Bambi's Dream

by Bagel Brain

Authors Note: This was based on an old story written by me and originally published almost a decade ago on this website. I recently recovered the original draft and, while it has sentimental value to me, I felt I could tell the story a lot better now, so instead of republishing my old story, I have heavily rewritten it to what it is now. My goal was to tell a story without a single spoken word. Enjoy!

The blanket of night fell on the forest once more. The humming of crickets permeated the brisk air, and countless fireflies created a phantasmagoria of lights. As fantastic as it seemed to an outsider, it was but a routine event to the inhabitants of the woods. Many of the woodlands denizens were preparing for rest, curling up in their dens and lulling their young ones to sleep, sometimes with stories and songs.

After an unpleasant, humid day of patrolling the vast woods with his father, The Great Prince of the Forest, Bambi had worn himself out. The time had come for him to rest up for the following day. They both returned to their den, a small grotto covered by a large, fallen tree. The Great Prince, still preoccupied with his duties, left Bambi by himself in the safety of their home as he left to continue monitoring the woods. Bambi curled up snugly and fell into an unusually deep sleep. And it was through this that Bambi would have the means of entering an unusual plane far above that of the physical world. It was an endless place called the World of Dreams.

Once Bambi fell into this slumber, It did not take long for him to become a different awake. It was not the conscious, physical kind that felt irritation and fatigue, but the kind where the soul is truly free to muck about on its own accord. The kind free of the harsh limits of the real world. Bambi's soul, still maintaining his physical appearance of a fawn a month or so shy of being a yearling, drifted out of his body. He gently floated into the air, with not a nod to either friction or mass. To Bambi, being in this corporeal form was akin to the act of swimming, but it was infinitely more pleasant to him since, in dreams, fur never gets wet or smells like mildew.

It took but a few seconds for his mind to adjust to this foreign state of being, with a realization dawning on him that he once again had a Pandora's Box of possibilities unleashed upon him, with a variety of sensations that would follow. He looked down to his slumbering body and grinned. While this was far from his first visit to the World of Dreams, it had taken several trips into it for him to realize there were few limits imposed upon him once he entered it. Save a dream of a time long past where he wandered through a lush field with his Mother one more time, Bambi once feared this state of being, preferring the comfort and security of a material world to this strange unpredictable new world of endless possibilities. But repeated visits had allowed him to learn the intricacies of it, and was now totally comfortable in this form. Bambi felt more alive now than he ever could have in the land of the conscious. There was no need for spoken words to describe it-while he was a soul, he could still feel the sensations of life flowing through him. The soft squishing of his flesh when he smiled, his eyes focusing on his next goal or desire, the feeling of cool air flowing through fur-but with none of the baggage of life, none of the fatigue, hunger, or irritation. The only downside of this was that all dreams were fleeting. Even in his playful euphoria, Bambi knew this would not last forever-he would wake sooner or later. But that was not now, and now it was time to have fun.

In a span of time impossible to comprehend in our material terms, Bambi's thought turned to flight. At an impossible-or shall we say plausible impossible-speed, Bambi shot through the trees flying high above the forest and hills and into the night sky. The whole night became an animated show of stars, with the moon casting its glorious light down on him-or rather, through his ghostly ether. For this moment, the universe was centered around him alone. Bambi arched his back and limbs in a way that could not have done in the true world. He needn't perform such an act, but it was the sensation that mattered to at that moment. Bambi felt unstoppable. Nothing nature unleashed could injure him. The fawn thought about whether he'd recall all of this when awoken but wanted to savor every moment of the time. With another thought, Bambi took off like a streak of light, passing through the billowing clouds and treetops. As he took part in this, the fawn made a quick stop by Friend Owl's tree to see what he was up to. Bambi freely whirled around the old teacher like a breeze, aware that the awake and nocturnal bird would be unable to perceive him in his spectral form. Seeing Owl was up to nothing interesting-he was merely making his nightly rounds of feasting on juicy insects (at that moment, he had captured a particularly fuzzy moth), Bambi decided to move on. But did take a moment to wonder what it was like for Friend Owl to dream during the time of day.

As he continued grazing the tips of the pine trees and oaks, Bambi heeded a friendly call and quickly realized that he was not alone. To his right, a familiar gray buck-toothed rabbit was leaning on his back, smirking at Bambi as he paddled himself through the air with his feet. Once again, there was no need for words-their faces and gestures stated it all. Who they were and what they were, was defined solely by what they looked like and what they were doing. Bambi's face sprouted an inquisitive expression as if he wanted to ask Thumper if he was enjoying himself. Thumper, shifting to a proud pose, seemed like he was close to answering-only for his face to immediately change to a look of fear. Nay, not fear of survival for there was no such things as harm or death in the World of Dreams. Rather it was a terror born of shame, not that there was much of a difference between the two. The cause of alarm instantly made itself known, for Thumper's four sisters had come to join the fun! Thumper panicked and flew off fast as his sisters just as quickly zipped past Bambi in single file to pester their brother as much as they did in their waking hours. It seemed indeed that even in the World of Dreams, not all could be made happy. Bambi shrugged, his face showing the thought of mild pity for his friend, as he took off to find other souls to associate with.

It was but a heartbeat before he found Faline, prancing through the air with the grace of a dancer. Bambi, being shy around her, attempted to flee elsewhere into the forest. But Faline quickly took notice of her friend and appeared before him in the blink of an eye. The young doe coyly shrugged as her pair of gorgeous eyes gazed on her friend. Bambi quickly became nervous and started feeling a warm sensation building up in him. He was sweating and hot. His soul burned an ambient red and orange like a forest fire that so far he could scarcely imagine in his mind. His heart pounded like the hooves of a herd. To say the least, subtlety was not his strong suit. This phenomenon only got stronger as Faline connected her nose with Bambi's. To confirm a gesture of affection, she sneaked a quick kiss upon his muzzle. Bambi couldn't hold himself back any longer. His soul contorted in itself, crushing itself as much as it could in one last-ditch attempt to control his raw feeling of intense emotions and sensations searching for release. Ultimately, it gave way as Bambi took off like a flare, zipping through the forest as he left a streak of ashen and red lights in his wake. He reached high above the clouds and became framed by the white of the moon, and erupted into a fantastic light show of every color imaginable. Each spark crackled like the most lovely thunder one could imagine. Faline was delighted by this spectacle, to say the least. After a solid minute of this exciting spectacle, Bambi drifted soberly to the ground below. Overwhelmed yet pleased and trying to comprehend just what happened, he exhaled in relief despite there being no need too. Faline appeared beside him and gently forced her friend back into the air. Bambi regained his senses just as Faline slyly winked at him and sped off into the woods.

Curious as to who else could be up and about in this land, Bambi soared over the grassy plains in search of his other friend, the skunk named Flower. The Young Prince didn't have to fly far before finding him, seeing that the poor skunk kit was being pestered by the local bully, another fawn-come-yearling named Ronno. The arrogant young buck was somewhat accustomed to the world of dreams, but his lack of imagination kept him from completely recognizing his potential in it. The timid Flower, meanwhile, was still struggling to grasp the basics of it. Ronno zipped around, knocking Flower thru the air like a freshly fallen acorn, flying back and forth as if taking part in a game with himself as the skunk was helplessly kicked back and forth. While Flower was in no danger of being physically harmed, Bambi was keenly aware that Ronno was more than capable of hurting the young skunk's feelings with this thoughtless act. He intervened, placing himself between the instigator and his victim. Flower was grateful for anyone offering him protection and floated behind Bambi, peeking out to see what could happen. Ronno laughed and snorted at this, believing they were no match for him in this realm. He would be quickly confirmed wrong, as Bambi thought on his hoofs and quickly came up with an idea of how to deal with Ronno. Bambi turned to Flower and murmured something into his ear. Flower listened, his head constantly nodding, with his eyes widening in surprise as Bambi gave him an idea and encouraged to act on it with all of his might. Flower, now filled with inspiration and courage, summoned all of his willpower. In the span of seconds, he made himself as tall and vast as Mount Katahdin, dwarfing all things around him in the forest-even his eyes were now the size of boulders. The once baby skunk showed no aggression even in this massive height, for Flower was so docile that he couldn't even attempt to form malice in his heart. Flower looked down on the two deer before him with a bashful giggle, pleased at being able to achieve this. Despite being in no danger, Ronno was shocked and terrified at what had just unfolded before him and cowardly fled back through the woods, calling for his mother. Bambi was pleased with this outcome, but he hoped that Ronno would never realize he could do such a trick himself, lest he ruins another of their dreams. Flower immediately changed back into his normal stature and thanked Bambi, and then left to return to his den. Strangely, even in the World of Dreams, Flower enjoyed his naps.

Bambi was preparing to take off again to gather more friends to play with but was halted by a dreadful omen that overcame him. It was a horrifying feeling, the kind one felt trapped and out of control of everything but their mind. Bambi, now frightened, desperately tried to fly off again but found that the surrounding air had now become as thick as water and left him barely able to move. The World of Dreams began to wrap and shrank around him. Trees brush and shadows all enveloped and crushed his soul, suffocating his mind and leaving no room to react or escape. What was this phenomenon? Was it a nightmare making its odd rounds? A trick by Ronno in an act of serendipity? A new, unknown enemy? Or was it Man finally infiltrating this realm and unleashing his power upon them?

It was none of those, for he was simply awakening.

Bambi woke up to the sun burning a light in his eyes and squeezed his eyelids tight to shelter them, having been forcibly nudged back to consciousness by his father. Weight was once again on his hooves, legs, and skin as the fawn struggled to get up and face the day. His soul had reconnected, readjusted to the shell he used to live in the waking world. He no longer felt trapped-he was once again in control of this mask, this form. There was no pain other than what the world and its many limits may set upon Bambi. His father gave him a few moments to wake up and informed him to accompany him for a light breakfast of grass before they made their morning rounds. After telling Bambi this, the Prince strolled off in his usual stoic silence. Once Bambi had stretched himself out and became acutely conscious, he squished his face into a smile and ran off after his father. He looked forward to a new day ahead of them.

FIN