Watership Down (Watership Down 1)

'How's Holly?' asked Hazel.

' 'E sad,' said Kehaar. ' 'E say you no come back.' Then he added, 'Mees Clover, she ready for mudder.'

'That's good,' said Hazel. 'Is anyone doing anything about it?'

'Ya, ya, ees all to fight.'

'Oh well, I suppose it'll sort itself out.'

'Vat you do now, Meester 'Azel?'

'This is where you start helping, Kehaar. We need a place to hide, as near the big warren as we can safely get - somewhere where those other rabbits won't find us. If you know the country well enough, perhaps you can suggest something.'

'Meester 'Azel, 'ow close you vant?'

'Well, no further away than Nuthanger Farm is from the Honeycomb. In fact, that's really about the limit.'

'Ees only von t'ing, Meester 'Azel. You go udder side river, den dey not find you.'

'Over the river? You mean we swim across?'

'Na, na, rabbit no sveem dis river. Ees peeg, ees deep, go queek. But ees pridge, den udder side plenty place for hide. Ees close to varren, like you say.'

'And you think that's the best we can do?'

'Ees plenty trees und ees river. Udder rabbits no find you.'

'What do you think?' said Hazel to Fiver.

'It sounds better than I'd

hoped for,' said Fiver. 'I hate to say it, but I think we ought to go straight there as fast as we can, even if it makes everyone exhausted. We're in danger all the time we're on the down, but once we get off it we can rest.'

'Well, I suppose we'd better go on by night, if they'll do it - we've done it before - but they must feed and rest first. Start fu Inle? There'll be a moon.'

'Oh, how I've come to loathe those words "start" and "fu Inle",' said Blackberry.

However, the evening feed was peaceful and cool and after a time everyone felt refreshed. As the sun was sinking, Hazel brought them all together, under close cover, to chew pellets and rest. Although he did his best to appear confident and cheerful, he could feel that they were on edge, and after parrying one or two questions about the plan, he began to wonder how he could distract their thoughts and get them to relax until they were ready to set off again. He remembered the time, on the first night of his leadership, when they had been forced to rest in the wood above the Enborne. At least it was good to see that no one was exhausted now: they were as tough a bunch of hlessil as ever raided a garden. Not a blade of grass to choose between them, thought Hazel: Pipkin and Fiver looked as fresh as Silver and Bigwig. Still, a little entertainment would be all to the good and raise their spirits. He was just going to speak up when Acorn saved him the trouble.

'Will you tell us a story, Dandelion?' he asked.

'Yes! yes!' said several others. 'Come on! Make it a stunner while you're at it!'

'All right,' said Dandelion. 'How about "El-ahrairah and the Fox in the Water"?'

'Let's have "The Hole in the Sky",' said Hawkbit.

'No, not that,' said Bigwig suddenly. He had spoken very little all the evening and everyone looked round. 'If you're going to tell a story, there's only one I want,' he went on. ' "El-ahrairah and the Black Rabbit of Inle." '

'Perhaps not that one,' said Hazel. Bigwig rounded on him, snarling.

'If there's going to be a story, don't you think I've got as good a right as anyone to choose it?' he asked.

Hazel did not reply and after a pause, during which no one else spoke, Dandelion, with a rather subdued manner, began.

31. The Story of El-ahrairah and the Black Rabbit of Inle

The power of the night, the press of the storm,