| Friend Hare | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Hare |
|
First Appearance |
Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde (1923) |
|
Original Publisher |
Ullstein Verlag |
|
Created by |
Felix Salten |
Origin[]
Friend Hare is described as having long, grayish brown ears with black stripes. He has a "very mild face and extremely good-natured features on both sides of [his] mouth.
Friend Hare first met Bambi during one of the latter's fawnhood trips to the meadow. It would seem that he was already a family man around this time, as he is described as having a family just a few months later. It is unknown as to who exactly this family consisted of, though it is known that he had at least two cousins, a wife, and at least one son. Curiously, his significant other is referred to as his "wife" as opposed to "mate", suggesting that the two had some sort of "marriage" as opposed to just mating.
During one winter, his son, who was still a child, was killed by a flock of crows during a bout of illness. The incident is said to have put Friend Hare "beside himself with grief." Sometime later, yet during the same winter, he lost his wife and one of cousins on the same day, both having been shot and killed by Man during a hunt that claimed the life of many other forest creatures including Bambi's mother.
About a year or so later, after a grown Bambi had already both mated with and grown apart from his friend Faline, Friend Hare found himself caught in a trap set by Man. He struggled to breath and likely would have died if not for the Old Stag, also known as the Great Prince of the Forest, who found him and set him free. Still tense and nervous, he didn't bother to thank his rescuer, instead hopping away in fear.
Sometime later, when the Old Stag's grandchildren Geno and Gurri were still young fawns, Friend Hare had developed a greater sense of fear than ever before. He had become increasingly phobic, constantly hiding in fear that he might be eaten by a fox.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Friend Hare from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde (1923)
Notes[]
- While the original 1923 version of Bambi has been public domain since 2022, the 1939 sequel and the film adaptations are NOT in the public domain.
- Friend Hare served as the inspiration for Thumper.