[CHAPTER] 3
Deep in among the trees was a place that belonged to Bambi’s mother. It lay only a few steps from the narrow path used by the deer as they made their way through the wood but it was nearly impossible to find for anyone who did not know where the little gap through the dense bushes was.
It was only a narrow space, so narrow that it only just had room for Bambi and his mother to fit in, and it was so low that when Bambi’s mother stood up her head would be in among the twigs and branches. Hazel bushes, gorse and dogwood all grew here tangled in among each other and the little sunlight that came down through the forest canopy would be caught by them so that it never reached as far as the ground. This was the room where Bambi came into the world and this was where he and his mother made their home.
Now, his mother lay asleep, pressed down on the ground. Bambi had slept a little too, but now he had become quite lively. He stood up and looked around.
Here, deep in the woods, it was shadowy, it was almost dark. The wood could be heard gently rustling and soughing. Here and there the tits chirruped, here and there was the bright laughter of a woodpecker or the cheerless bark of a crow. All else, near and far, was quiet. Only the air became warm in the heat of midday, and even that could be heard if you listened carefully. Here in the woods it was humid and sweltering.
Bambi looked down at his mother. “Are you asleep?”
No, his mother was not sleeping. She had woken up straight away when Bambi had stood up.
“What are we going to do now?” Bambi asked.
“Nothing,” his mother answered. “We’re going to stay where we are. Just lie down, like a good child, and go to sleep.”
But Bambi did not feel like sleeping. “Come on,” he begged. “Let’s go onto the meadow.”