Well ... perhaps another time ... the stag finally concluded, and he walked away, unsatisfied but majestic.
Bambi, embittered, stayed where he was.
[CHAPTER] 15
The forest was steaming under the burning sun. Ever since it had risen it had been drinking all the clouds out of the sky, even the tiniest wisps, and now it reigned alone in the expanse of blue, made pale by the heat. Over the meadows and the treetops the air shimmered in glassy, transparent waves like it does above a flame. Not a leaf moved, not a blade of grass. The birds remained silent, they sat hidden in the shade of the leaves and did not move from the spot. All the paths and lanes through the clearings were empty, as no animal was moving anywhere. The forest lay motionless in the dazzling light, as if in flame. The earth breathed, the trees, the bushes and the animals breathed in the weighty luxury of this heat. Bambi slept.
He had spent a happy night and into the light of morning romping with Faline, it was such bliss that he even forgot to eat. But that was because he had tired himself out so much that he did not even feel any hunger. His eyes fell shut. He had just gone into the middle of the undergrowth where he stopped, laid himself down and fell straight to sleep. The junipers, inflamed by the sun, threw out a bitter-sharp smell, the fine aroma from the young dampness rose into his head and exhilarated him as he slept and gave him new strength.
Suddenly he woke up and felt confused.
Was that not Faline calling out?
Bambi looked around. In his memory he could still see her as she stood here close by the hawthorns and picking off the leaves while he lay down. He had thought she would stay there beside him. But now she was gone, she had probably become tired of being alone and was now calling for him to come and find her.
As Bambi listened he wondered how long he could have been asleep and how many times Faline could have called. He could not work it out. His head was still dull behind the veil of sleep.
Then the call came again. Bambi swung round suddenly to face the direction the sound came from. There it was again! And he was suddenly cheerful. He felt wonderfully refreshed, felt he had rested long enough, felt strengthened, and he felt immensely hungry.