Third Person POV
The next morning, the rain had stopped, and all around the forest were green grass and the sounds of chirping birds. One of Thumper's sisters poked herself out from the grass and called, "Big Brother!"
Another sister jumped up from the taller grass and called, "Oh, Big Brother!"
"BIG BROTHER!" another sister yelled out loud, making the birds fly away.
All four of the sisters came together in a patch of clover, and the fourth sister said, "Every time we turn our backs, he's gone!"
The other sisters laughed with glee.
"Search everywhere!" the first sister smiled, "Leave no stone unturned!"
As the four rabbits laughed and hopped away, a log suddenly moved through the clovers and into the forest!
Inside the log, Thumper and Flower were hiding as they moved along. "How come we're hiding from your sisters?" the skunk asked the gray bunny.
"Shhh!" Thumper shushed.
"I think they're sweet!" Flower whispered with a grin.
"Well, you don't have to live with them!" Thumper said.
In the meantime, the Great Prince was walking along when a familiar log bumped into him. Inside the log, Thumper and Flower groaned and kept bumping their log into the big deer's leg. The Great Prince saw the situation as the two friends grunted, "Come on!"
"Watch it!"
"Push harder!"
As the log moved back to go ahead, the Great Prince lifted his leg and let the log go past him.
Bambi and Jeanette came up to the Great Prince, and Jeanette greeted, "Good morning!"
"So, uh, where are we off to today?" Bambi asked his father.
"You and Jeanette are going to stay near the den where it's safe," the Great Prince told his son as he walked on.
"But I'm ready for danger!" Bambi insisted as he tried sounding and looking brave, "For adventure! For, for…"
Jeanette felt her stomach growl and said, "I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some bugs!"
"Den!" the Great Prince told his son and the girl-turned fox.
Bambi looked at his father, who was walking away, and said nervously, "Yeah. Yeah, good idea! Jeanette and I will stay and guard the den!"
"Yeah," Jeanette added sarcastically, "Whoopee!"
As the two watched the Great Prince walk up the hill, Bambi lowered his head in disappointment and slowly walked away. He remembered how he got into trouble with his father the night before, and he also was missing his mother.
Jeanette looked at Bambi with sympathy and said softly, "I'm sorry."
Jeanette's POV
Bambi and I moved beside the log that Thumper and Flower were hiding in, and then the gray bunny and skunk crept out and saw us. "Heya, Bambi and Jeanette!" Thumper greeted us, "What's wrong?"
"It's a long story, Thumper," I sighed, as I glanced at him.
"Nothing," Bambi sighed, not even bothering to look at his friends.
"Come on!" Thumper insisted, "You can your bestest friends!"
Bambi and I stopped as Bambi answered, "Well… my father never takes me with him anymore."
I started to say, "He had a scary encounter with…" I stopped myself, not wanting to frighten Thumper and Flower of any thoughts of the Dogs. So, I finished, "Monsters. His father and I saved him, and then the Great Prince got really mad at him, and… I dunno. It's daddy issues, I guess." I shrugged at the last few words.
"I guess… I'm not what a prince's son is supposed to be," Bambi sighed before saying with a little determination, "If I could just show him!"
"Show him what?" asked Flower.
"That I can be brave – like him!" Bambi said with confidence.
"Now, Bambi," I coaxed, "Your father is only brave…"
"If that's all it is," Thumper grinned as he hopped onto a big rock to face Bambi, "Being brave is easy! We'll teach you!"
"You can?" Bambi asked with a hopeful grin.
"Sure!" insisted Thumper.
I rolled my eyes and mumbled, "I hope this doesn't mean looking for more trouble."
"Watch this!" Thumper cried before taking a deep breath. He puffed his chest up to look tough, and then let out a growl!
I giggled at Thumper's attempt, while Flower whispered to Bambi, "I think he's got a hairball!"
"No, I'm being brave, silly!" Thumper insisted as he looked down at the skunk. He turned back to Bambi and said, "The trick is to be scarier than whatever's scaring you!"
"It also means standing up to enemies when the time is right!" I added, "Watch!" I took a deep breath as I made a defensive mode, and then I growled and bared my sharp teeth. Thumper gasped and Flower hid his face in his big tail as my expression changed to a more apologetic one. "Sorry," I said with a sheepish chuckle.
"See?" Thumper said to Bambi, "Just like Jeanette! Grrr!"
Bambi tried making a scary face and a growl, but they were both too weak. Thumper laughed out loud, while I snorted back my own giggles. "You look like a squirrel!" Thumper cried.
"Yeah," I added with a grin, "Or a raccoon with foam at the mouth!"
"Oh, watch me!" Flower said to us, "Watch me!" He got into a defensive position and did his own weak growl, but he let out a stinking stench that blew some leaves off a bush.
"Ewww!" Bambi and Thumper said with disgust.
"Flower!" Thumper said as he held his nose.
I held my own nose and said in a nasal voice, "That's why skunks are mustelids! They have scent glands that make this awful stench!"
"You just found your inner strength!" Thumper added.
"Oh, gosh!" Flower said with a bashful smile.
Thumper's POV
I hopped over to Bambi and said as I adjusted his legs, "Okay, now stand very straight! Stick out your chest!"
I stuck my chest out, and Bambi followed my example.
"Take the deepest breath you ever took in your whole life!" I continued.
Bambi took a great, big, deep breath and held it in.
"Make sure he doesn't turn blue!" Jeanette said.
"Now let it out with a big GRRRR!" I finished.
Bambi let his breath go, and then let out a bleat!
I looked at him for a moment, and then I said, "You're gonna need a lot of practice!" I hopped forward and said, "Come on! Do what I do! I'm a mountain lion! RAWR!" I then pounced forward, just like a mountain lion would do.
"Oh!" Bambi grinned with glee, "I'm uh, uh, a bear!" He then leaped forward and bleated again.
Jeanette added, "Look! I'm a wolf!" She then leaped forward and did her own wolf's howl.
Flower moved his tail over his head and said, "And I'm a turtle! Grrr!"
"What?" Jeanette asked with disbelief as she, Bambi, and I stopped to look at Flower.
"What?" Flower asked as he hid under his tail in fear, "Turtles are SO scary!"
"You've got to be kidding!" Jeanette chuckled. We looked at each other for a moment before we ran into the forest to play and practice being brave.
Isn't there something calling
To sing the day
Oh, hey!
There's a voice inside
Like a rising tide
That will never go away
Come and sing the day
Oh, hey, oh, hey!
Sing, sing the day!
The birds watched us as we hopped along the side of a river, and then hopped over some stones in the water.
Sing, sing the day
Sing it la, la, la, la, la
Give a yip and growl
Give a yowl and a roar
La, la, la, la, la!
We soon reached the place where Bambi, Jeanette, and I had fun on the ice this last winter. I gave a growl, and then slide down the hill and into a mud puddle! Bambi followed my example and got all messy when he got to the mud puddle.
Give a hoot and a howl
What a world to explore
And the key to sing opens every door!
We soon saw a turtle sitting on a rock. Flower hid behind Bambi and Jeanette, while I stepped forward and said to Bambi, "Come on! Try it again, Bambi!"
Bambi looked at the turtle and bleated loud.
"Yeah!" I said, "That was good!"
The turtle just stared at us before me moved on.
Oh, hey, sing, sing, the day!
What do you do with a day so new?
Sing the day, oh, hey!
We growled and bleated through some tall grass. Jeanette stopped to eat some of the beetles in the dirt, and boy – she was hungry!
We stopped at a bee resting on a flower, and I encouraged Bambi, "Come on, come on!"
Bambi bleated at the bee, making it buzz away, but then we all screamed as we were chased by a whole swarm of bees!
Hear the sparrow call
Hear the waterfall
All world wants
To have its say
Can you sing the day?
Oh, hey, oh, hey!
Sing, sing the day!
Soon, we saw a hedgehog resting. Bambi bleated loudly at the hedgehog, and it jumped up and curled itself into a ball before rolling away.
Singing la, la, la, la
Almost
La, la, la, la
Nearly
La, la, la, la
Kind of ready
Can you hear the day?
Singing la, la, la, la
Beauty
La, la, la, la
We passed by some dripping water, and then made it to the big, hollow log, where I liked thumping my feet and echoing my voice into. I growled into the log, making an echo, and then Bambi bleated into the log, producing another echo!
"That's it!" I said.
Jeanette gave her own growl, and made an echo. And then, Thumper gave a growl, but his echo came out all scary! We all ran away just as a mouse came out of the log and giggled at us.
Stronger
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
Getting braver
Can you sing the day?
We jumped in some puddles before we all growled at our reflections in the pond and laughed out loud. Some tadpoles in the water just looked at us in a funny way before looking at each other with confusion. Then, one of the tadpoles growled at his friend, making him swim away!
Can you sing, sing the day?
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
Can you sing, sing, sing the day?
We all laughed as we walked away from the water, and Jeanette said, "Phew! I've had enough for one day! How about we go across this log bridge and have something to eat?"
"Sure!" I said happily, "Let's go!"
So then, we all got to cross the log bridge, unaware that someone was watching us…