Bambi, huh? Yeah this is because I watched Bambi II the other day and I decided to write this to make a connection between the first 1942 movie and the 2006 one. Read if you like, I think it's quite good. But I guess that's for you to judge.

The first one to awaken was the great grey squirrel. He rose from his spot on the tree branch and sniffed the air around a bit. His friend and companion, the beige chipmunk, soon noticed his friend's tail wasn't covering him anymore and proceeded to pull the tail back toward him. Dewdrops on leaves from the rain last night were beginning to fall, landing on the soft earth beneath. The birds started chirping their good mornings to each other, and the ones that were "Twitterpated", as Old Friend Owl always called them but refused to explain what it meant, were the first to truly start flying around and chirping. Spring was returning, and the flowers were beginning to bloom. The ground was getting greener, and life more cheerful. Many animals were gathered around on a small clearing as the young rabbit, Thumper, was once again telling the tale of the young prince Bambi's triumph in saving Meena, one of the does in the herd's life some months ago. There were some special animals like thumper's own four sisters, Old Friend Owl himself and Bambi's childhood friend Faline.

Thumper was eagerly telling the story of how Bambi fought the "thousands" of dogs, but kept getting interrupted by his sisters, who had heard the story so many times they practically completed his sentences.

"They came closer!" Some of them gasped. "And CLOSER!" Now everyone gasped. "There was noooooooowhere to go. Then, a dog that was as tall as a tree ROARED from the shadows!" This sent made Flower gasp even more.

Thumper kept going with his extraordinary tale. "But Bambi was too fast. He jumped up-"

"High in the air!" One of his sisters interrupted.

Thumper cleared his throat in annoyance and continued. "…And then came crash-" "Crashing down-" "Right on the big dog's-" "Head!" This time it was three in a row.

Thumper crossed his little paws and did his famous foot-thumping on the stone he was on. "QUIET! I'M telling it."

He continued on. "But the best part was-"

The youngest of them jumped up. "The best part was when Thumper helped Flower make his bravest face!" She made a face while saying it.

Then all four got together and chorused "AND SCARED ALL THE DOGS AWAY!"

Thumper paused for a bit, but instead of getting annoyed, he nodded proudly, stuffing his chest and said "Yep! That's how it went."

Eventually one of them looked behind them and shouted out, "Look who's here! It's the young prince!"

Surely as leaves fall from trees in autumn, there was the young prince Bambi, making his way to everyone. In the middle of the path were the branches of a big tree with blooming flowers. Bambi tried to duck, but something in his head got stuck in the branches. After struggling a bit, he eventually managed to free himself and steps out into the sunny meadow. Some animals looked closer, as on Bambi's head were two white… tiny sticks?

Old Friend Owl chuckled to himself. "Looks like those antlers are finally coming in, huh?"

Bambi smiled and lifted his chin up high. "Really? I… I hadn't noticed."

He stepped into the middle of the clearing where Thumper's younger sisters were happily jumping around him.

Faline smiled. "Thumper's been telling us quite a story."

Old Friend Owl spoke right after her. "Yes, yes, the one with the thousands of dogs."

Bambi looked at Thumper mischievously. "Thousands?"

Thumper cringed a bit and smiled. "What can I say? I'm a born story teller…"

At this moment, Faline stepped closer to Bambi. "I'll bet it seemed like a thousand dogs."

Bambi took a step back, a bit startled. The Porcupine was only a few inches away from Bambi's rump, so he decided to sink his spikes into Bambi. The young prince jumped up with a painful yelp, involuntarily toward Faline and ended up with his mouth on hers. The animals "ooed" as Bambi awkwardly stepped back. Faline didn't even know what else to do but smile slightly, turn away and blush.

Old Friend Owl sighed in annoyance. "…Twitterpated."

Thumper's sisters and Flower stared at him curiously. "What's Twitterpated?" Asked Flower.

Old Friend Owl stuttered a bit, then concluded, "I'll tell you when you're older." Bambi and Faline shared a half awkward, half loving glance. Suddenly a voice interrupted.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the young prince."

A young deer that was slightly older than Bambi, Ronno, stepped out from the shadows, near the river. "One of these days, we'll meet up again." He said menacingly. He went on to step onto the rocks in the river. "And when we do-" He tried to step on a small rock, but it turned out to be a turtle. He slipped and fell in the water quite disastrously. The whole gang watched in horror. The turtle flew over to his head and slid down to his nose. The turtle bit him and at this point Ronno panicked.

"Ahh! AHH! Get it off! GET IT OFF!" He ran disoriented until he disappeared once again. Bambi and Thumper laughed.

Suddenly, Bambi shot up. "Oh, I gotta get going! My dad's waiting for me." With that, he ran off into the forest, not even close enough to hear the goodbyes.

Thumper sighed. "Aw Bambi, you never have time for us anymore."

Faline smiled, watching him run off. "Yeah… is't it wonderful?"

Bambi ran through tall grass, letting his feet fly on air as he ran. It felt great. After getting through a thicket, he saw his father in the distance. The Great Prince of the forest was as majestic as ever, waiting for his son with a smile.

Bambi approached him eagerly. "Hey dad, where are we going today?"

The Great Prince smiled. He bent down near some bushes and lifted them up with his large antlers, revealing a small hole. "We're already there." Bambi hesitated before looking at his father, then heading in.

He was met with a beautiful clearing. The sun shone up above the trees, which covered the light in a brilliant twilight shade. The whole place was filled with beautiful trees and flowers, and a stream running below. Bambi lifted his ears in awe as he looked all around him.

"Wow…"

His father soon followed, looking up at trees above. He smiled slightly. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

The Great Prince closed his eyes and enjoyed the peace for a moment, before he opened them again with a sad expression. Bambi stared at him curiously. The Great Prince glanced at Bambi for a moment and sighed, as if this whole place had a powerful mark on him.

"This is…" he began, then paused as if debating with himself wether he should finish his phrase. Bambi continued to stare at him. The Great Prince stared at nothing. "This is where I first met your mother."

The phrase struck Bambi and he let it sink there. The young prince glanced at his father without moving his head. "Really?"

The Great Prince smiled nostalgically. He stared up at the trees again. "Yes…" He turned to Bambi, his large antlers casting a shade on the fawn. "I was about your age."

Bambi smiled to himself and blushed slightly. He then composed himself and turned toward his father. "What were you like?"

The Great Prince smiled and directed his gaze to the river below. "What was I like? Let me think." After some seconds of Bambi staring at him expectantly, he chuckled to himself.

He looked at his son. "Actually, I was very much like you.", he completed with a smile. Bambi smiled widely back at him, and the two looked up to the thousands of butterflies flying among the highest trees.

The Great Prince then turned his head to face Bambi. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about, son."

Bambi smiled beamingly at him. "What is it?" He inquired enthusiastically. The Great Prince then started pacing around.

He cleared his throat. "When I was a little older than you are right now, my father told me of a tradition among the princes. He said if we stayed here all our lives and never left, we'd never get the chance to see the world. So a the right age, all princes embark on a journey. I did." Bambi actually sat down and perked up his ears to hear the story. The Great Prince chuckled slightly.

"As I was saying, I went on journey all along the edges of the forest… and beyond." Bambi tilted his head. "Beyond the forest? Is there more beyond the forest?" The Great Prince's eyes seemed to shine a bit. "Oh, yes, I saw many things. Like the ocean, and the desert. And far-off places that had snow all year round."

Bambi seemed bewildered. "What's an "ocean"? What's a "desert"? I don't really understand…"

His father chuckled. "You will soon, because I want you to go and see these places too."

Bambi stood up excitedly. "I like that! It'll be fun!"

He then started jumping around and "wohooing". "Yeah, it'll be super fun! We'll run all day and eat yummy grass and talk at night and stay up till morning!" He laughed to himself.

"Bambi." The Great Prince broke the silence, a bit sternly.

Bambi flinched and turned to face his father.

The Great Prince sighed and looked at Bambi sadly. "That's the thing, Bambi. This journey is for the young prince to go. On his own."

Bambi's eyes widened and his ears fell to the bottom of his head. "A-a-alone? I-i can't… I can't go without you!" He cried out.

The Great Prince looked at him sadly. "I know it sounds terrifying, and I do feel bad for putting you under this pressure, but you know that I won't be around forever. You must learn to take care of yourself too."

Bambi's eyes watered. "But… but… I only stayed with you for a year! I'm not ready… I can't do this…"A lone tear fell from his eyes.

His father approached him and nuzzled him tenderly. Bambi quickly moved closer to him and leaned his head against his chest as he sobbed slightly.

His father smiled sadly. "It will be alright. I know you. And I know you'll be strong. You are a brave and caring prince, and once you get out there, you'll be seeing things you never imagined. You'll learn your true strength and the meaning of being independent. And when you come back, you'll be a strong, young buck. You might even outmatch me." He chuckled. Bambi laughed a bit too. The Great Prince stood up straight again and looked down at his son. Bambi seemed to have calmed down.

The Great Prince regained his majestic posture, but still with a caring edge nonetheless. "I arranged for you to be leaving in a few weeks. In this journey you will mature into a young buck, and gain knowledge on many things in the world. That is one of the qualities a prince must have. But it is not the most important one…"

Bambi tilted his head at this. "…It's not? Then what is?" The Great Prince chuckled to himself. "Maybe that is something you should find out yourself. Come, let's go home." He started walking towards the end of the clearing, Bambi close behind him. His father had already left to the other side. The young prince stopped in his tracks and looked back at the tall trees in the clearing.

Bambi smiled to himself. "I'll miss you, mother." He whispered to the trees. He took one last look at the clearing, and exited.