Watership Down (Watership Down 1)

'Ving 'e still go tired. Fly liddle bit, stop liddle bit, everyt'ing go fine.'

'Are you hungry? Shall we get you some insects?'

'Fine. Fine. Good fellas. Plenty beetle.' (All insects were 'beetle' to Kehaar.) Clearly, he had missed their attentions and was ready to enjoy being back. Although he no longer needed to have food brought to the lobby, he evidently felt that he deserved it. Bigwig went to get his foragers and Kehaar kept them busy until sunset. At last he looked shrewdly at Fiver and said, 'Eh, Meester Liddle Von, you know vat I pring, ya?'

'I've no idea,' replied Fiver, rather shortly.

'Den I tell. All dis peeg 'ill, I go along 'im, dis vay, dat vay, vere sun come up, vere sun go down. Ees no rabbits. Ees nodings, nodings.'

He stopped. Hazel looked at Fiver apprehensively.

'Den I go down, go down in bottom. Ees farm vid peeg trees all round, on liddle hill. You know?'

'No, we don't know it. But go on.'

'I show you. 'E not far. You see 'im. Und here ees rabbits. Ees rabbits live in box; live vid men. You know?'

'Live with men? Did you say "Live with men?" '

'Ya, ya, live vid men. In shed; rabbits live in box in shed. Men pring food. You know?'

'I know this happens,' said Hazel. 'I've heard of it. That's fine, Kehaar. You've been very thorough. But it can't help us, can it?'

'I t'ink ees mudders. In peeg box. But else ees no rabbits; not in fields, not in voods. No rabbits. Anyvays I no see 'em.'

'That sounds bad.'

'Vait. I tell more. Now you 'ear. I go flying, oder vay, vere sun go middle of day. You know, dis vay ees Peeg Vater.'

'Did you go to the Big Water, then?' asked Bigwig.

'Na, na, not near so far. But out dis vay ees river, you know?'

'No, we haven't been so far.'

'Ees river,' repeated Kehaar. 'Und here ees town of rabbits.'

'On the other side of the river?'

'Na, na. You go dat vay, ees peeg fields all de vay. Den after long vay ees come to town of rabbits, ver' big. Und after dat ees iron road und den river.'

'Iron road?' asked Fiver.

'Ya, ya, iron road. You not seen heem - iron road? Men make heem.'

Kehaar's speech was so outlandish and distorted at the best of times that it was only too common for the rabbits to be unsure what he meant. The vernacular words which he used now for 'iron' and 'road' (familiar enough to seagulls), his listeners had scarcely ever heard. Kehaar was quick to impatience and now, as often, they felt at a disadvantage in the face of his familiarity with a wider world than their own. Hazel thought quickly. Two things were clear. Kehaar had evidently found a big warren some way off to the south: and whatever the iron road was, the warren was on this side both of it and of a river. If he had understood rightly, it seemed to follow that the iron road and the river could be ignored for their purposes.

'Kehaar,' he said,' I want to be certain. Can we get to the rabbits' town without bothering about the iron road and the river?'

'Ya, ya. Not go to iron road. Rabbit's town in bushes for peeg, lonely fields. Plenty mudders.'

'How long would it take to go from here to the - to the town?'

'It'ink two days. Ees long vay.'

'Good for you, Kehaar. You've done everything we hoped. You rest now. We'll feed you as long as you want.'

'Sleep now. Tomorrow plenty beetle, ya, ya.'