Yes, we’re talking about the deer in the old animated films. Maurice “Jake” Day, the man behind the now beloved Disney character, was an artist and naturalist that ventured into different projects before creating Bambi. One of them was illustrating a bunch of Tibetan magic tales. From the telling about the meaning of wisdom to the measure of kindness to the cost of the cruelty of arrogance and more, these stories were given more life by the artist in his intricate and detailed artworks.
American author Eleanore Myers Jewett showcased these tales and illustrations through her 1992 work, Wonder Tales from Tibet. Jewett obtained these tales that had traveled orally from India to Tibet. At some point, these stories reached the author when a German scholar in 1886 published a pamphlet of these tales. “The element of repetition, the distinctly human characters, the atmosphere of another land and strange people, and the romance of quest these things give to the Wonder Tales from Tibet the appeal to the childhood of all times and all races, which is their reason for having lived so long and traveled so far,” she shared.
Learn more about the stories and the beautiful artwork here!
Image credit: Maurice Day via The Marginalian