important.

You have to stay alone.

If you're going to preserve your life,

If you want to understand existence,

If you want to become wise,

You have to stay alone.

But,

Asked Bambi one time,

But what about the two of us?

We're always together nowadays.

We soon won't be.

The elder had retorted.

That had only been a few weeks earlier.

Now it again occurred to Bambi,

And it occurred to him very suddenly,

That the very first thing the elder had said to him had been that he had to stay alone.

That had been when Bambi was still a child and was calling for his mother.

Then the elder had come up to him and asked,

Are you not able to be alone?

Bambi walked on,

And that is the end of our story this evening.

Until next time,

Sweet dreams.

Reviews

I fell asleep (perfect!) so I’ll have to play again but if I don’t comment now I’ll lose my chance! I don’t think this will be the last chapter? Beautiful story, beautifully told. Thank you for your gorgeous storytelling! ❤️🦋🙏🪬