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Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns
6-1
CHAPTER 6
UNION ORGANIZING CAMPAIGNS
MAJOR POINTS
1. Organizing is a complex activity involving unions, employers, and the
National Labor Relations Board, whose job it is to administer the National
Labor Relations (Wagner) Act. The union seeks to organize a majority of the
employees; the employer seeks to avoid unionization, inasmuch as it
establishes boundaries and impediments to the employer’s full range of
discretion in running its operations; and the board seeks to ensure that a free
choice in such matters is preserved for the employees.
2. Either employees or union organizers can initiate the organizing effort.
Collecting a sufficient number of authorization card signatures, determining
the scope of the proposed bargaining unit, campaigning for employee votes,
and gaining/defeating certification are all crucial aspects of the process.
Charges of unfair labor practices may arise during these various stages, and
their resolution may have an important bearing on the outcome of the
campaign.
3. Even though employees do not give particularly high levels of attention to
the issues raised by either side during the NLRB election campaign, a variety
of forms of communications from both the union and employer typically
characterize such campaigns. The union will try to make contact with every
potential voter, and supervisors will typically be watchful about
developments that may predict the eventual outcome or the leanings of
employee-voters.
4. Research suggests that smaller bargaining units, where employees are more
homogeneous, closer geographically, or better acquainted with each other,
may be easier to organize. On the other hand, though Fossum does not say
so, larger bargaining units may be more resistant to decertification, once the
bargaining unit is first organized.
5. Management activity prior to the actual filing of the petition may be more
efficacious. Unfair labor practices do appear to influence employee-voting
decisions. And well-designed and executed unions campaigns are more
influential on the ultimate outcome as well.
Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns
6-2
6. Unions prevail in contested elections about 50% of the time. Many such
elections are conducted in bargaining units with fewer than 30 employees.
Union membership, as a proportion of the workforce, has trended downward
since 1955. This pattern correlates highly with changes in occupational and
industrial distribution of employment.
KEY TERMS
Exclusive representation
Certification election
Authorization card
Multiemployer bargaining
Representation election
Raid election
Appropriate bargaining unit
Community of interests
Decertification election
Craft severance
Recognitional picketing
Accretion
Consent election
Totality of conduct
Board-directed (petition) election
Bargaining order
Regional director
Election bar
Excelsior list
Union-free
Community action
Corporate campaign
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Exclusive Representation
• The concept of exclusive representation establishes a “winner-
takes-all” outcome in representation elections. This requirement,
which contributes to the adversarial relationship that exists between
employers and unions, begins with an organizing campaign.
Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns
6-3
Legal Controls
o The organizing process is very adversarial and highly
legalistic.
o Both the employer and the union may wage intense
campaigns. Charges of “unfair labor practices” may be
made by either side, and their resolution is the province
of the National Labor Relations Board (or the Railway
Labor Board, in some industries).
Organizing and Union Effectiveness
• Organizing Creates an Opportunity for Employee “Voice”
• Unionization Creates Something Approximating a Monopoly in the
Supply of Labor
o This monopoly power generally confers a wage premium for
union employees.
o Strong interest in unionization exists where nonunion
competition reduces monopoly power.
o Fossum notes that with increasing globalization of
manufacturing, eliminating nonunion competition has become
virtually impossible in many industries.
• Membership also generates dues flow to the union.
o Large Unions: Economies of Scale in Operations
o Union Effectiveness
o Size
o New Units
o Accreting Expanded Facilities
o Merging and Absorbing Other Unions
Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns
6-4
How Organizing Begins
National-level Origins
• Targeting Specific Employers
• Sending in Professional Organizers
o Organizers try to gain employment at targeted firms
o Often occurs where a unionized firm opens a nonunion
plant
o Locally Initiated Attempts
o Typically starts with employees in a firm who
believe they would be better served with union
representation
o On-site employee leader emerges who seeks
assistance from a union
Note: Fig: 6.1 [Sequence of Organizing Events]
The Framework for Organizing
Authorization Card Campaign
• Typically, the first overt action in the organizing process is the
attempt to collect signatures on the authorization cards, such as the
one shown in Figure 6.2 in the text. Fossum notes that it is difficult
to keep the campaign a secret from the employer once this process
has begun.
Note: Fig: 6.2 [Authorization Card]
Recognition Requests
• An employer may voluntarily recognize the apparent majority
support for the union, if presented with signatures or other
forms of support exceeding 50% of the employees in the
proposed bargaining unit.
• However, the employer has the right to refuse to recognize
majority in support of union representation on the basis of a
card count or a petition, even if the union has fully 100% of
the employee signatures. Furthermore, the employer will
generally do so, and for good reason.
Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns
6-5
• A union may pressure an employer to recognize its majority
status by recognitional picketing for up to 30 days. Such
picketing cannot continue indefinitely. And if the union fails
in the election or if the picketing lasts for longer than 30 days,
such conduct constitutes an unfair labor practice.
Representation Elections
• Representation elections fall into two categories. A
certification election raises a question of union
representation in a proposed bargaining unit where there is
currently no union bargaining agent. A decertification
election, on the other hand, raises a question whether
currently existing union bargaining agent should have its
authorization rescinded.
• Under very limited circumstances, management may raise a
question about continuing viable union representation. For
example, if a contract expires and no union communication
is received about negotiating a subsequent agreement, or if
the union bargaining agent appears to have become defunct,
management may ask the board to determine whether
representation continues or does not. Such management-
initiated requests, however, must proceed out of objective
reasons supported by specific evidence.
• Fossum states that, “If the majority votes against
representation, the union loses representation rights.” This is
essentially true, but with one technical refinement: the union
is always obliged to demonstrate that a majority supports its
authorization as the exclusive bargaining agent; if either a
certification or decertification election or a management-
initiated election is held (see above), and further if the result
is a tie vote, the union loses its representation rights.
Technically, there would not be a majority of votes against
the union in such a circumstance, but the failure to
demonstrate the support of the majority would suffice to
cost the union its bargaining agent status.
• Decertification elections may not be held while a contract is
in effect.
Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns
6-6
• The latter type of representation election is further
subdivided into two categories. The members of the
bargaining unit may wish to return to an unrepresented
status (i.e., no union bargaining agent), or they may wish to
change who their current bargaining agent is to a different
union affiliation. In such raid elections, as they are called,
the alternative union must get the support of 30% of the
same bargaining unit that is currently represented by the
first union, in order to be named on the ballot. But if the
alternative union gets the support of 10% of the bargaining
unit, it may participate as a party of full interest in any
NLRB administrative hearings that may be associated with
questions about the appropriate bargaining unit, challenged
ballots, or any other such procedural matter.
Note: Fig 6.3 [Avenues to Election Petitions]
Election Petitions
• A union, an individual, or (under some cases) an employer
may file a request for a board-supervised election with the
NLRB. Within 48 hours of filing, the union must document
a “showing of interest;” that is, there must be evidence that
at least 30% of the proposed bargaining unit supports the
union as its bargaining agent.
• While the same 30% standard for a showing of interest in
rescinding a bargaining agent’s majority status must also
accompany a petition for a decertification election, the two
types of board-supervised elections are not as symmetrical
in practice as they may first appear.
Preelection Board Involvement
• If there is no disagreement concerning the scope of the
proposed bargaining unit, the Board will schedule a consent
election. If the parties disagree about what the contours of the
appropriate bargaining unit should be, the board regional
director will hold a hearing on the record to make that
determination. When that decision is final, a board-directed
election will be held.
Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns
6-7
• Once the election has been scheduled, whether of the consent
or of the board-directed variety, the union is entitled to
receive a list of all employees in the affected bargaining unit,
together with their addresses. This right was established by
the board in the Excelsior Underwear, Inc. case, and is known
in common parlance as an Excelsior list. Whether the
employer does indeed make contact with the employees
individually in this way is irrelevant; it has the option to do
so, and the same option should be available to the union.
Note: Fig 6.4 (NLRB Involvement in Petition to Election]
The Election
• The text indicates that ballots can be challenged by either
side in a board-supervised election, but does not discuss the
mechanics of how such challenges are handled or why they
may be made.
• The NLRB conducts the secret-ballot election. Company and
union observers may challenge voter eligibility but cannot
prohibit anyone from voting. After the votes are counted and
challenges decided, the choice receiving a majority is
declared the winner. If more than two choices are on the
ballot and none obtains an absolute majority, a runoff is held
between the two highest choices. After any challenges are
resolved, the regional director certifies the results.
• The person whose right to vote has been challenged receives
a ballot like everyone else. Upon voting, the individual in
question puts his ballot in an envelope marked “Challenged
Ballot,” and seals the envelope. The person then signs his or
her name across the seal, and the envelope is dropped into
the box. If the total number of challenged ballots would not
be sufficient to change the outcome of the election-that is, if
they are not “determinative of result” in the parlance the
agency--, the election outcome is determined on the basis of
the other ballots. If the total number of challenged ballots
could conceivably reverse the apparent result of the election,
the regional director will hold a hearing on the record in
which the arguments for and against counting each such
challenged ballot will be considered. Those ballots for which
challenges are sustained are set to one side and left
unopened. Those for which the challenges are overruled are
placed on the other side, and initially are unopened.
Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns
6-8
Note: Fig 6.5 [Specimen NLRB Ballot]
Bargaining-Unit Determination
The Degree of “Appropriateness”
• An appropriate bargaining unit need not be the most
appropriate bargaining unit. Because the National Labor
Relations (Wagner) Act protects the rights of employees to
have a strong voice in determining their own working
conditions, workers have considerable leeway in defining
just what their community of interest really is. However, as
Fossum points out in the text, several different factors will
bear upon the board’s decision to approve or disallow the
specific contours of the bargaining unit that the workers or
their representative seeks.
• Bargaining units differ depending in part upon whether the
focus is on unit organizing or contract negotiations. Several
retail stores owned by the same employer in a chain may
constitute an appropriate bargaining unit for the purposes
of a representation election. The actual bargaining process,
however, may involve several different employers in what
is known as multiemployer bargaining. (See the text and
the accompanying comment in this Instructor’s Guide for
Chapter 8.)
Legal Constraints
• According to § 9(b) of the Taft-Hartley Act, a majority
of professionals must approve being combined with
nonprofessional employees in the same bargaining unit.
• A recognized craft may not be stopped from defining its
own community of interest, even if previously included
in a larger and more comprehensive bargaining unit.
However, NLRB case law has narrowed this possibility
when there has been an established and stable
bargaining history that argues to the contrary.
• Plant guards and security personnel may form a bargaining
unit, but they may not be in the same unit with other types
of employees.
Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns
6-9
• Supervisors and managers who meet the definition of
employers within the meaning of this act may not be
included in a bargaining unit or bargain collectively.
However, there is again considerable narrowing of this
exception through case law.
• Fossum notes that the National Mediation Board handles
elections in situations covered by the Railway Labor Act,
and that those cases must by law have bargaining units
determined on a craft basis.
Jurisdiction of the Organizing Union
• The AFL-CIO has traditionally done an excellent job of
mediating disputes which arise when a bargaining unit
represented by an AFL-CIO union seeks to rescind the
authorization of bargaining agency for that union, and via a
three-way election select a different AFL-CIO union as its
new bargaining agent. Since a condition of affiliating with the
AFL-CIO is agreeing to let the Federation resolve internal
disputes, this mediation takes care of the problem in the vast
majority of cases.
The Union’s Desired Unit
• A union must balance its concerns with the prospects of
winning a certification election with a hypothetical bargaining
unit on the one hand, and being successful in negotiating
appropriate contract terms later. Fossum notes that craft
unions are likely to prefer organizing units consisting of
workers with similar skills, whereas industrial unions
generally seek to organize the largest and most comprehensive
range of employees within a given plant or company.
• There are problems associated with organizing a small group
of workers that are rather peripheral to the employer’s
operations: if the union bargained to impasse and called a
strike, the employer could simply subcontract the work,
leaving the union with little leverage. Fossum offers the
example of a custodial bargaining unit in a manufacturing
plant as an example of such a problem area.
Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns
6-10
• The twin considerations for a union are that a prospective
organizing opportunity involve a group of workers -
▪ That the union can win; and
▪ That the union will be able to exert some leverage
at the bargaining table on the employer, once the
union is established.
The Employer’s Desired Unit
• The employer generally prefers a unit which the union may
not carry in an election. However, if the union support is so
strong among one group of workers, the employer may
seek to keep that group as small as possible, and confine its
losses to one worker group instead of an entire facility’s
workforce.
• Fossum notes that on one hand, the employer would
generally prefer a set of bargaining units that would each
constitute functionally independent communities of worker
interests. But on the other hand, no employer wants to set
himself up for an uninterrupted cycle of negotiations with a
never-ending series of unions. The potential to be caught in
a sequence of compelling demands to catch up (or
preserve) comparative positions with other groups of
workers can be very difficult to handle.
Note: Fig 6.6 [Conflicting Unit Desires]
NLRB Policy
• Board policy, largely developed through case law, suggests the
following factors receive consideration in the determination of
an appropriate bargaining unit:
o Community of Interests
o Geographic and Physical Proximity
o The Employer’s Administrative or Territorial
Divisions
o Functional Integration of Operations
o The Degree of Interchangeability among Employees
o Bargaining History
o Employee Desires
o Extent of Union Organization
Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns
6-11
• Fossum notes many of the above factors are, or at least could
be, interrelated.
Craft Severance
• The NLRB will allow craft severance when all of the following
circumstances apply:
o A high degree of skill or functional differentiation is
present.
o There is only a short bargaining history in the present
arrangement, and the proposed craft severance would
cause minimal disturbance.
o With the established unit, those desiring craft severance
have maintained a distinct separation unto themselves.
o The prevailing patterns in the industry favor such a
craft severance.
o There is a low level of integration associated with the
production function.
o The prospective representative of the craft in question
has a high level of experience in representing such
workers.
What Factors Are Used?
• Additional administrative considerations arise in the health
care sector. However, on balance, the board has made these
determinations on a case-by-case basis, and there has not
been clear consistency.
• Judicial precedents are scanty, in part because NLRB
bargaining unit determinations are not “final orders” and
therefore are subject to appeal as separate matters. If the
employer were dissatisfied with the board’s determination
of the appropriate bargaining unit, it would simply refuse to
bargain after the election outcome were known and let the
courts decide. In most instances, Fossum observes, the
courts have left such board determinations undisturbed in
their oft-cited practice to defer to the expertise of the agency
with initial jurisdiction in such matters.
Other Issues in Unit Determination
• Accretion
• Reorganization and Reclassification
• Successor Organizations
• Joint Employers
Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns
6-12
o In the text, it is fairly clear what is meant by the
obligation of the new owners to abide by the
unexpired commitments of their predecessors
following a merger. However, the second case -
that of “an employer who assumes another’s
operations where the employees simply change
employers”- is perhaps not so clear. Fossum cites
NLRB v. Burns International Security Services in
a footnote, but few will perhaps dig out that case
if they are not already familiar with it.
The Organizing Campaign
Before the Organizing Campaign Starts
• Either employees become sufficiently frustrated about
their treatment and economic conditions; or
• A national union identifies the employer as a ripe target
for an organizing effort. Factors considered in the latter
case include:
o The economic and political climate.
o Evidence of employee receptivity to a union
organizing effort.
o Prospects of community support.
o The demography of the potential bargaining unit.
Note: Fig 6.7 [Theoretical Model of the Certification Election
Process]
• For unions, organizing is an ongoing effort. Those who did
not initially sign petitions or authorization cards need to be
won over; new hires that arrive after a union is certified must
be recruited successfully. For management, meeting such an
attempt is more likely to be a sporadic concern. When the
unionization is a prospect, management faces the possibility
of major changes in the way the physical assets as well as
operations may be managed. The national union involved may
have its own agenda, too.
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“What are you calling for?” the old stag asked severely. Bambi
trembled in awe of the elder stag and did not dare to make any
answer. “Your mother hasn’t got the time to spend on you now!” the
elder continued. Bambi was completely cowed by this imperious
voice, but at the same time he felt admiration for it. “Can’t you be by
yourself for a while? You should be ashamed of yourself!” Bambi
would have liked to say that he could be by himself perfectly well,
that he had often been by himself, but he said nothing. He did as he
was told and became terribly ashamed. The elder turned round and
left him. Bambi did not know how the stag left, where he had gone,
did not even know whether he had left quickly or slowly. He was
simply gone, just as suddenly as he had arrived. Bambi strained his
ears, but he heard no steps moving away from him, no leaf being
disturbed. That made him suppose the elder must still be quite near
to him, and he smelt the air on every side. He learned nothing from
that. Bambi sighed in relief as he was once more alone, but at the
same time he yearned to see the old stag again and to make sure he
was not displeased with him.
Then his mother arrived but Bambi said nothing about his meeting
with the elder. Nor did he ever call for her, now, when she was out of
sight. He thought about the old stag when he wandered about on
his own; he felt a powerful wish to come across him. Then he would
say to him, “See? I’m not calling for anyone.” And the elder would
praise him.
He did speak to Gobo and Faline though, the next time they were
together on the meadow. They listened with excitement and they
had had no experience of their own that could compare with this.
“Weren’t you scared?” asked Gobo excitedly. Yes! Bambi admitted,
he had been scared. Just a little bit. “I’d have been terribly scared,”
Gobo told him. Bambi answered that no, he had not been very
scared, because the elder had been so majestic. Gobo told him,
“That wouldn’t have been much help for me. I’d have been too
scared even to look at him. When I get scared everything flickers in
front of my eyes so that I can’t see anything and my heart beats so
hard that I can’t breathe.” What Bambi had told them made Faline
very thoughtful and she said nothing.
The next time they met, though, Gobo and Faline rushed to him in
great leaps and bounds. They were alone once more, as was Bambi.
“We’ve been looking for you for ages,” declared Gobo. “Yes,” said
Faline with an air of importance, “as now we know exactly who it
was that you saw.” Bambi was so keen to know he jumped in the air.
“Who ...!?”
Faline took pleasure in saying, “It was the old prince.”
“How do you know that?” Bambi wanted to know.
“Our mother told us!” retorted Faline.
Bambi was astonished, and he showed it. “Did you tell her about it
then?” The two of them nodded their heads. “But that was a secret!”
objected Bambi.
Gobo quickly tried to excuse himself. “It wasn’t me. It was Faline
who did it.” But Faline cheerfully called, “Oh, so what? Secret!? I
wanted to know who it was, and now we do know, and that’s much
more interesting!” Bambi was burning to hear all about this, and his
wish was satisfied. Faline told him everything. “He’s the most noble
stag in the whole wood. He’s the prince. There is no second most
noble, no-one comes near to him. No-one knows how old he is. No-
one knows where he lives. No-one knows who his relatives are. Very
few have ever even seen him. Now and then there’s a rumour that
he’s dead because he hasn’t been seen for a long time. Then
somebody catches a glimpse of him and then everyone knows he’s
still alive. No-one has ever dared to ask him where he’s been. He
doesn’t speak to anyone and no-one dares to speak to him. He goes
along the paths where no-one else ever goes; he knows every part
of the wood, even the most distant corner. And nothing is a danger
to him. Other princes might tussle with each other, sometimes as a
test or in fun but sometimes they fight in earnest. It’s many years
since he fought with anyone. And there’s no-one still alive who did
fight with him a long time ago. He’s the great prince.”
Bambi forgave Gobo and Faline for having carelessly chatted about
his secret with their mother. He was even quite satisfied about it as
now, after all, it was him who had experienced all the all these
important things. Nonetheless, he was glad that Gobo and Faline did
not know everything quite precisely, that the great prince had said,
“Can’t you be by yourself for a while?,” that they did not know he
had said, “You should be ashamed of yourself!.” Bambi was glad,
now, that he had kept silent about these admonitions. Faline would
have told everything about that just like everything else, and then
the whole forest would have been gossiping about it.
That night, as the moon was rising, Bambi’s mother came back
again. She was suddenly there standing under the great oak at the
edge of the meadow and looking round for Bambi. He saw her
straight away and ran over to her. That night Bambi had another
new experience. His mother was tired and hungry. She did not walk
about as much as she usually did but satisfied herself there on the
meadow where Bambi also usually took his meals. Together there,
they munched on the bushes and as they did so, in that remarkably
pleasant way, they wandered deeper and deeper into the woods.
There was a loud noise that came through the greenery. Before
Bambi had any idea of what was happening his mother began to
scream loudly, just as she did when she was greatly startled or
confused. “A-oh!” she screamed, jumped away, then stopped and
screamed, “A-oh, ba-oh!.” Then, Bambi saw some immense figures
appear, coming towards them through the noise. They came quite
close. They looked like Bambi and his mother, like Auntie Ena and
anyone else of their species, but they were enormous, they had
grown so big and powerful that you felt compelled to look up at
them. Like his mother, Bambi began to scream, “A-oh ... Ba-oh ...Ba-
oh!.” He was hardly aware that he was screaming, he could not stop
himself. The line of figures went slowly past, three or four enormous
figures one after another. Last of all came one that was even bigger
than the others, it had a wild mane around its neck and its head was
crowned with a whole tree. Just to see it took your breath away.
Bambi stood there and howled as loudly as he could, as he felt more
frightened and bewildered than he ever had been before. His fear
was of a particular kind. He felt as if he were pitifully small, and
even his mother seemed to be the same. He felt ashamed, although
he had no idea why, at the same time the horror of it shook him and
he once more began to howl. “Ba-oh ... Ba-a-oh!.” It made him feel
better when he shouted like that.
The line of figures had passed. There was nothing more to see and
nothing more to hear from in. Even Bambi’s mother became silent.
There was only Bambi who would whine briefly from time to time.
He was still afraid.
“You can be quiet now,” his mother said, “look, they’ve gone away.”
“Oh, mother,” whispered Bambi, “who was that?”
“Oh, they’re not really that dangerous,” his mother said. “They were
our big relatives ... yes ... they are big and they’re quality ... much
higher quality than you or me ...”
“And aren’t they dangerous?” Bambi asked.
“Not normally,” his mother explained. “But they say there are many
things that have happened. People say this and that about them but
I don’t know if there’s any truth in these stories. They’ve never done
anything to me or to anyone I know.”
“Why would they do anything to us when they’re relatives of ours?”
thought Bambi. He wanted to be quiet, but he was still shaking.
“No, I don’t suppose they’ll do anything to us,” his mother answered,
“but I’m not sure, and I get alarmed every time I see them. I can’t
stop myself. It’s the same every time.”
Bambi was slowly soothed down by this conversation, but he
remained thoughtful. Right above him, in among the branches of an
alder tree, an impressive tawny owl shrieked. But Bambi was
confused and forgot, for once, to show that he was startled. The
owl, however still came down to him and asked, “Give you a shock,
did I?.”
“Of course,” answered Bambi. “You always give me a shock.”
The owl gave a quiet laugh; he was satisfied. “I hope you don’t
blame me for it,” he said. “It’s just the way I do things.” He fluffed
up his plumage till he looked like a ball, sank his beak into his soft,
downy feathers, and put on a terribly nice, serious expression. That
was enough for him.
Bambi opened his heart to him. “Do you know,” he began in a way
that seemed older than his age, “I’ve just had a shock that was far
bigger than the one you gave me.”
“What?” asked the owl, no longer so satisfied with himself.
Bambi told him about his meeting with his enormous relatives.
“Don’t tell me about your relatives,” declared the owl. “I’ve got
relatives too, you know. But all I have to do is look round me
anywhere in the daytime and they’re all over me. Na, there’s not
much point in having relatives. If they’re bigger than you they’re
good for nothing, and if they’re smaller they’re even more good for
nothing. If they’re bigger than you then you can’t stand them ‘cause
they’re so haughty, and if they’re smaller they can’t stand you ‘cause
they think you’re haughty. Na, I don’t want to know anything about
anything of that.”
“But ... I don’t even know my relatives ...” said Bambi shyly and
wishing he did. “I’d never heard anything about them and today was
the first time I saw them.”
“Don’t you bother about those people,” the owl advised him. “Just
take my word for it,” he said, rolling his eyes in a meaningful way,
“take my word, that’s the best thing to do. Relatives are never as
good as friends. Look at the two of us, we’re not related but we’re
good friends, aren’t we, and very nice it is too.”
Bambi was about to say something more, but the owl continued
speaking. “I’ve got some experience in things like that. You’re a bit
young, still. Take my word, I know better about these things. And
anyway, I don’t see why I should get involved in your family
matters.” He rolled his eyes, and rolled them in a way that seemed
so thoughtful, and sat with an expression that seemed so earnest
and meaningful, that Bambi was modest and said nothing.
CHAPTER 8
Another night went by, and the following day something else
happened.
The sky was cloudless, and the morning was full of dew and
freshness. All the leaves on the trees and the bushes suddenly had a
more vivid scent. The meadow breathed the air in broad waves and
lifted it up to the tree tops.
‘Peep’ said the tits as they woke up. They said it quite quietly, but as
it was still twilight and the sky was grey they said nothing more for a
little while. For a time there was silence. Then the raucous, rasping
sound of a crow came from high up in the air. The crows had woken
up and were visiting each other in the tree tops. The magpie
answered straight back: “Shakerakshak ... can you believe this, I’m
still asleep?” Then hundreds of calls, here and there, far and near,
tentatively began: peep! Peep! Tiu! These sounds still had
something of sleep, something of the twilight about them. And yet
they were actually all quite distinct from each other.
Suddenly a blackbird flew up to the top of a fir tree. He flew right up
to the very highest, thinnest point, reaching into the air. He sat high
up there and looked out over all the other trees, near and far while
the pale grey sky, still tired from the night, began to glow in the east
and come to life. Then the bird began to sing. She was only a tiny
dark spot if you glimpsed her from the ground. In the distance her
little black body looked like a wilted leaf. But her song spread out all
over the forest in great celebration. And then everything came to
life. The finches struck up and the robins and the goldfinches made
their voices heard. Pigeons rushed from one place to another with
wide flapping and swishing of their wings. The pheasants shouted
out loud as if their throats would burst. The sound of their wings
was gentle but powerful as they swooped down to earth from the
trees where they had been sleeping. On the ground they repeated
their metallic, bursting cry many more times, and then they would
coo gently. High in the sky, the falcons called out their sharp and
joyful ‘yayaya!’ .
The sun had risen.
‘Diu-diyu!’ rejoiced the oriole. As he flew back and forth between the
twigs and branches his round, yellow body shone in the beams of
the morning sun like an exhilarated ball of gold.
Bambi stepped under the big oak tree on the meadow. It sparkled in
the morning dew, had a scent of grass, flowers and wet earth, it
whispered of the thousand lives it had led. There sat Bambi’s friend,
the hare, and he seemed to be thinking about something very
important. There was a haughty pheasant there, walking slowly. He
pecked at the stalks of grass and looked carefully all around himself.
His dark blue neck sparkled in the sunlight like a jewel necklace. But
close in front of Bambi there stood one of the princes, very near to
him. Bambi had never seen him before, had never even seen any of
the fathers this close up. He stood there before him, very close to a
hazel bush and still slightly concealed behind its twigs. Bambi did not
move. He hoped the prince would come out fully from behind the
bush, and he wondered whether he could dare to speak to him. He
wanted to ask his mother and glanced around for her, but his mother
had already gone ahead and stood a long way away with Auntie
Ena. Just then, Gobo and Faline came out of the woods and ran onto
the meadow. Bambi did not move but wondered about what he
should do. If he wanted to get over to his mother and the others he
would have to pass by the prince. He thought that would be
unseemly. So what? he thought, I don’t need to get my mother’s
permission first. It was the old prince who spoke to me first and I
didn’t tell my mother anything about it. I will speak to the prince, I’ll
see if I can. I’ll say to him: Good morning your highness. There’s
nothing about that that might make him cross. And if he is I can just
run away. Bambi wondered whether he had made the right decision,
and it kept on making him feel unsteady on his feet.
Now the prince stepped away from the hazel bush and onto the
meadow.
Now ... thought Bambi.
Just then there was a loud clap of thunder.
Bambi recoiled and did not know what had happened.
He saw how the prince jumped high into the air in front of him and
saw him rush past him into the woods.
Bambi looked hard all around himself, he felt as if he could still hear
the thunder clap. He saw his mother, Auntie Ena, Gobo and Faline,
some way away, had fled into the woods, he saw his friend the hare
rush away in a panic, saw the pheasant run away with his neck
stretched out ahead of him, and he could not understand what it all
could be about. The prince lay there, a broad wound had torn his
shoulder open, he was bloody and dead.
“Don’t just stand there!” came a shrill cry from beside him. It was
his mother who was running at a full gallop. “Run!” she called, “Run
as fas as you can!.” She did not stop, but rushed on, and her
command pulled Bambi along with her. He ran with all his strength.
“What is that, mother?” he asked. “What was that, mother?”
His mother, gasping for breath, answered, “That ... was ... Him!.”
Bambi shuddered, and they ran on.
Finally, out of breath, they stopped.
“What do you say? Please, what do you say?” called a thin voice
from above them. Bambi looked up and saw the squirrel hurrying
down to them through the branches of the tree. “I jumped all the
way here beside you” he called. “No, it’s terrible!”
“Were you there when it happened?” asked Bambi’s mother.
“Well of course I was there” the squirrel replied. “I’m still shaking
from it, all my limbs are shaking.” He sat upright, his magnificent
flag against his back, showing his slender, white breast and pressing
both his front paws against his body to reassure himself. “I’m quite
beside myself with fear.”
“I’m afraid too, and it’s made me quite numb” said Bambi’s mother.
“I can’t understand it. None of us saw anything.”
“Really?” The squirrel became excited. “You’re wrong there, you
know. “I’d been watching him for a long time!”
“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.
“We do what we can,” thought the magpie, “but it’s not our fault if
somebody’s unlucky.”
“He was such a handsome prince,” the squirrel lamented, “and in the
prime of life.”
“Ach!” the jay screeched, “if he hadn’t been so stand-offish and paid
a bit of attention to us.”
“He was certainly not stand-offish!” the squirrel contradicted him.
The magpie added, “Na, no more than the other princes like him.”
“Stupid then!” the jay laughed.
“You’re pretty stupid yourself!” a crow called down from above them.
“You can’t talk about being stupid. The whole forest knows how
stupid you are.”
“Me?” retorted the jay in astonishment. “No-one can accuse me of
being stupid. A bit forgetful sometimes, but I’m certainly not stupid.”
“Suit yourself,” said the crow, now serious. “Don’t forget what I’ve
just said, but bear in mind that it wasn’t being haughty or stupid
that cost the prince his life, it’s ‘cause you can’t get away from him.”
“Ach!” screeched the jay. “I don’t like talking like this!” He flew away.
The crow continued speaking. “There’s even a lot in my family who
he’s tricked. He kills anyone ‘e feels like killing. There’s nothing we
can do about it.”
“You’ve just got to keep a watch out for him,” the magpie added.
“Yeah, you certainly do,” said the crow sadly. “Cheerio.” She flew
away and her family went with her.
Bambi looked around. His mother was no longer there.
What are they talking about? he thought. I can’t understand
everything they’re saying. Who is this ‘He’ they’re talking about? It
must be that ‘He’ that I saw in the woods that time ... but he didn’t
kill me ...
Bambi thought of the prince whom he had just seen lying in front of
him with a bloody, shredded shoulder. He was now dead. Bambi
walked on. The forest was again in song with a thousand voices, the
sun drove its broad beams of light through the tree tops,
everywhere was light, the leaves began to steam, high in the air
called the falcons, and here, close by, a woodpecker was laughing
out loud as if nothing had happened. Bambi did not become
cheerful. He felt under threat from something dark, he could not
understand how the others could be so gay and carefree when life
was so hard and so dangerous. At that moment he was gripped by
the desire to get a long way away from there, to go deeper and
deeper into the woods. He felt the urge to go to a place where the
trees were at their densest, where he could find a corner to slide
into, a place surrounded broad and far by the most impenetrable
undergrowth, where he could not possibly be seen. He did not want
to go back out onto that meadow.
Something gently moved in the bushes beside him. Bambi was
greatly startled. There, in front of him, stood the elder.
There was something twitching in Bambi; he wanted to run away
but he took control of himself and remained. The elder looked at him
with his big, deep eyes. “Were you there when it happened?”
“Yes,” said Bambi quietly. His heart was beating so hard he could feel
it in his mouth.
“Where is your mother?” the elder asked.
Bambi answered, still speaking quietly, “I don’t know.”
The elder continued to look at him. “And you’re not calling out for
her?”
Bambi looked into that venerable, ice-grey face, looked up at the
elder’s majestic crown, and suddenly found himself full of courage.
“I can be by myself, too,” he said.
The elder looked at him for a while and then, softly, he said, “Are
you not the little one who, not very long ago, was crying for his
mother?”
Bambi felt slightly ashamed, but continued to be courageous. “Yes,
that was me,” he admitted.
The elder looked at him in silence, and it seemed to Bambi that
these deep eyes were watching him with more tenderness. “You told
me off for it, elder prince,” he exclaimed, “for not being able to be
by myself. I can do now, though.”
The elder looked at Bambi, examining him, and smiled, very slightly,
barely noticeably, but Bambi did notice it. “Elder prince,” he asked
trustingly, “what happened back there? I can’t understand it ... who
is this ‘He’ they’re all talking about ...?” He stopped, shocked at the
dark look that bade him to be silent.
They said nothing for a while. The elder stopped looking at Bambi
and stared into the distance, then he said, slowly, “Listen for
yourself, smell for yourself, watch for yourself. Learn for yourself.” He
raised the crown on his head even higher. “Farewell,” he said. Then
nothing more. And then, he had disappeared.
Bambi, dismayed, stayed where he was and wanted to give up hope.
But the prince’s farewell was still in his ears and gave him some
comfort. Farewell, the elder had said. So he wasn’t cross with him.
Bambi was filled with pride, felt that he had been lifted out of
something that was formal and serious. Yes, life was hard and full of
danger. Let it bring whatever it wants, he would learn somehow to
bear all of it.
Slowly, he walked deeper into the woods.
CHAPTER 9
The leaves were falling from the big oak tree at the edge of he
meadow. They were falling from all the trees. One of the branches
of the oak was much higher up than the others and it stretched a
long way out over the meadow. At its tip there sat two leaves
together.
“Things ain’t like they they used to be,” said one of the leaves.
“They ain’t,” the other answered. “There were so many of us last
night who ... we’re just about the only ones left here on this branch.”
“You never know who it’s goin to ‘appen to next,” said the first.
“Even when it was nice and warm and the sunshine gave you some
heat you get a storm or a cloudburst sometimes, and lots of us got
torn off then, even them that were still young. You never know who
it’s goin to ‘appen to next.”
“You don’t get much sunshine these days,” the second leaf sighed,
“and even when the sun does shine there’s no strength to it. You’ve
got to get your strength from somewhere else.”
“Do you think it’s true,” pondered the first, “is it true that other
leaves will come along and take our place once we’ve gone, and
then another lot, and then another lot ...?”
“Course it’s true,” whispered the second, “only, we can’t work out
how ... it’s above what we can understand, that is.”
“It’d make you really sad, and all,” the first added.
They remained silent for a while. Then the first said quietly to
himself, “What do you have to go away for, anyway?”
The second asked, “What ‘appens to us after we’ve fallen?”
“We sink down ...”
“And what is it, what’s down there?”
The first answered, “I don’t know. Some say one thing, others say
something different ... nobody knows, really.”
The second asked, “D’you think you feel anything, d’you think you
know anything about yourself when you’re down there?”
The first answered, “Who can say? None of them who’ve gone down
there has ever come back to tell us.”
They were again silent for a while. Then the first leaf said tenderly
to the other, “Don’t get yourself all upset about it, here, you’re
shivering, look.”
“Oh don’t bother about that,” the second answered, “anything makes
me shiver these days. You just don’t feel properly attached to where
you are, do you.”
“We’d better stop talking about things like that,” said the first leaf.
“Yeah, we’d better leave it,” the other replied. “Only ... what we
going to talk about now then?”
They became silent, but after a short time resumed the subject.
“Who d’you think’s going to be the first of us to go down there,
then...?”
“It won’t be for a while yet,” the first reassured him. “Let’s just think
about how beautiful it used to be, how wonderfully beautiful! When
the sun came out and burned us so hot it seemed we’d just swell up
with all the good health it gave us. Remember? And then there was
the dew, early in the morning ... and the lime trees, wonderful
nights ...”
“The nights are horrible now,” whined the second. “They never seem
to come to an end.”
“We can’t complain,” said the first leaf gently, “we’ve lived longer
than so many others.”
“Have I changed much?” the second leaf asked, shyly but
emphatically.
“Not a bit,” the first assured him. “What, ‘cause I’ve gone all yellow
and ugly? No, it’s gone a bit different for me ...”
“Oh, give over,” the second contradicted.
“No, honest,” the first repeated emphatically. “It’s true, what I’m
telling you. You’re as lovely as you as you were on the very first day.
Might be a few yellow stripes here and there, but not so’s you’d
notice, but they just make you look all the lovelier. Honest!”
“Well, thank you,” the second leaf whispered, feeling quite touched.
“I’m not sure I believe you ... well not everything ... but thank you
for it. You are so good to me ... and you always ‘ave been ... it’s only
now that I’m starting to understand how good you’ve always been to
me.”
“Oh, stop it now,” said the first, and became silent himself. He could
not talk any more because he was upset.
Now they were both silent. The hours passed. A damp wind blew
cold and hostile through the tree tops.
“Oh ... now ...” said the second leaf, “... I ...” His voice broke off. He
was gently removed from his place and fluttered down to the earth.
- Winter had come.
CHAPTER 10
Bambi noticed that the world had changed. It was hard for him to
get by in this altered world. They had all been living like rich people
and now they began to find themselves in poverty. But wealth was
all that Bambi had ever known. He took it as a matter of course to
be surrounded by the greatest excess and the finest luxury on all
sides, to have no worries about finding food, to sleep in a beautiful
room hung with green that no-one could see into, and to walk about
in a majestically smooth, glossy, red coat.
Everything was different now, and he had not really noticed it, not
properly. The change which had taken place had been, for him, just
a sequence of short-lived appearances. He found it entertaining
when milky-white veils of mist drew the morning dampness up from
the meadow, or when they would suddenly sink down from the
twilight sky. They were so beautiful as they dissipated in the
sunlight. He liked the frost too, which surprised him when he saw
the ground and the meadow strewn with white. He spent much time
luxuriating in the sound of his grown-up relatives, the stags, as they
shouted. The whole forest would rumble from the voices of these
kings. Bambi would listen and be very afraid, but his heart would
thump in admiration whenever he heard this thunderous call. He
thought about the crowns worn by these kings, so big and with so
many branches, like a majestic oak, and he would think their voices
were just as powerful as their crowns. Their imperious commands
rolled out in the deepest tones, the monstrous groans of noble blood
as it rushed around their bodies and seethed with the ancient power
of yearning, haughtiness and pride. Whenever Bambi heard these
voices he felt overwhelmed by them, but he was proud to have such
distinguished relatives. At the same time he felt a peculiar, excited
irritation at their being so unapproachable. That hurt him, that
humiliated him, although he did not know exactly why or how, or
even how he could come any closer to knowing.
It was only when the kings’ time for lovemaking was over, and their
thunderous cries went silent, that Bambi started paying attention to
other things once more. When he walked through the woods by
night or lay in his room by day he heard the whisperings of the
leaves as they fell through the trees. The rustling sounds, as they
trickled down through the air from every tree top, every twig, were
incessant. The gentle, silvery light of the moon ran continuously
down to the earth. It was wonderful to wake up to it, and it was
delicious to go to sleep with this mysterious, sad whispering. The
leaves at that time lay deep and loose on the ground, and when you
walked through them they crackled loudly and they rustled quietly. It
was fun to have to push them aside with each step because their
layers were so deep. They made a shhh-shhh noise that was very
fine, very light and silvery. This was also very useful, as during these
times there was no need to make great effort with listening and
smelling. Everything could be heard from a long way off. The leaves
rustled from the slightest movement, they cried out Shhh! Who
could possibly sneak up on you? No-one.
But then came the rain. From early morning to late in the evening it
poured down, it struck and splattered from late in the evening and
all through the night until back to the morning, eased off for a little
while and then began again with new strength. The air seemed full
of cold water, the whole world seemed full of it. Your mouth was
filled with water if you only tried to gather a few blades of grass and
if you pulled at a bush then water would gush down into your eyes
and up your nose. The leaves on the ground no longer rustled. They
lay there soft and heavy, pressed down by the rain, and made no
sound at all. Bambi, for the first time, learned how vexing it was to
have water streaming down on you all through the day and all
through the night and to be soaked to the skin. He was still not very
cold, but he yearned for warmth and he thought it was miserable to
have to move about while soaked through and through.
But then, when the stormy weather came down from the north,
Bambi learnt what it really means to be cold. It was little help to
cuddle up close to his mother. At first, of course, he liked it very
much to lie there and be nice and warm, at least on one side. But
the stormy winds raged all through the night and all through the day
and all through the forest. It seemed to be driven by an
incomprehensible, ice-cold fury, an insane rage that wanted to tear
all the trees up by the roots and carry them away or to destroy them
in some other way. The trees roared as they put up powerful
resistance, they fought bravely against this immense attack. You
could hear their long drawn out groans, the sighs of their creaking,
there was a loud bang when one of their mighty boughs split, the
angry crack when, here and there, the trunk of a tree would break,
the cry of pain from all its wounds as its body was overpowered,
split and killed. But then it became impossible to hear anything
more, as the storm fell onto the forest with even greater violence
and its roars drowned out any other voice.
Bambi now understood that a period of need and poverty had
begun. He saw how much the rain and the storms had changed the
world. There were now no leaves on any of the trees or bushes.
They stood there robbed of all they had, their whole body was naked
and could be clearly seen, they looked pitiful as they stretched their
naked, brown arms up to the sky. The grass on the meadow was
limp and dark brown and so short it seemed to have been burnt to
the ground. Even the place where Bambi and his mother slept
seemed pitiful and bare now. Since its green walls had disappeared
it offered no privacy, and the wind blew in from every side.
One day a young magpie flew over the meadow. Something white
and cold fell into her eye, then another, then another, and laid a light
veil over her sight. Little, soft, dazzling-white flakes were dancing all
around her. The magpie flapped her wings and nearly stopped, but
then directed herself upward and went higher in the sky. In vain!
The soft, cool flakes were there again and again they fell onto her
and into her eyes. Once again she directed herself upward and rose
even higher.
“Just don’t bother, love,” called a crow from above her who was
flying in the same direction, “just give it up. You can’t fly high
enough to get out of these flakes. That’s snow, i’n’it.”
“Snow?” said the magpie in amazement as she struggled against
each new flurry that came at her.
“Well, yeah!” said the crow. “Winter’s here. That’s snow, that is!”
“Forgive me,” answered the magpie, “I only left the nest in May. I
don’t know what winter’s like.”
“Yeah, there’s a lot like that,” the crow observed. “You’ll soon find
out though.”
“Well, if that’s what snow is,” thought the magpie, “I’d like to sit
down for a little while.” She went down and sat on a twig on an
alder tree and shook herself.
The crow flew lazily on.
At first, Bambi was pleased to see the snow. The air was still and
mild, the white stars floated in the sky and everything in the world
looked entirely new. It had become lighter, even gayer, thought
Bambi, and for the brief periods when the sun came out everything
lit up, the white covering sparkled and shone with such power that it
was quite dazzling.
But Bambi soon stopped being pleased about the snow, as it was
becoming harder and harder to find food. You had to scrape the
snow aside and that took a lot of effort before a small patch of limp
grass was exposed. And the snow cut into your legs too, so that you
had to be careful not to get your feet injured. Gobo already had
done. But, of course, that is what Gobo was like, he was never able
to endure very much, and he caused his mother a lot of worry.
They were together now for almost all of the time, and they also had
more company than previously. Ena would often call by with her
children. Marena, a girl who was nearly grown up, had also begun to
mix in their circle. But it was probably old Mrs. Nettla who came by
for a chat most often. She was quite alone and had an opinion about
everything. “No,” she said, “I want to have nothing more to do with
children. That’s a pleasure that I’ve really had enough of.”
Then Faline would always say, “Why’s that then, when it’s a
pleasure?” And Mrs. Nettla would pretend to be cross and say, “It’s a
bad sort of pleasure, and I’ve had enough of it. Everyone enjoyed
chatting very much. They sat next to each other and talked. The
children had never had as much to listen to.
Even one or two of the princes came and kept company with them
now. At first it felt a little awkward, especially as the children were
still somewhat shy with them. But that passed quite quickly and then
there was a pleasant atmosphere. Bambi admired Prince Ronno, who
was an impressive gentleman, and he felt a tempestuous love for
the young, beautiful Karus. They had cast off their crowns and
Bambi would often stare at the two round, slate-grey discs on their
heads where glamour, splendour and many tender points could be
seen. Karus seemed very elegant and distinguished.
It was tremendously exciting when one of the princes would tell him
about what had happened to him. On Ronno’s left foreleg there was
a big lump which was now overgrown with fur. He would often ask,
“Have you ever noticed how I limp on this leg?” Everyone was
prompt to assure him that no-one had ever noticed any limp at all.
That was what Ronno wanted to hear. And it really was true to say
that it was barely noticeable. “Yes,” he would then continue, “I
escaped from something very dangerous that day.” And so Ronno
would go on to recount how he had been taken by surprise by Him
and hurled fire at him. But he was only hit here on his leg. It hurt so
much it could drive you mad. But it was only here, on his leg, that
he had been hit. It hurt nearly enough to drive him crazy. No
wonder. The bone had been shattered. But Ronno did not panic. He
got up and went, on just three legs. He kept going despite the pain,
as he was well aware that he was being chased. He ran and ran until
night fell. Then he allowed himself some rest. But the following
morning he moved on again until he felt he was in safety. Then he
groomed himself, hidden and alone, and waited for the wound to
close up. Eventually he came out of his place of safety and he was a
hero. He had a limp, but that was barely noticeable.
Now, when they were all together in one place so often and for so
long, when so many stories were told, Bambi heard more about Him
than he ever had before. They talked about how horrible he was to
look at. Nobody could bear looking into this pale face. This was
something that Bambi already knew from his own experience. They
even talked about the smell of him that spread all around, and here,
too, Bambi would have been able to contribute to the discussion if
he had not been too well brought up to join in with the
conversations of grown ups. They said this scent was of a rather
puzzling sort, always changing but instantly recognizable as it was
always remarkably stimulating, unidentifiable, mysterious, but in
itself rather disgusting. They talked about Him only needing two legs
to walk on and about the wonderful strength of both his hands.
Some of them did not exactly know what hands are. But Mrs. Nettla
explained it to them. “I don’t see anything surprising about it. The
squirrel can do everything you’ve just mentioned and does it in just
the way he wants to, and every little mouse can do the same.” She
turned her head disrespectfully away from them. “Oh!” the others
exclaimed and they made her understand that it’s far from being the
same thing. But Mrs. Nettla was not to be intimidated. “And what
about the falcon?” she declared, “what about the buzzard? And the
owl? They’ve only got two legs, and when they want to take hold of
something, as you call it, they just stand on one leg and hold it with
the other. That’s a lot harder to do, and I’m sure He can’t do it. “Mrs.
Nettla was not in any way inclined to admire anything about Him.
She hated him with all her heart. “He’s disgusting,” she said, and
nothing would change her mind. And there was nobody who
contradicted her, as there was nobody who found Him very lovable.
But the matter became even more confusing as they talked about it,
saying He had a third hand, not just two hands but a third hand as
well. Mrs. Nettla’s reply was curt. “That’s just an old wives’ tale,” she
concluded. “I just don’t believe it.”
Now Ronno joined in. “So what?” he asked, “and what do you think
it was that He used to shatter my leg? Just tell me that, will you!”
Mrs. Nettla gave a glib retort. “That’s your affair, my love! He’s never
shattered anything of mine.”
Auntie Ena said, “I’ve seen lots of different things in my life, and I
think there must be something in it if he insists He’s got a third
hand.”
Young Karus observed politely, “I can only agree with you there.
There’s a crow who’s a friend of mine ...” He stopped in
embarrassment for a short while and looked at all the people there
as if he were afraid of being laughed at. But when he saw that they
were listening to him and giving him all their attention, he
continued. “The crow is exceptionally talented, I can’t deny that,
she’s astonishingly talented. She told me that He really does have
three hands, but not all the time. It’s that third hand, the crow told
me, that’s the nasty one. It doesn’t grow out of Him like the other
two; He carries it hanging on his shoulder. The crow says she can
always tell whether He or any of his kind is dangerous or not. If He
comes along without that third hand then He isn’t dangerous.”
Mrs. Nettla laughed. “This crow of yours is just stupid, Karus, take it
from me, my love. If she was as clever as she thinks she is she’d
know that He’s always dangerous –always!”
But the others had something to say too. “But there are some of
them who are not dangerous at all,” Bambi’s mother thought. “You
can see it straight away.”
“So what?” asked Mrs. Nettla. “Do you just stand there till they come
up to you and say hello to them?”
Bambi’s mother answered softly, “Of course I don’t just stand there,
I run away.”
And Faline burst out with, “You should always run away!” Everyone
laughed. They continued talking about this third hand, and as they
did so they became more serious and the sense of the horror of it
came among them. Whatever it was, a third hand or something
different, it was something terrible, something they could not
understand. Most of them knew about it only from what they had
been told by others, but some of them had seen it with their own
eyes. He would stand there, a long way off, without moving, there
was no way of explaining what He did or how it happened, but there
would suddenly be a bang like thunder, fire sprayed out, and even at
that distance from Him you would collapse with your breast torn
open, and you would die. They all lowered their heads while she told
them this as if they were pressed down by some dark force that had
some inexplicable power over them. They listened eagerly to the
many different accounts of seeing Him, and every story was full of
horror, full of blood and suffering. They took all this in and still
wanted to hear more of what was being said. Stories that must have
been made up, all the fairy tales and legends they had heard from
their grandfathers and great-grandfathers, and as they listened they
unconsciously learned, while still afraid, about how to make peace
with this dark world or, at least, to run away from it.
“How does that happen, asked young Karus, quite dispirited, “that
He can be so far away and still knock you down?”
“Didn’t your clever crow explain that to you?” sneered Mrs. Nettla.
“No,” said Karus with a smile, “she says she’s often seen it, but no-
one knows how to explain it.”
“Well, He can even knock the crows down from the tree when He
feels like it,” observed Ronno.
“And He knocks the pheasants down from the sky,” Auntie Ena
added.
Bambi’s mother said, “He throws His hand out there. That’s what my
grandmother told me.”
“Does He really?” Mrs. Nettla asked. “And what is it that makes that
horrible thunderous noise then?”
“When His hand tears itself away from His body,” Bambi’s mother
explained, “there’s a flash of fire and it makes a bang like thunder.
On the inside that’s all He is, just fire.”
“Excuse me,” said Ronno. “There is some truth in saying He’s
nothing but fire on the inside, but it’s wrong to say it’s His hand He
uses. A strike from a hand could never cause injuries like that. You
can see it for yourselves. It’s much more likely to be a tooth that He
throws at us. Think about it, that would explain a lot. And so you die
because He bites you.”
Young Karus breathed a deep sigh. “Will He never stop chasing us
down?”
Then Marena spoke, the girl was now nearly an adult. “That means
that one day He’ll come and join us and be as gentle as we are. He’ll
play games with us, everyone in the forest will be happy and we’ll
make peace together.”
Mrs. Nettla shrieked with laughter. “It’s best if He just stays where
he is and leaves us alone!”
“You shouldn’t say things like that,” Auntie Ena admonished her.”
“And why not then?” retorted Mrs. Nettla as she became more
heated. “That’s really not something I could imagine. Make peace
with Him! He’s been murdering us for as long as we’ve been able to
think, and our sisters and our mothers and our brothers! For all the
time we’ve been in the world He never leaves us in peace, He kills us
whenever he sees us ... and you want to make peace with him?
That’s just so stupid!”
Marena looked at everyone with her gently sparkling eyes wide
open. “There’s nothing stupid about making peace,” she said. “We’ve
got to make peace.”
“I’m going to get something to eat,” said Mrs. Nettla as she turned
round and ran off.
CHAPTER 11
The winter went on. Sometimes it became milder, but then the snow
would come again, and each time it did it lay higher on the ground
so that it was impossible to scrape it away. Worst of all was when it
became warm enough for it to thaw, and then the snow that had
melted into water would freeze when the night came. Then there
would be a thin layer of ice which you could easily slip on. It would
also often break, so that the sharp splinters would cut the deers’
tender fetlocks, cut them bloody. But now there was a hard frost
which had lasted for days. The air was clean and thin such as it
never had been before and the frost was full of strength. It began to
tinkle with a sound that was fine and high. It was so cold that the air
sang.
Everything was quiet in the forest, but something shocking
happened every day. One time, the crows attacked the hare’s little
son, who was already lying down ill, and killed him in a gruesome
way. His cries of pain were long and pitiful and could be heard by all.
Bambi’s friend, the hare, was away at the time but when he heard
the sad news he could not contain himself. Another time, the squirrel
was running around with a serious wound on his neck from where
the polecat had bitten him. By some miracle the squirrel had been
able to get away from him. He could not speak because of the pain
but he ran between all the twigs and branches. Everyone could see
it. He ran like a madman. From time to time he would stop, sit
down, raise his forepaws in confusion, take hold of his head in his
shock and his suffering, and as he did so his blood gushed over his
white breast and turned it red. He ran around like this for an hour,
then he suddenly collapsed, fell hard against the branches of the
tree and fell, dying, into the snow. A pair of magpies immediately
came down on him and began their feasting. There was also the
time when the fox attacked the pheasant and tore him to bits, even
though everyone liked and respected the pheasant for his beauty
and his strength. His death was a cause for concern far and wide,
and everyone felt sorry for his inconsolable widow. The fox had
snatched the pheasant out of the snow he had settled in and where
he thought he was well hidden. No-one could feel safe any more, as
all these things happened in broad daylight. It seemed that the
penury they were suffering would never come to an end, and it
spread bitterness and ruthlessness all around. It made all experience
worthless, it undermined the conscience, destroyed all trust and all
good manners. There was no mercy any more, no peace, no holding
back.
“It’s impossible even to think that it might ever get any better,”
Bambi’s mother sighed.
Auntie Ena sighed too. “And it’s impossible to think that it ever was
any better.”
“Don’t be silly,” said Marena looking straight ahead. “I think about
how lovely it used to be all the time!”
“Listen,” Mrs. Nettla said to Auntie Ena. “Your little one is shivering,
isn’t he!” And she pointed to Gobo. “Does he always shiver like
that?”
“Sad to say,” answered Auntie Ena, somewhat worried, “he’s been
shivering like that for several days now.”
“Well then,” said Mrs. Nettla in the open way she had of saying
things, “I’m only glad I haven’t got any children any more. If he was
my little one I’d be worried about whether he gets through the
winter.”
Gobo indeed did not look well. He was weak, he had always been
less strong than Bambi or Faline and had not grown as fast as those
two. But now, he looked worse from day to day. He could not keep
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Labor Relations Development Structure Process 10th Edition John Fossum Solutions Manual

  • 1. Labor Relations Development Structure Process 10th Edition John Fossum Solutions Manual download https://testbankfan.com/product/labor-relations-development- structure-process-10th-edition-john-fossum-solutions-manual/ Visit testbankfan.com today to download the complete set of test bank or solution manual
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  • 5. Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns 6-1 CHAPTER 6 UNION ORGANIZING CAMPAIGNS MAJOR POINTS 1. Organizing is a complex activity involving unions, employers, and the National Labor Relations Board, whose job it is to administer the National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act. The union seeks to organize a majority of the employees; the employer seeks to avoid unionization, inasmuch as it establishes boundaries and impediments to the employer’s full range of discretion in running its operations; and the board seeks to ensure that a free choice in such matters is preserved for the employees. 2. Either employees or union organizers can initiate the organizing effort. Collecting a sufficient number of authorization card signatures, determining the scope of the proposed bargaining unit, campaigning for employee votes, and gaining/defeating certification are all crucial aspects of the process. Charges of unfair labor practices may arise during these various stages, and their resolution may have an important bearing on the outcome of the campaign. 3. Even though employees do not give particularly high levels of attention to the issues raised by either side during the NLRB election campaign, a variety of forms of communications from both the union and employer typically characterize such campaigns. The union will try to make contact with every potential voter, and supervisors will typically be watchful about developments that may predict the eventual outcome or the leanings of employee-voters. 4. Research suggests that smaller bargaining units, where employees are more homogeneous, closer geographically, or better acquainted with each other, may be easier to organize. On the other hand, though Fossum does not say so, larger bargaining units may be more resistant to decertification, once the bargaining unit is first organized. 5. Management activity prior to the actual filing of the petition may be more efficacious. Unfair labor practices do appear to influence employee-voting decisions. And well-designed and executed unions campaigns are more influential on the ultimate outcome as well.
  • 6. Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns 6-2 6. Unions prevail in contested elections about 50% of the time. Many such elections are conducted in bargaining units with fewer than 30 employees. Union membership, as a proportion of the workforce, has trended downward since 1955. This pattern correlates highly with changes in occupational and industrial distribution of employment. KEY TERMS Exclusive representation Certification election Authorization card Multiemployer bargaining Representation election Raid election Appropriate bargaining unit Community of interests Decertification election Craft severance Recognitional picketing Accretion Consent election Totality of conduct Board-directed (petition) election Bargaining order Regional director Election bar Excelsior list Union-free Community action Corporate campaign CHAPTER OUTLINE Exclusive Representation • The concept of exclusive representation establishes a “winner- takes-all” outcome in representation elections. This requirement, which contributes to the adversarial relationship that exists between employers and unions, begins with an organizing campaign.
  • 7. Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns 6-3 Legal Controls o The organizing process is very adversarial and highly legalistic. o Both the employer and the union may wage intense campaigns. Charges of “unfair labor practices” may be made by either side, and their resolution is the province of the National Labor Relations Board (or the Railway Labor Board, in some industries). Organizing and Union Effectiveness • Organizing Creates an Opportunity for Employee “Voice” • Unionization Creates Something Approximating a Monopoly in the Supply of Labor o This monopoly power generally confers a wage premium for union employees. o Strong interest in unionization exists where nonunion competition reduces monopoly power. o Fossum notes that with increasing globalization of manufacturing, eliminating nonunion competition has become virtually impossible in many industries. • Membership also generates dues flow to the union. o Large Unions: Economies of Scale in Operations o Union Effectiveness o Size o New Units o Accreting Expanded Facilities o Merging and Absorbing Other Unions
  • 8. Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns 6-4 How Organizing Begins National-level Origins • Targeting Specific Employers • Sending in Professional Organizers o Organizers try to gain employment at targeted firms o Often occurs where a unionized firm opens a nonunion plant o Locally Initiated Attempts o Typically starts with employees in a firm who believe they would be better served with union representation o On-site employee leader emerges who seeks assistance from a union Note: Fig: 6.1 [Sequence of Organizing Events] The Framework for Organizing Authorization Card Campaign • Typically, the first overt action in the organizing process is the attempt to collect signatures on the authorization cards, such as the one shown in Figure 6.2 in the text. Fossum notes that it is difficult to keep the campaign a secret from the employer once this process has begun. Note: Fig: 6.2 [Authorization Card] Recognition Requests • An employer may voluntarily recognize the apparent majority support for the union, if presented with signatures or other forms of support exceeding 50% of the employees in the proposed bargaining unit. • However, the employer has the right to refuse to recognize majority in support of union representation on the basis of a card count or a petition, even if the union has fully 100% of the employee signatures. Furthermore, the employer will generally do so, and for good reason.
  • 9. Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns 6-5 • A union may pressure an employer to recognize its majority status by recognitional picketing for up to 30 days. Such picketing cannot continue indefinitely. And if the union fails in the election or if the picketing lasts for longer than 30 days, such conduct constitutes an unfair labor practice. Representation Elections • Representation elections fall into two categories. A certification election raises a question of union representation in a proposed bargaining unit where there is currently no union bargaining agent. A decertification election, on the other hand, raises a question whether currently existing union bargaining agent should have its authorization rescinded. • Under very limited circumstances, management may raise a question about continuing viable union representation. For example, if a contract expires and no union communication is received about negotiating a subsequent agreement, or if the union bargaining agent appears to have become defunct, management may ask the board to determine whether representation continues or does not. Such management- initiated requests, however, must proceed out of objective reasons supported by specific evidence. • Fossum states that, “If the majority votes against representation, the union loses representation rights.” This is essentially true, but with one technical refinement: the union is always obliged to demonstrate that a majority supports its authorization as the exclusive bargaining agent; if either a certification or decertification election or a management- initiated election is held (see above), and further if the result is a tie vote, the union loses its representation rights. Technically, there would not be a majority of votes against the union in such a circumstance, but the failure to demonstrate the support of the majority would suffice to cost the union its bargaining agent status. • Decertification elections may not be held while a contract is in effect.
  • 10. Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns 6-6 • The latter type of representation election is further subdivided into two categories. The members of the bargaining unit may wish to return to an unrepresented status (i.e., no union bargaining agent), or they may wish to change who their current bargaining agent is to a different union affiliation. In such raid elections, as they are called, the alternative union must get the support of 30% of the same bargaining unit that is currently represented by the first union, in order to be named on the ballot. But if the alternative union gets the support of 10% of the bargaining unit, it may participate as a party of full interest in any NLRB administrative hearings that may be associated with questions about the appropriate bargaining unit, challenged ballots, or any other such procedural matter. Note: Fig 6.3 [Avenues to Election Petitions] Election Petitions • A union, an individual, or (under some cases) an employer may file a request for a board-supervised election with the NLRB. Within 48 hours of filing, the union must document a “showing of interest;” that is, there must be evidence that at least 30% of the proposed bargaining unit supports the union as its bargaining agent. • While the same 30% standard for a showing of interest in rescinding a bargaining agent’s majority status must also accompany a petition for a decertification election, the two types of board-supervised elections are not as symmetrical in practice as they may first appear. Preelection Board Involvement • If there is no disagreement concerning the scope of the proposed bargaining unit, the Board will schedule a consent election. If the parties disagree about what the contours of the appropriate bargaining unit should be, the board regional director will hold a hearing on the record to make that determination. When that decision is final, a board-directed election will be held.
  • 11. Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns 6-7 • Once the election has been scheduled, whether of the consent or of the board-directed variety, the union is entitled to receive a list of all employees in the affected bargaining unit, together with their addresses. This right was established by the board in the Excelsior Underwear, Inc. case, and is known in common parlance as an Excelsior list. Whether the employer does indeed make contact with the employees individually in this way is irrelevant; it has the option to do so, and the same option should be available to the union. Note: Fig 6.4 (NLRB Involvement in Petition to Election] The Election • The text indicates that ballots can be challenged by either side in a board-supervised election, but does not discuss the mechanics of how such challenges are handled or why they may be made. • The NLRB conducts the secret-ballot election. Company and union observers may challenge voter eligibility but cannot prohibit anyone from voting. After the votes are counted and challenges decided, the choice receiving a majority is declared the winner. If more than two choices are on the ballot and none obtains an absolute majority, a runoff is held between the two highest choices. After any challenges are resolved, the regional director certifies the results. • The person whose right to vote has been challenged receives a ballot like everyone else. Upon voting, the individual in question puts his ballot in an envelope marked “Challenged Ballot,” and seals the envelope. The person then signs his or her name across the seal, and the envelope is dropped into the box. If the total number of challenged ballots would not be sufficient to change the outcome of the election-that is, if they are not “determinative of result” in the parlance the agency--, the election outcome is determined on the basis of the other ballots. If the total number of challenged ballots could conceivably reverse the apparent result of the election, the regional director will hold a hearing on the record in which the arguments for and against counting each such challenged ballot will be considered. Those ballots for which challenges are sustained are set to one side and left unopened. Those for which the challenges are overruled are placed on the other side, and initially are unopened.
  • 12. Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns 6-8 Note: Fig 6.5 [Specimen NLRB Ballot] Bargaining-Unit Determination The Degree of “Appropriateness” • An appropriate bargaining unit need not be the most appropriate bargaining unit. Because the National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act protects the rights of employees to have a strong voice in determining their own working conditions, workers have considerable leeway in defining just what their community of interest really is. However, as Fossum points out in the text, several different factors will bear upon the board’s decision to approve or disallow the specific contours of the bargaining unit that the workers or their representative seeks. • Bargaining units differ depending in part upon whether the focus is on unit organizing or contract negotiations. Several retail stores owned by the same employer in a chain may constitute an appropriate bargaining unit for the purposes of a representation election. The actual bargaining process, however, may involve several different employers in what is known as multiemployer bargaining. (See the text and the accompanying comment in this Instructor’s Guide for Chapter 8.) Legal Constraints • According to § 9(b) of the Taft-Hartley Act, a majority of professionals must approve being combined with nonprofessional employees in the same bargaining unit. • A recognized craft may not be stopped from defining its own community of interest, even if previously included in a larger and more comprehensive bargaining unit. However, NLRB case law has narrowed this possibility when there has been an established and stable bargaining history that argues to the contrary. • Plant guards and security personnel may form a bargaining unit, but they may not be in the same unit with other types of employees.
  • 13. Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns 6-9 • Supervisors and managers who meet the definition of employers within the meaning of this act may not be included in a bargaining unit or bargain collectively. However, there is again considerable narrowing of this exception through case law. • Fossum notes that the National Mediation Board handles elections in situations covered by the Railway Labor Act, and that those cases must by law have bargaining units determined on a craft basis. Jurisdiction of the Organizing Union • The AFL-CIO has traditionally done an excellent job of mediating disputes which arise when a bargaining unit represented by an AFL-CIO union seeks to rescind the authorization of bargaining agency for that union, and via a three-way election select a different AFL-CIO union as its new bargaining agent. Since a condition of affiliating with the AFL-CIO is agreeing to let the Federation resolve internal disputes, this mediation takes care of the problem in the vast majority of cases. The Union’s Desired Unit • A union must balance its concerns with the prospects of winning a certification election with a hypothetical bargaining unit on the one hand, and being successful in negotiating appropriate contract terms later. Fossum notes that craft unions are likely to prefer organizing units consisting of workers with similar skills, whereas industrial unions generally seek to organize the largest and most comprehensive range of employees within a given plant or company. • There are problems associated with organizing a small group of workers that are rather peripheral to the employer’s operations: if the union bargained to impasse and called a strike, the employer could simply subcontract the work, leaving the union with little leverage. Fossum offers the example of a custodial bargaining unit in a manufacturing plant as an example of such a problem area.
  • 14. Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns 6-10 • The twin considerations for a union are that a prospective organizing opportunity involve a group of workers - ▪ That the union can win; and ▪ That the union will be able to exert some leverage at the bargaining table on the employer, once the union is established. The Employer’s Desired Unit • The employer generally prefers a unit which the union may not carry in an election. However, if the union support is so strong among one group of workers, the employer may seek to keep that group as small as possible, and confine its losses to one worker group instead of an entire facility’s workforce. • Fossum notes that on one hand, the employer would generally prefer a set of bargaining units that would each constitute functionally independent communities of worker interests. But on the other hand, no employer wants to set himself up for an uninterrupted cycle of negotiations with a never-ending series of unions. The potential to be caught in a sequence of compelling demands to catch up (or preserve) comparative positions with other groups of workers can be very difficult to handle. Note: Fig 6.6 [Conflicting Unit Desires] NLRB Policy • Board policy, largely developed through case law, suggests the following factors receive consideration in the determination of an appropriate bargaining unit: o Community of Interests o Geographic and Physical Proximity o The Employer’s Administrative or Territorial Divisions o Functional Integration of Operations o The Degree of Interchangeability among Employees o Bargaining History o Employee Desires o Extent of Union Organization
  • 15. Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns 6-11 • Fossum notes many of the above factors are, or at least could be, interrelated. Craft Severance • The NLRB will allow craft severance when all of the following circumstances apply: o A high degree of skill or functional differentiation is present. o There is only a short bargaining history in the present arrangement, and the proposed craft severance would cause minimal disturbance. o With the established unit, those desiring craft severance have maintained a distinct separation unto themselves. o The prevailing patterns in the industry favor such a craft severance. o There is a low level of integration associated with the production function. o The prospective representative of the craft in question has a high level of experience in representing such workers. What Factors Are Used? • Additional administrative considerations arise in the health care sector. However, on balance, the board has made these determinations on a case-by-case basis, and there has not been clear consistency. • Judicial precedents are scanty, in part because NLRB bargaining unit determinations are not “final orders” and therefore are subject to appeal as separate matters. If the employer were dissatisfied with the board’s determination of the appropriate bargaining unit, it would simply refuse to bargain after the election outcome were known and let the courts decide. In most instances, Fossum observes, the courts have left such board determinations undisturbed in their oft-cited practice to defer to the expertise of the agency with initial jurisdiction in such matters. Other Issues in Unit Determination • Accretion • Reorganization and Reclassification • Successor Organizations • Joint Employers
  • 16. Chapter 06 - Union Organizing Campaigns 6-12 o In the text, it is fairly clear what is meant by the obligation of the new owners to abide by the unexpired commitments of their predecessors following a merger. However, the second case - that of “an employer who assumes another’s operations where the employees simply change employers”- is perhaps not so clear. Fossum cites NLRB v. Burns International Security Services in a footnote, but few will perhaps dig out that case if they are not already familiar with it. The Organizing Campaign Before the Organizing Campaign Starts • Either employees become sufficiently frustrated about their treatment and economic conditions; or • A national union identifies the employer as a ripe target for an organizing effort. Factors considered in the latter case include: o The economic and political climate. o Evidence of employee receptivity to a union organizing effort. o Prospects of community support. o The demography of the potential bargaining unit. Note: Fig 6.7 [Theoretical Model of the Certification Election Process] • For unions, organizing is an ongoing effort. Those who did not initially sign petitions or authorization cards need to be won over; new hires that arrive after a union is certified must be recruited successfully. For management, meeting such an attempt is more likely to be a sporadic concern. When the unionization is a prospect, management faces the possibility of major changes in the way the physical assets as well as operations may be managed. The national union involved may have its own agenda, too.
  • 17. Other documents randomly have different content
  • 18. “What are you calling for?” the old stag asked severely. Bambi trembled in awe of the elder stag and did not dare to make any answer. “Your mother hasn’t got the time to spend on you now!” the elder continued. Bambi was completely cowed by this imperious voice, but at the same time he felt admiration for it. “Can’t you be by yourself for a while? You should be ashamed of yourself!” Bambi would have liked to say that he could be by himself perfectly well, that he had often been by himself, but he said nothing. He did as he was told and became terribly ashamed. The elder turned round and left him. Bambi did not know how the stag left, where he had gone, did not even know whether he had left quickly or slowly. He was simply gone, just as suddenly as he had arrived. Bambi strained his ears, but he heard no steps moving away from him, no leaf being disturbed. That made him suppose the elder must still be quite near to him, and he smelt the air on every side. He learned nothing from that. Bambi sighed in relief as he was once more alone, but at the same time he yearned to see the old stag again and to make sure he was not displeased with him. Then his mother arrived but Bambi said nothing about his meeting with the elder. Nor did he ever call for her, now, when she was out of sight. He thought about the old stag when he wandered about on his own; he felt a powerful wish to come across him. Then he would say to him, “See? I’m not calling for anyone.” And the elder would praise him. He did speak to Gobo and Faline though, the next time they were together on the meadow. They listened with excitement and they had had no experience of their own that could compare with this. “Weren’t you scared?” asked Gobo excitedly. Yes! Bambi admitted, he had been scared. Just a little bit. “I’d have been terribly scared,” Gobo told him. Bambi answered that no, he had not been very scared, because the elder had been so majestic. Gobo told him, “That wouldn’t have been much help for me. I’d have been too scared even to look at him. When I get scared everything flickers in front of my eyes so that I can’t see anything and my heart beats so
  • 19. hard that I can’t breathe.” What Bambi had told them made Faline very thoughtful and she said nothing. The next time they met, though, Gobo and Faline rushed to him in great leaps and bounds. They were alone once more, as was Bambi. “We’ve been looking for you for ages,” declared Gobo. “Yes,” said Faline with an air of importance, “as now we know exactly who it was that you saw.” Bambi was so keen to know he jumped in the air. “Who ...!?” Faline took pleasure in saying, “It was the old prince.” “How do you know that?” Bambi wanted to know. “Our mother told us!” retorted Faline. Bambi was astonished, and he showed it. “Did you tell her about it then?” The two of them nodded their heads. “But that was a secret!” objected Bambi. Gobo quickly tried to excuse himself. “It wasn’t me. It was Faline who did it.” But Faline cheerfully called, “Oh, so what? Secret!? I wanted to know who it was, and now we do know, and that’s much more interesting!” Bambi was burning to hear all about this, and his wish was satisfied. Faline told him everything. “He’s the most noble stag in the whole wood. He’s the prince. There is no second most noble, no-one comes near to him. No-one knows how old he is. No- one knows where he lives. No-one knows who his relatives are. Very few have ever even seen him. Now and then there’s a rumour that he’s dead because he hasn’t been seen for a long time. Then somebody catches a glimpse of him and then everyone knows he’s still alive. No-one has ever dared to ask him where he’s been. He doesn’t speak to anyone and no-one dares to speak to him. He goes along the paths where no-one else ever goes; he knows every part of the wood, even the most distant corner. And nothing is a danger to him. Other princes might tussle with each other, sometimes as a test or in fun but sometimes they fight in earnest. It’s many years
  • 20. since he fought with anyone. And there’s no-one still alive who did fight with him a long time ago. He’s the great prince.” Bambi forgave Gobo and Faline for having carelessly chatted about his secret with their mother. He was even quite satisfied about it as now, after all, it was him who had experienced all the all these important things. Nonetheless, he was glad that Gobo and Faline did not know everything quite precisely, that the great prince had said, “Can’t you be by yourself for a while?,” that they did not know he had said, “You should be ashamed of yourself!.” Bambi was glad, now, that he had kept silent about these admonitions. Faline would have told everything about that just like everything else, and then the whole forest would have been gossiping about it. That night, as the moon was rising, Bambi’s mother came back again. She was suddenly there standing under the great oak at the edge of the meadow and looking round for Bambi. He saw her straight away and ran over to her. That night Bambi had another new experience. His mother was tired and hungry. She did not walk about as much as she usually did but satisfied herself there on the meadow where Bambi also usually took his meals. Together there, they munched on the bushes and as they did so, in that remarkably pleasant way, they wandered deeper and deeper into the woods. There was a loud noise that came through the greenery. Before Bambi had any idea of what was happening his mother began to scream loudly, just as she did when she was greatly startled or confused. “A-oh!” she screamed, jumped away, then stopped and screamed, “A-oh, ba-oh!.” Then, Bambi saw some immense figures appear, coming towards them through the noise. They came quite close. They looked like Bambi and his mother, like Auntie Ena and anyone else of their species, but they were enormous, they had grown so big and powerful that you felt compelled to look up at them. Like his mother, Bambi began to scream, “A-oh ... Ba-oh ...Ba- oh!.” He was hardly aware that he was screaming, he could not stop himself. The line of figures went slowly past, three or four enormous figures one after another. Last of all came one that was even bigger
  • 21. than the others, it had a wild mane around its neck and its head was crowned with a whole tree. Just to see it took your breath away. Bambi stood there and howled as loudly as he could, as he felt more frightened and bewildered than he ever had been before. His fear was of a particular kind. He felt as if he were pitifully small, and even his mother seemed to be the same. He felt ashamed, although he had no idea why, at the same time the horror of it shook him and he once more began to howl. “Ba-oh ... Ba-a-oh!.” It made him feel better when he shouted like that. The line of figures had passed. There was nothing more to see and nothing more to hear from in. Even Bambi’s mother became silent. There was only Bambi who would whine briefly from time to time. He was still afraid. “You can be quiet now,” his mother said, “look, they’ve gone away.” “Oh, mother,” whispered Bambi, “who was that?” “Oh, they’re not really that dangerous,” his mother said. “They were our big relatives ... yes ... they are big and they’re quality ... much higher quality than you or me ...” “And aren’t they dangerous?” Bambi asked. “Not normally,” his mother explained. “But they say there are many things that have happened. People say this and that about them but I don’t know if there’s any truth in these stories. They’ve never done anything to me or to anyone I know.” “Why would they do anything to us when they’re relatives of ours?” thought Bambi. He wanted to be quiet, but he was still shaking. “No, I don’t suppose they’ll do anything to us,” his mother answered, “but I’m not sure, and I get alarmed every time I see them. I can’t stop myself. It’s the same every time.”
  • 22. Bambi was slowly soothed down by this conversation, but he remained thoughtful. Right above him, in among the branches of an alder tree, an impressive tawny owl shrieked. But Bambi was confused and forgot, for once, to show that he was startled. The owl, however still came down to him and asked, “Give you a shock, did I?.” “Of course,” answered Bambi. “You always give me a shock.” The owl gave a quiet laugh; he was satisfied. “I hope you don’t blame me for it,” he said. “It’s just the way I do things.” He fluffed up his plumage till he looked like a ball, sank his beak into his soft, downy feathers, and put on a terribly nice, serious expression. That was enough for him. Bambi opened his heart to him. “Do you know,” he began in a way that seemed older than his age, “I’ve just had a shock that was far bigger than the one you gave me.” “What?” asked the owl, no longer so satisfied with himself. Bambi told him about his meeting with his enormous relatives. “Don’t tell me about your relatives,” declared the owl. “I’ve got relatives too, you know. But all I have to do is look round me anywhere in the daytime and they’re all over me. Na, there’s not much point in having relatives. If they’re bigger than you they’re good for nothing, and if they’re smaller they’re even more good for nothing. If they’re bigger than you then you can’t stand them ‘cause they’re so haughty, and if they’re smaller they can’t stand you ‘cause they think you’re haughty. Na, I don’t want to know anything about anything of that.” “But ... I don’t even know my relatives ...” said Bambi shyly and wishing he did. “I’d never heard anything about them and today was the first time I saw them.”
  • 23. “Don’t you bother about those people,” the owl advised him. “Just take my word for it,” he said, rolling his eyes in a meaningful way, “take my word, that’s the best thing to do. Relatives are never as good as friends. Look at the two of us, we’re not related but we’re good friends, aren’t we, and very nice it is too.” Bambi was about to say something more, but the owl continued speaking. “I’ve got some experience in things like that. You’re a bit young, still. Take my word, I know better about these things. And anyway, I don’t see why I should get involved in your family matters.” He rolled his eyes, and rolled them in a way that seemed so thoughtful, and sat with an expression that seemed so earnest and meaningful, that Bambi was modest and said nothing.
  • 24. CHAPTER 8 Another night went by, and the following day something else happened. The sky was cloudless, and the morning was full of dew and freshness. All the leaves on the trees and the bushes suddenly had a more vivid scent. The meadow breathed the air in broad waves and lifted it up to the tree tops. ‘Peep’ said the tits as they woke up. They said it quite quietly, but as it was still twilight and the sky was grey they said nothing more for a little while. For a time there was silence. Then the raucous, rasping sound of a crow came from high up in the air. The crows had woken up and were visiting each other in the tree tops. The magpie answered straight back: “Shakerakshak ... can you believe this, I’m still asleep?” Then hundreds of calls, here and there, far and near, tentatively began: peep! Peep! Tiu! These sounds still had something of sleep, something of the twilight about them. And yet they were actually all quite distinct from each other. Suddenly a blackbird flew up to the top of a fir tree. He flew right up to the very highest, thinnest point, reaching into the air. He sat high up there and looked out over all the other trees, near and far while the pale grey sky, still tired from the night, began to glow in the east and come to life. Then the bird began to sing. She was only a tiny dark spot if you glimpsed her from the ground. In the distance her little black body looked like a wilted leaf. But her song spread out all over the forest in great celebration. And then everything came to life. The finches struck up and the robins and the goldfinches made their voices heard. Pigeons rushed from one place to another with wide flapping and swishing of their wings. The pheasants shouted out loud as if their throats would burst. The sound of their wings
  • 25. was gentle but powerful as they swooped down to earth from the trees where they had been sleeping. On the ground they repeated their metallic, bursting cry many more times, and then they would coo gently. High in the sky, the falcons called out their sharp and joyful ‘yayaya!’ . The sun had risen. ‘Diu-diyu!’ rejoiced the oriole. As he flew back and forth between the twigs and branches his round, yellow body shone in the beams of the morning sun like an exhilarated ball of gold. Bambi stepped under the big oak tree on the meadow. It sparkled in the morning dew, had a scent of grass, flowers and wet earth, it whispered of the thousand lives it had led. There sat Bambi’s friend, the hare, and he seemed to be thinking about something very important. There was a haughty pheasant there, walking slowly. He pecked at the stalks of grass and looked carefully all around himself. His dark blue neck sparkled in the sunlight like a jewel necklace. But close in front of Bambi there stood one of the princes, very near to him. Bambi had never seen him before, had never even seen any of the fathers this close up. He stood there before him, very close to a hazel bush and still slightly concealed behind its twigs. Bambi did not move. He hoped the prince would come out fully from behind the bush, and he wondered whether he could dare to speak to him. He wanted to ask his mother and glanced around for her, but his mother had already gone ahead and stood a long way away with Auntie Ena. Just then, Gobo and Faline came out of the woods and ran onto the meadow. Bambi did not move but wondered about what he should do. If he wanted to get over to his mother and the others he would have to pass by the prince. He thought that would be unseemly. So what? he thought, I don’t need to get my mother’s permission first. It was the old prince who spoke to me first and I didn’t tell my mother anything about it. I will speak to the prince, I’ll see if I can. I’ll say to him: Good morning your highness. There’s nothing about that that might make him cross. And if he is I can just
  • 26. run away. Bambi wondered whether he had made the right decision, and it kept on making him feel unsteady on his feet. Now the prince stepped away from the hazel bush and onto the meadow. Now ... thought Bambi. Just then there was a loud clap of thunder. Bambi recoiled and did not know what had happened. He saw how the prince jumped high into the air in front of him and saw him rush past him into the woods. Bambi looked hard all around himself, he felt as if he could still hear the thunder clap. He saw his mother, Auntie Ena, Gobo and Faline, some way away, had fled into the woods, he saw his friend the hare rush away in a panic, saw the pheasant run away with his neck stretched out ahead of him, and he could not understand what it all could be about. The prince lay there, a broad wound had torn his shoulder open, he was bloody and dead. “Don’t just stand there!” came a shrill cry from beside him. It was his mother who was running at a full gallop. “Run!” she called, “Run as fas as you can!.” She did not stop, but rushed on, and her command pulled Bambi along with her. He ran with all his strength. “What is that, mother?” he asked. “What was that, mother?” His mother, gasping for breath, answered, “That ... was ... Him!.” Bambi shuddered, and they ran on. Finally, out of breath, they stopped. “What do you say? Please, what do you say?” called a thin voice from above them. Bambi looked up and saw the squirrel hurrying
  • 27. down to them through the branches of the tree. “I jumped all the way here beside you” he called. “No, it’s terrible!” “Were you there when it happened?” asked Bambi’s mother. “Well of course I was there” the squirrel replied. “I’m still shaking from it, all my limbs are shaking.” He sat upright, his magnificent flag against his back, showing his slender, white breast and pressing both his front paws against his body to reassure himself. “I’m quite beside myself with fear.” “I’m afraid too, and it’s made me quite numb” said Bambi’s mother. “I can’t understand it. None of us saw anything.” “Really?” The squirrel became excited. “You’re wrong there, you know. “I’d been watching him for a long time!” “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.”
  • 28. “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. “We do what we can,” thought the magpie, “but it’s not our fault if somebody’s unlucky.” “He was such a handsome prince,” the squirrel lamented, “and in the prime of life.” “Ach!” the jay screeched, “if he hadn’t been so stand-offish and paid a bit of attention to us.” “He was certainly not stand-offish!” the squirrel contradicted him. The magpie added, “Na, no more than the other princes like him.” “Stupid then!” the jay laughed. “You’re pretty stupid yourself!” a crow called down from above them. “You can’t talk about being stupid. The whole forest knows how stupid you are.” “Me?” retorted the jay in astonishment. “No-one can accuse me of being stupid. A bit forgetful sometimes, but I’m certainly not stupid.” “Suit yourself,” said the crow, now serious. “Don’t forget what I’ve just said, but bear in mind that it wasn’t being haughty or stupid that cost the prince his life, it’s ‘cause you can’t get away from him.”
  • 29. “Ach!” screeched the jay. “I don’t like talking like this!” He flew away. The crow continued speaking. “There’s even a lot in my family who he’s tricked. He kills anyone ‘e feels like killing. There’s nothing we can do about it.” “You’ve just got to keep a watch out for him,” the magpie added. “Yeah, you certainly do,” said the crow sadly. “Cheerio.” She flew away and her family went with her. Bambi looked around. His mother was no longer there. What are they talking about? he thought. I can’t understand everything they’re saying. Who is this ‘He’ they’re talking about? It must be that ‘He’ that I saw in the woods that time ... but he didn’t kill me ... Bambi thought of the prince whom he had just seen lying in front of him with a bloody, shredded shoulder. He was now dead. Bambi walked on. The forest was again in song with a thousand voices, the sun drove its broad beams of light through the tree tops, everywhere was light, the leaves began to steam, high in the air called the falcons, and here, close by, a woodpecker was laughing out loud as if nothing had happened. Bambi did not become cheerful. He felt under threat from something dark, he could not understand how the others could be so gay and carefree when life was so hard and so dangerous. At that moment he was gripped by the desire to get a long way away from there, to go deeper and deeper into the woods. He felt the urge to go to a place where the trees were at their densest, where he could find a corner to slide into, a place surrounded broad and far by the most impenetrable undergrowth, where he could not possibly be seen. He did not want to go back out onto that meadow. Something gently moved in the bushes beside him. Bambi was greatly startled. There, in front of him, stood the elder.
  • 30. There was something twitching in Bambi; he wanted to run away but he took control of himself and remained. The elder looked at him with his big, deep eyes. “Were you there when it happened?” “Yes,” said Bambi quietly. His heart was beating so hard he could feel it in his mouth. “Where is your mother?” the elder asked. Bambi answered, still speaking quietly, “I don’t know.” The elder continued to look at him. “And you’re not calling out for her?” Bambi looked into that venerable, ice-grey face, looked up at the elder’s majestic crown, and suddenly found himself full of courage. “I can be by myself, too,” he said. The elder looked at him for a while and then, softly, he said, “Are you not the little one who, not very long ago, was crying for his mother?” Bambi felt slightly ashamed, but continued to be courageous. “Yes, that was me,” he admitted. The elder looked at him in silence, and it seemed to Bambi that these deep eyes were watching him with more tenderness. “You told me off for it, elder prince,” he exclaimed, “for not being able to be by myself. I can do now, though.” The elder looked at Bambi, examining him, and smiled, very slightly, barely noticeably, but Bambi did notice it. “Elder prince,” he asked trustingly, “what happened back there? I can’t understand it ... who is this ‘He’ they’re all talking about ...?” He stopped, shocked at the dark look that bade him to be silent.
  • 31. They said nothing for a while. The elder stopped looking at Bambi and stared into the distance, then he said, slowly, “Listen for yourself, smell for yourself, watch for yourself. Learn for yourself.” He raised the crown on his head even higher. “Farewell,” he said. Then nothing more. And then, he had disappeared. Bambi, dismayed, stayed where he was and wanted to give up hope. But the prince’s farewell was still in his ears and gave him some comfort. Farewell, the elder had said. So he wasn’t cross with him. Bambi was filled with pride, felt that he had been lifted out of something that was formal and serious. Yes, life was hard and full of danger. Let it bring whatever it wants, he would learn somehow to bear all of it. Slowly, he walked deeper into the woods.
  • 32. CHAPTER 9 The leaves were falling from the big oak tree at the edge of he meadow. They were falling from all the trees. One of the branches of the oak was much higher up than the others and it stretched a long way out over the meadow. At its tip there sat two leaves together. “Things ain’t like they they used to be,” said one of the leaves. “They ain’t,” the other answered. “There were so many of us last night who ... we’re just about the only ones left here on this branch.” “You never know who it’s goin to ‘appen to next,” said the first. “Even when it was nice and warm and the sunshine gave you some heat you get a storm or a cloudburst sometimes, and lots of us got torn off then, even them that were still young. You never know who it’s goin to ‘appen to next.” “You don’t get much sunshine these days,” the second leaf sighed, “and even when the sun does shine there’s no strength to it. You’ve got to get your strength from somewhere else.” “Do you think it’s true,” pondered the first, “is it true that other leaves will come along and take our place once we’ve gone, and then another lot, and then another lot ...?” “Course it’s true,” whispered the second, “only, we can’t work out how ... it’s above what we can understand, that is.” “It’d make you really sad, and all,” the first added.
  • 33. They remained silent for a while. Then the first said quietly to himself, “What do you have to go away for, anyway?” The second asked, “What ‘appens to us after we’ve fallen?” “We sink down ...” “And what is it, what’s down there?” The first answered, “I don’t know. Some say one thing, others say something different ... nobody knows, really.” The second asked, “D’you think you feel anything, d’you think you know anything about yourself when you’re down there?” The first answered, “Who can say? None of them who’ve gone down there has ever come back to tell us.” They were again silent for a while. Then the first leaf said tenderly to the other, “Don’t get yourself all upset about it, here, you’re shivering, look.” “Oh don’t bother about that,” the second answered, “anything makes me shiver these days. You just don’t feel properly attached to where you are, do you.” “We’d better stop talking about things like that,” said the first leaf. “Yeah, we’d better leave it,” the other replied. “Only ... what we going to talk about now then?” They became silent, but after a short time resumed the subject. “Who d’you think’s going to be the first of us to go down there, then...?” “It won’t be for a while yet,” the first reassured him. “Let’s just think about how beautiful it used to be, how wonderfully beautiful! When the sun came out and burned us so hot it seemed we’d just swell up
  • 34. with all the good health it gave us. Remember? And then there was the dew, early in the morning ... and the lime trees, wonderful nights ...” “The nights are horrible now,” whined the second. “They never seem to come to an end.” “We can’t complain,” said the first leaf gently, “we’ve lived longer than so many others.” “Have I changed much?” the second leaf asked, shyly but emphatically. “Not a bit,” the first assured him. “What, ‘cause I’ve gone all yellow and ugly? No, it’s gone a bit different for me ...” “Oh, give over,” the second contradicted. “No, honest,” the first repeated emphatically. “It’s true, what I’m telling you. You’re as lovely as you as you were on the very first day. Might be a few yellow stripes here and there, but not so’s you’d notice, but they just make you look all the lovelier. Honest!” “Well, thank you,” the second leaf whispered, feeling quite touched. “I’m not sure I believe you ... well not everything ... but thank you for it. You are so good to me ... and you always ‘ave been ... it’s only now that I’m starting to understand how good you’ve always been to me.” “Oh, stop it now,” said the first, and became silent himself. He could not talk any more because he was upset. Now they were both silent. The hours passed. A damp wind blew cold and hostile through the tree tops. “Oh ... now ...” said the second leaf, “... I ...” His voice broke off. He was gently removed from his place and fluttered down to the earth.
  • 35. - Winter had come.
  • 36. CHAPTER 10 Bambi noticed that the world had changed. It was hard for him to get by in this altered world. They had all been living like rich people and now they began to find themselves in poverty. But wealth was all that Bambi had ever known. He took it as a matter of course to be surrounded by the greatest excess and the finest luxury on all sides, to have no worries about finding food, to sleep in a beautiful room hung with green that no-one could see into, and to walk about in a majestically smooth, glossy, red coat. Everything was different now, and he had not really noticed it, not properly. The change which had taken place had been, for him, just a sequence of short-lived appearances. He found it entertaining when milky-white veils of mist drew the morning dampness up from the meadow, or when they would suddenly sink down from the twilight sky. They were so beautiful as they dissipated in the sunlight. He liked the frost too, which surprised him when he saw the ground and the meadow strewn with white. He spent much time luxuriating in the sound of his grown-up relatives, the stags, as they shouted. The whole forest would rumble from the voices of these kings. Bambi would listen and be very afraid, but his heart would thump in admiration whenever he heard this thunderous call. He thought about the crowns worn by these kings, so big and with so many branches, like a majestic oak, and he would think their voices were just as powerful as their crowns. Their imperious commands rolled out in the deepest tones, the monstrous groans of noble blood as it rushed around their bodies and seethed with the ancient power of yearning, haughtiness and pride. Whenever Bambi heard these voices he felt overwhelmed by them, but he was proud to have such distinguished relatives. At the same time he felt a peculiar, excited irritation at their being so unapproachable. That hurt him, that
  • 37. humiliated him, although he did not know exactly why or how, or even how he could come any closer to knowing. It was only when the kings’ time for lovemaking was over, and their thunderous cries went silent, that Bambi started paying attention to other things once more. When he walked through the woods by night or lay in his room by day he heard the whisperings of the leaves as they fell through the trees. The rustling sounds, as they trickled down through the air from every tree top, every twig, were incessant. The gentle, silvery light of the moon ran continuously down to the earth. It was wonderful to wake up to it, and it was delicious to go to sleep with this mysterious, sad whispering. The leaves at that time lay deep and loose on the ground, and when you walked through them they crackled loudly and they rustled quietly. It was fun to have to push them aside with each step because their layers were so deep. They made a shhh-shhh noise that was very fine, very light and silvery. This was also very useful, as during these times there was no need to make great effort with listening and smelling. Everything could be heard from a long way off. The leaves rustled from the slightest movement, they cried out Shhh! Who could possibly sneak up on you? No-one. But then came the rain. From early morning to late in the evening it poured down, it struck and splattered from late in the evening and all through the night until back to the morning, eased off for a little while and then began again with new strength. The air seemed full of cold water, the whole world seemed full of it. Your mouth was filled with water if you only tried to gather a few blades of grass and if you pulled at a bush then water would gush down into your eyes and up your nose. The leaves on the ground no longer rustled. They lay there soft and heavy, pressed down by the rain, and made no sound at all. Bambi, for the first time, learned how vexing it was to have water streaming down on you all through the day and all through the night and to be soaked to the skin. He was still not very cold, but he yearned for warmth and he thought it was miserable to have to move about while soaked through and through.
  • 38. But then, when the stormy weather came down from the north, Bambi learnt what it really means to be cold. It was little help to cuddle up close to his mother. At first, of course, he liked it very much to lie there and be nice and warm, at least on one side. But the stormy winds raged all through the night and all through the day and all through the forest. It seemed to be driven by an incomprehensible, ice-cold fury, an insane rage that wanted to tear all the trees up by the roots and carry them away or to destroy them in some other way. The trees roared as they put up powerful resistance, they fought bravely against this immense attack. You could hear their long drawn out groans, the sighs of their creaking, there was a loud bang when one of their mighty boughs split, the angry crack when, here and there, the trunk of a tree would break, the cry of pain from all its wounds as its body was overpowered, split and killed. But then it became impossible to hear anything more, as the storm fell onto the forest with even greater violence and its roars drowned out any other voice. Bambi now understood that a period of need and poverty had begun. He saw how much the rain and the storms had changed the world. There were now no leaves on any of the trees or bushes. They stood there robbed of all they had, their whole body was naked and could be clearly seen, they looked pitiful as they stretched their naked, brown arms up to the sky. The grass on the meadow was limp and dark brown and so short it seemed to have been burnt to the ground. Even the place where Bambi and his mother slept seemed pitiful and bare now. Since its green walls had disappeared it offered no privacy, and the wind blew in from every side. One day a young magpie flew over the meadow. Something white and cold fell into her eye, then another, then another, and laid a light veil over her sight. Little, soft, dazzling-white flakes were dancing all around her. The magpie flapped her wings and nearly stopped, but then directed herself upward and went higher in the sky. In vain! The soft, cool flakes were there again and again they fell onto her
  • 39. and into her eyes. Once again she directed herself upward and rose even higher. “Just don’t bother, love,” called a crow from above her who was flying in the same direction, “just give it up. You can’t fly high enough to get out of these flakes. That’s snow, i’n’it.” “Snow?” said the magpie in amazement as she struggled against each new flurry that came at her. “Well, yeah!” said the crow. “Winter’s here. That’s snow, that is!” “Forgive me,” answered the magpie, “I only left the nest in May. I don’t know what winter’s like.” “Yeah, there’s a lot like that,” the crow observed. “You’ll soon find out though.” “Well, if that’s what snow is,” thought the magpie, “I’d like to sit down for a little while.” She went down and sat on a twig on an alder tree and shook herself. The crow flew lazily on. At first, Bambi was pleased to see the snow. The air was still and mild, the white stars floated in the sky and everything in the world looked entirely new. It had become lighter, even gayer, thought Bambi, and for the brief periods when the sun came out everything lit up, the white covering sparkled and shone with such power that it was quite dazzling. But Bambi soon stopped being pleased about the snow, as it was becoming harder and harder to find food. You had to scrape the snow aside and that took a lot of effort before a small patch of limp grass was exposed. And the snow cut into your legs too, so that you had to be careful not to get your feet injured. Gobo already had
  • 40. done. But, of course, that is what Gobo was like, he was never able to endure very much, and he caused his mother a lot of worry. They were together now for almost all of the time, and they also had more company than previously. Ena would often call by with her children. Marena, a girl who was nearly grown up, had also begun to mix in their circle. But it was probably old Mrs. Nettla who came by for a chat most often. She was quite alone and had an opinion about everything. “No,” she said, “I want to have nothing more to do with children. That’s a pleasure that I’ve really had enough of.” Then Faline would always say, “Why’s that then, when it’s a pleasure?” And Mrs. Nettla would pretend to be cross and say, “It’s a bad sort of pleasure, and I’ve had enough of it. Everyone enjoyed chatting very much. They sat next to each other and talked. The children had never had as much to listen to. Even one or two of the princes came and kept company with them now. At first it felt a little awkward, especially as the children were still somewhat shy with them. But that passed quite quickly and then there was a pleasant atmosphere. Bambi admired Prince Ronno, who was an impressive gentleman, and he felt a tempestuous love for the young, beautiful Karus. They had cast off their crowns and Bambi would often stare at the two round, slate-grey discs on their heads where glamour, splendour and many tender points could be seen. Karus seemed very elegant and distinguished. It was tremendously exciting when one of the princes would tell him about what had happened to him. On Ronno’s left foreleg there was a big lump which was now overgrown with fur. He would often ask, “Have you ever noticed how I limp on this leg?” Everyone was prompt to assure him that no-one had ever noticed any limp at all. That was what Ronno wanted to hear. And it really was true to say that it was barely noticeable. “Yes,” he would then continue, “I escaped from something very dangerous that day.” And so Ronno would go on to recount how he had been taken by surprise by Him
  • 41. and hurled fire at him. But he was only hit here on his leg. It hurt so much it could drive you mad. But it was only here, on his leg, that he had been hit. It hurt nearly enough to drive him crazy. No wonder. The bone had been shattered. But Ronno did not panic. He got up and went, on just three legs. He kept going despite the pain, as he was well aware that he was being chased. He ran and ran until night fell. Then he allowed himself some rest. But the following morning he moved on again until he felt he was in safety. Then he groomed himself, hidden and alone, and waited for the wound to close up. Eventually he came out of his place of safety and he was a hero. He had a limp, but that was barely noticeable. Now, when they were all together in one place so often and for so long, when so many stories were told, Bambi heard more about Him than he ever had before. They talked about how horrible he was to look at. Nobody could bear looking into this pale face. This was something that Bambi already knew from his own experience. They even talked about the smell of him that spread all around, and here, too, Bambi would have been able to contribute to the discussion if he had not been too well brought up to join in with the conversations of grown ups. They said this scent was of a rather puzzling sort, always changing but instantly recognizable as it was always remarkably stimulating, unidentifiable, mysterious, but in itself rather disgusting. They talked about Him only needing two legs to walk on and about the wonderful strength of both his hands. Some of them did not exactly know what hands are. But Mrs. Nettla explained it to them. “I don’t see anything surprising about it. The squirrel can do everything you’ve just mentioned and does it in just the way he wants to, and every little mouse can do the same.” She turned her head disrespectfully away from them. “Oh!” the others exclaimed and they made her understand that it’s far from being the same thing. But Mrs. Nettla was not to be intimidated. “And what about the falcon?” she declared, “what about the buzzard? And the owl? They’ve only got two legs, and when they want to take hold of something, as you call it, they just stand on one leg and hold it with the other. That’s a lot harder to do, and I’m sure He can’t do it. “Mrs.
  • 42. Nettla was not in any way inclined to admire anything about Him. She hated him with all her heart. “He’s disgusting,” she said, and nothing would change her mind. And there was nobody who contradicted her, as there was nobody who found Him very lovable. But the matter became even more confusing as they talked about it, saying He had a third hand, not just two hands but a third hand as well. Mrs. Nettla’s reply was curt. “That’s just an old wives’ tale,” she concluded. “I just don’t believe it.” Now Ronno joined in. “So what?” he asked, “and what do you think it was that He used to shatter my leg? Just tell me that, will you!” Mrs. Nettla gave a glib retort. “That’s your affair, my love! He’s never shattered anything of mine.” Auntie Ena said, “I’ve seen lots of different things in my life, and I think there must be something in it if he insists He’s got a third hand.” Young Karus observed politely, “I can only agree with you there. There’s a crow who’s a friend of mine ...” He stopped in embarrassment for a short while and looked at all the people there as if he were afraid of being laughed at. But when he saw that they were listening to him and giving him all their attention, he continued. “The crow is exceptionally talented, I can’t deny that, she’s astonishingly talented. She told me that He really does have three hands, but not all the time. It’s that third hand, the crow told me, that’s the nasty one. It doesn’t grow out of Him like the other two; He carries it hanging on his shoulder. The crow says she can always tell whether He or any of his kind is dangerous or not. If He comes along without that third hand then He isn’t dangerous.” Mrs. Nettla laughed. “This crow of yours is just stupid, Karus, take it from me, my love. If she was as clever as she thinks she is she’d know that He’s always dangerous –always!”
  • 43. But the others had something to say too. “But there are some of them who are not dangerous at all,” Bambi’s mother thought. “You can see it straight away.” “So what?” asked Mrs. Nettla. “Do you just stand there till they come up to you and say hello to them?” Bambi’s mother answered softly, “Of course I don’t just stand there, I run away.” And Faline burst out with, “You should always run away!” Everyone laughed. They continued talking about this third hand, and as they did so they became more serious and the sense of the horror of it came among them. Whatever it was, a third hand or something different, it was something terrible, something they could not understand. Most of them knew about it only from what they had been told by others, but some of them had seen it with their own eyes. He would stand there, a long way off, without moving, there was no way of explaining what He did or how it happened, but there would suddenly be a bang like thunder, fire sprayed out, and even at that distance from Him you would collapse with your breast torn open, and you would die. They all lowered their heads while she told them this as if they were pressed down by some dark force that had some inexplicable power over them. They listened eagerly to the many different accounts of seeing Him, and every story was full of horror, full of blood and suffering. They took all this in and still wanted to hear more of what was being said. Stories that must have been made up, all the fairy tales and legends they had heard from their grandfathers and great-grandfathers, and as they listened they unconsciously learned, while still afraid, about how to make peace with this dark world or, at least, to run away from it. “How does that happen, asked young Karus, quite dispirited, “that He can be so far away and still knock you down?” “Didn’t your clever crow explain that to you?” sneered Mrs. Nettla.
  • 44. “No,” said Karus with a smile, “she says she’s often seen it, but no- one knows how to explain it.” “Well, He can even knock the crows down from the tree when He feels like it,” observed Ronno. “And He knocks the pheasants down from the sky,” Auntie Ena added. Bambi’s mother said, “He throws His hand out there. That’s what my grandmother told me.” “Does He really?” Mrs. Nettla asked. “And what is it that makes that horrible thunderous noise then?” “When His hand tears itself away from His body,” Bambi’s mother explained, “there’s a flash of fire and it makes a bang like thunder. On the inside that’s all He is, just fire.” “Excuse me,” said Ronno. “There is some truth in saying He’s nothing but fire on the inside, but it’s wrong to say it’s His hand He uses. A strike from a hand could never cause injuries like that. You can see it for yourselves. It’s much more likely to be a tooth that He throws at us. Think about it, that would explain a lot. And so you die because He bites you.” Young Karus breathed a deep sigh. “Will He never stop chasing us down?” Then Marena spoke, the girl was now nearly an adult. “That means that one day He’ll come and join us and be as gentle as we are. He’ll play games with us, everyone in the forest will be happy and we’ll make peace together.” Mrs. Nettla shrieked with laughter. “It’s best if He just stays where he is and leaves us alone!”
  • 45. “You shouldn’t say things like that,” Auntie Ena admonished her.” “And why not then?” retorted Mrs. Nettla as she became more heated. “That’s really not something I could imagine. Make peace with Him! He’s been murdering us for as long as we’ve been able to think, and our sisters and our mothers and our brothers! For all the time we’ve been in the world He never leaves us in peace, He kills us whenever he sees us ... and you want to make peace with him? That’s just so stupid!” Marena looked at everyone with her gently sparkling eyes wide open. “There’s nothing stupid about making peace,” she said. “We’ve got to make peace.” “I’m going to get something to eat,” said Mrs. Nettla as she turned round and ran off.
  • 46. CHAPTER 11 The winter went on. Sometimes it became milder, but then the snow would come again, and each time it did it lay higher on the ground so that it was impossible to scrape it away. Worst of all was when it became warm enough for it to thaw, and then the snow that had melted into water would freeze when the night came. Then there would be a thin layer of ice which you could easily slip on. It would also often break, so that the sharp splinters would cut the deers’ tender fetlocks, cut them bloody. But now there was a hard frost which had lasted for days. The air was clean and thin such as it never had been before and the frost was full of strength. It began to tinkle with a sound that was fine and high. It was so cold that the air sang. Everything was quiet in the forest, but something shocking happened every day. One time, the crows attacked the hare’s little son, who was already lying down ill, and killed him in a gruesome way. His cries of pain were long and pitiful and could be heard by all. Bambi’s friend, the hare, was away at the time but when he heard the sad news he could not contain himself. Another time, the squirrel was running around with a serious wound on his neck from where the polecat had bitten him. By some miracle the squirrel had been able to get away from him. He could not speak because of the pain but he ran between all the twigs and branches. Everyone could see it. He ran like a madman. From time to time he would stop, sit down, raise his forepaws in confusion, take hold of his head in his shock and his suffering, and as he did so his blood gushed over his white breast and turned it red. He ran around like this for an hour, then he suddenly collapsed, fell hard against the branches of the tree and fell, dying, into the snow. A pair of magpies immediately came down on him and began their feasting. There was also the
  • 47. time when the fox attacked the pheasant and tore him to bits, even though everyone liked and respected the pheasant for his beauty and his strength. His death was a cause for concern far and wide, and everyone felt sorry for his inconsolable widow. The fox had snatched the pheasant out of the snow he had settled in and where he thought he was well hidden. No-one could feel safe any more, as all these things happened in broad daylight. It seemed that the penury they were suffering would never come to an end, and it spread bitterness and ruthlessness all around. It made all experience worthless, it undermined the conscience, destroyed all trust and all good manners. There was no mercy any more, no peace, no holding back. “It’s impossible even to think that it might ever get any better,” Bambi’s mother sighed. Auntie Ena sighed too. “And it’s impossible to think that it ever was any better.” “Don’t be silly,” said Marena looking straight ahead. “I think about how lovely it used to be all the time!” “Listen,” Mrs. Nettla said to Auntie Ena. “Your little one is shivering, isn’t he!” And she pointed to Gobo. “Does he always shiver like that?” “Sad to say,” answered Auntie Ena, somewhat worried, “he’s been shivering like that for several days now.” “Well then,” said Mrs. Nettla in the open way she had of saying things, “I’m only glad I haven’t got any children any more. If he was my little one I’d be worried about whether he gets through the winter.” Gobo indeed did not look well. He was weak, he had always been less strong than Bambi or Faline and had not grown as fast as those two. But now, he looked worse from day to day. He could not keep
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