Chapter Fourteen
Lost
Hawkbit hopped through Watership down’s burrows muttering about the injustices of life. He
had been enjoying a peaceful sleep when Bigwig had come into his burrow and told him he
had to be outside for Owsla exercises. Hawkbit had protested but Bigwig hadn’t listened.
Hawkbit was nearly at the Honeycomb when he heard a strange rumbling sound coming from
one of the back burrows. Curiosity getting the better of him, the small gray rabbit when to
investigate. Once he reached the burrow the sound became deafening. All at once a crack
began to appear in the earth floor, as if the whole burrow was about to fall in on itself
Hawkbit looked up worriedly to make sure that the sides of the burrow weren’t damaged as
well, what he saw turned his blood cold. A dark shadowy figure the shape of a rabbit was
standing at the wall and looking straight at him.
“The Black Rabbit of Inle,” Hawkbit wailed and ran back the way he had come, not daring to
glance back to see if the Black Rabbit was following.
......
Hazel, Bigwig, Pipkin, Violet, Fiver and Dandelion were all above ground enjoying the warm
weather. It was fast approaching Summer and they all wanted to enjoy the last days of Spring,
none more so then Violet who and given birth to her and Hazel’s kits not so long ago. While
she lay there nibbling at a patch of grass Dandelion was bragging about a recently won game
of bob-stones against Fiver.
“I’m going for the record,” he told them, “Dandelion, Watership down’s first bob-stone
champion, has a nice ring to it don’t you think?”
“Huff,” Bigwig snorted and give the other rabbit a playful shove, being careful not to hit him
to hard as the yellow furred buck was still recovering from his nearly being killed by the
Efrafans.
“
Oh you don’t agree?” Dandelion asked his captain.
“Well you haven’t tried your look against me yet,” Bigwig answered, “I’m the bob-stone
champion around here, and everyone knows it.”
“Set them up Bigwig, I’ll take you apart,” Dandelion answered with a grin.
“Tell you what,” Bigwig said, “after Owsla exercises we’ll organise an official competition
and settle this, what do you say?”
As Bigwig finished specking Hawkbit arrived, he was filthy and shaking like a leaf.
“Hawkbit are you alright?” Hazel asked, slightly alarmed.
“Of cause, why do you ask?” the other replied.
“Well you look like you’ve just seen The Black Rabbit of Inle,”
“The Black Rabbit of Inle?” gasped Dandelion and Pipkin at the same time, “Did he call your
name? How did you get away?”
“Don’t be daft,” Bigwig scolded them, “of cause he hasn’t seen The Black Rabbit, have you
Hawkbit?”
“Err...no, no not at all,” Hawkbit stammered.
“Hawkbit you’re coved in dust,” Fiver said.
The small grey rabbit looked down at his paw.
“Oh, so I am,” he said then shook himself free of it, giving the others a coughing fit.
“Alright let’s get hopping,” Bigwig ordered, “we still have Owsla exercises to do.”
“We’ll be along in a minute Bigwig,” Hazel told him as he glanced between the Owsla
captain and Hawkbit.
“Bigwig gave him a nod then hopped away, leaving Hazel alone with Hawkbit and Fiver.
“Alright,” the warren’s chief said, “what happened to you down there Hawkbit?”
“I discovered something very strange in the warren,” the other answered.
“Maybe we should take a look,” Fiver suggested.
“Maybe,” Hawkbit responded, not very happy with the idea.
“It’ll be fine,” Hazel reassured him, “and look at is this way, it’ll get you out of Owsla
exercises.”
Hawkbit thought for a moment before saying, “Okay you talked me into it.
.......
.......
Hawkbit, Hazel and Fiver stood in the Honeycomb, Hawkbit looking around fearfully for The Black
Rabbit.
“So tell us what happened hawk bit,” Hazel said.
“I was on my way up when suddenly I heard...” Hawkbit began before a loud rumbling was heard by
all three.
“That,” Hawkbit finished.
He then pointed towards a tunnel off to the left.
“It came from down here,” he told them then hopped down the tunnel.
“I don’t like the sound of that, “Hazel muttered as he and Fiver followed Hawkbit.
“Violet told us to stay away from this section,” Fiver pointed out, “she’s worried about a cave-in,”
“I’d say she’s got good reason to be,” Hawkbit replied, “look.”
At the end of the burrow was a large opening in the ground.
“It’s deep,” Hazel commented as the three bucks crept to the holes edge.
Suddenly a gust of wind came from the hole and blasted them full in the face. As it did so a black
shape was seen by everyone.
“The Black Rabbit,” shouted Fiver.
Hazel was just about to tell them both to run when another rumble was heard and the floor of the
burrow cracked.
Before any of the bucks could move the ground beneath them gave way and the three rabbits fell
down into the darkness of the hole.
.......
“Cut and run,” Bigwig shouted at his Owsla as they ran about trying to follow the exercise routine.
“To the left,” Bigwig when on, “Right, left, other way Pipkin.”
“Right,” Pipkin panted as he changed direction, “I mean, yes sir.”
“Pipkin!” Dandelion shouted then tripped over the other buck who hadn’t been looking where
he was going.
“Duck and cover, “Bigwig yelled, “Duck and cover.”
Both rabbits hurried to do so and scrambled into the long grass.
“You call that cover?” Bigwig groaned in dismay as he saw their tails sticking out.
“No I call it hilarious,” laughed Silver who stood next to Bigwig.
“Silver just shut up and get on with the exercises,” Bigwig sighed.
.....
Vervain and Campion were out on wide patrol, looking for Bigwig. Woundwort was still sore
from the time Bigwig had tricked his way into Efrafa and had taken Primrose and Blackavar.
“Move slowly”, Vervain ordered the Owsla rabbits. “Not a sound from any of you”. Turning
to Campion, he added, “we’d better find Bigwig this time, or Woundwort will have your
hide”.
“Mine?”Campion said, indignantly.
“You heard me”, the maroon buck hissed.
“Bigwig is skilful and crafty”, Campion replied. “If you really want to find him, try to keep
quiet, Vervain”.
Campion began to hop off but then looked over his shoulder at the other buck. “Actually,
Vervain, just keep quiet anyway- permanently”.
..........................
“Twice around the warren, top speed!” shouted Bigwig, his Owsla exercises almost over. The
other rabbits took a few steps forward then collapsed, panting.
“This is what you call top speed?” Bigwig asked, unimpressed.
“For half-dead rabbits, yes!”Dandelion retorted, then added “I thought we were having a bobstone challenge anyway?”
“Oh, all right”, Bigwig agreed. “I’ll get Hazel to set it up”. Looking around, he asked “Where
is he, anyway?”
..........................
Hazel opened his eyes and groaned. He, Fiver and Hawkbit appeared to be in a huge
underground cavern. It was cold, but luckily there seemed to be plenty of air. How long it
would last, he didn’t know.
“Fiver! Hawkbit! Are you alright?” he shouted.
“Fine”, Hawkbit replied.
“I’m alright too”, Fiver said, with a cough, then asked “where are we, Hazel?”
“Well, it looks like we’ve fallen into a cavern below the warren”, his brother answered.
“I don’t see any way back up”, Hawkbit said.
“You’re right”, Hazel agreed. “The rubble could just keep falling back in on us. It could take
days to dig through it”.
“What are we going to do?” asked Fiver, in dismay.
“Find another way out, obviously”, Hawkbit told him, with just a hint of that’s a stupid
question in his voice.
“I think it’s best if we stay right where we are”, Hazel sighed. “Once Bigwig sees that we’re
missing, he’ll get us out”.
“You just said it might take days to dig through that mess”, Hawkbit reminded him.
“Blackberry’s a good digger”, Fiver pointed out, “Maybe it won’t take that long.”
“Look,” Hawkbit said, “the abandoned burrow is the last place they’ll think of looking. I say
we get moving.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Hazel responded as the gray rabbit began to hop away, “we
really should stay here.”
“Fine,” growled Hawkbit, “We’ll do it your way.”
..........
Back above ground Bigwig had ordered the other rabbit to search the down for Hazel as
nobody had seen him all morning. Bigwig was deep in thought when Violet and the others
ran up to give a report.
“We haven’t been able to find Hazel,” The blue-gray doe reported.
“Fiver and Hawkbit are missing too,” Primrose added.
“Missing?” said Dandelion, “three of us missing? It’s The Black Rabbit; he always takes
rabbits in threes.”
“Yes and twos,” Pipkin squeaked.
“And sometimes individually,” Strawberry piped up helpfully.
“No one’s missing,” Bigwig said, giving the three rabbits a hard stare, “They’re merely
absent.”
“I think it might be best if we search the burrows,” Holly said.
“Agreed,” Bigwig answered.
“I don’t want to go into the burrows,” Dandelion murmured to Pipkin, “not with The Black
Rabbit down there.”
“I’d worry more about me up here,” Bigwig growled dangerously.
Dandelion and Pipkin bolted.
......
Fiver shivered, he was freezing.
“It’s cold Hazel,” he whimpered, “and damp and I bet there’s nothing to eat down here. What
if the others don’t get to us in time? What if we starve? What if they dig their way down here
and all they find are bones? I don’t like to think about it.”
“Then stop talking about it,” Hawkbit scolded and cuffed the other rabbit across his ears.
“Sorry,” Fiver apologised then said, “Maybe we should look for another way out.”
“The others will find us,” his brother told him.
“If Hazel says we wait, we wait,” Hawkbit added, “and what happens, happens.”
.......
“Report,” Bigwig ordered after he and the other rabbits had been searching the down their
missing friends for over an hour.
“There’s just no sign of them Bigwig,” Violet told him.
“Then they have to be underground, it’s the only explanation,” Bigwig said then gave the
next order,
“Violet and Primrose,” he shouted, “you two search the furthest burrows, I’ll take the middle,
Pipkin and Dandelion will look on either side. Everyone else stay above ground in case Hazel
and the others return.”
“I don’t want to go down there,” Dandelion told Pipkin.
“Neither do I,” the young buck replied.
“But I suppose we have to,” Dandelion sighed.
“I suppose so, Pipkin said, letting out his own sigh.
“But I don’t want to,” Dandelion said again.
“Dandelion, Pipkin,” Bigwig roared, “move it!”
Hawkbit lay on his stomach watching a few drops of water drip from the cavern’s ceiling to its floor.
He was hungry, cold and fed up. Slowly he lifted his head and looking to see what Hazel and Fiver
were up to. Fiver was laying a little way off and looked just as miserable as Hawkbit felt, hazel
however was standing in front of three tunnel openings and was sniffing about.
Having nothing better to do Hawkbit hopped over to him.
“You know,” Hazel said as the other approached, “there’s fresh air coming from somewhere. There
has to be a way out.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying all along,” Hawkbit said in exasperation.
“Which way Hazel,” Fiver asked as he came over to them.
“Well as long as we’re moving what difference does it make?”asked Hawkbit.
“Lets’ try the one on the right,” Hazel said and began to hop off.
“I still don’t see what difference it makes,” Hawkbit muttered to himself.
......
The Efrafan patrol had stopped in a grassy field to rest and have a small bite to eat. Vervain was
muttering to himself and Campion was playing bob-stones with one of his Owsla bucks, showing
them once again that being lower in rank than him didn’t mean they had to be terrified of him.
“Sir,” one of the Owsla said as he hopped over to Vervain, “we picked up rabbit tracks but they
disappeared at the stream.”
“Well that doesn’t do us any good does it,” Vervain snapped angrily.
“Err...no sir but...” began the Owsla buck again but as he was speaking a shadow fell over the patrol.
Campion looked up to see an all too familiar gull flying overhead.
“Into the grass,” Campion hissed and ducked down, hopping the gull hadn’t seen them. Sadly for
Campion the gull had seen them and decided he best tell Bigwig at once.
“You know,” Vervain said as the Efrafans watched the bird fly away, “if we stay with that stinking
gull he’ll lead us to the outsiders.”
“I don’t think he’d make a mistake like that,” Campion replied.
“He’s a gull, Campion,” Vervain snapped, “gulls are stupid so let’s go.”
Campion shook his head in dismay; he didn’t think the gull was being the stupid one.
.......
After a search of the burrows the Watership Down rabbits had all met up in The Honeycomb to
declare what they had found.
“Anything?” Bigwig asked.
“Not yet,” Violet answered.
“Wonderful,” Bigwig sighed then added, “What are you two doing?” as he saw Dandelion and Pipkin
standing at one end of the Honeycomb, trying to remain unnoticed.
“Oh nothing,” Dandelion responded.
“Then get to work,” the Owsla captain growled, his patience with the two rabbits running thin.
“Can we go together?” asked Pipkin.
“Yeah just in case we see The Black Rabbit or something,” Dandelion added, “then maybe we won’t
disappear like hazel and the others.”
“Look I know you’re afraid,” Bigwig told them,” use that fear, it’ll make you alert, vigilant, fear can
make you stronger.”
“It can?” the two bucks said in surprise.
“Yes.”
“But can we still go together?” Pipkin pleaded.
“Yes,” Bigwig wailed, “but just go.”
The two rabbits smiled and hopped away. Bigwig was about to flop down and take a rest when he
heard Kehaar’s voice.
“Bigwig I have much important military information.”
“I’ll be right up,” Bigwig shouted then turned to Violet and said, “Take over down here will you?”
“I don’t think hazel and the others are down here.” Violet sighed.
Bigwig looked down at the ground glumly; it was beginning to look that way to him as well.
......
Kehaar was literally hopping up and down by the time Bigwig arrived.
“Bigwig,” the gull shouted, “I see bad rabbits, I see them.”
“Where?” Bigwig demanded.
“Pretty close,” the bird responded, “and when they see Kehaar they hind. I think they be very much
scared of Kehaar.”
“Or maybe they didn’t want you to see something,” Bigwig gasped, “of course a sensible
explanation.”
“What do you mean?” the gull asked, somewhat confused.
“I mean there’s a good chance they have Hazel and the others, come on,” Bigwig said and started to
hop away.
Kehaar nodded.
“Good, good,” he said, “wait what?” Whose’ been taken?”
“They’ll be heading back to Efrafa,” Bigwig continued, ignoring the bewildered look on the bird’s
face, “We’re going after them.”
.........
Hazel, Fiver and Hawkbit hopped along the underground tunnel in silence (other than
Hawkbit, who occasionally complained that Fiver was going to slow).
“I can smell fresh air” Hazel said at last.
“A black space below swallows any who go” Fiver moaned and shivered. Coming back to
himself, he urged Hazel to stop.
“What’s the matter?” his brother asked. Fiver was about to explain when Hawkbit said
“You heard Hazel! There’s a way out ahead!” with that, he pushed Fiver forward...right off
the edge of a large and very deep hole.
In a flash, Hazel leapt forward and grabbed his brother’s paw in his mouth, just in time to
stop Fiver being lost to them.
“Hawkbit! You almost knocked me in!” Fiver said in horror once Hazel had pulled him back
onto firm ground. “But there’s a way out!” Hawkbit yelled frantically, “He said there was!”
“Sorry Hawkbit” Hazel told him, “we have to go back”.
“All this way!” Hawkbit wailed, “we come all this way for nothing!”
Turning, he ran as fast as he could back the way they had come.
“Hawkbit! Slow down!” Hazel shouted as the grey rabbit shot out of the tunnel and up a
curving pathway above the tunnels.
“What’s with him?” Fiver asked, astonished by the others behaviour.
“He’s frightened” his brother said, “and I’ve let him down...”
“Hazel, you’ve always taken us through trouble before and I know you’ll do it again”
Hazel nodded and said “Come on Fiver, we don’t want to lose him”.
........
Bigwig had gone straight to the stone bridge that marked the beginning of Efrafan territory.
He knew that if the Efrafans did have Hazel and the others they would take them this way.
“So what we do now?” whispered Kehaar as he watched the two guards on the bridge.
“Find out if they have our friends,” Bigwig replied.
“How we do that?”
“Ask them,” Bigwig said then hopped out onto the bridge.
“I hear you lot have been looking for me,” he shouted.
Both sentries spun round.
“Name’s Thlayli,” Bigwig continued, “and I’m waiting.”
The two Efrafan guards growled and moved towards him.
“Oh Bigwig you are one much crazy rabbit,” Kehaar muttered to himself.
“You betrayed Efrafa,” snarled one of the sentries, “insulted general Woundwort and
captured our people. We’re taking you in.”
“If you’re going to fight you should just do it,” Bigwig replied and leapt upon them both.
“Unless you want to meet The Black Rabbit you’ll keep still,” he growled as the two guards
tried to get up.
“Now tell me,” Bigwig said calmly, “did any Efrafan prisoners come this way?”
“No, no one,” one of the two Efrafans replied.
“You wouldn’t lie to old Thlayli now would you?” Bigwig said a pressed his paw down on
their necks.
“No, Owsla’s honour,” they both replied.
Bigwig let them up, leaving them gasping.
“Run along chaps,” Bigwig said in a mocking voice, “tell Woundwort his Owsla isn’t worth
an acorn.”
With that Bigwig hopped back off the bridge and towards the river, Kehaar took to the sky.
At that moment Campion and the wide patrol arrived.
“Fancy meeting you hear,” Bigwig joked then blotted.
“Take him,” Vervain snarled.
......
Pipkin and Dandelion had searched every one of the warren’s burrows save for the
abandoned one.
“This is the last place they would be,” Dandelion said as the two of them hopped towards it.
“We should have looked here first then,” Pipkin replied then added, “suppose The Black
Rabbit’s down there.”
“Remember what Bigwig said,” the warren’s storyteller told reminded the young buck, “we
can use out fear to make us stronger.”
“Oh well then I must be very strong,” Pipkin answered.
....
Hawkbit ran on, not knowing where he was going, not even noticing that the walls around
him were now covered in ice. Suddenly a sheet of ice appeared in front of him. Hawkbit tried
to stop but was too late. The small gray rabbit crashed into the ice, shattering it and knocking
himself to the floor.
At that moment Fiver and Hazel caught up with him. They found him shivering but unhurt.
“We’re lost,” Hawkbit whimpered, “we’ll never get out and no one will ever know what
happened to us.”
“Right I’ve had enough of your moaning,” Hazel snapped, his anger at the other buck
growing.
“Hazel,” Fiver said softly before his older brother said anything too harsh.
“What?” his brother demanded.
“Go on ahead Hazel; we’ll be right with you.”
Hazel nodded then hopped away.
Turning his attention back to Hawkbit, Fiver gently said, “We found Watership Down
because we believed we would and we’ll get out of here if we believe we can.”
“Easy for you to say,” Hawkbit replied with a shiver, “you can see tomorrow so you know
they’ll be one, and Hazel, he’s never afraid.”
“Oh but he is,” Fiver explained, “right now he’s afraid he’s let us down, he’s afraid you’ve
lost faith in him.”
Hawkbit swallowed and shakily said, “Well let’s prove him wrong, shall we.”
.....
Hazel, Fiver, hawk bit, are you there?” Dandelion called down into the hole in the abandoned
burrow’s floor.
No reply.
All at once Pipkin, who had been gazing round the burrow, shouted out, “The Black Rabbit,
Dandelion, he’s behind you.”
The other rabbit turned to see a dark shape on the wall.
“Run!” Dandelion screeched and shot out of the burrow, Pipkin was right on his tail.
.........
Bigwig had made it to the river but the Efrafans were close behind him.
Seeing a log Bigwig hurriedly ran over to it and hit behind it, hoping the Efrafans would pass
by. Sadly for Bigwig, Vervain hopped a top the log and started shouting.
“Stay on the bank,” the maroon buck yelled, “he’s trapped between us and the river.”
“Don’t look down,” Bigwig prayed but of course Vervain did so.
“Hate you,” Bigwig told the other buck then took off again.
“This way,” the maroon rabbit snarled and would have gone after him but was knocked from
the log as Kehaar swooped down and smacked into the buck’s face.
“Leave him alone ugly face,” the gull shouted as he flew off.
Vervain was about to pick himself up when Campion came and stood over him. Campion
looked down at the maroon buck, who was now bleeding from a cut above his right eye.
“Oh dear, poor you,” Campion said with a gleeful smile, “next time you might want to leave
this catching outsiders thing to us real warriors, okay?”
Mad with rage Vervain tried to claw Campion across the face but the brown furred buck was
already gone.
.......
Hazel, Fiver and Hawkbit gazed about in amazement at their surroundings. They had been
hopping through a long tunnel and had come out into an enormous cavern unlike anything
they had ever seen. Stalactites hung down from the ceiling and in front of the rabbits was a
small ledge overlooking a tiny underground waterfall that ran into a stream.
“Frith hides beauty in the strangest of places,” Fiver said in awe, “we might be the first ever
to see this.”
“Frith wouldn’t make all this just for us would he.” asked Hawkbit.
“He made the rest of the world for us didn’t he” Fiver reminded him.
“If we were meant to see this then he must want us to tell about, that meant we have to get
out,” Hawkbit said with a smile.
“See, now you’re starting to believe,” Fiver laughed.
“Look,” Hazel said, “the stream leads to an opening, maybe it’s a way out.”
All three rabbits ran along the bank of the stream and into the opening. They stopped on a
small ledge. The stream now trickled a little way below them and off to the side was a narrow
path that led down to the water’s edge.
Hazel took a sniff about then joyfully shouted, “I smell a river, weed, waterlillys, and they
can’t grow in without sunlight.”
Hawkbit sniffed and smiled then giving voice to what they were all thinking he said, “it’s the
outside.”
......
Violet stood over the large hole in the abandoned burrow and looked warily into it.
She and Primrose had been on their way out of the warren when both had heard a frightened
squeal come from the abandoned burrow. Going to investigate the two does had run into
Dandelion and Pipkin who had wailed something about The Black Rabbit.
“So where’s The Black Rabbit then?” asked Primrose.
Dandelion looked around then pointed with his paw to a shadow on the wall.
“There he is, he’s coming for us all,” he squealed and hid behind the yellow furred doe, Pipkin did
likewise.
Violet having overheard him turned to face The Black Rabbit, who seemed to stay very still the whole
time and didn’t try to get any of them.
Violet hopped up and down, The Black Rabbit did the same.
Violet then wiggled her ears and The Black Rabbit copied her.
“Err...Dandelion,” Violet said, “this isn’t The Black Rabbit it’s just my shadow.”
“Something tells me it’s only ever been somebody shadow,” Primrose remarked.
Both bucks came out from behind her and Dandelion said with a somewhat embarrassed laugh, “well
that the trouble with being a keeper of stories, one’s imagination can get out of hand.”
Primrose just looked at him with disdain and hopped over to Violet.
“Hazel, Fiver and Hawkbit were here alright,” Violet sighed and looked back to the hole, “they fell
through. Oh I was afraid of this.”
“No sign of them below,” Primrose said, “they must have gone looking for another way up. What
should we do?”
We dig a passage down,” the other doe told her then added, “I just hope they haven’t got lost down
there.”
.....
“Daylight,” Hazel said as eyed the tunnel that the stream flowed through, “we’re almost out.”
“Let’s all go together,” Fiver suggested.
“No,” his brother replied firmly, “the stream might run over a waterfall or into the rapids and it would
be silly to come all this way just to get killed.”
“I’ll go,” Hawkbit declared and jumped into the stream.
“Now hang on,” Hazel began but was cut short by the other buck.
“You got us this far hazel,” Hawkbit said, “let me try being brave for once.”
“Come on Hawkbit,” Fiver said, “you are brave. I’ve seen you charge a cat.”
“Oh cats are easy,” the gray rabbit replied, “facing the unknown, that’s the trick.”
Having said his fill Hawkbit swam away from Hazel and Fiver and when towards the
daylight.
.....
Bigwig ran along the river bank then dived into the water. He came up gasping and looked
around franticly for somewhere to hide from his pursuers.
Unexpectedly Hawkbit popped out from under the foliage of a willow tree.
“Bigwig in here,” he shouted.
Bigwig gave the other rabbit a quick hello nod then followed him under the cover of the
willow, through a tunnel and straight to Hazel and Fiver.
No sooner had he done so Campion and the Efrafans arrived at the river.
Campion looked about but could see no trace of Bigwig.
“We’ve lost him,” he told Vervain.
“Impossible,” the maroon but said then yelled at the other Efrafans, “find him.”
Bigwig waited until they had gone before he whispered to Hazel, “They’re moving on.”
“We’ll wait here until dark then make our way home,” the golden-brown buck told him.
Bigwig nodded then asked, “What is this place and how did you manage to find it?”
“We just had to believe hard enough,” Hawkbit said with a smile.
.....
It was well into the night when the four bucks made their way back to the down. Kehaar
greeted them then told them that the others had spent most of the afternoon digging their way
to the cavern below the warren.
Hazel hopped into the abandoned burrow to hear Violet’s voice from below.
“Violet, everyone we’re up here,” he shouted down to them.
“What are you doing up there?” Dandelion asked, “We’re down here rescuing you.”
.......
“Come on Dandelion,” Hazel said as the entire warren crowded round the yellow furred buck.
Dandelion he and Bigwig were finely playing bob-stones in the underground cavern.
“Yeah come on,” Hawkbit shouted, “get this one and you win.”
“You know,” Fiver said to his brother as they watched the game, “not long ago we were
alone and terrified down here.”
“And now?” his brother asked.
“And now it’s full of live, part of our warren.”
“Yes,” agreed Hazel, “and we have a secret way to the heart of Efrafa, funny how things turn
out.”
“Bob-stone guess is one,” Dandelion said bringing their attention back to the game.
Bigwig lifted his paw to revile one bob-stone.
“It looks like we have a winner,” the Owsla captain said.
“Dandelion the first bob-stone champion of Watership down,” Hazel announced and
everyone cheered.