Watership Down

King Darzin discovered that El-ahrairah tricked him into giving away his lettuce, so he vows vengeance. His men capture Rabscuttle. The rabbits promptly dig a tunnel to where Rabscuttle works, and he’s rescued.

King Darzin lays siege on the warren: His animals guard the holes and prevent the rabbits from feeding. El-ahrairah manages to sneak some food to a few does, but it’s not enough.

He decides to sacrifice his life to the Black Rabbit of Inlé, the bringer of death to all rabbits in their time, in exchange for the survival of his rabbits. El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle climb up into a different realm where tall mountains hover in freezing fog. There, they meet the Black Rabbit and his ghostly Owsla guards.

El-ahrairah offers to play bob-stones: If he wins, the Black Rabbit will honor his request. In this scary place, though, El-ahrairah loses his nerve and the game. The Black Rabbit takes El-ahrairah’s tail and whiskers. The next night, they compete in storytelling: The Black Rabbit’s tale is so terrifying that El-ahrairah can’t speak, and the Black Rabbit takes his ears. On the third night, El-ahrairah raids the burrow of disease and tries to become sick so he can bring it to the King’s soldiers, but this fails.

Out of respect, the Black Rabbit sends ghosts to scare Darzin’s men into retreating. El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle head back to the warren; their trip takes months, and by the time they arrive, the rabbits already have forgotten the war and regard their old leaders with amused contempt. El-ahrairah learns a hard lesson, but Frith returns his ears, whiskers, and tail to him.

A fox appears in the distance. Bigwig promptly goes toward it, lures it away, then dashes back, and the rabbits quickly move south. Hazel is angry with Bigwig for taking such a risk, but Bigwig reports that, while decoying, he bumped into a group of big rabbits who tried to apprehend him. He broke free, and the fox got one of them.

The group is too close to Efrafa, so it moves west during the night. At dawn, Hazel can smell the “iron road.” His group crosses it, hoping the Efrafa patrols won’t venture beyond the tracks. Exhausted, the rabbits hunker down beneath some trees and sleep through the hot day.

As the sun sets, Hazel begins to worry that General Woundwort already knows that outsiders have entered his territory. Hazel’s group barely escaped two Efrafa patrols; perhaps bats, hunting in the nearby trees, have informed Woundwort. Hazel worries that he’s asking too much of his people. Also, his injured leg bothers him.

Kehaar says the river is nearby. They travel a short distance and come to the water. It’s much larger than the stream they crossed on the first day of their journey toward Watership. They continue along the river to a road that crosses a bridge. Fiver, fearless, begins to cross; hesitantly, Hazel follows, then the others.

They sleep on the far side and rest into the next afternoon. Hazel and a few others explore upstream, hoping to find a way to disappear from the Efrafa once they’ve stolen some does. They find a small boat tied to the bank. Remembering the wood slat that floated Pipkin across a river, Blackberry announces that the group can jump into the boat, gnaw through the tie-off line, float downstream, and escape any pursuers.

As a child, General Woundwort saw a farmer shoot his father, then watched, horrified, as a weasel killed his mother. A kindly man took him in, but he soon escaped. He grew large, joined a warren, killed its two leaders, and took it over; afterward, he brought some of them with him and founded Efrafa.

He had entry holes dug in hidden places, trained the strongest kittens to become Owsla, and put the rabbits into Mark groups. He tightened his grip on the warren with strict rules and severe punishments. Ever on the search “to satisfy his longing for still more power” (396), he launched the Wide Patrols that brought back resources, lone rabbits, and information.

Recently, some of his best officers failed or died while on duty. He fired one who was fooled by four recently captured bucks; the captain who chased them died beneath an iron road monster. A Wide Patrol Captain, monitoring a large group of rabbits, was killed by a fox chasing a stray buck. 

At a loss for talented replacements, he’s intrigued when officers bring him a large, healthy-looking buck named Thlayli (Bigwig), who says men destroyed his warren, and he wants to join Efrafa. They admit him as an assistant to one of the Mark captains.

The Efrafa rabbits seem to Bigwig a “dispirited lot.” One of his bosses, Captain Avens, says it takes just one runner to inspire them, like what happened when the four visitors escaped. Constant vigilance by sentries is the only cure.

Bigwig sees a rabbit, Blackavar, who’s under guard, his ears mutilated. He tried to escape, was punished, and now he’s displayed as an example. One pretty doe, Nelthilta, speaks harshly to Captain Chervil, who explains that she was one of the group that caused a ruckus about leaving a while back. Chervil only minds if they suddenly become quiet and polite: Then they’re up to something. Chervil says Bigwig can mate with any doe in the Mark group.

Bigwig overhears a doe chanting a poem to a small group, the poem a dirge for freedom lost—“My heart is dark,” and “I shall never feel the wind blowing again” (416). He addresses them; they’re sullen toward him, but he learns that one is Hyzenthlay, a protester known to Holly.

The only smart way to escape is during the day when Bigwig’s officers are asleep, and he can trick a sentry into reporting inside. He needs advice, so he orders an underling to bring Hyzenthlay to his burrow. The others will think he’s chosen her for mating.

She arrives, tense and expecting trouble, but Bigwig explains Hazel’s plan to liberate several does from Efrafa. She has some of Fiver’s foresight and says they can escape, but beyond that, she can’t discern. She also warns against trusting anyone until the last moment. Bigwig “had stumbled, quite unexpectedly, upon what he needed most of all: a strong, sensible friend who would think on her own account and help to bear his burden” (427).

Bigwig wonders if he can rescue Blackavar. Hyzenthlay says he’ll be killed shortly; Bigwig decides to risk it. She’ll bring a group of does at sundown, and when Kehaar attacks the sentries, they’ll run for it. He promises they won’t have to go far and will disappear before Efrafa’s eyes.

In the morning, Bigwig goes out on duty, and Kehaar alights nearby. Quietly, they finalize plans for the evening’s escape. Officer Chervil comes out, and Keharr flies off. Chervil scolds Bigwig for feeding near a bird that can be dangerous. He’ll have to report it: The bird is out of season.

Bigwig is ordered to chat with the rebellious does to bring them into line. He meets Hyzenthlay and Thethuthinnang and updates them on the escape plans. They’re skeptical of a bird helping them, but Bigwig reassures them.

A thunderstorm forms in the distance. Bigwig spends the day wandering through the burrows, chatting and listening. At sunset, he’s about to launch the escape plan when General Woundwort calls him aside.

Woundwort questions Bigwig about his visits to the other burrows, his night with Hyzenthlay, and his ease with the bird in the field. He also wonders about Bigwig’s collision with a Wide Patrol, which caused the death of an officer. Bigwig parries these questions, along with one about his possible connection to the nearby band of foreign rabbits. Woundwort dismisses him.

At the rendezvous point, Hazel frets at Bigwig’s lateness. Both Fiver and Kehaar reckon that Bigwig has been delayed. All wonder if he’s been arrested or worse. Fiver convinces Hazel to return tomorrow.

In his burrow with Hyzenthlay, Bigwig worries about Efrafa’s amazing intelligence system: “How much had Woundwort discovered?” (443) Hyzenthlay says the does are ready, but, with the delay, the plan may leak via a spy. Bigwig insists the scheme will work.

Near dawn, the air is heavy with the approaching thunderstorm. Chervil worries about the bird, which has appeared again. Bigwig says he can make the bird leave by intoning an old nursery charm: “O fly away, great bird so white, / And don’t come back until tonight” (449). They walk out toward Kehaar, prancing and shuffling in a manner directed by Bigwig. He utters the couplet, and Kehaar flies off.

Later, Bigwig visits the latrine at the same time as Blackavar. Quietly, he informs the prisoner of the coming escape and to wait for his signal.

Hyzenthlay wakes Bigwig: “Nelthilta’s been arrested” (454). Earlier, the impetuous doe sassed the officers, bragging of a coming surprise; under interrogation, she’ll spill the plan. Bigwig tells Hyzenthlay to bring the does to his burrow.

Bigwig goes to an entrance and tells the sentry that feeding time is now before the storm breaks. The sentry is to bring out Blackavar. Bigwig finds the does waiting in his burrow. He tells them to run up the tunnel when they hear fighting.

Bigwig finds Blackavar and overpowers his guards but gets badly bitten. He, Blackavar, and the does race outside and across the field as the storm breaks.

Woundwort learns of the escape. Furious, he grabs several Owsla and gives chase. They find drops of Bigwig’s blood and follow them. Bigwig’s group nears the rendezvous point, but help isn’t there yet. Woundwort and his soldiers close in.

A flash of lightning skewers the air. Rain pours down. Woundwort says to Bigwig, “I’ll kill you myself” (466). At that moment, Kehaar appears and attacks Woundwort and a second officer. The soldiers retreat in panic.

Hazel’s bucks arrive. Bigwig orders everyone to the boat. Woundwort’s soldiers regroup and resume the pursuit. The escapees struggle, disorganized, through the blinding rainstorm; Kehaar flies back and forth, guiding them.

They reach the boat. Hazel holds the half-chewed dock line in his teeth. Woundwort’s men approach from both sides. Woundwort strikes a doe in the face, sending her flying. She rights herself and jumps aboard; the other does follow.

When all are aboard, Hazel cuts the line, and the boat floats downstream. Woundwort stares, stunned.