Bambi merely nodded “Good evening” back to him. He did not know why, but all he did was nod. Very friendly, very nicely, though perhaps a little condescending. There was no other way he could do it. Perhaps it was something he was born with.
“What a handsome young prince!” said the hare to Bambi’s mother. He looked at Bambi carefully as he raised one of his ears high into the air, and then, soon after, the other ear, and then,soon after again, both of them, and sometimes he would let them drop suddenly and hang limply. Bambi did not like this. This gesture seemed to be saying, ‘No, not worth it’.
The hare continued gently to examine Bambi with his big, round eyes. His nose and his mouth, surrounded by its magnificent whiskers, were in continual movement, like the way someone’s nose and lips will twitch when he is trying hard not to sneeze. Bambi could not help laughing, and the hare immediately and with good will joined in with the laughter, only his eyes became more thoughtful. “I congratulate you,” he said to Bambi’s mother, “I sincerely congratulate you on having a son like this. Yes, yes, yes ... he will be a majestic prince one day ... yes, yes, yes, you can see that at first glance.”
He raised himself upright, and now sat erect on his back legs, which astonished Bambi immensely. After he had had a good look all around, his ears erect and his nose moving vigorously, he sat politely back down on all fours. “Please give my regards to the honourable gentlemen,” he said. “I have many different things to do this evening. Please give them my humble regards.” He turned around and hopped away, his ears pressed down on his shoulders.
“Goodbye,” called Bambi to him as he went.
His mother smiled: “He is a good hare, so simple and so modest. It is not easy for him in this world either.” There was sympathy in her words.
Bambi walked around a little, allowing his mother to eat her food. He hoped he would come across them who he had met earlier, and would also have liked to make some new acquaintances. It was not entirely clear to him what he was missing, but he always felt he was waiting for something. Suddenly he heard a gentle rustling from far across the meadow, and felt slight, rapid knocking in the ground. He looked up. Over where the woods began there was something that flitted through the grass. There was a ... no ... there were two of them! Bambi glanced at his mother, but she did not seem to be worried about anything and had her head deep in the grass. But at the other side of the meadow there was something rushing round in circles, just as he had been doing himself earlier on. Bambi was so astonished that he leapt backwards, as if he meant to run away. His mother noticed him and raised her head.
“What’s the matter?” she called.
But Bambi was speechless, he could find no words and merely stammered, “Th .. there...”
His mother looked in that direction. “Oh, I see,” she said. “That’s my cousin and you’re right, she has a little child too, ... no, she has two.” His mother had spoken cheerfully, but now she became serious: “No ... Ena with two children .. really, she has two ...”