My 3yo asked "What happened to Bambi's mother"

[wreckhog]

I responded "A hunter killed her". What a look my wife gave me! What would you have said?

[wreckhog]

She does have some general concerns, ie Pa is not dead, he is coming back soon, etc.

[snapcrackpop]

I remember seeing somewhere that the original version was that a "poacher" killed bambi because it was in the Spring.  But now the version is that of a hunter... Peta at work.  Thanks Disney!

[Heather]

I told my boys the same thing.  My 4 year old at the time asked did they make deer jerky out of her and if he could have some. 

Heather

[skarke]

I always read that part of the story where "Man is in the forest!" something like this.......When Bambi asks Mom what all the commotion is about, Mom's reply through my dramatic reading was "Evil, horrible Man is in the forest to destroy everything around them.  They are here to kill anything that they see, especially Thumper and Flower!"

At which point my Wife would roll her eyes, and the babies would say, "Aw, come on Dad, read it right!"

It always amazes me how wize youngsters get at such an early age.

On another note, does anybody besides me thing that all of the anthropomorphization of cute, fuzzy animals is a plot by the tree huggers to turn our next generation into antihunters?

[Questor]

With a three year old you could have said anything that popped into your head. Perhaps "died in the fire" would have made sense. The "hunter killed her" would have worked, but to be zoologically correct you may have had to explain that the fawns are no longer bonded to the mother by the time the hunting season rolls around.

[MGMorden]

I always read that part of the story where "Man is in the forest!" something like this.......When Bambi asks Mom what all the commotion is about, Mom's reply through my dramatic reading was "Evil, horrible Man is in the forest to destroy everything around them.  They are here to kill anything that they see, especially Thumper and Flower!"

That did always strike me as odd.  Not so much as the hunters being there, but they are perceived as taking pot-shots at every single thing that moved.  Lord knows I'd run out of ammo if when sitting in my deer stand I was shooting at the birds and the squirrels every time they came by.  The whole show is ridiculous.  *In general* I like Disney films (heck Wall-E is one of my favorite characters in any children's story), but Bambi & The Fox and the Hound always rubbed me the wrong way.

[TribReady]

Bambi's Mother:

[mirage1988]

MMMMMMM- steak looks good, what's all the other stuff on the plate?

[Questor]

Here's one my kids liked when they were three to five years old. It was a ghost story told around halloween. Say it softly until you get to the last line, then say that last line in as alarming a fashion as you can muster:

There was a dark, dark forest
And in that dark, dark forest..[pregnant pause]..there was a dark, dark path
And near that dark, dark path...there was a dark, dark house
And in that dark, dark house....there was a dark, dark room
And in that dark, dark room....there was a dark, dark closet
And in that dark, dark closet....there was a dark, dark box
And in that dark, dark box....[extra pregnant pause]...there was
A GHOST!!!!

It's funny and they always liked it. It's good around campfires too.

[bobg]

  That wasn't very nice TribReady.  But it sure was funny.

[Questor]

You could also do a lengthy non-politically-correct story about how there were so many deer that they were causing diseases in the herd and they were becoming dangerous pests on roads and in suburban gardens so the evil government sent paid killers to go in the woods and thin them out with army guns and bombs. This was done after a rash of gorings where deer were running down grandmas and grandpas and stabbing them with their antlers until their blood spurted everywhere and they died and couldn't give treats to the children anymore.

Try and smoke a cig and drink a cocktail while telling the kid a story like that. It adds to the effect.

 

[Questor]

...but seriously. Age three is too young for some of life's harsher realities but there did come a time when I took the kids to the supermarket and stopped at the meat aisle to say that we must be very mindful of the meat that we eat because every piece of meat in the market was part of a living animal at one time. As a hunter I always demonstrated real respect and thanks for the game that gave its lives to nourish our bodies.

[no guns here]

I may be wrong but I THINK BAMBI was based on the red deer in Europe.  Hence the use of the word "stag".  Hunting season's are different here.  Very well could have been a "hunter" and not a "poacher" to kill Bambi's mom or dad.


NGH

[LONGTOM]

Since we eat some type of deer meat almost every night and being somewhat of a jokester around the kitchen table at supper time I probably would have said your mom is putting her on the table right now.
Pass me the potatoes and gravy Please.

If you are a hunting family why sugar coat it.
Tell it like it is.

Now if you are an anti hunter anti gun than who knows what could be made up.


LONGTOM

[Varmintnut260]

A former member of my camp had a young daughter ask that once. He responded with "I had to kill her, she was being mean to her fawns and kicking the crap out of them".


She said "ok as long as it's a mean one!"