Bambi's POV
I was still sleeping inside the Great Prince's den when I felt something drop onto my nose. I felt it a few more times before I woke up to sniff and sneeze. Then, I turned and saw that the Great Prince was gone! I turned to Jeanette and nudged her with my hoof. "Jeanette!" I whispered to her, "Jeanette, wake up! That big buck is gone!"
Jeanette moved around a bit, and then she sleepily opened one eye. "Huh?" she asked with a yawn, "What do you mean, Bambi?"
"Look!" I said as I pointed out where my father usually slept.
Jeanette shook herself awake and gasped, "Oh no!"
A few minutes later, we ran out of the den with worried looks until I ran into something and fell down in the snow. I looked up and saw the Great Prince looking down at me and Jeanette as he cleared his throat. "Uh, hi, Mr. Great Prince, sir!" Jeanette nervously smiled.
I chuckled nervously, "Uh, good morning!"
My father sighed and said sternly, "Bambi, a prince awakens before the forest does! If you're late again, I'll no choice but to…"
My stomach growled, and I crossed my legs in embarrassment.
"What was that?" my father asked.
"What was what?" I asked, pretending I didn't know what was going on. But then, my stomach growled again. I laughed nervously, "I-I guess it was my stomach."
"We're hungry, sir," Jeanette said sheepishly.
"Then, the both of you should eat," said my father.
I looked at him, telling him that I needed someone close by to help me.
Jeanette also looked at the Great Prince and said, "Please, sir. He's still… young. And… I need to stay true to my promise of not eating any of the animals."
"I suppose I should find you two something to eat," my father said before he walked away. Jeanette and I followed him as he dug into the snow. "Here," he said.
We went over to see what it was, and I was disappointed that it wasn't fresh grass. Jeanette meekly took a bite and said, "Hmmm… not the best, but certainly not the worst."
I didn't wanna eat it, so I said, "No thank you."
"Have you ever tried it?" my father asked me, "Jeanette seems to like it."
"Well, no," I said.
"Then how do you know you don't like it if you've never tried it?" my father asked me.
"Come on, Bambi," Jeanette said, "Just one little bitty bite!"
I looked at my father as I carefully took a bite out of the plant. "Hmm?" my father questioned me as I ate.
"Mmmm," I said, "Mmm-hmm!" But as soon as I swallowed it, I shuddered, knowing that I didn't really like it.
"Hey, come on!" Jeanette said with pride, "You tried something new. And you should be grateful to your father that there's still some food under the snow!"
"Come along, you two," my father said to us, "We have to check on the other deer in the south wood."
"Yes, sir!" Jeanette saluted before following him.
I gave an excited grin as I leaped around and shouted with glee.
Great Prince's POV
I walked forward with a stoic look on my face as Bambi and Jeanette followed me. Jeanette was rather diligent for a fox as she ran beside me, but Bambi wouldn't stop whooping and jumping with excitement. He needed to slow down! "Bambi!" I said, making him stop, "A prince does not 'woo-hoo'."
"He doesn't?" my son asked as his expression dropped.
"He certainly does not," I said, "A prince maintains control at all times, displaying dignity; walk with pride."
"Bambi, you should always listen to your elders," Jeanette told him as she looked at him and walked with me, "Your father knows best, and someday, you might have a family of your own."
"She's right," I said as I walked away.
Bambi appeared to listen to the fox, so he held his head high and decided to follow my example. But alas, I seem to have eyes on the back of my head, so I could tell that my son's expression had some giddiness to his walk.
As the three of us walked down the hill, I heard the sound of snow moving, and then I saw Bambi sliding down the hill before crashing into something. Jeanette ran to his aid as she called out with concern, "Bambi, my goodness! Are you alright?"
"I'm okay!" Bambi called to her.
I looked with concern for a moment, but when I heard my son was alright, I merely huffed. Some "accident"!
A while later, we came to a rather wide river. I managed to walk across the water (despite the terrible cold) with ease, but Bambi and Jeanette had to hastily jump across, because they obviously thought the water was… too cold. I simply just kept my dignity and walked on.
"Oh, my goodness!" I heard Jeanette say, "This is worse than Alaska's waters!"
I didn't know who or what "Alaska" was, nor did I care to stop and ask the fox.
A few minutes later, I hopped over a large, fallen log. Jeanette simply just crawled underneath it, since she was a fox and obviously could not jump over. Bambi, on the other hand, stayed back and counted, "One… two… TWO… TWO!"
Then, my son (without having courage to jump over the log) decided to craw underneath the log, but he ended up getting stuck. I looked back and saw Jeanette try and help him. When they finished, they looked at me with nervous chuckles.
Finally, we all reached the top of my snow-covered rock – the place where I usually looked over all the other deer in the meadow. Jeanette stopped just by my feet, while Bambi tried stopping, but he slipped a bit. Luckily, he managed to gain his balance before he could fall.
"Wow!" Bambi gasped as he looked down. He looked at me and asked nervously, "D-don't you think it would be better if we got a little closer?"
"Sir, I think he's a little edgy about heights," Jeanette said to me as she observed my son.
"The distance makes it easier to spot the danger," I told the two.
"Hmmm," Bambi said with little interest, "But it sure makes it harder to play with them." He then looked at me with a little smile and said, "Play is a healthy part of a young deer's development."
"Is that so?" I asked.
"Mmm-hmm," Bambi answered, "Mother said so. I remember this one time when Mother and I were out on the meadow."
The mention of his mother gave me sad memories, so I sighed and said, "Bambi?"
"And this fawn came up to me and wanted me to play," my son continued.
"Bambi!" I said again, getting his attention.
I looked at him sternly, but my expression softened as I said, "I think it's best to leave the past in the past. A prince does not look back – only ahead."
"Oh, yes sir," my son said.
Jeanette just looked at him with a sad smile; I could tell she was still grieving over Willow's death, too.
But changing the subject, I turned away and said, "Now come, you two. We have more ground to cover for today. Don't fall behind."
"Yes, sir," Jeanette nodded as she followed me.
Bambi then pranced along as he followed us back into the forest.
