Autumn & the Lessons of the Trees

A memorable and poignant conversation in Felix Salten’s “Bambi” between two leaves about to fall

In New England, in autumn, there’s a time of year known as the “Peak” — the moment when the most trees have reached their maximum in terms of fall’s dazzling colors. It’s something like the very exact center of autumn. On the evening news, television weather specialists report the daily movement of Peak from northern to southern states. I should add, however, that the trees themselves don’t seem to pay attention to these bulletins. But what if they did?

Read the following selection from Felix Salten’s Bambi and find out. “Felix Salten,” incidentally, was the nom de plume of the Austrian author Siegmund Salzmann (1869–1945) and his Bambi is considerably darker and more profound than the animated feature made from the book by Disney Studios.

In his Foreword for the English translation of Bambi, the famous British novelist John Galsworthy insisted, “I do not, as a rule, like the method which places human words in the mouths of dumb creatures.” But Galsworthy continues, Salten’s novel is the Great Exception and “very moving” and “a little masterpiece.” Even so, we might go Galsworthy one better and say that, as a rule, putting human words in the mouths of deer and rabbits and…