He later learns the stag is called the 'Old Prince', the oldest and largest stag in the forest, who is known for his cunning and aloof nature. After he is scolded by a stag for crying for his mother, Bambi gets used to being alone at times. The man raises a firearm and aims at him Bambi flees at top speed, joined by his mother. While searching for her one day, Bambi has his first encounter with 'He' – the animals' term for humans – which terrifies him.

After the stags leave, the fawns learn that those were their fathers, but that the fathers rarely stay with or speak to the females and young.Īs Bambi grows older, his mother begins to leave him alone. While they are playing, they encounter princes, male deer, for the first time. They quickly become friends and share what they have learned about the forest. On a subsequent trip, Bambi meets his Aunt Ena and her twin fawns Faline and Gobo. After some initial fear over his mother's caution, Bambi enjoys the experience. When she feels he is old enough, she takes him to the meadow, which he learns is a wonderful but also dangerous place, as it leaves the deer exposed and in the open. Over the course of the summer, his mother teaches him about the various inhabitants of the forest and the ways deer live. Janet Schulman published a children's picture book adaptation in 2000 that featured realistic oil paintings and many of Salten's original words.Īn illustration of Bambi, the titular character, by Hans Bertleīambi is a roe deer fawn born in a thicket in late spring one year.

Another ballet adaptation was created by an Oregon troupe, but never premiered. It was adapted into a theatrical animated film, Bambi, by Walt Disney Productions in 1942, as well as two Russian live-action adaptations in 19, a ballet in 1987, and a stage production in 1998. The novel was well received by critics and is considered a classic, as well as one of the first environmental novels. Salten published a sequel, Bambi's Children, in 1939. Īn English translation by Whittaker Chambers was published in North America by Simon & Schuster in 1928, and the novel has since been translated and published in over thirty languages around the world. It is also, in its most complete translation, seen as a parable of the dangers and persecution faced by Jews in Europe. The novel traces the life of Bambi, a male roe deer, from his birth through childhood, the loss of his mother, the finding of a mate, the lessons he learns from his father, and the experience he gains about the dangers posed by human hunters in the forest. Bambi, a Life in the Woods (German title: Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde) is a 1923 Austrian coming-of-age novel written by Felix Salten, and originally published in Berlin by Ullstein Verlag.

Felix salten