“So had I!” called another voice. It was the magpie; she flew up to them and sat down on a branch.
“And me!” called another screeching voice from even higher in the ash tree. There was the jay sitting there.
And from the very tops of the trees there was a pair of crows who cawed angrily. “We saw him too!” they interjected.
They all sat round in earnest discussion. They were exceptionally agitated and, it seemed, full of anger and fear.
Who, thought Bambi, who have they seen?
“I did everything I possibly could do,” the squirrel assured them as he pressed both his forepaws to his heart. “Really everything, to bring Him to the attention of the poor prince.”
“So did I,” the jay screeched, “I don’t know how many times I shouted to him! But he just didn’t want to hear me.”
“He didn’t hear me either,” the magpie said with a laugh. “Ten times it was I called to ‘im. Just as I was going to fly over to him, I thought to meself; well if ‘e can’t hear me I’ll fly over onto that hazel bush, just where he’s standing; he’s got to hear me from there. But that was just when it happened.”
“But my voice is louder than yours, and I did all I could to warn ‘im,” said the crow in a bitter tone. “But you posh lot never give enough attention to birds like us.”
“Yes, never enough at all,” agreed the squirrel.