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Mastering Linux Administration
Copyright © 2024 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher,
except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information
presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or
implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing or its dealers and distributors, will be held liable for
any damages caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and
products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot
guarantee the accuracy of this information.

Group Product Manager: Pavan Ramchandani

Publishing Product Manager: Prachi Sawant

Book Project Manager: Ashwini Gowda

Senior Editors: Shruti Menon and Adrija Mitra

Technical Editor: Irfa Ansari

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First published: June 2021

Second edition: March 2024

Production reference: 1230224

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

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B3 1RB, UK.

ISBN 978-1-83763-069-1

www.packtpub.com
This is to everyone who did not believe in me, and to everyone who believed in me.
To my mother and father, my twin sister, my beloved Uca, and my truthful friends.
 In memory of my late grandfather, Miron, who would have loved to see this new book finished
before he passed away.

Contributors

About the author

Alexandru Calcatinge is an open-minded architect with a background in computer science and
mathematics. He is a senior university lecturer with a PhD in urban planning from Ion Mincu
University of Architecture and Urban Planning and a postgraduate degree in DevOps from Caltech’s
Center for Technology and Management Education (CTME). He teaches students about architectural
programming and development and open source technologies. He has authored five books on
architecture and urban planning and numerous scientific articles on urban and rural development.
Alex was certified as a Linux trainer in 2017. He loves the DevOps philosophy and the possibilities
that cloud technologies bring for the future. He is also a certified programming analyst, computer
network administrator, trainer, designer, and life coach.
 I want to thank the people who have been close to me and supported me unconditionally,
especially my parents, my twin sister, and my friends. I want to express my deepest gratitude to
my one and only Uca for sticking by my side during a time of turmoil, and for her constant
support and trust in me.

Julian Balog is a senior software engineer with more than 15 years of experience in the industry.
Currently, his work primarily focuses on application delivery controllers, containerized workflows,
networking, and security. With a never-ending passion for Linux and open-source technologies,
Julian is always in pursuit of learning new things while solving problems and making things work
through simple, efficient, and practical engineering. He lives with his wife, two children, and an
Aussie-doodle in the greater Seattle area, Washington.
 The authors would like to thank the wonderful editorial and production team at Packt for their
professional leadership, dedication, and guidance throughout the writing of this book. We are
indebted to them for many helpful suggestions and the comprehensive revision of the drafts. We
are also grateful to the reviewers for their critical comments. We could not have hoped for a
better team and support.

About the reviewers

Himanshu Sharma has nearly 18 years of experience in designing, architecting, and developing
cloud and network software. He previously worked for some of the biggest companies such as
Brocade and Juniper and start-ups such as Netskope. Currently, he is working with Netskope as a
Principal Engineer, responsible for Netskope’s security service offering. He designed, architected,
and developed Netskope’s advanced threat protection services from the ground up. He has a keen
interest and experience in developing scalable cloud services with cutting-edge technologies. His
favorite hobbies are skiing and playing video games.
I would like to thank my wife, Puja, who gave me all her support, and my two loving and
beautiful daughters, Navya and Jaanvi.
 Also, I want to thank my brother, Sudhanshu, for always having my back, and my parents for all
their sacrifices to get me where I am today.

Dennis Salamanca is a passionate technology enthusiast with a solid track record of over 12 years in
the IT industry. Throughout his career, he has had the privilege of working with renowned industry
leaders such as Amazon, VMware, Microsoft, and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. His dedication to
continuous learning is reflected in an extensive collection of over 15 technical certifications spanning
various domains including cloud, storage, Linux, Kubernetes, and virtualization. Notably, he is
actively involved in the development team for Linux+ and Cloud+ certifications and proudly
contributes as a member of the esteemed CompTIA Linux and Cloud Subject Matter Experts and
Technical Advisory Committee.
I would like to acknowledge my wife and family for all their support over these years. Without
their motivation and support, nothing would’ve been possible.
Table of Contents

Preface
Part 1: Basic Linux Administration

Installing Linux
Technical requirements
Introducing the Linux operating system
Exploring Linux distributions
Choosing a Linux distribution
Installing Linux – the basics
How to install Linux on bare metal
Linux in a VM
VM provisioning using Hyper-V
VM provisioning using Oracle’s VirtualBox
Enabling Windows Subsystem for Linux
Installing Linux – the advanced stages
The Linux boot process
PXE network boot explained
Linux distributions – a practical guide
Case study – development workstation
Case study – secure web server
Use case – personal blog
Use case – media server
Summary
Questions
Further reading

2
The Linux Shell and Filesystem
Technical requirements
Introducing the Linux shell
Establishing the shell connection
The command-line prompt
Shell command types
Explaining the command structure
Consulting the manual
The Linux filesystem
Directory structure
Working with files and directories
Understanding file paths
Basic file operations
Commands for file viewing
Commands for file properties
Using text editors to create and edit files
Using Vim to edit text files
The nano text editor
Summary
Questions
Further reading

Linux Software Management

Technical requirements
Linux software package types
The DEB and RPM package types
The snap and flatpak package types
Managing software packages
Managing DEB packages
Managing RPM packages
Using the snap and flatpak packages
Installing new desktop environments in Linux
Installing KDE Plasma on Fedora Linux
Summary
Questions
Further reading

Managing Users and Groups

Technical requirements
Managing users
Understanding sudo
Creating, modifying, and deleting users
Managing groups
Creating, modifying, and deleting groups
Managing permissions
File and directory permissions
Summary
Questions
Further reading

Working with Processes, Daemons, and Signals

Technical requirements
Introducing processes
Understanding process types
The anatomy of a process
Working with processes
Using the ps command
Using the pstree command
Using the top command
Using the kill and killall commands
Using the pgrep and pkill commands
Working with daemons
Working with systemd daemons
Explaining inter-process communication
Working with signals
Summary
Questions
Further reading
Part 2: Advanced Linux Administration

Working with Disks and Filesystems

Technical requirements
Understanding devices in Linux
Linux abstraction layers
Device files and naming conventions
Understanding filesystem types in Linux
Understanding disks and partitions
Common disk types
Partitioning disks
Introducing LVM in Linux
LVM snapshots
Summary
Questions
Further reading

Networking with Linux

Technical requirements
Exploring basic networking
Computer networks
The OSI model
The TCP/IP network stack model
TCP/IP protocols
IP addresses
Sockets and ports
Linux network configuration
Working with network services
DHCP servers
DNS servers
Authentication servers
File sharing
Printer servers
File transfer
Mail servers
NTP servers
Remote access
Understanding network security
Summary
Questions
Further reading

Linux Shell Scripting

Technical requirements
Exploring the Linux shell
Bash shell features
Bash shell variables
Basics of shell scripting
Creating a shell script file
Variables in shell scripts
Using mathematical expressions in shell scripts
Using programming structures
Using arrays in Bash
Reading input data
Formatting output data
Understanding exit statuses and testing structures
Using conditional if statements
Using looping statements
Working with functions
Using sed and (g)awk commands
Using scripts to showcase interprocess communication
Shared storage
Unnamed pipes
Named pipes
Sockets
Scripting for administrative tasks
Creating scripts for system administrative tasks
Packaging scripts
Summary
Questions
Further reading

Securing Linux
Technical requirements
Understanding Linux security
Introducing SELinux
Working with SELinux
Introducing AppArmor
Working with AppArmor
Final considerations
Working with firewalls
Understanding the firewall chain
Introducing Netfilter
Working with iptables
Introducing nftables
Using firewall managers
Summary
Exercises
Further reading

10

Disaster Recovery, Diagnostics, and Troubleshooting

Technical requirements
Planning for disaster recovery
A brief introduction to risk management
Risk calculation
Designing a DRP
Backing up and restoring the system
Disk cloning solutions
Introducing common Linux diagnostic tools for troubleshooting
Tools for troubleshooting boot issues
Tools for troubleshooting general system issues
Tools for troubleshooting network issues
Tools for troubleshooting hardware issues
Summary
Questions
Further reading
Part 3: Server Administration

11

Working with Virtual Machines

Technical requirements
Introduction to virtualization on Linux
Efficiency in resource usage
Introduction to hypervisors
Understanding Linux KVMs
Choosing the hypervisor
Using the KVM hypervisor
Working with basic KVM commands
Creating a VM using the command line
Basic VM management
Advanced KVM management
Connecting to a VM
Cloning VMs
Creating VM templates
Obtaining VM and host resource information
Managing VM resource usage
Provisioning VMs using cloud-init
Understanding how cloud-init works
Installing and configuring cloud-init
Public key authentication with SSH
Summary
Exercises
Further reading
12

Managing Containers with Docker

Technical requirements
Understanding Linux containers
Comparing containers and VMs
Understanding the underlying container technology
Understanding Docker
Working with Docker
Which Docker version to choose?
Installing Docker
Using some Docker commands
Managing Docker containers
Working with Dockerfiles
Building container images from Dockerfiles
Deploying a containerized application with Docker
Deploying a website using Docker
Summary
Questions
Further reading

13

Configuring Linux Servers

Technical requirements
Introducing Linux services
Setting up SSH
Installing and configuring OpenSSH on Ubuntu
Setting up a DNS server
Caching a DNS service
Creating a primary DNS server
Setting up a secondary DNS server
Setting up a DHCP server
Setting up an NFS server
Installing and configuring the NFS server
Configuring the NFS client
Testing the NFS setup
Setting up a Samba file server
Installing and configuring Samba
Creating Samba users
Accessing the Samba shares
Summary
Questions
Further reading
Part 4: Cloud Administration

14

Short Introduction to Cloud Computing

Technical requirements
Introduction to cloud technologies
Exploring the cloud computing standards
Understanding the architecture of the cloud
Knowing the key features of cloud computing
Introducing IaaS solutions
Amazon EC2
Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines
Other strong IaaS offerings
Introducing PaaS solutions
Amazon Elastic Beanstalk
Google App Engine
DigitalOcean App Platform
Open source PaaS solutions
Introducing CaaS solutions
Introducing the Kubernetes container orchestration solution
Deploying containers in the cloud
Introducing microservices
Introducing DevOps
Exploring cloud management tools
Ansible
Puppet
Chef Infra
Summary
Further reading

15

Deploying to the Cloud with AWS and Azure

Technical requirements
Working with AWS EC2
Introducing and creating AWS EC2 instances
Introducing AWS EC2 placement groups
Using AWS EC2 instances
Working with the AWS CLI
Working with Microsoft Azure
Creating and deploying a virtual machine
Connecting with SSH to a virtual machine
Managing virtual machines
Working with the Azure CLI
Summary
Questions
Further reading

16

Deploying Applications with Kubernetes

Technical requirements
Introducing Kubernetes
Understanding the Kubernetes architecture
Introducing the Kubernetes object model
The anatomy of a Kubernetes cluster
Installing and configuring Kubernetes
Installing Kubernetes on a desktop
Installing Kubernetes on VMs
Working with Kubernetes
Using kubectl
Deploying applications
Running Kubernetes in the cloud
Summary
Questions
Further reading

17

Infrastructure and Automation with Ansible

Technical requirements
Introducing Ansible architecture and configuration management
Understanding the Ansible architecture
Introducing configuration management
Installing Ansible
Installing Ansible on Ubuntu
Installing Ansible using pip
Working with Ansible
Setting up the lab environment
Configuring Ansible
Using Ansible ad hoc commands
Exploring Ansible modules
Using Ansible playbooks
Using templates with Jinja2
Creating Ansible roles
Summary
Questions
Further reading

Index

Other Books You May Enjoy

Preface
Mastering Linux Administration provides the ultimate coverage of modern server and cloud
administration technologies.

Technology evolves at an unprecedented speed, and Linux and related technologies are at the
forefront of innovation. This makes it really hard to keep up and learn new things. Present Linux
administrators need to know about more than just Linux, thus containerization and cloud
technologies are essential for the future DevOps expert.

Linux is the operating system that powers almost everything, from IoT to personal computers to
servers, and is the foundation for all cloud technologies. It enables you to master the cloud through
the power of the command line.

You will begin by learning about the command line, working with files, processes, users, packages,
and filesystems, then you will begin administering network services and hardening security, and
finally, you will learn about cloud computing, containers, and orchestration. You will learn how to
work at the command line, learn about the most important Linux commands, and master users,
processes, and services administration. You will also learn how to harden Linux security using
iptables. At the end, you will work with containers, hypervisors, virtual machines, Ansible, and
Kubernetes and learn how to deploy Linux on AWS and Azure. By the end of this book, you will
have mastered Linux and you will be confident in working with Linux from bare metal to the cloud,
in a pure DevOps fashion.
Other documents randomly have
different content
 CHAPTER VII
Another night passed and morning brought an event.
It was a cloudless morning, dewy and fresh. All the leaves on the
trees and the bushes seemed suddenly to smell sweeter. The
meadows sent up great clouds of perfume to the tree-tops.
“Peep!” said the tit-mice when they awoke. They said it very
softly. But since it was still gray dawn they said nothing else for a
while. For a time it was perfectly still. Then a crow’s hoarse, rasping
caw sounded far above in the sky. The crows had awakened and
were visiting one another in the tree-tops. The magpie answered at
once, “Shackarakshak! Did you think I was still asleep?” Then a
hundred small voices started in very softly here and there. “Peep!
peep! tiu!” Sleep and the dark were still in these sounds. And they
came from far apart.
Suddenly a blackbird flew to the top of a beech. She perched way
up on the topmost twig that stuck up thin against the sky and sat
there watching how, far away over the trees, the night-weary, pale-
gray heavens were glowing in the distant east and coming to life.
Then she commenced to sing.
Her little black body seemed only a tiny dark speck at that
distance. She looked like a dead leaf. But she poured out her song in
a great flood of rejoicing through the whole forest. And everything
began to stir. The finches warbled, the little red-throat and the gold
finch were heard. The doves rushed from place to place with a loud
clapping and rustling of wings. The pheasants cackled as though their
throats would burst. The noise of their wings, as they flew from their
roosts to the ground, was soft but powerful. They kept uttering their
metallic, splintering call with its soft ensuing chuckle. Far above the
falcons cried sharply and joyously, “Yayaya!”
The sun rose.
 “Diu diyu!” the yellow-bird rejoiced. He flew to and fro among the
branches, and his round, yellow body flashed in the morning light like
a winged ball of gold.
Bambi walked under the great oak on the meadow. It sparkled
with dew. It smelled of grass and flowers and moist earth, and
whispered of a thousand living things. Friend Hare was there and
seemed to be thinking over something important. A haughty
pheasant strutted slowly by, nibbling at the grass seeds and peering
cautiously in all directions. The dark, metallic blue on his neck
gleamed in the sun.
One of the Princes was standing close to Bambi. Bambi had never
seen any of the fathers so close before. The stag was standing right
in front of him next to the hazel bush and was somewhat hidden by
the branches. Bambi did not move. He wanted the Prince to come out
completely, and was wondering whether he dared speak to him. He
wanted to ask his mother and looked around for her. But his mother
had already gone away and was standing some distance off, beside
Aunt Ena. At the same time Gobo and Faline came running out of the
woods. Bambi was still thinking it over without stirring. If he went up
to his mother and the others now he would have to pass by the
Prince. He felt as if he couldn’t do it.
“O well,” he thought, “I don’t have to ask my mother first. The old
Prince spoke to me and I didn’t tell Mother anything about it. I’ll say,
‘Good morning, Prince.’ He can’t be offended at that. But if he does
get angry, I’ll run away fast.” Bambi struggled with his resolve which
began to waver again.
Presently the Prince walked out from behind the hazel bush onto
the meadow.
“Now,” thought Bambi.
Then there was a crash like thunder.
Bambi shrank together and didn’t know what had happened. He
saw the Prince leap into the air under his very nose and watched him
rush past him into the forest with one great bound.
 Bambi looked around in a daze. The thunder still vibrated. He saw
how his mother and Aunt Ena, Gobo and Faline fled into the woods.
He saw how Friend Hare scurried away like mad. He saw the
pheasant running with his neck outstretched. He noticed that the
forest grew suddenly still. He started and sprang into the thicket. He
had made only a few bounds when he saw the Prince lying on the
ground in front of him, motionless. Bambi stopped horrified, not
understanding what it meant. The Prince lay bleeding from a great
wound in his shoulder. He was dead.
“Don’t stop!” a voice beside him commanded. It was his mother
who rushed past him at full gallop. “Run,” she cried. “Run as fast as
you can!” She did not slow up, but raced ahead, and her command
brought Bambi after her. He ran with all his might.
“What is it, Mother?” he asked. “What is it, Mother?”
His mother answered between gasps, “It—was—He!”
Bambi shuddered and they ran on. At last they stopped for lack of
breath.
“What did you say? Tell me, what it was you said,” a soft voice
called down from overhead. Bambi looked up. The squirrel came
chattering through the branches.
“I ran the whole way with you,” he cried. “It was dreadful.”
“Were you there?” asked the mother.
“Of course I was there,” the squirrel replied. “I am still trembling
in every limb.” He sat erect, balancing with his splendid tail,
displaying his small white chest, and holding his forepaws
protestingly against his body. “I’m beside myself with excitement,” he
said.
“I’m quite weak from fright myself,” said the mother. “I don’t
understand it. Not one of us saw a thing.”
“Is that so?” the squirrel said pettishly. “I saw Him long before.”
 “So did I,” another voice cried. It was the magpie. She flew past
and settled on a branch.
“So did I,” came a croak from above. It was the jay who was
sitting on an ash.
A couple of crows in the tree-tops cawed harshly, “We saw Him,
too.”
They all sat around talking importantly. They were unusually
excited and seemed to be full of anger and fear.
“Whom?” Bambi thought. “Whom did they see?”
“I tried my best,” the squirrel was saying, pressing his forepaws
protestingly against his heart. “I tried my best to warn the poor
Prince.”
“And I,” the jay rasped. “How often did I scream? But he didn’t
care to hear me.”
“He didn’t hear me either,” the magpie croaked. “I called him at
least ten times. I wanted to fly right past him, for, thought I, he
hasn’t heard me yet; I’ll fly to the hazel bush where he’s standing. He
can’t help hearing me there. But at that minute it happened.”
“My voice is probably louder than yours, and I warned him as well
as I could,” the crow said in an impudent tone. “But gentlemen of
that stamp pay little attention to the likes of us.”
“Much too little, really,” the squirrel agreed.
“Well, we did what we could,” said the magpie. “We’re certainly
not to blame when an accident happens.”
“Such a handsome Prince,” the squirrel lamented. “And in the very
prime of life.”
“Akh!” croaked the jay. “It would have been better for him if he
hadn’t been so proud and had paid more attention to us.”
“He certainly wasn’t proud.”
 “No more so than the other Princes of his family,” the magpie put
in.
“Just plain stupid,” sneered the jay.
“You’re stupid yourself,” the crow cried down from overhead.
“Don’t you talk about stupidity. The whole forest knows how stupid
you are.”
“I!” replied the jay, stiff with astonishment. “Nobody can accuse
me of being stupid. I may be forgetful but I’m certainly not stupid.”
“O just as you please,” said the crow solemnly. “Forget what I said
to you, but remember that the Prince did not die because he was
proud or stupid, but because no one can escape Him.”
“Akh!” croaked the jay: “I don’t like that kind of talk.” He flew
away.
The crow went on, “He has already outwitted many of my family.
He kills what He wants. Nothing can help us.”
“You have to be on your guard against Him,” the magpie broke in.
“You certainly do,” said the crow sadly. “Good-by.” He flew off, his
family accompanying him.
Bambi looked around. His mother was no longer there.
“What are they talking about now?” thought Bambi. “I can’t
understand what they are talking about. Who is this ‘He’ they talk
about? That was He, too, that I saw in the bushes, but He didn’t kill
me.”
Bambi thought of the Prince lying in front of him with his bloody,
mangled shoulder. He was dead now. Bambi walked along. The forest
sang again with a thousand voices, the sun pierced the tree-tops with
its broad rays. There was light everywhere. The leaves began to
smell. Far above the falcons called, close at hand a woodpecker
hammered as if nothing had happened. Bambi was not happy. He felt
himself threatened by something dark. He did not understand how
the others could be so carefree and happy while life was so difficult
and dangerous. Then the desire seized him to go deeper and deeper
into the woods. They lured him into their depths. He wanted to find
some hiding place where, shielded on all sides by impenetrable
thickets, he could never be seen. He never wanted to go to the
meadow again.
Something moved very softly in the bushes. Bambi drew back
violently. The old stag was standing in front of him.
Bambi trembled. He wanted to run away, but he controlled himself
and remained. The old stag looked at him with his great deep eyes
and asked, “Were you out there before?”
“Yes,” Bambi said softly. His heart was pounding in his throat.
“Where is your mother?” asked the stag.
Bambi answered still very softly, “I don’t know.”
The old stag kept gazing at him. “And still you’re not calling for
her?” he said.
 The old stag kept gazing at him.

Bambi looked into the noble, iron-gray face, looked at the stag’s
antlers and suddenly felt full of courage. “I can stay by myself, too,”
he said.
The old stag considered him for a while; then he asked gently,
“Aren’t you the little one that was crying for his mother not long
ago?”
Bambi was somewhat embarrassed, but his courage held. “Yes, I
am,” he confessed.
 The old stag looked at him in silence and it seemed to Bambi as if
those deep eyes gazed still more mildly. “You scolded me then,
Prince,” he cried excitedly, “because I was afraid of being left alone.
Since then I haven’t been.”
The stag looked at Bambi appraisingly and smiled a very slight,
hardly noticeable smile. Bambi noticed it however. “Noble Prince,” he
asked confidently, “what has happened? I don’t understand it. Who is
this ‘He’ they are all talking about?” He stopped, terrified by the dark
glance that bade him be silent.
Another pause ensued. The old stag was gazing past Bambi into
the distance. Then he said slowly, “Listen, smell and see for yourself.
Find out for yourself.” He lifted his antlered head still higher.
“Farewell,” he said, nothing else. Then he vanished.
Bambi stood transfixed and wanted to cry. But that farewell still
rang in his ears and sustained him. Farewell, the old stag had said, so
he couldn’t have been angry.
Bambi felt himself thrill with pride, felt inspired with a deep
earnestness. Yes, life was difficult and full of danger. But come what
might he would learn to bear it all.
He walked slowly deeper into the forest.
 CHAPTER VIII
The leaves were falling from the great oak at the meadow’s edge.
They were falling from all the trees.
One branch of the oak reached high above the others and
stretched far out over the meadow. Two leaves clung to its very tip.
“It isn’t the way it used to be,” said one leaf to the other.
“No,” the other leaf answered. “So many of us have fallen off
tonight we’re almost the only ones left on our branch.”
“You never know who’s going to go next,” said the first leaf. “Even
when it was warm and the sun shone, a storm or a cloudburst would
come sometimes, and many leaves were torn off, though they were
still young. You never know who’s going to go next.”
“The sun seldom shines now,” sighed the second leaf, “and when
it does it gives no warmth. We must have warmth again.”
“Can it be true,” said the first leaf, “can it really be true, that
others come to take our places when we’re gone and after them still
others, and more and more?”
“It is really true,” whispered the second leaf. “We can’t even begin
to imagine it, it’s beyond our powers.”
“It makes me very sad,” added the first leaf.
They were silent a while. Then the first leaf said quietly to herself,
“Why must we fall?...”
The second leaf asked, “What happens to us when we have
fallen?”
“We sink down....”
“What is under us?”
 The first leaf answered, “I don’t know, some say one thing, some
another, but nobody knows.”
The second leaf asked, “Do we feel anything, do we know
anything about ourselves when we’re down there?”
The first leaf answered, “Who knows? Not one of all those down
there has ever come back to tell us about it.”
They were silent again. Then the first leaf said tenderly to the
other, “Don’t worry so much about it, you’re trembling.”
“That’s nothing,” the second leaf answered, “I tremble at the least
thing now. I don’t feel so sure of my hold as I used to.”
“Let’s not talk any more about such things,” said the first leaf.
The other replied, “No, we’ll let be. But—what else shall we talk
about?” She was silent, but went on after a little while, “Which of us
will go first?”
“There’s still plenty of time to worry about that,” the other leaf
assured her. “Let’s remember how beautiful it was, how wonderful,
when the sun came out and shone so warmly that we thought we’d
burst with life. Do you remember? And the morning dew, and the
mild and splendid nights....”
“Now the nights are dreadful,” the second leaf complained, “and
there is no end to them.”
“We shouldn’t complain,” said the first leaf gently. “We’ve outlived
many, many others.”
“Have I changed much?” asked the second leaf shyly but
determinedly.
 “Have I changed much?” asked the second leaf, shyly but
determinedly.

“Not in the least,” the first leaf assured her. “You only think so
because I’ve got to be so yellow and ugly. But it’s different in your
case.”
“You’re fooling me,” the second leaf said.
“No, really,” the first leaf exclaimed eagerly, “believe me, you’re as
lovely as the day you were born. Here and there may be a little
yellow spot but it’s hardly noticeable and only makes you handsomer,
believe me.”
 “Thanks,” whispered the second leaf, quite touched. “I don’t
believe you, not altogether, but I thank you because you’re so kind,
you’ve always been so kind to me. I’m just beginning to understand
how kind you are.”
“Hush,” said the other leaf, and kept silent herself for she was too
troubled to talk any more.
Then they were both silent. Hours passed.
A moist wind blew, cold and hostile, through the tree-tops.
“Ah, now,” said the second leaf, “I ...” Then her voice broke off.
She was torn from her place and spun down.
Winter had come.
 CHAPTER IX
Bambi noticed that the world was changed. It was hard for him to get
used to this altered world. They had all lived like rich folk and now
had fallen upon hard times. For Bambi knew nothing but abundance.
He took it for granted that he would always have plenty to eat. He
thought he would never need to trouble about food. He believed he
would always sleep in the lovely green-leafed glade where no one
could see him, and would always go about in his smooth, handsome,
glossy red coat.
Now everything was changed without his having noticed the
change take place. The process that was ending had seemed only a
series of episodes to him. It pleased him to see the milk-white veils of
mist steam from the meadow in the morning, or drop suddenly from
the gray sky at dawn. They vanished so beautifully in the sunshine.
The hoar frost that covered the meadow with such dazzling
whiteness delighted him too. Sometimes he liked to listen to his big
cousins the elks. The whole forest would tremble with their kingly
voices. Bambi used to listen and be very much frightened, but his
heart would beat high with admiration when he heard them calling.
He remembered that the kings had antlers branching like tall, strong
trees. And it seemed to him that their voices were as powerful as
their antlers. Whenever he heard the deep tones of those voices he
would stand motionless. Their deep voices rolled towards him like the
mighty moaning of noble, maddened blood whose primal power was
giving utterance to longing, rage and pride. Bambi struggled in vain
against his fears. They over-powered him whenever he heard those
voices, but he was proud to have such noble relatives. At the same
time he felt a strange sense of annoyance because they were so
unapproachable. It offended and humiliated him without his knowing
exactly how or why, even without his being particularly conscious of
it.
 It was only after the mating season had passed and the thunder
of the stags’ mighty voices had grown still, that Bambi began to
notice other things once more. At night when he roamed through the
forest or by day as he lay in the glade, he heard the falling leaves
whisper among the trees. They fluttered and rustled ceaselessly
through the air from all the tree-tops and branches. A delicate silvery
sound was falling constantly to earth. It was wonderful to awaken
amidst it, wonderful to fall asleep to this mysterious and melancholy
whispering. Soon the leaves lay thick and loose on the ground and
when you walked through them they flew about, softly rustling. It
was jolly to push them aside with every step, they were piled so high.
It made a sound like “Sh! sh!”—soft and very clear and silvery.
Besides, it was very useful, for Bambi had to be particularly careful
these days to hear and smell everything. And with the leaves you
could hear everything far off. They rustled at the slightest touch and
cried, “Sh! sh!” Nobody could steal through them.
But then the rain came. It poured down from early morning till
late at night. Sometimes it rained all night long and into the following
day. It would stop for a while and begin again with fresh strength.
The air was damp and cold, the whole world seemed full of rain. If
you tried to nibble a little meadow grass you got your mouth full of
water, or if you tugged the least little bit at a bough a whole torrent
of water poured into your eyes and nose. The leaves no longer
rustled. They lay pale and soggy on the ground, flattened by the rain
and made no sounds. Bambi discovered for the first time how
unpleasant it is to be rained on all day and all night until you are
soaked to the skin. There had not even been a frost yet, but he
longed for the warm weather and felt it was a sad business to have
to run around soaked through.
But when the north wind blew, Bambi found out what cold is. It
wasn’t much help to nestle close to his mother. Of course at first he
thought it was wonderful to lie there and keep one side warm at
least. But the north wind raged through the forest all day and all
night long. It seemed to be driven to madness by some
incomprehensible ice-cold fury, as though it wanted to tear up the
forest by its roots or annihilate it somehow. The trees groaned in
stubborn resistance, they struggled mightily against the wind’s fierce
onslaught. You could hear their long-drawn moans, their sigh-like
creakings, the loud snap when their strong limbs split, the angry
cracking when now and again a trunk broke and the vanquished tree
seemed to shriek from every wound in its rent and dying body.
Nothing else could be heard, for the storm swooped down still more
fiercely on the forest, and its roaring drowned all lesser noises.
Then Bambi knew that want and hardship had come. He saw how
much the rain and wind had changed the world. There was no longer
a leaf on tree or shrub. But all stood there as though violated, their
bodies naked for all to see. And they lifted their bare brown limbs to
the sky for pity. The grass on the meadow was withered and
shortened, as if it had sunk into the earth. Even the glade seemed
wretched and bare. Since the leaves had fallen it was no longer
possible to lie so well hidden as before. The glade was open on all
sides.
One day, as a young magpie flew over the meadow, something
cold and white fell in her eye. Then it fell again and again. She felt as
if a little veil were drawn across her eye while the small, pale,
blinding white flakes danced around her. The magpie hesitated in her
flight, fluttered a little, and then soared straight up into the air. In
vain. The cold white flakes were everywhere and got into her eyes
again. She kept flying straight up, soaring higher.
“Don’t put yourself out so much, dearie,” a crow who was flying
above her in the same direction called down, “don’t put yourself out
so much. You can’t fly high enough to get outside these flakes. This
is snow.”
“Snow!” cried the magpie in surprise, struggling against the
drizzle.
“That’s about the size of it,” said the crow, “it’s winter, and this is
snow.”
 “Excuse me,” the magpie replied, “but I only left the nest in May. I
don’t know anything about winter.”
“There are plenty in the same boat,” the crow remarked, “but
you’ll soon find out.”
“Well,” said the magpie, “if this is snow I guess I’ll sit down for a
while.” She perched on an elder and shook herself. The crow flew
awkwardly away.
At first Bambi was delighted with the snow. The air was calm and
mild while the white snow-stars whirled down and the world looked
completely different. It had grown lighter, gayer, Bambi thought, and
whenever the sun came out for a little while everything shone and
the white covering flashed and sparkled so brightly that it blinded
you.
But Bambi soon stopped being pleased with the snow. For it grew
harder and harder to find food. He had to paw the snow away with
endless labor before he could find one withered little blade of grass.
The snow crust cut his legs and he was afraid of cutting his feet.
Gobo had already cut his. Of course Gobo was the kind who couldn’t
stand anything and was a constant source of trouble to his mother.
 Bambi had to paw the snow away with endless labor before
he could find one withered little blade of grass.

The deer were always together now and were much more friendly
than before. Ena brought her children constantly. Lately Marena, a
half-grown doe, had joined the circle. But old Nettla really contributed
most to their entertainment. She was quite a self-sufficient person
and had her own ideas about everything. “No,” she would say, “I
don’t bother with children any more. I’ve had enough of that
particular joke.”
Faline asked, “What difference does it make, if they’re a joke?”
And Nettla would act as if she were angry, and say, “They’re a bad
joke, though, and I’ve had enough of them.”
 They got along perfectly together. They would sit side by side
gossiping. The young ones had never had a chance to hear so much.
Even one or another of the Princes would join them now. At first
things went somewhat stiffly, especially since the children were a
little shy. But that soon changed, and they got along very well
together. Bambi admired Prince Ronno, who was a stately lord, and
he passionately loved the handsome young Karus. They had dropped
their horns and Bambi often looked at the two slate-gray round spots
that showed smooth and shimmering with many delicate points on
the Princes’ heads. They looked very noble.
It was terribly interesting whenever one of the Princes talked
about Him. Ronno had a thick hide-covered swelling on his left fore-
foot. He limped on that foot and used to ask sometimes, “Can you
really see that I limp?” Everyone would hasten to assure him that
there was not the trace of a limp. That was what Ronno wanted. And
it really was hardly noticeable.
“Yes,” he would go on. “I saved myself from a tight corner that
time.” And then Ronno would tell how He had surprised him and
hurled His fire at him. But it had only struck his leg. It had driven him
nearly mad with pain, and no wonder, since the bone was shattered.
But Ronno did not lose his head. He was up and away on three legs.
He pressed on in spite of his weakness for he saw that he was being
pursued. He ran without stopping until night came. Then he gave
himself a rest. But he went on the next morning until he felt he was
in safety. Then he took care of himself, living alone in hiding, waiting
for his wound to heal. At last he came out again and was a hero. He
limped, but he thought no one noticed it.
They were often together now for long periods and told many
stories. Bambi heard more about Him than ever before. They told
how terrible He was to look at. No one could bear to look at His pale
face. Bambi knew that already from his own experience. They spoke
too about His smell, and again Bambi could have spoken if he had
not been too well brought up to mix in his elders’ conversation. They
said that His smell differed each time in a hundred subtle ways and
yet you could tell it in an instant, for it was always exciting,
unfathomable, mysterious and terrible.
They told how He used only two legs to walk with and they spoke
of the amazing strength of His two hands. Some of them did not
know what hands were. But when it was explained, old Nettla said, “I
don’t see anything so surprising in that. A squirrel can do everything
you tell about just as well, and every little mouse can perform the
same wonders.” She turned away her head disdainfully.
“O no,” cried the others, and they gave her to understand that
those were not the same things at all. But old Nettla was not to be
cowed. “What about the falcon?” she exclaimed. “And the buzzard?
And the owl? They’ve got only two legs and when they want to catch
something they simply stand on one leg and grab with the other.
That’s much harder and He certainly can’t do that.”
Old Nettla was not at all inclined to admire anything connected
with Him. She hated Him with all her heart. “He is loathsome!” she
said, and she stuck to that. Besides, nobody contradicted her, since
nobody liked Him.
But the talk grew more complicated when they told how He had a
third hand, not two hands merely, but a third hand.
“That’s an old story,” Nettla said curtly. “I don’t believe it.”
“Is that so?” Ronno broke in. “Then what did He shatter my leg
with? Can you tell me that?”
Old Nettla answered carelessly, “That’s your affair, my dear, He’s
never shattered any of mine.”
Aunt Ena said, “I’ve seen a good deal in my time, and I think
there’s something in the story that He has a third hand.”
“I agree with you,” young Karus said politely. “I have a friend, a
crow ...” He paused, embarrassed for a moment, and looked around
at them, one after the other, as though he were afraid of being
laughed at. But when he saw that they were listening attentively to
him he went on. “This crow is unusually well informed, I must say
that. Surprisingly well informed. And she says that He really has three
hands, but not always. The third hand is the bad one, the crow says.
It isn’t attached like the other two, but He carries it hanging over His
shoulder. The crow says that she can always tell exactly when He, or
anyone like Him, is going to be dangerous. If He comes without the
third hand He isn’t dangerous.”
Old Nettla laughed. “Your crow’s a blockhead, my dear Karus,” she
said. “Tell her so for me. If she were as clever as she thinks she is,
she’d know that He’s always dangerous, always.” But the others had
different objections.
Bambi’s mother said, “Some of Them aren’t dangerous; you can
see that at a glance.”
“Is that so?” old Nettla asked. “I suppose you stand still till They
come up to you and wish you a good day?”
Bambi’s mother answered gently. “Of course I don’t stand still; I
run away.”
And Faline broke in with, “You should always run away.”
Everybody laughed.
But when they talked about the third hand they became serious
and fear grew on them gradually. For whatever it might be, a third
hand or something else, it was terrible and they did not understand
it. They only knew of it from others’ stories, few of them had ever
seen it for themselves. He would stand still, far off, and never move.
You couldn’t explain what He did or how it happened, but suddenly
there would be a crash like thunder, fire would shoot out and far
away from Him you would drop down dying with your breast torn
open. They all sat bowed while they talked about Him, as though
they felt the presence of some dark, unknown power controlling
them.
They listened curiously to the many stories that were always
horrible, full of blood and suffering. They listened tirelessly to
everything that was said about Him, tales that were certainly
invented, all the stories and sayings that had come down from their
fathers and great-grandfathers. In each one of them they were
unconsciously seeking for some way to propitiate this dark power, or
some way to escape it.
“What difference does it make,” young Karus asked quite
despondently, “how far away He is when He kills you?”
“Didn’t your clever crow explain that to you?” old Nettla mocked.
“No,” said Karus with a smile. “She says that she’s often seen Him
but no one can explain Him.”
“Yes, He knocks the crows out of the trees, too, when He wants
to,” Ronno observed.
“And He brings down the pheasant on the wing,” Aunt Ena added.
Bambi’s mother said, “He throws His hand at you, my
grandmother told me so.”
“Is that so?” asked old Nettla. “What is it that bangs so terribly
then?”
“That’s when He tears His hand off,” Bambi’s mother explained.
“Then the fire flashes and the thunder cracks. He’s all fire inside.”
“Excuse me,” said Ronno. “It’s true that He’s all fire inside. But
that about His hand is wrong. A hand couldn’t make such wounds.
You can see that for yourself. It’s much more likely that it’s a tooth
He throws at us. A tooth would explain a great many things, you
know. You really die from His bite.”
“Will He never stop hunting us?” young Karus sighed.
Then Marena spoke, the young half-grown doe. “They say that
sometime He’ll come to live with us and be as gentle as we are. He’ll
play with us then and the whole forest will be happy, and we’ll be
friends with Him.”
Old Nettla burst out laughing. “Let Him stay where He is and
leave us in peace,” she said.
Aunt Ena said reprovingly, “You shouldn’t talk that way.”
 “And why not?” old Nettla replied hotly, “I really don’t see why
not. Friends with Him! He’s murdered us ever since we can
remember, every one of us, our sisters, our mothers, our brothers!
Ever since we came into the world He’s given us no peace, but has
killed us wherever we showed our heads. And now we’re going to be
friends with Him. What nonsense!”
Marena looked at all of them out of her big, calm, shining eyes.
“Love is no nonsense,” she said. “It has to come.”
Old Nettla turned away. “I’m going to look for something to eat,”
she said, and trotted off.
 CHAPTER X
Winter dragged on. Sometimes it was warmer, but then the snow
would fall again and lie deeper and deeper, so that it became
impossible to scrape it away. It was worse when the thaws came and
the melted snow water froze again in the night. Then there was a
thin slippery film of ice. Often it broke in pieces and the sharp
splinters cut the deer’s tender fetlocks till they bled.
A heavy frost had set in several days before. The air was purer
and rarer than it had ever been, and full of energy. It began to hum
in a very fine high tone. It hummed with the cold.
It was silent in the woods, but something horrible happened every
day. Once the crows fell upon Friend Hare’s small son who was lying
sick, and killed him in a cruel way. He could be heard moaning
pitifully for a long while. Friend Hare was not at home, and when he
heard the sad news he was beside himself with grief.
Another time the squirrel raced about with a great wound in his
neck where the ferret had caught him. By a miracle the squirrel had
escaped. He could not talk because of the pain, but he ran up and
down the branches. Everyone could see him. He ran like mad. From
time to time he stopped, sat down, raised his forepaws desperately
and clutched his head in terror and agony while the red blood oozed
on his white chest. He ran about for an hour, then suddenly crumpled
up, fell across a branch, and dropped dead in the snow. A couple of
magpies flew down at once to begin their meal.
Another day a fox tore to pieces the strong and handsome
pheasant who had enjoyed such general respect and popularity. His
death aroused the sympathies of a wide circle who tried to comfort
his disconsolate widow.
The fox had dragged the pheasant out of the snow, where he was
buried, thinking himself well hidden. No one could have felt safer
than the pheasant for it all happened in broad daylight. The terrible
hardship that seemed to have no end spread bitterness and brutality.
It destroyed all their memories of the past, their faith in each other,
and ruined every good custom they had. There was no longer either
peace or mercy in the forest.
“It’s hard to believe that it will ever be better,” Bambi’s mother
sighed.
Aunt Ena sighed too. “It’s hard to believe that it was ever any
better,” she said.
“And yet,” Marena said, looking in front of her, “I always think how
beautiful it was before.”
“Look,” old Nettla said to Aunt Ena, “your little one is trembling.”
She pointed to Gobo. “Does he always tremble like that?”
“Yes,” Aunt Ena answered gravely, “he’s shivered that way for the
last few days.”
“Well,” said old Nettla in her frank way, “I’m glad that I have no
more children. If that little one were mine I’d wonder if he’d last out
the winter.”
The future really didn’t look very bright for Gobo. He was weak.
He had always been much more delicate than Bambi or Faline and
remained smaller than either of them. He was growing worse from
day to day. He could not eat even the little food there was. It made
his stomach ache. And he was quite exhausted by the cold, and by
the horrors around him. He shivered more and more and could hardly
stand up. Everyone looked at him sympathetically.
Old Nettla went up to him and nudged him good-naturedly. “Don’t
be so sad,” she said encouragingly, “that’s no way for a little prince to
act, and besides it’s unhealthy.” She turned away so that no one
should see how moved she was.
Ronno who had settled himself a little to one side in the snow
suddenly sprang up. “I don’t know what it is,” he mumbled and gazed
around.
 Everyone grew watchful. “What is it?” they asked.
“I don’t know,” Ronno repeated. “But I’m restless. I suddenly felt
restless as if something were wrong.”
Karus was snuffing the air. “I don’t smell anything strange,” he
declared.
They all stood still, listening and snuffing the air. “It’s nothing,
there’s absolutely nothing to smell,” they agreed one after another.
“Nevertheless,” Ronno insisted, “you can say what you like,
something is wrong.”
Marena said, “The crows are calling.”
“There they go calling again,” Faline added quickly, but the others
had already heard them.
“They are flying,” said Karus and the others.
Everybody looked up. High above the tree-tops a flock of crows
flapped by. They came from the farthest edge of the forest, the
direction from which danger always came, and they were complaining
to one another. Apparently something unusual had happened.
“Wasn’t I right?” asked Ronno. “You can see that something is
happening.”
“What shall we do?” Bambi’s mother whispered anxiously.
“Let’s get away,” Aunt Ena urged in alarm.
“Wait,” Ronno commanded.
“But the children,” Aunt Ena replied, “the children. Gobo can’t
run.”
“Go ahead,” Ronno agreed, “go off with your children. I don’t
think there’s any need for it, but I don’t blame you for going.” He was
alert and serious.
“Come, Gobo. Come, Faline. Softly now, go slowly. And keep
behind me,” Aunt Ena warned them. She slipped away with the
children.
 Time passed. They stood still, listening and trembling.
“As if we hadn’t suffered enough already,” old Nettla began. “We
still have this to go through....” She was very angry. Bambi looked at
her, and he felt that she was thinking of something horrible.
Three or four magpies had already begun to chatter on the side of
the thicket from which the crows had come. “Look out! Look out, out,
out!” they cried. The deer could not see them, but could hear them
calling and warning each other. Sometimes one of them, and
sometimes all of them together, would cry, “Look out, out, out!” Then
they came nearer. They fluttered in terror from tree to tree, peered
back and fluttered away again in fear and alarm.
“Akh!” cried the jays. They screamed their warning loudly.
Suddenly all the deer shrank together at once as though a blow
had struck them. Then they stood still snuffing the air.
It was He.
A heavy wave of scent blew past. There was nothing they could
do. The scent filled their nostrils, it numbed their senses and made
their hearts stop beating.
The magpies were still chattering. The jays were still screaming
overhead. In the woods around them everything had sprung to life.
The tit-mice flitted through the branches, like tiny feathered balls,
chirping, “Run! run!”
The blackbirds fled swiftly and darkly above them with long-drawn
twittering cries. Through the dark tangle of bare bushes, they saw on
the white snow a wild aimless scurrying of smaller, shadowy
creatures. These were the pheasants. Then a flash of red streaked
by. That was the fox. But no one was afraid of him now. For that
fearful scent kept streaming on in a wider wave, sending terror into
their hearts and uniting them all in one mad fear, in a single feverish
impulse to flee, to save themselves.
That mysterious overpowering scent filled the woods with such
strength that they knew that this time He was not alone, but had
come with many others, and there would be no end to the killing.
They did not move. They looked at the tit-mice, whisking away in
a sudden flutter, at the blackbirds and the squirrels who dashed from
tree-top to tree-top in mad bounds. They knew that all the little
creatures on the ground had nothing to fear. But they understood
their flight when they smelt Him, for no forest creature could bear His
presence.
Presently Friend Hare hopped up. He hesitated, sat still and then
hopped on again.
“What is it?” Karus called after him impatiently.
But Friend Hare only looked around with bewildered eyes and
could not even speak. He was completely terrified.
“What’s the use of asking?” said Ronno gloomily.
Friend Hare gasped for breath. “We are surrounded,” he said in a
lifeless voice. “We can’t escape on any side. He is everywhere.”
At the same instant they heard His voice. Twenty or thirty strong,
He cried, “Ho! ho! Ha! ha!” It roared like the sound of winds and
storms. He beat on the tree trunks as though they were drums. It
was wracking and terrifying. A distant twisting and rending of parted
bushes rang out. There was a snapping and cracking of broken
boughs.
He was coming.
He was coming into the heart of the thicket.
Then short whistling flute-like trills sounded together with the
loud flap of soaring wings. A pheasant rose from under His very feet.
The deer heard the wing-beats of the pheasant grow fainter as he
mounted into the air. There was a loud crash like thunder. Then
silence. Then a dull thud on the ground.
“He is dead,” said Bambi’s mother, trembling.
“The first,” Ronno added.
 The young doe, Marena, said, “In this very hour many of us are
going to die. Perhaps I shall be one of them.” No one listened to her,
for a mad terror had seized them all.
Bambi tried to think. But His savage noises grew louder and
louder and paralyzed Bambi’s senses. He heard nothing but those
noises. They numbed him while amidst the howling, shouting and
crashing he could hear his own heart pounding. He felt nothing but
curiosity and did not even realize that he was trembling in every limb.
From time to time his mother whispered in his ear, “Stay close to
me.” She was shouting, but in the uproar it sounded to Bambi as if
she were whispering. Her “Stay close to me,” encouraged him. It was
like a chain holding him. Without it he would have rushed off
senselessly, and he heard it at the very moment when his wits were
wandering and he wanted to dash away.
He looked around. All sorts of creatures were swarming past,
scampering blindly over one another. A pair of weasels ran by like
thin snake-like streaks. The eye could scarcely follow them. A ferret
listened as though bewitched to every shriek that desperate Friend
Hare let out.
A fox was standing in a whole flurry of fluttering pheasants. They
paid no attention to him. They ran right under his nose and he paid
no attention to them. Motionless, with his head thrust forward, he
listened to the onrushing tumult, lifting his pointed ears and snuffed
the air with his nose. Only his tail moved, slowly wagging with his
intense concentration.
A pheasant dashed up. He had come from where the danger was
worst, and was beside himself with fear.
“Don’t try to fly,” he shouted to the others. “Don’t fly, just run!
Don’t lose your head! Don’t try to fly! Just run, run, run!”
He kept repeating the same thing over and over again as though
to encourage himself. But he no longer knew what he was saying.
“Ho! ho! ha! ha!” came the death cry from quite near apparently.
 “Don’t lose your head,” screamed the pheasant. And at the same
time his voice broke in a whistling gasp and, spreading his wings, he
flew up with a loud whir. Bambi watched how he flew straight up,
directly between the trees, beating his wings. The dark metallic blue
and greenish-brown markings on his body gleamed like gold. His long
tail feathers swept proudly behind him. A short crash like thunder
sounded sharply. The pheasant suddenly crumpled up in mid-flight.
He turned head over tail as though he wanted to catch his claws with
his beak, and then dropped violently to earth. He fell among the
others and did not move again.
Then everyone lost his senses. They all rushed toward one
another. Five or six pheasants rose at one time with a loud whir.
“Don’t fly,” cried the rest and ran. The thunder cracked five or six
times and more of the flying birds dropped lifeless to the ground.
“Come,” said Bambi’s mother. Bambi looked around. Ronno and
Karus had already fled. Old Nettla was disappearing. Only Marena
was still beside them. Bambi went with his mother, Marena following
them timidly. All around them was a roaring and shouting, and the
thunder was crashing. Bambi’s mother was calm. She trembled
quietly but she kept her wits together.
“Bambi, my child,” she said, “keep behind me all the time. We’ll
have to get out of here and across the open place. But now we’ll go
slowly.”
The din was maddening. The thunder crashed ten, twelve times
as He hurled it from His hands.
“Watch out,” said Bambi’s mother. “Don’t run. But when we have
to cross the open place, run as fast as you can. And don’t forget,
Bambi, my child, don’t pay any attention to me when we get out
there. Even if I fall, don’t pay any attention to me, just keep on
running. Do you understand, Bambi?”
His mother walked carefully step by step amidst the uproar. The
pheasants were running up and down, burying themselves in the
snow. Suddenly they would spring out and begin to run again. The
whole Hare family was hopping to and fro, squatting down and then
hopping again. No one said a word. They were all spent with terror
and numbed by the din and thunderclaps.
It grew lighter in front of Bambi and his mother. The clearing
showed through the bushes. Behind them the terrifying drumming on
the tree trunks came crashing nearer and nearer. The breaking
branches snapped. There was a roaring of “Ha, ha! Ho, ho!”
Then Friend Hare and two of his cousins rushed past them across
the clearing. Bing! Ping! Bang! roared the thunder. Bambi saw how
Friend Hare struck an elder in the middle of his flight and lay with his
white belly turned upward. He quivered a little and then was still.
Bambi stood petrified. But from behind him came the cry, “Here they
are! Run! Run!”
There was a loud clapping of wings suddenly opened. There were
gasps, sobs, showers of feathers, flutterings. The pheasants took
wing and the whole flock rose almost at one instant. The air was
throbbing with repeated thunderclaps and the dull thuds of the fallen
and the high, piercing shrieks of those who had escaped.
Bambi heard steps and looked behind him. He was there. He
came bursting through the bushes on all sides. He sprang up
everywhere, struck about Him, beat the bushes, drummed on the
tree trunks and shouted with a fiendish voice.
“Now,” said Bambi’s mother. “Get away from here. And don’t stay
too close to me.” She was off with a bound that barely skimmed the
snow. Bambi rushed out after her. The thunder crashed around them
on all sides. It seemed as if the earth would split in half. Bambi saw
nothing. He kept running. A growing desire to get away from the
tumult and out of reach of that scent which seemed to strangle him,
the growing impulse to flee, the longing to save himself were loosed
in him at last. He ran. It seemed to him as if he saw his mother hit
but he did not know if it was really she or not. He felt a film come
over his eyes from fear of the thunder crashing behind him. It had
gripped him completely at last. He could think of nothing or see
nothing around him. He kept running.
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