His mother remained patient. “Only early in the morning or late in the evening ... or at night ...”
“And not in the daytime? Never ...?”
His mother hesitated. “Yes,” she said at last, “sometimes ... there are some of us who go out there in the daytime too, sometimes. But that’s under special conditions, ... I can’t really explain it to you, ... you’re still too little, ... some go out there, but then they put themselves in great danger ...”
“What is it that’s dangerous for them?” By now, Bambi was very excited.
But his mother did not want to explain it straight away. “They are in danger ... listen, my child, these are things that you won’t be able to grasp yet.
Bambi thought he would be able to understand anything, but he could not understand why his mother did not want to give him more details. But he said nothing.
“This is the way we have to live,” his mother went on, “all of us. Even if we love the daytime ... and children are especially fond of the daytime ... we have to live like this, we just have to accept it. We can only move about from the evening until the morning. Can you understand that?”
“Yes.”
“Now, my child, that’s why we have to stay here, where we are now. This is where we’re safe. That’s all there is to it! So now, lie down again and go to sleep.”
But Bambi did not want to lie down again. “What makes us safe where we are now?” he asked.