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find something better farther on.” But between whiles she would grumble. “It’s perfectly ridiculous the trouble children give you.”

Suddenly they saw Aunt Ena coming and rushed towards her. “Aunt Ena,” cried Bambi. He had seen her first. Faline was beside herself with joy and bounded around her. “Mother,” she cried. But Ena was weeping and nearly dead from exhaustion.

“Gobo is gone,” she cried. “I’ve looked for him. I went to the little place where he lay when he broke down in the snow . . . there was nothing there . . . he is gone . . . my poor little Gobo. . . .”

Old Nettla grumbled, “If you had looked for his tracks it would have been more sensible than crying,” she said.

“There weren’t any tracks,” said Aunt Ena. “But . . . His . . . tracks were there. He found Gobo.”

She was silent. Then Bambi asked despondently, “Aunt Ena, have you seen my mother?”

“No,” answered Aunt Ena gently.

Bambi never saw his mother again.