“He still hasn’t quite come back to his senses,” the elder said.
Whatever it was that had been around the hare’s neck lay now in a circle on the ground. Bambi kicked at it lightly; it made a jangling noise and Bambi was startled. That was the sort of noise that did not belong in the forest.
“Him ...?” Bambi asked quietly. The elder nodded.
They walked on calmly next to each other. “You always need to be careful,” said the elder. “When you’re walking along a path you should always pay attention to the twigs on the trees and bushes, stretch your crown out, up and down, and if you ever hear that jangling noise turn right round. But if it’s the time of year when you’re not carrying a crown on your head you need to be doubly careful. I stopped going along the paths a long time ago.”
Bambi was alarmed and wondered what the elder had meant.
“But ... but He’s not ...” he said to himself in bewilderment.
The elder answered, “no ... He’s not in the forest right now.”
“But ... but it’s Him!” said Bambi, shaking his head.
The elder continued, and his voice was full of bitterness. “What was it that Gobo said to you ...? Did he not give you a lecture about how He is almighty, how he is responsible for of everything ...?”
Bambi spluttered, “Is He not almighty then?”