Tales From Watership Down (Watership Down 2)

"Why should they? What makes you think so?"

"I don't know," said Fiver. "All I know for a certainty is that if Stonecrop's taken to Groundsel's warren he'll be all right. I haven't been able to see any more."

"Oh!" sneered Bigwig. "You've had a vision, I suppose, have you?"

Hazel spoke. "Wait a moment, Bigwig. Haven't you learned yet to trust Fiver? Wasn't he right about Cowslip's warren and the snares? About our raid on the farm? And about the idea that he put into my head of leading the dog onto the Efrafans? Vervain too--he defeated him without striking a blow. Fiver, you're sure about this, are you?"

"Yes, I'm sure enough that this is the thing to do, Hazel," answered Fiver. "I can't see how it'll turn out; something violent, it feels like. But it's what we must do, all right."

"That's good enough for me," said Hazel. "We'll start just before first light tomorrow--before any other rabbits are about. Bigwig, you'll come, won't you? I'd feel much better if I had you with us."

Bigwig paused for some little time. At length, rather hesitantly, he said, "All right, I will. And Frith help you, Fiver, if you're wrong."

"Hyzenthlay will stay here and tell them tomorrow that we've gone," said Hazel. "I don't know when we'll be back, of course, but she'll be Chief Rabbit on her own until we do."

The three of them set off the next morning and by sunrise had already left Watership Down well behind them. Their progress soon grew slower, however, for Stonecrop, despite his size and strength, was quite unused to going any distance, and they were obliged to halt more and more frequently to let him rest. Bigwig was very patient and encouraged him in the most friendly way, but Hazel, who of course knew Bigwig through and through, could sense that he was not easy about the length of time that they were spending in the open, especially with a totally inexperienced rabbit who knew so little about ordinary rabbit ways and the innumerable small signals--mostly unconscious--with which rabbits communicate with one another on a journey.

As they were resting under a thick thornbush in the heat of the day, Stonecrop said to Bigwig, "I'm surprised that you both seem to be so much afraid of these elil, as you call them."

"Never met any, have you?" replied Bigwig.

"No, but if I do I won't run away; I'll fight. I'll fight any creature that tries to kill me."

"You've got a lot to learn," said Bigwig. "Some elil you can't fight; they're simply too much for any rabbit. Either you have to hide or else to run. I wouldn't like to see you throw your life away for nothing."

"Well, I don't like the idea of running away from an enemy," said Stonecrop. "But of course I don't want to argue with you, when you're going to so much trouble to help me."

"You'll get on much better if you simply accept my advice," said Bigwig. "For the time being, anyway. But if you're rested enough now, we'd better be getting on. We've still got quite a long way to go."

During the afternoon they were only able to go even more slowly, and it was early evening before they drew near to Groundsel's warren. As they came within sight of it, both Hazel and Bigwig stopped sharply and sat up on their hind legs in alarm.

"There's something wrong," said Hazel.

"Yes, and badly wrong too!" exclaimed Bigwig. "What on earth can be happening? Look, it's as though they were all running for their lives."

As he spoke, they could see crowds of rabbits precipitately jumping from the holes in the bank and running away in all directions, plainly with no thought but escape. Hazel and Bigwig stared aghast.

"Look, there's Groundsel himself, running like the rest," said Hazel.

"I'll stop him," said Bigwig. "We've got to get to the bottom of this."

Running to their left, he got in front of Groundsel, who seemed unable even to see him but blundered straight into him and almost knocked him down. Bigwig jumped on him and pinned him to the ground.

"What is it, Groundsel?" asked Hazel. "Whatever's the matter?"

"Let me go, let me go!" squealed Groundsel. "Get off me, let me go!"

"Not until you've told us what the trouble is," said Hazel. "Have you all gone mad? Come on, talk to us."

"The weasels!" panted Groundsel. "Can't you see them? They're hunting through the warren. Let me go, damn you!"

Hazel and Bigwig stared down at the bank and its rabbit holes. There, sure enough, they could see the weasels--more than four in number--who were plainly hunting in a pack, from one end of the warren to the other. It was an appalling sight. They went racing from hole to hole and along the side of the bank, seemingly intensely excited. Like ants, they ran a little way very swiftly, then stopped and searched from side to side, before rejoining their companions to go on again in a straight line. The impression they gave was horribly systematic. Here and there one would thrust out its reddish head for a moment from a hole, then withdraw it and reappear from another. As they went they cried to one another in short, snappy sounds.

Hazel and Bigwig, affected by the panic no less than the other rabbits, were turning to run, when suddenly Stonecrop thrust them aside.

"I'm not afraid!" he cried. "I'm not afraid of those dirty little beasts, those elil or whatever you call them. Come on, follow me!"

With that he went forward, straight for the bank.