Excerpt: "It was in a space in a thicket that he came into the world, in one of those little, hidden places in the wood which seem to be open on every side but which in fact are completely surrounded by foliage.

That is why there was so little room there, but just enough for him and his mother.

He stood up, he staggered on his thin legs as he wondered what was happening, looked out with eyes which were dull, wondered what was happening but saw nothing, dropped his head, shuddered severely, and was quite numb. "What a beautiful child!" declared the magpie. She had rushed to the place, drawn by the breathy groans she heard forced from Bambi's mother by her pain.

Now the magpie sat on a branch nearby. "What a beautiful child!" she exclaimed again. No-one answered her and she continued speaking excitedly. "And he can already stand up and walk. That's amazing! That's so interesting! I've never seen anything like it in me life. Well, I'm still young of course, it's only a year since I left the nest, but I expect you know that.

But I think it's wonderful. A child like this ... he's only been born a second and he can already stand.

I think it's very noble of him. And most of all, I find that everything done by you deer is very noble.

Can he already run too?" "Of course," answered Bambi's mother gently. "But you'll have to excuse me, I'm not really in a good condition to chat with you.

There's a lot that I've got to do ... and besides, I'm feeling quite tired.""