The Watership Down Podcast: Recent Episodes
Newell Fisher
This is a podcast about all things Watership Down related.
Please note: This unofficial podcast is not intended to be a substitute for reading the original book, or watching one of the film versions.
There will be spoilers.
You can message me at thewatershipdownpodcast @outlook.com
@thewatershipdownpodcast on Facebook
The Watership Down Podcast on Instagram
@thewatershipdo1 on Twitter
Also now on YouTube at https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCYArHTKh
If you want to leave a voice message, for possible use on the podcast, you can do so via this link:
https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. The Netflix series (subscription required): https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80107989?s=a&trkid=13747225&trg=cp&vlang=en&clip=81060523Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Social media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast Twitter:x.com@thewatershipdo1 YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/@thewatershipdownpodcast1300?si=NWMmo3D2mVdLn-25 Past charity appeals: Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. 2016 BBC Radio 4 Radio Play - Part 2 on YouTube:https://youtu.be/V_keM43zMHk?si=8U4duTepr-GVfZb9Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Social media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/@thewatershipdownpodcast1300?si=NWMmo3D2mVdLn-25 Past charity appeals: Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. 2016 BBC Radio 4 Radio Play - Part 1 on YouTube:https://youtu.be/HTgLfpG8YfE?si=KQzlOCx6S6a05EJPWatership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Social media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/@thewatershipdownpodcast1300?si=NWMmo3D2mVdLn-25 Past charity appeals: Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
So sorry, but no episode this week either. Hopefully back to normal next week.--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
Hello everyone. I'm afraid there won't be a full episode this week as, very sadly, my father passed away earlier today, the 20th of May 2024, and I obviously need a little time to grieve and to do what needs to be done in these circumstances. The plan is that things will get back to normal next week. This podcast is, and has always been, invaluable to me in terms of my mental health and, rest assured, it will continue. The image for this bonus episode is the last painting my father completed before his stroke in 2021. It is of him walking on his beloved Sussex Downs.My heart has joined the ThousandFor my friend stopped running today.--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. 2002 BBC Radio 4 Radio Play - Part 2 on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Bf1Cu4wkteo?si=8VnzJ4i1JFQwvJnL Neville Teller's website:https://www.nevilleteller.co.uk/ Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Social media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/@thewatershipdownpodcast1300?si=NWMmo3D2mVdLn-25 Past charity appeals: Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. 2002 BBC Radio 4 Radio Play - Part 1 on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9mFMNoUTocs?si=E4nK89cXN46FH0W2 Neville Teller's website:https://www.nevilleteller.co.uk/ Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Social media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/@thewatershipdownpodcast1300?si=NWMmo3D2mVdLn-25 Past charity appeals: Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by Newell Fisher, Erik Steps, Leea Mäkelä, Grace Liu and John Ruths. It is narrated, recorded and edited by Newell FisherGrace Liu's website: https://artistic-autistic.co.uk/ Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Social media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/@thewatershipdownpodcast1300?si=NWMmo3D2mVdLn-25 Past charity appeals: Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 3 Episode 13: The Magicon YouTube: https://youtu.be/sFRG2Rty-f8?feature=shared Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Social media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/@thewatershipdownpodcast1300?si=NWMmo3D2mVdLn-25 Past charity appeals: Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 3 Episode 12: The Beginning of the Endon YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZnydHM8vwpY?feature=shared Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Social media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/@thewatershipdownpodcast1300?si=NWMmo3D2mVdLn-25 Past charity appeals: Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 3 Episode 11: The Betrayal on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WAXJaIBO7wo?feature=shared Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Social media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/@thewatershipdownpodcast1300?si=NWMmo3D2mVdLn-25 Past charity appeals: Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 3 Episode 10: The Spy on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4wiNdR4RIQI?feature=sharedPlaylist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Social media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/@thewatershipdownpodcast1300?si=NWMmo3D2mVdLn-25 Past charity appeals: Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 3 Episode 9: The Eyes of Silverweed on YouTube: https://youtu.be/E3y_klBxwBo?feature=sharedPlaylist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Social media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/@thewatershipdownpodcast1300?si=NWMmo3D2mVdLn-25 Past charity appeals: Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 3 Episode 8: Darkhaven on YouTube:https://youtu.be/_HYlb5DuZQc?feature=shared Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Social media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/@thewatershipdownpodcast1300?si=NWMmo3D2mVdLn-25 Past charity appeals: Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 3 Episode 7: The Dark Deal on YouTube:https://youtu.be/jHjycVWOo2k?feature=shared Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Social media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/@thewatershipdownpodcast1300?si=NWMmo3D2mVdLn-25 Past charity appeals: Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 3 Episode 6: My Fair Gull on YouTube:https://youtu.be/AHp-wfohfS0?feature=shared Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Social media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/@thewatershipdownpodcast1300?si=NWMmo3D2mVdLn-25 Past charity appeals: Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 3 Episode 5: The Secret of Redstone on YouTube:https://youtu.be/Br2uuWB6P98?feature=shared Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Social media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/@thewatershipdownpodcast1300?si=NWMmo3D2mVdLn-25 Past charity appeals: Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 3 Episode 4: The Nestling on YouTube:https://youtu.be/VB0atV-vS7Y?feature=shared Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Social media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/@thewatershipdownpodcast1300?si=NWMmo3D2mVdLn-25 Past charity appeals: Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 3 Episode 3: The Wanderer on YouTube:https://youtu.be/DD7lbAUCSc8?feature=shared Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Social media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast YouTube channel:https://youtube.com/@thewatershipdownpodcast1300?si=NWMmo3D2mVdLn-25 Past charity appeals: Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 3 Episode 2: A New World on YouTube:https://youtu.be/23YffDAazWA?feature=sharedPlaylist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.comSocial media: Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/thewatershipdownpodcast The Watership Down Podcast Honeycomb on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thewatershipdownpodcast?igsh=MWtlNjR5MDNrNGZzdw== Threads:https://www.threads.net/@thewatershipdownpodcast--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by NewellFisher and Erik Steps and is narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 3 Episode 1: The Last Battle on YouTube:https://youtu.be/VzJFEv3WR0I?feature=sharedPlaylist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 2 Episode 13: The Homecoming on YouTube:https://youtu.be/2P9RjmMf22w?feature=shared Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 2 Episode 12: Bigwig's Way on YouTube:https://youtu.be/aouzyL19wD4?feature=shared Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 2 Episode 11: The Invasion on YouTube:https://youtu.be/RdoSKClECbI?feature=shared Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 2 Episode 10: The Mysterious Visitors on YouTube:https://youtu.be/oKQwJ5PBfuc?feature=shared Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Watership Down music playlist on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOzizcmtJScABzFA52snD9cmsgd1zvOkq&si=QscIc0T4uaFvILAO Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
Merry Christmas and a happy Frithmas! This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 2 Episode 9: Winter on Watership Down Episode 2 on YouTube:https://youtu.be/WwbvKTSf1sk?si=HjdIyG7lK6mHfhd_ Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 2 Episode 8: Winter on Watership Down Episode 1 on YouTube:https://youtu.be/1ANrcaoFDx8?si=N3tlzkc3AmpRqgby TV Series Season 2 Episode 9: Winter on Watership Down Episode 2 on YouTube:https://youtu.be/WwbvKTSf1sk?si=HjdIyG7lK6mHfhd_Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 2 Episode 8: Winter on Watership Down Episode 1 on YouTube:https://youtu.be/1ANrcaoFDx8?si=N3tlzkc3AmpRqgby Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 2 Episode 7: The Great Game on YouTube:https://youtu.be/59QZhInOLIQ?si=FNg2OI5oizqSz9cd Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 2 Episode 6: The Orchard on YouTube:https://youtu.be/SkM90p9bayQ?si=iJmTCjJGPpPoHJHG Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 2 Episode 5: The Stand on YouTube:https://youtu.be/6hkGSMJr38g?feature=shared Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 2 Episode 4: The Great Water on YouTube:https://youtu.be/-Ka68095EFA?feature=shared Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by Newell Fisher and Leea Mäkelä. It is narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 2 Episode 3: The Market on YouTube:https://youtu.be/a7rVl9Bn9ec?si=MRidMCMtlaUF2xcH Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 2 Episode 2: The Roundabout on YouTube:https://youtu.be/oGO30h9ZUdk?feature=shared Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99 Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripte, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. TV Series Season 2 Episode 1: Prisoner of Efrafa on YouTube:https://youtu.be/DzkesL2o5P0?feature=shared Playlist for all episodes on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngOT-ZivRlBfCPYMLfb5ndJWaAUpQdQK&si=z2yaW2p2pCFgHX99Full version of reading from 'Watership Down' at the Crixa. 11th October 2023:https://youtu.be/dtzplUfBIaA?si=ChIIayJZxt28vObS Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is filmed, edited and narrated by Newell Fisher.Filmed YouTube version: https://youtu.be/NR7Pfed_2yIMy apologies for the poor sound quality and lack of notice for this filmed episode. I will sort out a decent bluetooth mike one day.I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given.I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.comRabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by Erik Steps, John Ruths and Newell Fisher and is recorded, edited and narrated by Newell Fisher. Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by Newell Fisher and Giacomo Luca. It is recorded, edited and narrated by Newell Fisher. Watership Down graphic novel: Penguin: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/460496/watership-down-the-graphic-novel-by-adams-richard/9780241683118 Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Watership-Down-Graphic-Richard-Adams/dp/1984857207?ref=d6k_applink_bb_dls&dplnkId=8535734f-5fc1-4e72-93ca-ebe034efb573Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com Season 1 Episode 13: Kidnapped on YouTube: https://youtu.be/42BH-Uv7Fgg?feature=shared--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted recorded, edited and narrated by Newell Fisher. Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com This week's featured image is by Nina Pokoiewski and was created especially for this episode. Nina says: "It was my favourite episode as a child since I loved Hazel and Campion in the series and in episode 12 we witness how Hazel sneakily and kindly shows Campion that Woundworts way really is not the right one and that there is a free life outside of Efrafa. I loved how the two „enemies“ have to work together to survive and when they make it outside, maybe aren’t even enemies anymore... My love for Watership Down started with this series, then came the film and the book. So in my heart the series will always have a special place, but I like to hear your more mature view on it and understand that it might be difficult to deal with the differences and even errors the series has in comparison to the book. But it made me fall in love with it and I think especially the „funny“ new additions to the storyline turned the severe content into an actually nice-to-watch programme for kids unlike the film, which might be closer to the book but hence is much more bloody. Thank you again so much for still sticking to the podcast format, I honestly enjoy every episode!Greetings from Germany,Nina Pokoiewski" Season 1 Episode 12: Friend and Enemy on YouTube: https://youtu.be/AhmhGfStlks?feature=shared--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted recorded, edited and narrated by Newell Fisher. Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am still showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com Season 1 Episode 11: Lost on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jGOu5yjarKY?feature=shared--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is recorded, edited and narrated by Newell Fisher.
It is scripted by Newell Fisher and Erik Steps.
The appeal for the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund has been running for 4 months now and I have decided to bring it to a close. We raised £171 for the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund in that time and I hope we have helped to raise awareness of the issues surrounding rabbit welfare during that time.
The link to the RWAF will remain as a permanent feature in the notes. And, as a closing piece of advice from this worthy charity's campaign entitled "A hutch is not enough", the bare minimum space recommended for a pet rabbit is easy to remember: 3 metres by 2 metres by 1 metre high. 3...2...1. Pass it on.
Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website: https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/
I am now showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given.
I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com
This week's featured picture is by Dalibar, of YouTube comments fame, who is on Instagram as https://instagram.com/deeplydementeddalibar all one word.
Dalibar warns that their Instagram content tends to be "a bit darker and more mature" and understood if I did not want to publicise the link. But I always give full credit to anyone who allows me to use their artwork, so the link will be in the notes. Please take this as a fair warning.
Season 1 Episode 10: A Tale of a Mouse on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Avh6fs11o6k?si=olky0AsgMf5IJ8c_
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is recorded, edited and narrated by Newell Fisher. It is scripted by Newell Fisher and Erik Steps. Please give what you can to our appeal to raise funds for the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund via justgiving.com. Just Giving appeal:https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am now showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.comSeason 1 Episode 9: The Vision on YouTube: https://youtu.be/u7nNlpp9tm0?feature=shared--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is recorded, edited and narrated by Newell Fisher. It is scripted by Newell Fisher, Erik Steps and Lundy Johnson. Please give what you can to our appeal to raise funds for the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund via justgiving.com. Just Giving appeal:https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website:https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ I am now showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given. I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.comSeason 1 Episode 8: Escape from Efrafa on YouTube: https://youtu.be/eTycODGHubk--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is recorded, edited and narrated by Newell Fisher.
It is scripted by Newell Fisher, Erik Steps and Dalibar.
Watership Down locations map on Google Maps:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?msa=0∣=13rvLA-0vQ5pfBiRjzbRWO2NjCFY≪=51.25521941946216%2C-1.3026921183235296&z=15
Please give what you can to our appeal to raise funds for the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund via justgiving.com.
Just Giving appeal: https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast
Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website: https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/
I am now showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given.
I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com
Season 1 Episode 7: Challenge to Efrafa on YouTube: https://youtu.be/95-0KrlXNjQ
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is recorded, edited and narrated by Newell Fisher.
It is scripted by Newell Fisher and Erik Steps.
Please give what you can to our appeal to raise funds for the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund via justgiving.com.
Just Giving appeal: https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast
Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website: https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/
I am now showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given.
I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com
Season 1 Episode 6: The Raid on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2A7MH2dPXRY
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is recorded, edited and narrated by Newell Fisher.
It is scripted by Newell Fisher and Alan and Ros from the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund.
Please give what you can to our appeal to raise funds for the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund via justgiving.com.
Just Giving appeal: https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast
Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website: https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/
I am now showcasing WD fan art, by posting any that is submitted as the podcast title image on YouTube and posting the art on the podcast Instagram feed with no podcast title getting in the way. All, of course, with full credit given.
I am not actively canvassing for contributions, so if you want to showcase your WD themed art, or know of someone elses art that you think should be, please get in touch with me either by social media or by emailing me at thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com
Season 1 Episode 5: The Shadow of Efrafa on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zpLb-SvGMLs
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, recorded, edited and narrated by Newell Fisher and Callum Woof.
Just Giving appeal: https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast
Season 1 Episode 4: Strawberry Fayre on YouTube:
Interview with Dr. Catherine Lester on BBC 5 Live (from 2:42): https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001p0sf?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, recorded, edited and narrated by Newell Fisher.
Just Giving appeal: https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast
Lapine Radio Play Archive on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@lapineradioplayarchive
Season 1 Episode 3: The Easy Life on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BzN3WgxqRg8
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by Newell Fisherand Javier Ramos and is recorded, edited and narrated by Newell Fisher.
Just Giving appeal: https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast
Season 1 Episode 2: Home on the Down on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-V1l8YJ_L_Q
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, recorded, edited and narrated by Newell Fisher.
Just Giving appeal: https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast
TV Series opening credits reconstructed map on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ct_6aMysfmT/?igshid=NjFhOGMzYTE3ZQ==
Season 1 Episode 1: The Promised Land on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Dqp-7Cb4Low
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by Newell Fisher and Dalibar. It is recorded, edited and narrated by Newell Fisher and the showcase image is by Nina Pokoiewski.
Many thanks to Wikipedia and the Internet Movie Database for their assistance with researching this episode.
Just Giving appeal: https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast
Rabbit Awareness Week: https://rabbitawarenessactiongroup.co.uk/
Showcase image by Nina Pokoiewski https://instagram.com/illunination?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is recorded by Catherine Lester and Newell Fisher and is edited and narrated by Newell Fisher.
Just Giving appeal: https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast
Buy 'Watership Down: Perspectives On and Beyond Animated Violence': https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/watership-down-9781501376993/
Digital copy of 'Watership Down: Perspectives On and Beyond Animated Violence': https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/watership-down-perspectives-on-and-beyond-animated-violence/
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted narrated and edited by Newell Fisher and this week's showcase image is by Samantha Lee.
Just Giving appeal:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast
Samantha Lee on Instagram:
https://instagram.com/samantha_lee_lapin?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
New audiobook of 'Tales from Watership Down': https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B0C5RYYCGY?source_code=ASSOR150021921000R
Buy 'Watership Down: Perspectives On and Beyond Animated Violence': https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/watership-down-9781501376993/ Digital copy of 'Watership Down: Perspectives On and Beyond Animated Violence': https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/watership-down-perspectives-on-and-beyond-animated-violence/
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted narrated and edited by Newell Fisher.
This week's episode image was painted by Ineke Kalkman, whose instagram handle is @art.by_ine. Just Giving appeal:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast
Rabbit breeding amnesty petition:
https://www.change.org/p/amend-the-animal-welfare-act-2006-to-include-rabbit-breeding-legislation
Ineke Kalkman on Instagram:
https://instagram.com/art.by_ine?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by Newell Fisher, John Ruths and Leea Mäkelä. It is recorded and edited by Newell Fisher and is narrated by Newell Fisher and ArtificiaI Intelligence. Rabbit Welfare Fund Appeal: https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast?utm_source=copyLink&utm_medium=one_page&utm_content=page%2Fthewatershipdownpodcast&utm_campaign=pfp-share&utm_term=3d23a01526584a4a9c5c76b9f620ffa4
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by Newell Fisher, John Ruths and Leea Mäkelä and is narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. It includes adapted text from John, who I am very grateful to for helping me with the script during a difficult week. It was really good for him to be involved in the last episode dealing with the writing of Richard Adams. Many thanks, also, to Erik Steps for his research work on the WD video-game.New audiobook of Tales from Watership Down: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B0C5RYYCGY?source_code=ASSORAP0511160007 Just Giving Appeal: https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast?utm_source=copyLink&utm_medium=one_page&utm_content=page%2Fthewatershipdownpodcast&utm_campaign=pfp-share&utm_term=3d23a01526584a4a9c5c76b9f620ffa4 German Watership Down video game Part 3: https://youtu.be/MkGZRJVlF2Q--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by Newell Fisher and Leea Mäkelä and is narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. Many thanks, also, to Erik Steps for his research work on the WD video-game. Just Giving: https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast?utm_source=copyLink&utm_medium=one_page&utm_content=page%2Fthewatershipdownpodcast&utm_campaign=pfp-share&utm_term=3d23a01526584a4a9c5c76b9f620ffa4 German Watership Down video game Part 2: https://youtu.be/KXYFVpJ-4OQ--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by Newell Fisher, Leea Mäkelä and Sean Hagins and is narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher.Just Giving Rabbit Welfare Fund Appeal: https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast?utm_source=copyLink&utm_medium=one_page&utm_content=page%2Fthewatershipdownpodcast&utm_campaign=pfp-share&utm_term=3d23a01526584a4a9c5c76b9f620ffa4--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by Newell Fisher, John Ruths and Leea Mäkelä and is narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. Just Giving: https://www.justgiving.com/page/thewatershipdownpodcast?utm_source=copyLink&utm_medium=one_page&utm_content=page/thewatershipdownpodcast&utm_campaign=pfp-share&utm_term=3d23a01526584a4a9c5c76b9f620ffa4 Change.org: https://www.change.org/p/amend-the-animal-welfare-act-2006-to-include-rabbit-breeding-legislation Watership Down 2001 video gameplay: https://youtu.be/0eDtf-T2grw--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
Scripted by Newell Fisher and Leea Mäkelä. Narrated and edited by Newell Fisher.--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated and edited by Newell Fisher, with script assistance by John Ruths.--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
Scripted, narrated and edited by Newell Fisher, with script assistance by John Ruths. Link to Arthur Humberstone exhibition: https://www.thehorsehospital.com/events/fourlegsgoodtwolegsbad--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by Newell Fisher with script assistance by John Ruths.--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher. Includes adapted text by John.--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/3LvuhAUluzo--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watershipdown/message
Scripted by Newell Fisher and Leea Mäkelä and is narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message
Scripted by Newell Fisher and Leea Mäkelä. Narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message
Scripted by Newell Fisher and Leea Mäkelä and is narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. Watership Down and Richard Adams Documentary: https://youtu.be/rnhJT_JE9g4--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by Newell Fisher and Leea Mäkelä and is narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. Many thanks to Wikipedia, britannica.com and paradata.org.uk, which acts as a living history of the UK's Parachute Regiment and airborne forces, for their assistance with researching this episode. 2012 interview with Richard Adams: https://youtu.be/TUBrxPMntG4--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by Newell Fisher, John Ruths and Leea Mäkelä and is narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. It includes adapted text by John. "Watership Down. Perspectives On and Beyond Animated Violence" edited by Doctor Catherine Lester of the University of Birmingham https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/watership-down-9781501376993/--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by John Ruths, Newell Fisher and Leea Mäkelä and is narrated and edited by Newell Fisher. It includes adapted text by John.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message
"The Way of the Rabbit Redux" on Jamie Clubb's Podcast: https://pdcn.co/e/www.buzzsprout.com/145620/12041354-the-way-of-the-rabbit-redux-chinese-new-year-episode.mp3 YouTube version: https://youtu.be/ySG1TtmneGU Site Visit 1: https://youtu.be/5rrz-puIP7Y--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by Newell Fisher, John Ruths and Leea Mäkelä.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by John Ruths, Newell Fisher and Leea Mäkelä It includes adapted text from John.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by John Ruths, Newell Fisher and Leea Mäkelä. It includes both quoted and adapted text from John.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by John Ruths, Leea Mäkelä and Newell Fisher.It includes adapted text from John.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message
This episode is scripted by John Ruths, Leea Mäkelä, Chris Boyce, Liza and Newell Fisher. It includes both quoted and adapted text written by John and is narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher. Propp's morphology, a structuralistic approach to folktales: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Propp--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message
The Watership Down Podcast is intended for listeners who are familiar with the plot. There may be spoilers.This episode is scripted by Newell Fisher, Leea Mäkelä and John Ruths and is narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message
The Onezoom evolution site:http://www.onezoom.org/life--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message
'Watership Down and Richard Adams Documentary'. Channnel name: 'Stuart Robinson' https://youtu.be/rnhJT_JE9g4--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message
Link to ABC 1984 Radio Play: https://youtu.be/KShF_SwS-w8
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Link to the RPG 'The Warren': https://bullypulpitgames.com/games/the-warren/
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This is the link to Camping with Steve, as mentioned in the episode: https://youtube.com/c/thestevewallis
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65: Watership Down (1978) Section 7: The Road and the Beanfield
Scripted by Newell Fisher, with script assistance by John Ruths
This section covers from 18 minutes 30 to 21 minutes 20 and the equivalent Chapters from the book are Chapters 10. The Road and the Common, 9. The Crow and the Beanfield and 11. Hard Going
And so, having crossed the Enborne, the 8 rabbits head south. In the book this is where they find the beanfield and rest, after a frightening encounter with a crow. However the filmmakers decided that they should encounter the road first.
As the theme plays, we see the rabbits heading towards a hedgerow, followed by a shot of them running among cows, almost playfully. They run through a gate and across a field towards the road.
The camera zooms in on Fiver's troubled face for a moment. What is he sensing?
And now we arrive at one of the scenes I clearly remember being most used to promote the film when it came out in 1978. Bigwig explains Hrududus and roads to Hazel in a matter-of-fact way that does not seem like showing off.
And then Bigwig cannot resist showing off for a moment, which he does not do in the book, just sticking to the verge as a car passes.
However, here, sitting out in the middle of the road, he sits calmly as a landrover with the registration MR767 drives west right past him. Luckily for Bigwig, the driver doesn't fancy an easy bit of rabbit killing that day.
Neither, it seems, does the driver of a red sports car, registration WD 3231 C, who immediately speeds past in the opposite direction, causing Bigwig to panic and leap about the road in a circle, ending up on the other side.
With a flourish of light music, he comes back out into the road to tell the others to cross it quickly.
And now we see the Beanfield for the first time. Hazel says there is something up ahead and sniffs. The beanfield will give good sight and sound cover for them as they rest. Shouldn't this phrase be "sight and smell"?
As we see a beautiful layered panning shot across the tops of the beans, we hear Blackberry say that Hazel is beginning to sound like a Chief. He uses the phrase 'Hazel-rah'.
Bigwig's response is why I have counted chapter 11 of the book as being included in this section. For that is the chapter, from later on in the story, in which the Lost Paragraph is featured. But here there is no promise from Bigwig to stop fighting the day he calls Hazel a chief.
The 8 rabbits are next seen at rest among the beans.
But now a bee buzzes by. As it passes through the group, we see Violet, the only doe, seem to notice it and smell the air. She runs to the edge of the beans, where Fiver is, sleeping, significantly. For he exists on the margins in many ways.
He notices her leave cover and seems immediately concerned. As he looks at her starting to feed on the white flowered plant she smelt, we see a shadow, as an alarming musical theme plays.
The Hawk appears. We see the horror on Fiver's face. Then we see its it's talons close-up, then a violent moment of screeching...and blackness.
In the next shot, we see the plant with a couple of small feathers floating in the air.
The other rabbits join Fiver, who just looks on and says "Violet's gone".
Her inclusion in the film, considering the nature of her departure, seems curiously disjointed to me.
Hazel's only comment is "We'd better keep moving", which, though a moment of leadership, is telling.
Violet, unlike Bigwig, gets no "My heart has joined the Thousand..." She just ends. And, with the sound of a sad clarinet, that is that. Was her rank too low to earn this accolade? Or just too female?
Fiver hesitates for a moment. Then he leaves too.
Comparison with the book
This is the section of the film in which summary of the book becomes divergence from the book.
And the death of Violet, while an effective cinematic moment, just seems a bit...odd?
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64: Watership Down (1978) Section 6: In the Woods and The Crossing
Scripted by Newell Fisher, with script assistance by John Ruths
This section covers from 14 minutes 10 to 18 minutes 30 and the equivalent Chapters from the book are Chapters 5. In the Woods, 7. The Lendri and the River and 8. The Crossing
The camera pans left past a sparse bush to reveal the recent escapees from Sandleford at the edge of a wood.
We see Hazel approach the edge of the wood and sniff the air. And now Bigwig steps up as advisor to say that they need to rest.
This gives Hazel another leadership moment, as he points out they will be completely clear of the Owsla once they are through the wood. They can rest then.
Bigwig looks up into the trees nervously, but follows Hazel and the rest follow him.
There is a full moon, which allows for backgrounds with high contrast between light and dark. Thorns and sharp edges are emphasised as the camera's panning matches the music to emphasise what an alien environment this is for rabbits.
We hear the screeching of an owl as we see Pipkin briefly halt out of breath more from fear than tiredness.
A foot step is heard in the undergrowth. A fern leaf moves as if disturbed by an animal. A pair of eyes opens in a dark hollow behind Fiver.
Seeing the eyes behind him, Fiver runs, joining the others under a bush.
In the book this would probably be the point at which they pause to listen to The Story of the Blessing of El-ahrairah to lift their spirits. But there is no chance of that happening here.
They look up to see an owl swooping overhead. A holly leaf falls.
Then, suddenly, as Bigwig looks around, the face of a badger emerges from undergrowth.
Bigwig exclaims "A Lendri! This way!" and they all follow him quickly away.
As they make their way down a gradual slope, Violet says it had just killed as there was blood on its lips.
The shot is held on this view of trees on a slope as the light, and tone of the music, become brighter and we hear the dawn chorus of birds.
The sun is coming up and they have made it through the woods. The entire sequence in the woods has lasted only about one and a half minutes.
And now the shot dissolves to a kingfisher on a branch, with the River Enborne behind it.
They are on a patch of gravel on the river's edge with a discarded bottle.
Fiver immediately says they must cross the river, earning him a rebuke from Bigwig, who wanders off to check their surroundings. Fiver addresses them all as he explains about needing to find a "high lonely place with dry soil".
We cut to Bigwig, a short distance away, who sees the dog.
He immediately warns the others by the river bank and says they all have to swim and those who can't will just have to "make out the best they can". There is more leadership from Hazel, who says that isn't good enough.
And now we see what Blackberry noticed. A flat piece of wood by the river bank.
In the book Fiver seems to understand the implications of the floating piece of wood, while Hazel remains clueless. But here it is Hazel who gets it straight away and tells Fiver to get on. Fiver immediately falls off and has to be comedically retrieved from under the water by Blackberry by his scruff.
We see the dog arrive, sniffing, by the river bank.
Hazel tells Bigwig and Silver to push the piece of wood out. With no more talking the whole group enter the river.
The piece of wood spins around due to the panicking Pipkin moving around on it. Bigwig, warns him to stay still, and with Silver, gives the wood one final push into the bullrushes on the opposite bank
Hazel praises Blackberry for finding the wood.
With no boastfulness Blackberry accepts it was a good idea and suggests they bear it in mind for the future.
And, as we build to the optimistic musical theme once again, they are off across country, without resting as they do in the book.
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62: Watership Down (1978) Section 4: The Chief Rabbit
Scripted by Newell Fisher, with script assistance by John Ruths
This section covers from 9 minutes 30 to 11 minutes 50 and the equivalent Chapter from the book is Chapter 2. The Chief Rabbit
As the music dies away Hazel and Fiver approach a rabbit we immediately recognise as Bigwig.
A shortened version of their first conversation from the book follows, in which we learn that Bigwig seems not to know Hazel well enough to immediately recognise him.
In the background Blackberry and friends appear as they try to listen in on the conversation.
Another change from the book is the interruption of Captain Holly, whose manner is very harsh compared to the way he acts in the book.
After being easily persuaded to let them see the Chief, and telling them to wait, Bigwig dives down a hole and we hear his voice muffled saying:
"Excuse me sir. These two outskirters have asked permission to see you. Is it alright if I bring them down?"
He reappears in the hole and tells them to come with him. Hazel and Fiver go down the hole after him.
And now we hear the Chief Rabbit's voice for the first time, echoing in his burrow, as the camera zooms in on the hole.
We are being taken underground as viewers for the first time in the film and this is done very effectively using a detailed background painting that is used for zooming and panning.
At first we see Hazel and Fiver from the side, with Bigwig nervously listening as they talk to the out of view Chief. And then we see him clearly. An effective portrayal of the rabbit version of an elder statesman.
As soon as he hears what Fiver has to say, he calmly turns his back on them, though still supposedly involved in the conversation.
This action is accompanied by what I'm going to call an Oboe-based theme that seems to reduce the gravitas of the Chief by emphasising his ponderous physicality. Basically it emphasises how he is old and a little past it.
Their conversation is, again, faithful to the book but truncated.
The shot of the Chief's foot stretching that I have used as the image for this episode also seems to be a subtle expression of his power.
The Chief of the film, as in the book, has already dismissed these two upstarts, but his intentions in the film are even less friendly.
We see Bigwig, realising how this conversation is going, shaking his head and turning away as he realises how much trouble he may be in.
We cut away briefly to a curious Blackberry being warned off listening at the entrance to the burrow by an angry Holly.
In the book, the Threarah gives a lengthy explanation as to why leaving the warren is impossible. Here it is truncated.
Fiver's panicked reaction causes him to have a kind of fit in the book. Here he just runs away crying "We can't wait".
Then we see the subtle annoyance of Hazel at being mis-named 'Walnut' by the Chief again.
As Hazel follows Fiver out, we get one of the bonus scenes of the film only hinted at in the book, as the clearly embarrassed Bigwig tries to creep away...but it is too late. The Chief wants a word, knowing full well that Bigwig is trying to creep away, and in the film we get to hear what he has to say to him, after he has to call him back a second time:
"What was that all about? Your duty, as an officer, is to protect this burrow. Those two lunatics had better be watched"
This is a good example of the difference in Owlsa culture in the Sandleford Warren between the book and film.
In the book Hazel and Fiver are of no consequence, as mere outskirters. And they are free to leave for all the Chief cares. It is only the Owsla members who get into trouble.
But here the two brothers are a security concern. This is our first clue that the Sandleford of the film is a little more Efrafa like than in the book.
Hazel and Fiver are now in the sights of the Sandleford Owsla. What will the
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61: Watership Down (1978) Section 3: The Notice Board
Scripted by Newell Fisher, with assistance by John Ruths
This section covers from 5 minutes 40 to 9 minutes 30. The equivalent Chapter from the book is Chapter 1. The Notice Board
As the camera zooms out from the detailed rabbit we ended with last time, the shot dissolves to one in which a rabbit is represented in the way we will see throughout the film, in other words the fur is a single untextured colour. This is Hazel.
He emerges cautiously. After a few seconds of checking for danger, he returns to the bank and, at last, we hear a rabbit speak, as he reassures Fiver that everything seems okay.
Hazel suggests they try to find a Coltsfoot. This is a change from the Cowslip mentioned in the book.
Fiver, rushing after Hazel, is startled by a bee, which is commented on by Blackberry and, from the voice, Silver, even though he seems to be further away and the rabbit with Blackberry looks more like Dandelion.
Silver refers to Fiver as a runt, whereas in the book his comment is spoken by Blackberry, who is talking to Buckthorn, one of the three rabbits seemingly amalgamated into Silver here.
In the book, Blackberry only refers to him as Fiver and explains his name.
Fiver sniffs around looking for a coltsfoot and, as soon as he finds one, a large rabbit foot lands on it. There follows a more stilted version of the conversation with Toadflax from the book.
Hazel makes it clear that he has had enough of the way things are going in this warren and has considered leaving.
The two brothers arrive at a part of the pasture lower down the slope.
And then Fiver enters a patch of long grass where he is startled by another bee. The sound of the bee is an excellent piece of dissonance in this until now briefly idyllic scene, as it scares him out of the other side of the long grass and straight onto a piece of ground that is muddy and covered in human boot-prints.
An eerie harp and violin theme starts to play as Fiver's terrified eyes look slowly backwards and up.
He turns his head and looks up at the looming noticeboard. And then he smells a discarded cigarette nearby.
And suddenly, terrifyingly, he knows that something terrible is going to happen.
As Fiver's fear builds, a subtle change comes over his fur, as the red of the sunset highlights some parts of it.
The music is building ominously as this first genuinely frightening section of the film arrives and we enter Fiver's dream-state with him.
And so we arrive at the famous shot of Fiver looking at the sun setting over the trees on the other side of a field, as what might have just been the light of sunset becomes something definitely a lot more sinister.
The camera zooms in. The grass in the foreground actually moves out of shot faster than can be accounted for by the zoom, and then the starker outlines of trees replace the scene altogether and mutate. Fiver's vision of death seems to be a reference to the phrase "Like Trees in November" that Pipkin will later use to refer to the rabbits of the Warren of the Snares.
This frightening winter tree now dissolves into a spiral that surrounds the setting sun as we return to reality.
Hazel tries to reassure the trembling Fiver but his suggestion that they return to their burrow has the opposite effect.
As soon as Fiver insists that something "very bad" is going to happen, Hazel seems far too easily convinced, bearing in mind that, moments before, he was telling Fiver he was being "silly" for suggesting they all have to leave the warren. And he immediately says they should go and see the Chief Rabbit.
As a bed of quiet violin music plays they return to the scene of silflay where Fiver was first scared by a bee, where Fiver shouts that everyone needs to leave the warren.
As Hazel and Fiver enter a wooded area, the whole group of silflaying rabbits gather and follow them.
And, as the music bed fades away, we se
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60: Watership Down (1978)
Section 2: Opening Titles
Scripted, narrated by Newell Fisher, with script assistance by John Ruths.
This section covers from 3:40 to 5:40
As the image of Frith melts away, it is replaced by a hazy rising Sun. There is movement from out of focus grass in the foreground and we zoom out to see more grass waving in the breeze, as well as a passing butterfly.
We get the first view of Watership Down on film: the single large tree standing on the high Down.
This is the vision of WD that was emulated in the TV series in the 90’s, even though, both in the book and in reality, the site actually lies at the north end of a long narrow “beech-hanger”.
The camera lingers on the lone tree for a few seconds as a beautiful clarinet based theme plays.
And now we are taken on a journey as the credits begin.
The words “Nepenthe Productions Limited Presents” appear.
The shot zooms out and right to include the Iron Tree, or pylon,at the foot of the Down.
And then it dissolves and moves left and zooms out into a more distant view of the Down, as a flock of birds flies across.
This is the view from the Warren of the Snares that we will see again after Bigwig survives.
And now we dissolve to a zoom out of the approach to the Warren of the Snares, though in better weather than in the narrative, as the credits appear for Angela Morley, who saved the musical score, and Marcus Dodds, the musical director.
Malcolm Williamson, who Morley had to take over from, is relegated to a credit for incidental music.
The shot dissolves to a right pan across fields as the words ‘ “Bright Eyes composed by Mike Batt’ appear, followed quickly by ‘Sung by Art Garfunkel’.
The camera zooms out and pans left to a graveyard and church tower. This is probably meant to be the churchyard at Newtown.
We now dissolve to a zoom out of a hazy sky, as our view of their eventual destination becomes the mystery it is at first in the story.
The Editor Terry Rawlings is credited at this point.
And now there is another dissolve to a pan left as animation supervisor Philip Duncan is credited. Then the camera pulls back and pans right as we see a glint of sunlight from the window of a passing hrududu.
Now we are entering woods. The shot dissolves to the River Enborne and animation director Tony Guy is credited.
We can now hear a conversation that is taking place at the Sandleford Warren
At first the words are indistinct. Then, as we dissolve to a shot panning right at Sandleford Warren itself, we hear the words.
“...down along the edge of that wood, there. Enjoyed many a Game Pie from it, too”
A Game Pie is one made from hunted wildlife.
So the very first words spoken in the film, other than by Frith as narrator, are by a human referring to killing wildlife.
We can also hear the sound of nails being hammered. These humans are up to something.
The reference to enjoying hunting in the woods is replied to by the other human saying “Ah well. You can’t hold back progress. Shame though”
The final credit comes up:
“Written for the screen, Produced and Directed by Martin Rosen”
The humans talking are giving us, as fellow humans, sufficient hints to realise that the wood being referred to may not be around for much longer.
As the camera pans right to a shot of a setting sun, which I have used as the image for this episode, we hear:
“Good Lord, it’s gone 8 and I told ‘Lizabeth we’d go into Newbury this evening.”
The man continues:
“Old Sun sets so late in Summer, it’s morning before evening...” and then his words become indistinct as we hear car doors slam and a hrududu driving away.
As we hear his closing words, we cut to a rabbit’s eye, open and attentive.
It blinks as the camera zooms out. Then it sniffs the air quietly.
So far we are still in our, human, world. And this wild rabbit is just a dumb animal.
But the camera is zooming out. And all that is about to change...
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59: Watership Down (1978) Section 1: Prologue
Scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher, with script assistance by John Ruths
This opening section covers from the start of the film to 3 minutes 40 and the equivalent Chapter from the book is Chapter 6.The story of the Blessing of El-ahrairah.
The very first thing we experience in the film is a dramatic orchestral flourish, before we see anything. And then a strange object emerges out of the darkness. This is our first sight of Frith, the living Sun.
We see Frith creating the stars. The camera shot then pans down to the initially blank “world”, onto which surreal stylised bushes and trees are dropped.
We then see a collection of fairly bland looking animals drop out of the sky, though still covered with abstract designs
El-ahrairah arrives last and on his own, bumping to the ground in a comedic fashion.
All the animals are his friends and they all eat grass together. The music is light and airy, with a lot of what I think is clarinet playing.
And then the fall from grace begins, as the rabbits multiply and eat all the grass right in front of the other animals. The other animals are seen to make a gesture towards the sky appealing to Frith, which does not happen in the book.
Frith warns El-ahrairah to control his "people" or he will. But El-ahrairah is defiant, walking off in an arrogant comedic way.
We see the "face" of Frith redden with anger as we are told of his decision to give each animal a "gift" by Frith extending a sunray towards the world.
Briefly we see the more harmless gifts being given, at least from a rabbit perspective.
But then the Elil are created, as harmless animals become brightly coloured harbingers of death for all rabbits.
We are taken through the Eyes of a newly vicious cat to the well-known shot of rabbits at silflay being killed one by one and turning red. The music is now more staccato.
El-ahrairah is afraid. He sees the "Black Rabbit of Death".
In panic, El-ahrairah starts to dig as Frith approaches. Frith asks if he has seen El-ahrairah. He has not. So Frith offers to bless him instead if he will come out of his hole. El-ahrairah cannot as the Fox and the Weasel are coming. Frith will have to bless his bottom.
Frith's sunbeam touches El-ahrairah's tail and, with a golden flash, it turns white. His back legs grow strong and powerful, his fur colour darkens and, finally, his round face is transformed into a thin sleek one.
El-ahrairah speeds off across "the hill", as it is described, faster than any other creature in the world now.
But soon he is in a wooded area, where Elil lurk behind every Bush, as Frith gives his familiar warning about all the world being his enemy, “Prince with a thousand enemies”.
El-ahrairah demonstrates his skills. The shadows of Elil are seen to one side. But El-ahrairah is too fast for them now.
As he darts in and out of his holes, Frith gives his promise that, as long as he is cunning and full of tricks, his people will never be destroyed.
As Frith concludes, his mythical aspect melts and dissolves into the actual Sun, as the opening titles begin on Watership Down itself.
Comparison with the Book
In the original novel, this is just the first of several tales of El-ahrairah told by characters in the book during the course of the narrative, acting often as light-hearted interludes.
Although this origin story is obviously the most important, it is very much told in this spirit, by Dandelion, in order to lift his companions’ spirits as they rest, terrified, in the woods just south of Sandleford at the dead of night, shortly after their departure.
Here it is elevated to epic status. This opening established a convention for film portrayals of the story that subsequent versions have felt the need to emulate.
The decision to use this story in this way was the first act of Revisionism in the world of WD. And possibly its most successful.
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58: Introduction to the 1978 film Scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher, with script-assistance by John Ruths Origin of a film Martin Rosen bought the rights by 1975 and production started that year. He hired Terry Rawlings as editor. The music for the film hit a major crisis after Malcolm Williamson, a prestigious composer, left the country with hardly anything written. Angela Morley took over, reluctantly, and developed the score in 2 weeks , both from his initial sketches and her own original work. Rabbit Voices So who were the actors who portrayed our rabbit friends...and enemies? Hazel is probably best known as being voiced by John Hurt the year before an alien attached itself to his face in the film ‘Alien’(1979). Fiver is portrayed by British comedy actor Richard Briars, while Bigwig is played by Michael Graham Cox. Briars is best known for his role in the 70's British sit-com 'The Good Life'. Cox is probably easiest spotted playing Captain Cleminson in 'A Bridge too Far' (1977). Captain Holly is played by John Bennett, who plays Dr. Ehrlich in 'The Pianist' (2002). Sir Ralph Richardson plays the Chief Rabbit of Sandleford. He played the Supreme Being in 'Time Bandits' (1981) Simon Cadell, plays Blackberry. He is best known for his role as Jeffrey Fairbrother in the British Sitcom 'Hi-de-hi'. Terence Rigby plays Silver. He plays General Bukharin in the Bond film 'Tomorrow never Dies' (1997). Roy Kinnear plays Pipkin. He played Henry Salt, father of Veruca Salt, in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). Richard O'Callaghan plays Dandelion. He is Lewis Boggs, the son of the factory owner played by Kenneth Williams in 'Carry on at your Convenience' (1971). Denholm Elliot plays Cowslip. You will recognise him as Dr. Marcus Brody from the Indiana Jones movies. Stage actor Lynn Farleigh plays the cat. She was Mrs Bennet's sister, Mrs Phillips, in the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. Marry Maddox plays Clover. She played Ms. Fossington-Gore in the UK TV adaptation of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ in 1985. Kehaar is played by Zero Mostel, the crazy haired Producer from Mel Brook's 'The Producers'(1967) Veteran film actor Harry Andrews plays Woundwort. The role I remember him best in is as Regimental Sergeant Major Wilson in 'The Hill' (1965) TV actor Hannah Gordon plays Hyzenthlay. She can be seen playing Ann Treves in 'The Elephant Man' (1980) Captain Campion is played by Nigel Hawthorn, who played the title role in 'The Madness of King George' in 1995. TV actor Clifton Jones plays Blackavar. His best known role is as David Kano in 'Space:1999'. He was one of two black actors in the cast. Vervain, and Chervil, are played by Derek Griffiths, the other black actor. He was mainly a UK comedy TV actor. You can spot him as Saladin in 'Up the Chastity Belt' (1971). Veteran Shakespearean actor Michael Hordern plays Frith and the narrator. Probably easiest seen as Sir George Hodge in 'Gandhi' (1982) Another veteran, Joss Ackland , plays The Black Rabbit...or is that El-ahrairah? He is the villain Chuck De Nomolos in 'Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey' (1991) Lucy, the human girl, is played by Michelle Price, who played a Girl pupil in 'Maria Marten', also known as 'The Girl in the Red Barn' (1980). Sights and Sounds Watership Down was produced in the time before computer animation, when making such a film involved a team of artists painting backgrounds, while another team drew then painted each frame of the characters' movements onto transparencies that were then photographed over the backgrounds. This is why animated films tended to be far shorter than live-action. WD Broke that rule at 90 minutes in length. The British Board of Film Classification seems to have assumed it was harmless, as it was an animation, without even watching it.
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57: Watership Down and the Classics
Written by Andrew Stevens
Full references:
Richard Adam’s biographical note in the Puffin edition of Watership Down describes him as having “more than a passing acquaintance with the giants of English literature”(1)…
...The three great epics...Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid do seem to feature throughout the novel, as does the wider Greek Epic cycle...There are...scholarly works on structural similarities and narrative technique between the poems and the novel, Chapter 2 of Dr Hannah Parry’s 2016 thesis “The Aeneid with Rabbits: Children's Fantasy as Modern Epic”(2) is one fine example....
Chapter 1 opens with a quote from Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, the story of the Greek king’s...homecoming after the sack of Troy...the destruction of a former home also matches how Aeneas tells his story to Queen Dido in Virgil’s Aeneid (3).
...the available evidence strongly suggests that the English translation of the Agamemnon excerpt is Adams’ own (4).
...The Warren of the Snares has been likened to the Lotus Eaters from the Odyssey (5)
...The Anabasis has been described by Michael Flower as the “master-plot” of the escape story in Western literature (6)...
...A parallel exists between the Anabasis and Watership Down... army vanguard reaches the summit of Mount Theces...They cry out “Thalatta! Thalatta!” “The Sea! The Sea”... (7), an event alone that has inspired entire scholarly works on its cultural significance (8). When Dandelion...cries out “You can see the whole world” (9), this is their Thalatta moment.
Classical culture and history combine in the character of Bigwig...Before the battle, some sources state that the Persians invited the Greeks to lay down their arms and have their lives spared. They are said to have replied simply “Molon labe – come and get them” (10)...when Bigwig invites his Russian Warship of an opponent to “silflay hraka, u embleer rah”(11), his humour is crude, perfect and feels very Spartan.
It is easy to draw a comparison of Hazel...and Bigwig...to Odysseus and Ajax in the Little Iliad...Bigwig’s contempt for the idea of Hazel being superior to him in Chapter 11 (12), shows his view at this point that a strong rabbit could never answer to a weaker one. At the novels’ climax, we learn in his explosive, revelatory statement of “My Chief Rabbit has told me to defend this run …”(13) that, unlike Ajax, Bigwig has accepted his and his rah’s positions...
A final note on Classics in Watership Down is the title of Chapter 48 (14). Dea ex Machina means “Goddess out of the Machine”...
1 WD p.479
2 Parry, pp.33-53
3 Parry, p.39
4 Bridgman, pp.161-2
5 Parry, pp.40-2
6 Flower, p.47
7 Anab. 4.7.11
8 Rood, 2004
9 WD, p.134
10 Cartledge, p.142
11 WD p.451
12 WD, p.68
13 WD p.454
14 WD, p.458
Primary sources
Adams, Richard (1972) Watership Down, Puffin Books, Harmondsworth
Xenophon Anabasis in Waterfield, R. (trans.) (2005) The Expedition of Cyrus, Oxford, Oxford Worlds’ Classics
Secondary sources
Bridgman, J. (1990) The Writing, Publication and Literary Context of Watership Down. PhD Thesis, University College London, London
https://www.proquest.com/docview/1924932476/3D1CFE091B584D0APQ/4
Cartledge, P. (2006) Thermopylae – The Battle that Changed the World, London, Macmillan
Flower, M.A (2012) Xenophon’s Anabasis or The Expedition of Cyrus, Oxford, Oxford University Press
Parry, H (2016) The Aeneid with Rabbits: Children's Fantasy as Modern Epic. PhD Thesis, Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand https://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/handle/10063/5222
Rood, T. (2004) The Sea! The Sea! The Shout of the Ten Thousand in the Modern Imagination, London, Duckworth Overlook
Further Reading
Hardwick, L. (2003) Reception Studies: New Surveys in the Classics, Greece & Rome, New Surveys in the Classics, no. 33, Oxford, Oxford University Press
Andrew Stevens, March 2022
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56: Owsla Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher. What is an Owsla? Without an Owsla, the ONLY structure in a warren would be the Chief Rabbit. Hazel became Chief Rabbit simply based on his personality. Woundwort got to be a Chief by killing the previous one, so by a hostile takeover. Who knows how Cowslip got to be a Chief but one might guess it was simply because he was the most 'in charge'. The Chief can't do everything. And here is how the Owlsa is born. It'll be made up of rabbits who are strong enough, maybe big enough, maybe fast enough, and very likely brave enough to do what needs to be done. Adam's mentions, in his footnotes, that a good storyteller might find a place in an Owsla in some warrens. And definitely a seer such as Fiver. Anytime a group of rabbits form, an Owsla would probably more or less work themselves out. The four Owsla's of WD in order. Sandleford's Owsla The Sandleford Owsla seems to be one that tolerates petty privileges for Owsla members. And this is what gives Hazel the notion of leaving even before Fiver's premonition. It also seems to help drive Bigwig away, an Owsla member. And, for that matter, Silver. But this Owsla is nowhere near as bad as that of Efrafa. This changes in the 1978 film. When Captain Holly catches the group trying to leave Sandleford, it is worth paying attention to what he actually says. In the book, Holly is only concerned with the Owsla members Bigwig and Silver. He doesn't seem to be concerned with the rest of the group at all. But in the 1978 film the actions of the Owsla are far harsher. The group that tries to leave is larger than in the novel, seemingly including does and maybe even some kittens, and most of them are immediately rounded up. Captain Holly then intercepts the remaining bucks and tells them they are ALL under arrest. This is at 13:20. So the Sandleford Owsla of the film seems to be far more like that of Efrafa. The Warren of the Snares Owsla It seems that an ad hoc posse-like Owsla can be raised fairly effectively when needed in this warren, as in when Holly's party, escaping from Sandleford, have the bad luck to bump into them. It is this Owsla that is the only one in the book that kills a rabbit from Sandleford: the already sick Pimpernel. This is a warren where leadership and discipline has ceased to matter a long time ago and even their most dangerous actions are more motivated by their mass suicidal-delusion than any desire for self-protection. WD's Owsla Bigwig was the Chief of a "very free and easy Owsla" at the end of WD. The Owsla formed pretty early, with Bigwig as the charter member. Silver and Buckthorn were the next members. In "Tales from WD" Hazel comments, at one point, "We're all in the Owsla, really". By the end of the novel we see that the elderly chief, Hazel-rah, has a sentry outside his burrow. This may indicate that the WD Owsla has become a little more formalised. Efrafa's Owsla This is the only Owsla in the book with more than one Captain, each in charge of a Mark, or wide-patrols. The implication of the name of the chief rabbit, GENERAL Woundwort, seems to be that he is also the head of the Owsla. Efrafa has another structure that is unique in the book: the Council and their 'Owslafa' or 'Council Police'. The Council take on some of the Chief Rabbit's roles. The differences between the two security bodies are that the Owslafa is mostly concerned with internal security. The Owsla is mainly concerned with their own rabbits within each of the four marks. So an Owslafa member would never have to worry about going on Wide Patrol. On the other hand, a member of the Owsla would not be given prisoner escort duty. The council is not a representative body of each mark. In fact you could say it is more of a Civil Service. Conclusion The Owslas of WD run a spectrum of formality, from least to most formal, as follows:
Snares
Watership Down
Sandleford
Efrafa
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55: Does Scripted by Newell Fisher. The does of WD in order of appearance: Nildro-hain : Song of the blackbird Clover: A hutch-doe. The first doe to speak directly in the book Haystack: a hutch-doe Hyzenthlay: Fur-shining-like-dew Thethuthinnang: Movement of Leaves Nelthilta Thrayonlosa Vilthuril A summary of the plot of the novel from a purely female perspective: Watership Down: The Does' Tale Nildro-hain, along with her mate, meets the leader of a group of buck Hlessil. The next day, she dies in a snare. A few days later, the hutch-does Clover and Haystack, and their mates, are visited by two bucks at Nuthanger Farm. Meanwhile, in Efrafa, Hyzenthlay meets a buck who has attempted to act as an emissary from another warren, only to be told he cannot leave. Three nights later, several bucks return to Nuthanger Farm. They free the hutch-rabbits. But their leader is shot. Later that day, a group of bucks arrive back from an expedition in an awful state. Then a buck arrives with the good news that the chief is alive but wounded. The chief returns to WD a few days later. He outlines his plan to rescue does from Efrafa. The next day, all of the bucks bar four leave. A few days later, in Efrafa, the young doe Nelthilta speaks to her mark captain. She asks if some does could be allowed to go on wide-patrol, knowing it will never happen. Hyzenthlay, Thethuthinang, Nelthilta and another doe are interrupted by a large Owlsa officer with a strange fur cap on his head. He seems to know something about Hyzenthlay, who has never met him before. The buck tells her his real reason for being in Efrafa. He knows the bucks who escaped a few days earlier and is there to help does to escape. He asks her to pick the does who will escape herself. The next day thunder is approaching. That evening the escape does not go ahead. At morning Silflay Nelthilta is unable to resist making unwise remarks to the Mark Captain. Later Nelthilta is arrested. Hyzenthlay wakes the buck up to warn him and her tells her to gather the does immediately. The escape begins! The escaping does are told that the bird will help them soon. And then they see the chief approaching from the railway arch. Then the promised bird attacks! The does are guided by friends of the buck to a river and onto a wooden object. The buck says this is the promised trick. And suddenly, miraculously, the Chief is...gone. There is a scraping sound and darkness. Thrayonlosa is struck hard in the back. Then it is light again. Then, some time later there is a jolt. Hyzenthlay and the other efrafans are told to jump off the wooden object and swim, finding themselves in a tunnel filled with water, before ending up back on land. During the night, Thrayonlosa dies. The group set off north to their new home on WD. One of the efrafans is taken by a fox without warning. Then an efrafan wide-patrol appears. The rest of the group arrive This is enough to put the wide-patrol off causing any trouble and they leave. They arrive at their new home. Clover is pregnant. One evening there is a blind-panic. The efrafans have found them and there is a large group of bucks nearby! Everyone gets underground and holes start to be filled in. A short time later a small buck has a kind of fit. This seems to give the chief an idea. Soon the terrifying chief of Efrafa breaks through into the run, where there is a vicious fight between him and the concealed buck. And then, suddenly, it is over. The efrafan chief is gone. The chief arrives back having ridden in a hrududu. Amazed, Hyzenthlay recalls her vision in Efrafa.
Six weeks later, Vilthuril has taken the small buck as her mate. Both her and Hyzenthlay have had litters, while Clover's kittens are already in training for the owsla, courtesy of the buck who got the efrafans out of their old warren.
All is well on Watership Down.
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54: The one after they finished the book
Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher
Well...we did it. We went through the entire 1972 novel in detail, taking just short of a year.
About half way through that year, having started out never having podcasted ever before, I hit one of the largest crises of my adult-life, and this podcast was only able to remain weekly as a result of John Ruth's extensive assistance with the script.
And when I say "extensive", I mean that he has written most of the words you have heard me say on the podcast since episode 33: The Great River.
I really cannot express my gratitude to John enough and hope to become more active in scripting from this point forward. He probably needs a rest!
This, effectively, is the first episode of Season 2 of this podcast.
So...what happens now?
I plan to pause for 4 episodes now we have finished the book.
Then the 1978 film version: approximately 20 episodes.
After that the sequel 'Tales from WD', published in 1996: about 20 episodes. After that an analysis of the 1999 TV series: about 40 episodes.
After that I plan to look at the 2018 Netflix version. And then there is the graphic novel that comes out later this year.
It may well be that this podcast, ultimately, has a limited shelf-life as an ongoing current podcast, rather than an archive. If so...so be it.
Is WD an allegory? (John Ruths) "The simple answer is, no, it is not. In an allegory, the characters, places, and even events represent hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Animal Farm is a great example of a political allegory--specifically, the Russian Revolution.
However, in WD the characters are more archetypal and many of them are personifications. We get characters that represent basic character types:
Hazel: I'd say that Hazel is leadership personified. Now, our Hazel does not necessarily have all of the typical leader tropes. He's not the biggest or the strongest. He's not even the smartest! Hazel is smart, and he starts off as a rabbit who would have likely ended up in the Sandleford Warren Owsla.
Fiver: The seer and visionary. Without his initial vision, there would not have been a reason for our small band to leave Sandleford in the first place. Most likely, most of them would have stopped running. They continue and they continue to pay off for our group of rabbits that eventually grow into a successful warren. Fiver is also highly intuitive but Richard Adams makes it a point to make another rabbit that we'll discuss even smarter.
Bigwig: Strength personified. He represents brute strength and I'd also say tenacity. Bigwig is not only the best fighter in Watership Down, he's really the best fighter in the entire novel. He demonstrates his strength on many occasions in the book and he has a never-give-up attitude.
Dandelion: Dandelion is two things and I've always found charm in this. Of course, we know that Dandelion is the fastest rabbit so represents speed personified. But he's also the bard of our band of rabbits. Without a written language, rabbits pass their history and beliefs onto future generations via stories.
Bluebell: Well, Bluebell is the other rabbit who can spin a good story. But we also know that Bluebell is also the jokester of our rabbits. In this way, he also represents a fairly archetypal character type and that is the jester.
Blackberry: Intelligence personified. He's clearly the smartest and can conceptualize things that no other rabbit can.
Kehaar: Not so much archetypal but maybe more of a character trope, Kehaar represents the exotic and knowledgeable foreigner.
Once again, just some thoughts on if the novel could be considered an allegory. No, but it does have some ingredients that real allegories often have. It is easy to see how someone can incorrectly classify it in this way."
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53: Epilogue
Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher.
Adams speaks to us directly as readers in the opening sentence. It has a similar effect as when an actor breaks the 'fourth wall' and speaks directly to the camera. "The wise Mr. Lockley" is referenced and we learn that wild rabbits don't live very long. Hazel did as it turns out. We don't even get to know how long he lived and the narrative is better for it. Might we venture a guess that the meaning of a "tidy few" here could be around five years? The ambiguity certainly implies 'hrair', or any number above 4.
WD prospered and so did the warren that he envisioned that Groundsel started out leading. He was the "first Chief Rabbit" and this implies that he is no more.
We then hear about Woundwort. He's never seen again and even high (and low) flying Kehaar never sees him, and doesn't want to anyway! This is where we hear the last quote from Kehaar in the book . It is good to know he came back.
It is overwhelmingly likely that the farm dog killed Woundwort. However, because of his legendary status in Efrafa, why should a former Efrafan such as Groundsel NOT think that he's still out there? In WD, he becomes a bogeyman of sorts.
We know that, as a warren, Watership Down did quite well. We don't know how long Fiver lived, or Bigwig, or really anyone else. If Hazel had a mate at this point, she was not in the burrow so I'd guess this probably means that he lived alone. That probably means that Hyzenthlay has also left the world of the living some time before this.
We're now with Hazel during a cool and windy March morning when a rabbit comes to see him. Hazel had been dreaming about the smell of rain and elder bloom. Well, it is springtime after all but rain does represent cleansing and renewal. Elder bloom can be medicinal but that may be a stretch here.
Hazel wakes to find a rabbit lying quietly beside him, who seems to have shown himself in. The on-duty sentry should really have notified Hazel, however, he does not really mind.
Adams is telling us some things here. The Chief Rabbit of WD has a sentry just like the Threarah did at Sandleford and Hazel still acts with the kind of humility that endeared all of us to him many chapters ago.
Hazel does another humble thing by initiating the conversation. In the limited light of Hazel's burrow, we learn that there is a slight silver light coming from this rabbit's ears. Hazel, realising instantly the significance, wisely addresses this rabbit as "lord" and knows that it is El-ahrairah. El-ahrairah coming to get you in person must be a rare honour.
They pass by the sentry who does not see Hazel's visitor.
As they get above ground, other members of the warren are out at morning silflay.
In one of the most moving moments in the book, Hazel realises that he'll no longer be needing his body so he simply leaves it behind. Hazel was clearly dying but death comes to him in an easy way. If this is the Black Rabbit, it is his gentler face.
Departing his body, Hazel's soul feels powerful and an energy flows from him that even passes into the rabbits that are out feeding. El-ahrairah tell him not to worry about the others and that they'll be fine, like thousands like them. He invites Hazel to come with him, so he can show him what he means.
The chapter, and book, closes with Hazel and El-ahrairah running away from the warren on WD through the woods. Primroses are beginning to bloom and this contrasts with the primroses that were ending at the very beginning of the book. Adams neatly used primroses as bookends. "The primroses were over" at the beginning marks the season at that point, but the fact that they were "over" is not an encouraging mataphor, as the Sandleford warren soon will be as well. This ending, where primroses are blooming, is a positive and upbeat contrast to Hazel's death.
And so the 1972 Novel, Watership Down, ends.
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52: Chapter 50. And Last Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher. Dedicated to the people of Ukraine and of Russia. The Lost Paragraph resolved Before going through this week’s chapter, I need to apologise for completely missing a crucial moment in Chapter 49 last week, especially given all the time I spent on the Lost Paragraph in episodes 7 to 10, 15 and 23. The last words of Chapter 49, spoken by Bigwig, are: "And if he’ll believe you, Hazel-rah, then I will.” In editions of the book that include the Lost Paragraph, this is the moment Bigwig fulfills his statement at the end of Chapter 11. Chapter 50. And Last We are told it is now six weeks later. The Efrafans who were trapped when they were defeated stayed and joined WD. This happened largely due to Hazel's civility and determination. Fiver seems to have a sense of detachment that seems permanent. This seems sad in a way but it is possibly how Fiver was eventually meant to be. Bigwig mentions the price that Fiver has also paid for the warren's victory over Efrafa. We know that he has a doe, Vilthuril, who he is devoted to. Hyzenthlay has a litter who are out silflaying but who Hyzenthlay's buck is is not mentioned. We know by reading ‘Tales From Watership Down’ that her buck is Hazel, however, we're not told this here. The conversation turns to General Woundwort. Groundsel, the former Efrafan, now a member of WD, says that Woundwort is not dead and has likely founded a new warren someplace else. Silver, whom we know is a very tough fighter but also speaks with wisdom, is about to strongly debate Groundsel's assertions. However, Hazel prevents this, as an argument, even an amicable one, will really do no good at this point. We next learn that Campion is now the 'rah' of the Woundwort-free Efrafa and this makes sense. Hazel has the idea of Groundsel taking some rabbits out of the soon-to-be slightly overcrowded WD, combining them with some rabbits from Efrafa, and starting a new warren geographically between the two warrens. Kehaar will be able to help. The mere mention of our favorite gull has Silver mention that someone at the warren will be happy to see him. We of course know that this is Bigwig and now the story turns to him as he is training members of Clover's litter. These young rabbits are more interested in hearing about his experiences and we can understand that. We now hear a bit about changes to the warren in the form of a "winter burrow" and how the roof of the Honeycomb will eventually be healed by the combination of nature and the passage of time. An idea forms for the rabbits to go over to the evening side of the wood. They soon come upon Vilthuril and her (and Fiver's) litter of four rabbits. They are listening to their mother tell a story. This story sounds like it is about El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle but we readers recognise it as being strongly interlaced with WD's own story. In particular the encounter with the Warren of the Snares. The young litter see Hazel-rah and more or less mob him in a good-natured way. After all, he's also their uncle! And then one of these young rabbits, young Threar, has a vision of a man approaching the Down on a horse. This of course proves to be true. Vilthuril announces that this is because of "Fiver's blood" and this makes sense. The chapter concludes with Hazel proposing that it's time for all to get back underground again. Fiver is seen not far away towards one of the holes and soon all the rabbits are underground for the evening. And, all too soon, the main interactive narrative of the characters of the novel ‘Watership Down’ is suddenly over. Adams describes dusk and the coming of the autumn night sky, with the constellations seen in Britain at that time of year. We have now heard all but three of our lapine, and avine, friends, speak for the last time in the novel. The chapter ends with the hopeful words "Underground, the story continued”.
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51: Chapter 49. Hazel Comes Home
The Watership Down Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share
This episode is scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher.
The pre-chapter quote is military in nature and is surely about the First World War. But it can really apply to any armed conflict. It's clear that the two folks that the poem is about have survived their war. To have been "lucky devils" not everyone made it.
It's clearly a reference to Hazel and Bigwig. They 'made it' and no one in the warren had come as close to death as they each had.
A "fusil" is an old flintlock rifle. So, typically, a fusilier is a rifleman and riflemen are infantrymen, even to this day.
The chapter opens with some general comments about Woundwort...pun intended. We'll never know if Wouldwort 'made it' or not. The dog certainly got more resistance than he'd likely bargained for.
Reading this passage closely, I have also realised that I missed another death in Episode 29, on death in WD, as the dog kills another Efrafan, beside the sentry it killed straight away and, presumably, Woundwort. Before it leaves the Down it finds an Efrafan who was injured by glass on the way to WD and kills him.
You could surmise that Woundwort either made it or was wounded (almost a pun!) badly enough to have died somewhere a distance away.
When Woundwort is no longer there to lead, the Efrafans basically fall apart. Most of the Efrafans manage to get away. This effort is led by Campion who seems to be the 'Holly of Efrafa.' He's the only reason why any of the Efrafans made it back and the going was not easy. Rabbits basically disappear unaccounted for on the way back to Efrafa. Unsurprisingly, this includes the dreaded Vervain. All in all, only seven or eight rabbits make it back; a bit under one-third of the number that left Efrafa.
Some stay at WD and they immediately, and smartly, surrender.
Having successfully made it back to the warren after leading the farm dog there, Blackberry and Dandelion tell their version of events and let everyone else know what happened at Nuthanger Farm. Being very loyal to Hazel, Pipkin wants to immediately head towards the farm and Fiver goes with him. They soon see Hazel. Naturally, Fiver stays with him while Pipkin goes back to WD to spread the happy news.
Hazel makes it back and immediately starts to gather information in order to size things up. Once again, we see that Hazel possesses a kind of prudence that is a part of the way he leads. He goes to see a very wounded Bigwig. While Bigwig is hurt very badly, he does show enough humor to imitate Kehaar while asking if Woundwort "is finish". Richard Adams is letting us know that he'll be okay.
Bigwig gets up and moves into the now "devastated Honeycomb" and aren't those words hard to bear? The warren succeeded brilliantly and has not only survived but defeated Efrafa. But even winning has its price. It serves as a kind of 'great hall' for this warren. So, it naturally stings a bit to hear about it being effectively destroyed as a sheltered large underground space.
The image used for this episode is supposed to reflect that devastation.
Hazel and Bigwig continue to talk and the latter gets caught up on the result of the second and final 'raid' on Nuthanger Farm. He also learns how Hazel got back. Hyzenthlay is nearby, hears this, and is suddenly reminded that she saw this in a very Fiver-like vision while she was still an Efrafan.
At the time a rabbit in a hrududu made no sense to her. Now it does.
We're very near the end of this book now. Just a chapter and the epilogue away from the end. Any closure that takes place can simply be enjoyed by the reader.
It's also somewhat bittersweet as the end of the story is just around the next bend in the run.
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50: Chapter 48. Dea ex Machina
This episode is scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher.
This is the only Chapter in WD written from a human perspective.
The phrase "Deus ex Machina" means "the god in the machine" In a story, it signifies a highly unlikely event that resolves an issue, saves someone and provides a happy conclusion. However...this chapter is called DEA ex Machina, meaning the "Goddess in the Machine".
When we read the beginning of the chapter and we see the name "Lucy", we know that she must be the "Dea ex Machina".
The pre-chapter quote is from the poem, Fern Hill by Dylan Thomas. It is about an idyllic childhood spent on a farm. It is such a childhood that, arguably, saves Hazel.
We begin with Lucy, the farm girl from Nuthanger. It's early and she's just waking up. When we hear about the possibility of a dog barking, we can link it to when the farm dog was alerted and broke away as he tore off after Dandelion.
Lucy hears a "sharp sound" and it's a squealing. This gets Lucy up to see what the source of the sound is. Thinking it's most likely a rat, Lucy sees that it's actually a rabbit! Lucy has a brief confrontation with Tab, one of the farm's resident cats. She takes hold of the rabbit that we know to be our very own Hazel. Just as with the adults at the farm, it's interesting how Adams lays out how she speaks English, reflecting her Hampshire accent.
Hazel in her arms, Lucy encounters her father. He explains in his own way that to keep a wild rabbit in a hutch is a death sentence. Her father also defends what the farm cat was doing; and in reality, he's quite right. Her father asks Lucy to hand over Hazel. We the reader know what this means.
Lucy cries. She knows her father is right but she's understandably upset. Lucy wins out. She wants to show the rabbit to the visiting doctor. Lucy goes upstairs, temporarily places Hazel in a drawer, gets some "cloze" on, and will soon meet the doctor.
The dog is back, spotted coming up the lane by the doctor, and we now know that it is a Black Labrador. He's clearly been in a fight. If nothing else, we know that General Woundwort did fight back, given the dog's leg bite and scratched nose. We also learn, in passing, that the dog's name is Bob.
The doctor, whose name interestingly is Adams, sees Lucy's mother first and thinks he'll have time to look at Hazel. Hazel is given an impromptu physical exam. While Adams is a fan of providing us with multiple points of view, we don't get Hazel's thoughts at all. In this one chapter he is portrayed as humans see him: a dumb animal. The doctor acknowledges his wounded leg which he received right there at the farm, a recent cat scratch, and reinforces for Lucy that this rabbit cannot live in a hutch.
The doctor makes an offer. Lucy can go with him on his next house call and Hazel can be dropped off in a location along the way. Luckily for him, Hazel is dropped off on the single track road that lies to the west of WD, on the ridge between it and Hare Warren Down.
The just dropped off Hazel seems to have gone temporarily tharn but comes to himself after about half a minute and quickly gets away. As he departs, the doctor confirms his leg wound. Of course, we readers already know this. As Hazel is never named in this chapter, it simply confirms again who this rabbit is.
The doctor states "he could perfectly well live for years" and that seems quite hopeful. This 'rabbit' has certainly earned this in our eyes. And it will prove to be the case so even the doctor's observation is foreshadowing in a good way.
Funnily enough the chapter ends with the Doctor making a reference to the song "Born and Bred in a Briar Patch" from the 1946 Disney movie "Song of the South". And so our brief foray into the human world ends.
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49: Chapter 47. The Sky Suspended
This episode is scripted by John Ruths, Andrew Stevens and Newell Fisher
The pre-chapter quote is from Lark Rise to Candleford, by Flora Thompson. It seems to clearly reference Bigwig and what's going on between him and General Woundwort.
The chapter begins where we left off at the end of Chapter 45 at Nuthanger Farm and starts with Dandelion's leap when Hazel stamped his alarm. Leaving Hazel's fate behind us, we commence the rapid return to the Down.
Dandelion is not only the fastest rabbit on WD, but he is also not inclined to panic and go tharn. Soon this rabbit and dog pair get up to where Blackberry is waiting, who attempts to draw the dog. Swift and driven Dandelion has now caught up! The two intrepid rabbits work as a team to continue to draw the dog.
We're now back in the warren on Watership Down where we find a wounded but determined Bigwig who is unwilling to let Holly take his place. Woundwort is attempting to bargain with Bigwig and he actually offers him the Efrafan Mark of his choice. DoesWoundwort truly mean this?
Bigwig's response is surely the best line in lapine in the entire book.
Woundwort leaps forward towards Bigwig again, using his seemingly relentless strength and weight as they bite at one another. Slipping further back, nearly into the burrow he is defending, Bigwig lets loose of his hold on Woundwort, lowers his head, and pushes as hard as he can. Woundwort bites Bigwig's back but the blood that has been filling his nostrils from Bigwig's earlier blows means that he cannot breathe properly while holding a bite so he has to let go.
In his delerium Bigwig thinks he hears Fiver speaking to him as he did at the Warren of the Snares. Bigwig then actually squeals "The wire!" aloud before springing back to life only to find that Woundwort has gone.
Woundwort has backed out of his fight with Bigwig and attempts to send Vervain in to "finish" off Bigwig. Vervain shows up again from dealing with Bigwig. But it's not to report that Bigwig has been killed. Woundwort calls him a coward.
Then he and Woundwort realise that Bigwig is up once again, has moved up within the run he is defending, and is immediately below them. He is in an awful state, his fur-cap matted with blood and one ear half-severed and hanging limply...but he is ready to fight again.
When Bigwig says “My Chief Rabbit has told me to defend this run and until he says otherwise I shall stay here” it only worsens things for Woundwort and Vervain. They had thought that Bigwig was, surely, the chief. And with this new information they both assume that Bigwig's Chief must be even bigger and stronger.
And now Fiver wakes up from the seeming trance he was in. Woundwort sarcastically orders Vervain to kill him and leaves. But then Fiver states that he is sorry for the deaths of the Efrafans. This is too much for even a sadist like Vervain to take, who is usually comfortable mocking those he is about to kill. He is mesmerised by Fiver's demeanour and flees above ground in terror.
As Woundwort loses control over his rabbits they are also shocked by his appearance. And then the dog appears. Only Woundwort stands his ground. Woundwort’s stand against the dog is a truly fitting climax for this monstrous, remorseless, magnificent rabbit.
Woundwort bellows the last words that anyone hears him say. A "raging, squealing cry": “Come back, you fools! Dogs aren’t dangerous! Come back and fight!”
This chapter contains three climactic moments, any of which would be a crowning glory for the novel:
The strongest rabbit Bigwig's declaration of loyalty to his chief, weak yet wise Fiver's calm expression of sadness for the deaths of the Efrafans and the horrific fulfillment of Hazel's calm, yet deadly effective, leadership, make up a trio of truly mythic moments that are a perfect reflection of the rule of three.
The novel has truly reached its denouement.
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48: Chapter 46. Bigwig Stands His Ground
Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher
John's notes for this episode were dedicated to Samantha the wonder dog, who he lost just before writing them. I dedicated Episode 45 to her memory.
Rest in Peace Samantha
The pre-chapter quote is one of Richard Adams' finest selections. It was spoken by the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo and is a brutal summary of the bottom-line of war.
Having just left Hazel in distress at Nuthanger Farm, we're now back at the siege on Watership Down.
The chapter opens with a conversation between General Woundwort and Groundsel. The hole straight down into the Honeycomb is already dug and is ready to collapse at its base. He will drop into the Honeycomb with three other rabbits. Another will stay at the newly dug entrance and send more in once the first wave are clear.
Then they will reopen a run and the rest will pile in that way with Campion.
Without stopping to listen, Woundwort goes in! Very soon, Woundwort is followed by Vervain and the seemingly dim Thunder, who discovers a rabbit that he believes is dead. It's clear that this is Fiver.
Immediately they suss out the layout: the tree-roots at the eastern end and the filled in bays at the western end. Two pairs are put to work opening up runs at both ends, especially as they have detected movement behind one of the filled in bays.
The point of view switches to Bigwig. We've also gone back in time a few moments. Bigwig and Holly discuss that this warren, unlike Sandleford, was not dug to be defended. This gives Bigwig an idea; to essentially get dug in so that he can use himself as a single blocking force. He also knows that his only chance against Woundwort is to hurt him straight away.
Bigwig gets dug in to the floor of the run and, there being nothing for it, they leave Fiver in place. He has told his companions to make some noise behind their blocked run to make sure the Efrafans attack that one. And it has worked.
Back to the Efrafans now. As Woundwort makes his way through the loose soil, a rabbit, who we know MUST be Bigwig, emerges from the floor of the run and bites Woundwort hard in the pit of one of his forelegs. Woundwort reacts very quickly and strikes himself, raking the rabbit across the back and haunch. However, Woundwort's wound goes to a muscle group and proves to be a critical one. Bigwig's sudden rearing up, his attack, and the loose soil behind him Woundwort all combine. Woundwort is unable to use his weight and is thrown backward. He reactively attacks but this misses. Most likely, this has never happened to him before.
Woundwort stands up and realizes the extent of his wound. He'll not be able to put his full weight on his front legs and using his weight against his past opponents was a key advantage. Having taken advantage of surprise, Bigwig has taken away what may be Woundwort's biggest advantage in a fight.
Bigwig now announces his presence with his famous line about impressing Woundwort. Woundwort now knows who bit him. He threatens death to Bigwig and announces that he knows that the "white bird" is not here. As Woundwort moves, Bigwig notes that on the side where he bit the paw is dragging. Bigwig strikes at Woundwort's side, however, no attack on the General can happen without a counterattack. This happens and Bigwig's right ear is bitten and torn. Letting loose of the ear, Woundwort's wounded leg gives way as he tries to rear up and Bigwig gets in a couple more blows across his face.
So far, it seems like Bigwig has gotten the best of things. Bigwig is bleeding from two places but Woundwort also has wounds and one of these won't let him stand up straight.
And then Bigwig realises that he can see Woundwort's outline. The fight has taken place in complete darkness upto now. But the sun is now rising.
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47: Chapter 45. Nuthanger Farm Again
Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher
There will be a conference marking the anniversary at the University of Glasgow from the 2-4 September this year, 2022. Apparently a graphic novel of the book is also coming out this year.
Episode 21 of 'Sophomore Lit' recorded on 6th March 2016, discussing Watership Down:
https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/www.theincomparable.com/podcast/sophomorelit21.mp3
The pre-chapter quote, from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, is one of the most well-known in the book. It is spoken by Marc Anthony after Julius Caesar's assassination in an attempt to get a crowd stirred up so that they may take revenge against the assassins.
The word "havoc" would have become a word that fell out of common usage were it not for Shakespeare. It originates from an anglo-norman french word of unknown origin. Apparently it was a command used when the disciplined phase of a battle was over and victory secure. And it meant to break ranks and pillage and slaughter the surviving enemy.
The quotation mentions dogs of war. Which explains its use in this chapter.
This is a pretty short and simple chapter. It starts off at the warren on WD and ends where the chapter title suggests.
It opens with Woundwort having stern words with Thistle and Ragwort. Thistle states that he's sure there is an animal down in the warren that is not a rabbit. We now get to enjoy the effects on the Efrafans of the unnatural sounds made by Fiver underground in the previous chapter.
Among the Efrafan rabbits there is a feeling that is not quite panic but also not that far from it. The great white bird that turned into a shaft of lightning is being discussed along with a comment about the recent voice from down below possibly coming from, not just a homba, but, by implication, the one that killed Captain Mallow.
Woundwort is also getting somewhat testy with his rabbits as the first signs of sunrise are seen. This tells us that this operation is taking too long. The Efrafans are on the outside and have been exposed all night.
We now join Hazel and company at the foot of WD adjacent to a recently cut hayfield and near a pylon. Blackberry gets posted first, meaning that he'll have the last part of the mission. That is, to lead the Nuthanger Farm dog to the warren. Hazel and Dandelion continue on and they are not covert in their movements, as it would only take more time than they have.
They get to the farm. The dog is still sleeping as early morning birdsong is heard. Hazel will take on the dangerous role of chewing the rope through. Dandelion's job is to simply get chased but with the more complex task of keeping the dog on his tail and getting it to chase him all the way to Blackberry.
Hazel senses the dog underneath him. However, as he gets through the rope, he sees something impossible to plan for: the cat!
Hazel instinctively stamps an alarm. This sets off a whole chain of events: Dandelion takes off, the dog gives chase, the cat has sprung and has landed just where Dandelion was, Hazel is thrown off balance and falls to the ground on his bad leg.
And then Hazel feels himself being knocked violently and pressed to the ground, and a pricking feeling on his back, due to the cat having him exactly where it wants him.
Hazel tries to use his back legs to strike but they hit nothing. The cat has him in a dominating position. The chapter ends in a cliffhanger.
The cat, not one to forget the previous farm incursions, ironically asks Hazel the exact same question he taunted it with on his first visit to Nuthanger Farm in Chapter 24. It both asks and answers the question in a chilling way. “Can you run?” hissed the cat. “I think not.”
And with those chilling words, the only ones spoken by Elil outside the Tales of El-ahrairah in the whole book, the chapter ends...
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46: Chapter 44. A Message from El-ahrairah
Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher and is narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher.
The pre-chapter quote is from a fairly well-known book about crusader castles. So, not 'normal' European castles but those built or occupied mostly in the Middle East. The quote clearly lines up with what's going on at Watership Down. As our heroes have essentially dug themselves in, they are kind of stuck listening to the activities above.
The chapter opens after the passage of some time from the end of the previous chapter, with the Efrafan attack on WD having started.
Speedwell is reporting to Hazel-rah that he no longer hears the sounds of digging. We then switch and get the point of view of the Efrafans who are surprised to see how many holes there are at this warren. Woundwort counters his unsettled rabbits with his own brand of logic. The WD rabbits have left themselves open to attack with so many holes, rather than the other way around and are not in a position of dominance. Vervain is starting to stand out as a rabbit who is used to being the bully at home rather than the bully far away. Only Campion and Groundsel seem to be holding up well. Two of Vervain's rabbits meet with the stalwart Silver and the oft-wounded Buckthorn underground and are lucky to get away with their lives. Trying to set the example, Groundsel digs his way in only to meet Blackavar who, much like Silver and Buckthorn, comes out on top.
The descriptions of the altered conditions and advantages of close-quarters combat in a narrow run are fascinating. Blackavar is the smaller rabbit, but a good holding bite, and knowing when to let go, are all he needs to drive the larger rabbit back injured.
Woundwort discusses things with Campion, who has advocated starving the WD rabbits out. This is rejected because of the risk of staying on open downland for the time needed, which not many rabbits could handle as well as Campion. Determined to have a fighting victory, Woundwort wishes to draw upon the past success at Nutley Copse, the last warren the Efrafans succesfully attacked. They find another rabbit, Ragwort, who was also on that mission. Woundwort learns what he has to. To make this work, the Efrafans will have to dig their way in straight down.
Hazel listens for a bit and realizes that the Efrafans have stopped digging at one point. It means they're slowly figuring out the best way to get into the warren.
Fiver is also listening but not to the omnipresent sound of the digging but to those things that only a rabbit such as Fiver can 'hear.' He's dropping off into some sort of stupor but he first makes a fearful unnatural sound and speaks sentences that strike fear into our heroes.
For, while Fiver now lies unable to be roused, Hazel's mind is processing things and it seems like he too has a vision. Suddenly Hazel knows what to do. We readers don't yet and this makes this part very intriguing. In the form of Blackberry and Dandelion, he'll take both brains and speed with him.
Hazel's instructions to those that he'll take with him are to get out of the warren. To get away no matter what and to link up with him at the iron tree at the foot of the scarp slope of the Down.
He instructs Bigwig to block a run and not to give up. He intimates that El-ahrairah has given him a plan. And with that, Hazel and his two companions are gone.
Hazel's vision
Just a couple more thoughts on this chapter from John Ruths that pertain to Hazel's 'vision.' Was it a vision akin to one of Fiver's or does the trance that Fiver is in at the end of the chapter bring this onto Hazel?
The relevant passage is from page 385 in my Kindle edition and begins:
"In Hazel’s mind, green branches were straining in the wind."
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45: Chapter 43. The Great Patrol
This episode is dedicated to Samantha the Wonder Dog, who John Ruths sadly lost this week.
John Ruth's notes on this chapter are really good and for this episode I have decided not to edit them at all. The removed cultural perspective of this chapter makes this seem appropriate.
Chapter 43. The Great Patrol
The pre-chapter quote is from Napoleon by Walter de la Mare. It's clearly about the French Army in Russia. This was as much a disaster for Napoleon and his Army as it was for the German Army many years later.
In this case, I'd compare the French Army to the Efrafans.
This chapter also tells the Efrafan side of things from the moment that the little punt floated down the Test and concludes when the Efrafans are ready to begin their attack on WD. The successful escape made the Efrafan Owsla look stupid and its success may be giving other frustrated Efrafan rank and file rabbits hope.
Woundwort stayed up most of that night devising his own plans. So, while our heroes floated to freedom, Woundwort was already preparing a counterstroke!
Woundwort makes an interesting comment about Vervain knowing what the marks are saying about the escape. Vervain is in charge of the Owslafa. We get to see how Woundwort is among his rabbits within the systems that he devised. He's pretty civil overall but does use his influence to get his way.
Woundwort decides to pick his best rabbits and conduct some reconnaissance. Campion and his patrol come back now knowing where WD is.
Woundwort is not one to rush to failure. Rather, the Efrafans will train for this mission, even taking on volunteers from the rank and file. This is smart and prevents Efrafa from emptying out too many valued Owsla members. Woundwort even makes a more full reconnaissance trip near WD with Campion and two other Owsla.
- 26 or 27 rabbits are chosen. Interesting because we know that there are a total of 26 rabbits in WD.
This very large Wide Patrol heads to WD. Woundwort's personal touch is seen everywhere. He leads personally, decisively deals with a couple of stoats, and just seems to know what to do in every situation. At one point, the large group are broken down into smaller parts for more effective command and control. We've seen this before and this is much like the WD rabbits when they were en route to Efrafa.
After they'd more or less made the trip, Woundwort orders his large group of rabbits to take rest until sunset. So far, all has gone well.
Then something serious slips. Local mice and yellowhammers see the rabbits. We, of course, know that this word gets to Hazel and this leads to the quick scouting by Holly and Blackavar. Suddenly, the rabbits of WD know about the Efrafans and there will be no surprise attack as previously planned. This does not deter Woundwort. Woundwort and his Efrafans have crossed their own Rubicon.
The attack will happen soon. As the Efrafans are preparing for this, we now intersect the ending of the last chapter when Hazel was above ground looking for them. Hazel is nearby and makes his way to a group that Woundwort himself is with.
- Hazel and Woundwort talk.
It's clear that Woundwort thinks that Bigwig is the Chief Rabbit and that Hazel must be some trusted messenger. Woundwort drives the conversation and makes his inevitable judgment error when Hazel proposes something that sets these two apart as warren leaders. Woundwort will not be seen to cooperate with the same warren that essentially stole from him.
After this conversation, Campion offers to kill Hazel, however, Woundwort will use Hazel in his own brand of psychological warfare.
Hazel heads back to WD. Woundwort chooses to make Hazel his 'fear messenger' having no idea that he has made another critical error. He let live his adversary who is better at leading a warren than Woundwort was ever capable of.
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44: Chapter 42. News at Sunset
Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher
The pre-chapter quote is from Plato, referring to Socrates, in 'Euthyphro'. Plato's statement that "the act is unjust and hateful to the gods" would seem to refer to how things develop in this chapter. So, like some other pre-chapter quotes, this one is definitely foreshadowing. But it also refers to how things turn out with the Efrafans finding the warren. Their discovery of WD is also 'unjust and hateful.' But also 'to the gods?', given an upcoming remark about Frith by Hazel?
Having just told the story about El-ahrairah besting Rowsby Woof, awesome storyteller and fastest rabbit Dandelion remembers that he's got sentry duty. Hazel soon sees the same mouse that he saved many chapters ago. It's not the same mouse by random accident. This is a reminder from Adams because it was the saving of this mouse that led to the warren's relationship with Kehaar and where would our heroes be now without meeting and saving him?
Bigwig and Blackavar are nearby and the former's patience with mice has not changed.
The mouse overhears and 'sounds Bigwig out'. Bigwig is ready to change the subject but the mouse has said something that has Hazel's hackles up a bit. A comment about "another warren." Hazel presses the point with the mouse again. He adds detail about exactly where the other rabbits were seen.
Hazel acts decisively, another Hazel trait. The reader can immediately see what he's putting together. Having sent Holly and Blackavar, the two resident reconnaissance rabbits, Hazel and Bigwig talk about the warren. Bigwig has an idea for him, Hazel, and Fiver to leave the down and check out the recently cut fields. We know that Hazel will not go for this as he wants to hear from Holly and Blackavar first.
They're coming back already and there is immediately a sense of foreboding. Not only are Holly and Blackavar back but Holly is also stamping an alarm and looks to be in a panic. His news is chilling. The Efrafans are here and in large numbers.
Blackavar recommends a quick departure. Hazel won't agree to this and neither will Bigwig.
Hazel gives the order to "Fill in the holes."
To make a defense of the warren work, the Honeycomb is used to block runs from the inside. Kehaar's somewhat malodorous run is left open and it occurs to Hazel that the Efrafans have no idea that he has left. He takes a little time to scatter some of his guano to make it look as if he is still around.
Hazel then does one of the bravest things he does in the entire book. He departs with the intention of meeting up with Woundwort, making Bigwig the Chief until he comes back.
This is a highly suspenseful chapter. The chapter is not particularly long. Things move quickly, going from the ending of Dandelion's well-told story to what seems like the worst situation that our rabbit heroes have found themselves in yet.
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43: Chapter 41. The Story of Rowsby Woof and the Fairy Wogdog Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher The pre-chapter quote is a Psalm of David and is about delivering him from his enemies and their actions against David. It's interesting that Richard Adams choose a psalm snippet that contains the word "dog" and this makes it quite fitting. And then the chapter opens with "Now came the dog days—day after day of hot, still summer". It's almost as if there is a theme here... Then comes a section of the main narrative that has a feeling of relief and bliss that you'd expect all WD rabbits to have due to the success of the mission at Efrafa. The warren is now 26 rabbits made up of 16 bucks and 10 does. The two bards of the warren, Dandelion and Bluebell, discuss the idea of a story. That story is, of course, 'Rowsby Woof and the Fairy Wogdog.' Dandelion starts to tell the story. It's another story of El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle; it also sounds like it's a cold-weather story and that food was scarce. There is a man with a garden bigger than any other around. The man also had a dog named Rowsby Woof who sounds possibly like a sheepdog. Dandelion describes RW as a subservient dog, to the man, who not only won't let any animal ever get a vegetable but also that he'll kill any intruders that he can get to. El-ahrairah comments that they'll just have to watch and wait for a chance to get some food. The following afternoon, Rabscuttle notices a bag fall off a hrududu as it passes by. He's disappointed to see that it contains meat. They then find a discarded tyre. Rabscuttle nibbles off a bit of rubber as instructed by El-ahrairah. After El-ahrairah spends the night nibbling at it, ir looks like a dog's nose. They try to transfer as many smells into the piece of rubber as they can. They also dig up the meat that sounds like linked sausages and drag it through a part of the garden. The rabbits move to the front of the man's house. El-ahrairah role plays the Fairy Wogdog. RW smells the rubber nose and all the smells it has picked up and this stimulates his suspension of disbelief. The Fairy Wogdog is a messenger of Queen Dripslobber and it turns out that the queen has heard of RW. The Fairy Wogdog offers the sausages to RW who hesitates as it would mean that he'd have to essentially leave his post. However, when the Fairy Wogdog threatens to leave, RW is ready to do anything. RW goes after the sausages that the rabbits had hidden earlier. He then comes back and is told to await the return Fairy Wogdog; and that this will lead to a meeting with the Queen, who is sort of like a dog El-ahrairah. The Fairy Wogdog tells RW of a particular crossroads. In other words, they trick RW into leaving the house undefended again. The rabbits now get into the farmhouse and have their fill of flayrah. In the meantime, poor old RW is waiting at the crossroads for a meeting with the Queen that will never happen. RW hears footsteps, however, they are those of his returning master who, of course, is wondering what his dog is doing here and away from his home. Man and dog get back to the house. The rabbits will slip away in a small hole above a drain that they've been using for access but the man has plugged it more securely. El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle are trapped! The Fairy Wogdog talks to RW from behind some items. El-ahrairah spins yet another yarn, this one involving a plot by the great rat spirit being aided by his rat goblins. They will attempt to slay RW's master via a spell. To break it, RW must apparently run barking around the house four times. To get out, RW has to raise enough of a ruckus for his master to let him out. This happens. In the ensuing chaos, El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle naturally get away.
And RW spends the rest of his days convinced he did the right thing. And is, as all dogs surely aim to be, a Good Boy.
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42: Chapter 40. The Way Back Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher A late promotion to the podcast's Owsla. Welcome to the Owsla Nati Plavin. Please consider yourself very much a part of the inaugural membership. Chapter 40. The Way Back The pre-chapter quote is from English poet Walter de la Mare. Most of Adams' selected quotes have an element of foreshadowing and this one certainly has. It's all about a grinning wolf being outside of the door of Dame Hickory. This Chapter open with the sad news that the Efrafan doe Thrayonlosa, has died in the night. She's the rabbit who, beside Speedwell, was wounded when the boat hit the first of the two bridges in Chapter 39. As is the case with many animals, Thrayonlosa went to be by herself as she died. In his notes on this chapter, John Ruths told me about a cat he once lived with who did this, having first been very affectionate. It is such a poignant behaviour among animals. Hazel consults with Blackberry and determines that it is time to continue to head towards WD, as the other does are getting preoccupied with the body of Thrayonlossa. This is also the moment when Kehaar announces that he will soon depart for the "Peeg Vater." When Kehaar flies away, it's very nice that he makes it a point to swoop down over the rabbits. Then Hazel and Bigwig see a man in his garden looking at them. Knowing that it'll be tough keeping their rabbits away from it, they decide to leave. Adams uses this chapter to tell us more about Blackavar. who is proving himself to Hazel and the group. He's a Wide Patrol veteran and seems quite comfortable out in the wilderness. They are now close to a copse near Caesar's Belt, west of where they crosses it on the way to Efrafa. Blackavar and our trusty Dandelion come back from a sort of mini patrol. Blackavar argues against the idea of stopping here, stating that this area is fox country. Bigwig and Blackavar argue but Blackavar is on the defensive. Bigwig is being a bit petty towards him. And then, just as Hazel and Bigwig are talking about how well things are going, a fox appears out of nowhere and quickly swoops off with a doe. When I recorded Episode 29, on death in WD, I completely missed the death of this doe, even though the place where it happens is the last location marked on the map at the front of the book. So the revised book death-toll, including Woundwort, is 12, with 2 being killed by a fox rather than one. So Blackavar's warning was not heeded and a doe paid with her life. Hazel suggests that the matter of the loss of the doe is closed and accepts equal responsibility as Bigwig. However, this is soon interrupted by other visitors: Four large rabbits and we already know that they're Efrafans. Campion, probably General Woundwort's most capable and trusted subordinate, has managed to catch up with and intercept the group. Hazel points out that Campion really has no chance of success and is badly outnumbered. Campion himself seems to realize that he's acted rashly. Campion's common sense wins out and the small Efrafan group departs. The movement of the group continues and soon they know they're close to WD. Buckthorn is the first WD rabbit to see members of the group and happily greets Hazel-rah and Dandelion. We also learn that Clover will "kindle" meaning that she's pregnant. It is Strawberry who delivers this news so this may mean that he is the father. We learn that a total of 20 rabbits have returned from this expedition, those being all 11 WD bucks who set off, the 8 surviving Efrafan does and the Efrafan buck Blackavar. The chapter closes with an account of Campion and his wide-patrol. Yes, they departed when Hazel told them to, but they also shadowed the large group heading toward WD. They'll return to Efrafa with this knowledge and the pre-chapter quote now takes on a deeper and more foreboding meaning.
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41: Part Four: Hazel-rah Chapter 39. The Bridges
Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher
An additional thought from John Ruths, following last weeks episode:
"Do you think that maybe rabbits could 'feel' the moon? As in could they possibly feel the electromagnetic effects?... If so, an Adams' rabbit could seemingly speak about the moon with more knowledge. Although, the real purpose of having a visible moon in the sky would be light to see by at least in my opinion."
An interesting thought...
I have also had a follow up from Andrew Stevens, who got in touch at the end of September, about classical references in WD. Andrew makes many interesting points that will feature in future episodes.
Just one more thing to add: I am officially announcing the founding of the WD Podcast Owsla, membership of which will be awarded to anyone who materially assists in the making of the podcast.
The inaugural membership is as follows:
Will Fuller Ric Morris Maxine Tubb Sergal Ahad Jeremy Downing Amber Rizzi Rebecca Porter Andrew Stevens An anonymous listener who got in touch about their relationship with the book after an abusive childhood. And finally, obviously, John Ruths, who is hereby appointed Captain of Owsla.
Introduction to Part 4
The opening events of Part 4 of WD are entirely skirted over in the 1978 film, after the punt breaks free on the River Test. So, if that is your main experience of the story, what follows will be new to you as these events do not appear in any film portrayal of the story. Once our heroes are back on the Down, we will come on to the very familiar climax of the book.
We have reached the final act of WD.
Chapter 41. The Bridges
The opening quotation, from an american folk-song, is simply about a boatman celebrating while going home "with the girls"
It kind of speaks for itself.
We learn right away that The Test is a pretty fast-moving small river. Most of the rabbits don't really know what is going on but Woundwort and the host of Efrafans are gone so it doesn't really matter very much.
Rather than just waiting for the little punt to beach itself, or whatever else, Hazel and Blackberry are talking about what will come next. It also shows that the getaway is as far as their plan took them. This indicates that they had not considered what would come afterward.
Kehaar's warning about the upcoming "pridge" is important as we shall soon sadly see. This is a low bridge, in fact it is the same one they crossed when they first arrived at the Test, and the punt may not be able to pass underneath. The boat bumps and skids its way under the bridge. Acorn is knocked into the lower part of the boat by the bridge, but is okay. However, one of the newly arrived Efrafan does, Thrayonlosa, seems to have been hurt and Hyzenthlay is with her.
Kehaar warns of another 'pridge' and it seems this one will stop the little punt. It does and Adams gives us a time-and-distance check. The boat has traveled just under a half mile in a bit more than 15 minutes, which also backs up the timings around the inappropriate use of the phrase Fu inlé from last weeks episode. With the boat stopped, Hazel, Blackberry, Silver, and Kehaar discuss what to do. Kehaar thinks the rabbits need to simply get out of the boat and swim under the bridge.
Just as he quietly offers to go first things change and some men pass over the bridge. This frightening, indeed for Hazel almost unbearable, moment passes and Hazel comes to himself, telling everyone to disembark and swim under the bridge. They will just have to trust Kehaar.
Moving back upstream, to the other side of the bridge, Hazel reassures those still in the boat that it is okay and says the does must swim through first, with the injured doe Thrayonlosa being escorted by Blackberry and Thethuthinnang.
The group makes its way into the trough, or space, beneath a fallen tree.
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40: Fu Inlé
Scripted by Newell Fisher and John Ruths
In this episode we will be exploring the Lapine phrase 'Fu Inlé', or 'After moonrise', which is used in WD as a very rough method of timekeeping. How Fu Inlé would work
At the Full Moon "after moonrise" would be roughly the period after sunset. It would be a useful way of timing Evening Silflay.
At the Waning Half Moon "after moonrise" would be the period after midnight. It would be a way of referring to the time between Evening and Morning Silflay.
At the New Moon it would be meaningless as there is no visible moonrise.
At the Waxing Half Moon, "after moonrise" would refer to the early afternoon, when the Moon is not really very visible as it rises. So we have a problem. Fu Inlé means the evening, then after midnight, then...basically nothing until the approach of the next Full Moon. So what was Richard Adams thinking? Bearing in mind his military experience, it is difficult to believe that Richard Adams was not aware of exactly how the Moon varies each month.
The Moon and the Military
To the military, at least to an Army which is mostly on the ground, the moon and how much light it provides is very important.
In ancient times, fighting was rare at night.
Even today, the moon still means a great deal. Most night vision devices simply amplify available light. So, a moonless night is still not a lot of fun even with night vision. We can now easily track the moon with computers and smartphones. Even an adversary that lacks significant night vision capability will still use the moon and the light it provides. So, moonlight can be dangerous but at the same time, you can also predict some of what an adversary can do and prepare for it.
For the rabbits of Watership Down at least having some moon to see by is safer for them. Having little or no light to see by when at least some elil can see quite effectively would place our rabbit heroes at a significant disadvantage. So, having some moonlight would seem to put them in a less disadvantageous position.
I also would guess that a Richard Adams' rabbit would have current moon information in their heads. What the moon does each night changes in small increments. For example, at any given time, I'd guess that they'll generally track the moon rise, moon set, and about how much light the moon provides.
An analysis of actual uses of Fu inlé in WD
So how many times in WD are events actually timed by this method?
First, the departure from Sandleford is, timed this way. In Chapter 4. The Departure, they are described as starting to gather "an hour after moonrise and a good while before midnight". Then, in Chapter 5 we are told "It was getting on toward moonset when they left the fields and entered the wood". I do have to question the timings here a little.
In Chapter 30. A New Journey, Hazel decides to skirt Efrafa to get to the River Test Fu Inlé. This journey is described as happening 5 weeks after the departure from Sandleford, which implies a waning half moon. This makes sense.
In Chapter 35 Captain Campion refers to "ni-Frith and fu-inlè Silflay" How would that work? Or is this just a lazy shorthand for Noon and Midnight?
In Chapter 39 there is a reference to Bigwig swimming through the bridge fu inlè.
The events of Bigwig's incursion into Efrafa have happened during the week after a waning Half Moon. This means that Moonrise has been moving from midnight to sunrise. Yet the escape from Efrafa took place at evening silflay. Is it feasible that it took 6 hours between the escape from Efrafa and Bigwig swimming under the bridge?
This simply doesn't work. Adam’s mention of fu inlè here, according to the evidence, means that Bigwig swam under the bridge at approaching sunrise the following day...as it was growing dark. With great regret, I have to conclude that Richard Adams was using the phrase fu inlè, here, without really thinking it through.
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An interview with John Ruths, the first other voice on the podcast
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38: Chapter 38. The Thunder Breaks
Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher
This is one of the most military chapters in character in WD. The pre-chapter quote is spoken by Cassius in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.
The chapter opens along the riverbank of the Test. Hazel is nervous. Kehaar is letting him know what we just heard in Chapter 37, namely the part about tonight being the night.
The weather is continuing to build.
We now cut to Efrafa. Hyzenthlay says that Nelthilta has been arrested. Bigwig keeps his cool, telling Hyzenthlay to gather all the escaping does to his burrow and to stay quiet.
He soon encounters Captain Chervil. Bigwig's orders are to keep the mark underground. The paranoia of Efrafa is actually working in his favour and he's in a unique position! Chervil's off to see the dreaded Council. Anything Bigwig decides to do will seem legitimate.
Bigwig engages with Marjoram. At this point Bigwig commits to the escape happening there and then, as he issues orders that go directly against what he was ordered to do. He says that silflay is early, rather than cancelled.
He immediately goes to link up with Hyzelthlay, who has wasted no time in gathering the does. He issues instructions to the hrair does to get moving and then does so himself.
Bigwig then closes on Blackavar, slips in between him and the unsuspecting Bartsia, and then viciously attacks Bartsia. Bigwig takes his ragtag group and heads above ground. He feels that the weather is his and that it will aid him and go against Efrafa.
As he races away and leads the others, he can feel the first alert stampings but he sees no adversaries just yet.
We are now back in Efrafa at the interrogation of Nelthilta. Avens crashes in and tells everyone the news about Bigwig. The chase is on as Avens leads the group out.
We're now back with the escapees and doubt is growing in Bigwig.
One of the worst things possible happens with the appearance of Campion and a small patrol. Soon after this Woundwort arrives along with others.
Blackavar speaks up in a conciliatory way and addresses Bigwig as sir. Bigwig acknowledges Blackavar and simply waits for Woundwort's arrival. No more running for Bigwig and, psychologically, this seems like a smart move.
Bigwig and Woundwort exchange words. We get some of Bigwig's best dialogue here and Woundwort calls him a "dirty little beast." Bigwig says one of the very best lines of the book: " “Frith sees you! You’re not fit to be called a rabbit! May Frith blast you and your foul Owsla full of bullies!”
Seemingly, the storm reacts with a great "dazzling claw" of lightning.
It is then that Bigwig hears a voice. "Your storm, Thlayli-rah. Use it."
Things move quickly again. Kehaar attacks the Efrafans, seemingly out of nowhere.
Soon we see more of our heroes. Silver smartly has rabbits set up that will operate much like military checkpoints. Slowly the WD rabbits get the does moving while the Efrafans are readying themselves for an attack.
Terrifyingly, it becomes obvious that Woundwort has improvised a plan to continue the pursuit under cover.
Bigwig is needed closer to the boat. The does are asking for him, as you might expect. He is the only leader from WD anyone in Efrafa has known. Hazel has the rope bitten, probably more than in half. In the end, the appearance of Woundwort gets all the does into the boat more quickly than anything else could have!
And now Dandelion is separated from his comrades on the riverbank. As Woundwort is about to signal his attack, Bigwig cries "There it is!" referring to Kehaar. This works, Dandelion dashes out with Dandelion speed, gets on the boat, the rope breaks, and this amphibious operation is underway!
Our heroes, now with a host of does, get away. Bigwig sees the face of a defeated Woundwort as the little punt floats away and so closes Part III of WD.
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37: Chapter 37. The Thunder Builds Up
Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher
This is the second of the thunder chapters and has a lot of back and forth setting changes, which keep the reader well informed and stimulate the building tension.
The pre-chapter quote is from Uncle Remus. It is spoken in Joel Chandler Harris's portrayal of African-American Vernacular English. The proverb, in standard American and British English, says "You can hide the fire, but what are you going to do with the smoke?"
The quote is a clear reference to the secretive activities of Bigwig, the does, and eventually Blackavar who are also in the know.
Chapter 36 ends with Woundwort interrupting Bigwig just as the escape is about to begin. Bigwig controls his emotions as he is asked many questions. The nature of these tell us that information is being brought to Woundwort.
Woundwort is starting to add things up. Bigwig was the rabbit who, albeit accidentally, got Mallow killed by a fox. He was recognised by Groundsel. The fact that Bigwig didn't mention this is clearly suspicious to Woundwort.
Woundwort shares that he is aware of a band of rabbits on the far side of the Iron Road. He directly asks if Bigwig was with this group, forcing Bigwig to deny it. Then he is quizzed about the 'white bird' he was seen near, who was Kehaar, and simply says he's never been harmed by one of them before. As a parting shot, Woundwort asks about his meeting with Hyzenthlay ask him to keep an eye on her. It is intriguing to wonder if there is any chance that Woundwort might have put them all these pieces together eventually to guess their plan. Given the way he is fooled in the next chapter, it is easy to think not. This, for Bigwig, is a very dangerous moment but, overall, Bigwig gets through yet another social encounter in Efrafa. At this point, he must feel somewhat emboldened. But the escape is over for now.
He checks on Blackavar and deliberately knocks into one of the guards and even verbally dresses him down.
The scene now moves to the little patrol-base like location where the rest of our heroes are, near the river, and opens with Hazel. Kehaar flies in and Hazel questions him about some important details that he's apparently repeated before. Hazel is nervous. What is certain is that the escape attempt is off for now and that their escape plan location at the railway arch, which is far nearer Efrafa, needs to change back to the river right away.
We now cut back to Bigwig who is with Hyzenthlay. The signs of the stress he's been carrying is really starting to show and he's shaking. Hyzenthlay makes Bigwig even more nervous when she asks if it's possible to get away that evening. She then relates that it's even possible that there could be a doe spy amongst the group she's spoken to. If he lost his nerve and made a quick escape with just the ringleaders he would be seen as having failed, no matter what he had been through.
It is now the next morning and Bigwig's own common sense keeps him from panicking when he finds that Hyzenthlay is not there. It's quiet right now due to the building weather system overhead. He hears Blackavar being brought up the run, who looks more pitiful than before if that's possible. Chervil arrives and even he, as the mark's captain, seems subdued. Nelthilta makes an unwise comment to him about a possible "surprise" coming up and that rabbits might be able to fly away. Soon after they're outside, Bigwig plays a trick that El-ahrairah would really approve of. Bigwig cleverly fools Chervil with a fake charm, consisting of a dance and a poem, while simultaneously giving Kehaar vital information about returning that night.
Some time later, Bigwig chances upon Blackavar. He uses this private moment to tell Blackavar the plan. This chapter reminds us just how intelligent and brave Bigwig can be under pressure.
He goes to his burrow and sleeps.
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36: Chapter 36. Approaching Thunder
Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher
The quotation at the start of the chapter is from a british music hall song, probably 19th Century in origin.
This is a fairly short chapter but one in which a lot happens. This is the first of the three "thunder" chapters, in which the weather and the escape from Efrafa parallel one another.
Right in the beginning, Bigwig is woken up for duty by Avens. A reminder of the structure in Efrafa and that the rabbits in the Owsla tend to follow this structure.
We learn, at least in moments of stress, that Bigwig talks in his sleep and mentioned Fiver by name. It is a tense moment but no more comes of it and the conversation between him and Avens quickly takes another tone. The weather seems a more up to the moment topic.
Unless the weather has actually turned bad, there's no sense in trying to deviate from Efrafan ways. Thundery weather is approaching but Chervil thinks it'll be some time before it breaks. When Bigwig is together with both Avens and Chervil, Avens makes a somewhat backhanded comment about Bigwig having to be woken up. Bigwig is then questioned about Hyzenthlay being in his burrow during the previous evening.
During this conversation we also learn the Lapine word for a doe: Marli, as Hyzenthlay is described as the "Marli tharn", a term Adams translates, in this context, as meaning "forlorn maiden".
Once he's outside, Bigwig immediately takes to looking at the terrain, routes to take, how to get Blackavar out, and he wonders if he is in a place where Kehaar can observe him. Bigwig certainly has a presence of mind! As it turns out, Kehaar is already on station and was ready to see Bigwig at the earliest possibility. Thick as thieves, they work their way towards one another. This is like two Soldiers that know what to do and just immediately go about it as if it were rehearsed.
Bigwig and Kehaar have an effective exchange. Bigwig can now relay instructions of their still developing plan and all of these modifications are Bigwig's.
He tells Kehaar that they will escape at silflay that evening. Bigwig will lead the does to the archway on the Iron Road, where he wants to meet up with the WD rabbits.
He also gives Kehaar clear instructions about attacking the sentries as soon as he sees Bigwig go back underground. This, we know, will be to rescue Blackavar.
Soon, Chervil heads their way and Kehaar flies away. Bigwig must once again play his espionage role. He tells Chervil that, no, he's not afraid of birds like this and then cuffs Chervil as a part of his answer why. An amazing thing for a rabbit to do to his Owsla Captain but this is Bigwig that we are talking about.
Chervil makes it clear that this little incident with the white bird will be reported and he leaves Bigwig and Avens to handle the Mark.
Bigwig is able to get over to Hyzenthlay and Thethuthinnang and provides updates, following up his instruction to Kehaar about attacking the sentries with one to them to run as soon as they see him bring Blackavar out, as the sentries will be running for cover.
He shows them the distant railway arch and reassures them of his ability to deal with Captain Campion, should they meet him.
The Mark go back inside and Blackavar is also taken underground. Bigwig gets around the warren and once again shows his presence of mind by asking Chervil if it's okay to visit another Mark.
He listens to officers of the Left Flank Mark and sees that, in this area, this group shares a larger single burrow. He departs after hearing some stories, goes back to his burrow, and rests until it's time to silflay again.
Bigwig sees Hyzenthlay and Thethuthinnang go above ground, sees Blackavar, and also observes Kehaar flying. Everything is in place.
And then, just as he's ready to start the escape, he hears a voice behind him. It is General Woundwort, who wants a word with him.
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35: Chapter 35. Groping
Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher.
The pre-chapter quote is interesting and taken from a much longer Samuel Johnson quote that is really a prayer. Later on, Bigwig does hear from a supernatural voice that is either El-ahrairah or, possibly, Frith. This chapter opens with Bigwig and some on-the-job training being administered by Chervil and Avens. Even burying hraka is mandatory. Hraka is typically buried by rabbits being punished. You can always find those and this comment by Chervil gives you an idea of just what this place is like. From Avens he also hears an account, from an Efrafan point of view, of the escape of a group of "hlessil". We know these rabbits to have been Holly and his fellow emissaries. Avens also lets Bigwig know that the General is likely to want to take him out on Wide Patrol in person before too long. And good luck to him. He soon encounters Blackavar for the first time and we also see the word "Owslafa", a word meaning an elite section of an Owsla. Bigwig's logic tells him that this must be some scarred veteran which has earned him an escort. How wrong he is. The escort is simply because poor Blackavar is basically just a prisoner and no more. Blackberry had advised Bigwig to be on the lookout for any signs of disaffection and soon he encounters some of the insurgency, or discontented does, in this mark. We learn that Owsla members can have does whenever they like. It seems that issues of consent do not matter when it comes to the Owsla. Bigwig decides that if he escapes, Blackavar will come along. He notices that among a group of does, one of them has the attention of the others. She is reciting a very depressing poem about never being to be go outside, choosing a mate, or feeling the wind blow again. We are introduced to Hyzenthlay at last. The doe who explained Efrafa to Holly before he escaped. We learn, from Marjoram, what happened with Blackavar that got his ears all torn up as they are. Marjoram doesn't even seem to realise that Bigwig is a newcomer. This could work to his advantage. He also learns, from Captain Campion, that the Efrafans, indeed, do not like to go beyond the Iron Road and that he will be going on Wide Patrol as soon as his Mark are off Dawn and Evening silflay. Bigwig feigns enthusiasm. Soon Bigwig thinks about sharing some information with Hyzelthlay. He has her summoned to his burrow, on a pretext of wanting to mate with her. She's naturally hesitant to trust Bigwig. We soon learn that she has visions like Fiver's. It is because of this ability that she soon knows to trust Bigwig. Soon we learn that the violent escape attempt that earned Blackavar his punishment ties right in with Hyzenthlay and their recent attempts to leave Efrafa. The does who asked to leave Efrafa were split up between marks. But Hyzenthlay and Thethutinnang, the two main ringleaders, were kept together, which made little sense. But in Efrafa that doesn't matter, as long as the order was fulfilled. Bigwig and Hyzenthlay begin to plan their future escape. Hyzenthlay and Thethuthinnang will select the does who will escape, while Bigwig will focus on the actual mechanics of that escape. Bigwig explains that the best time for the escape to happen would be at sunset and that this should happen as soon as possible. He also tells Hyzenthlay about Kehaar. Their Mark is due to lose evening silflay in a couple of days time. This gives the plan far more urgency. Bigwig decides that they must therefore escape on the following evening. And that Blackavar will be coming with them. It's clear that Bigwig has serendipitously happened upon someone he can work with. Once Hyzenthlay departs, Bigwig manages to doze and has some menacing dreams before drifting off into a deep sleep. Vocab: Owslafa: An elite section of an Owsla, as opposed to simply the Captain, or captains. A term we only encounter in Efrafa. Thethuthinnang: Movement-of-leaves. A name for a doe.
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34: Chapter 34. General Woundwort
Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher
The opening quotation is by the Prussian military tactician Carl von Clausewitz. It refers to the importance of a strong leader in any military enterprise. Because that is exactly what Efrafa is really. For the first time, we join General Woundwort in the present. We learn, almost straight away, about how hard Woundwort's life has been. Having seen his mother killed by a weasel in front of him, his rescue by the schoolmaster results in his almost killing his cat, when it tries tormenting him. Soon Woundwort escapes from the hutch he is kept in, survives on his own in the wild with no apparent problems, then forces his way into a warren, taking it over and killing the former Chief Rabbit and another rival. He departs the warren that he took over and already recognizes that he needs a bigger, better place to grow his powerbase. Wouldwort basically founded Efrafa with pretty minimal experience. He turns out to be a leader to be both feared and looked up to. He believes in the strength of numbers, forcing those attempting to leave to come back, which is seemingly unusual in the world of rabbits. He is intelligent, cunning, determined, and recognises talent. He exploits all of these things and selects rabbits for the Council based on what they can do for the warren. And he's also created a tiered social system where the best rabbits will likely be motivated for some upward mobility. Good ideas continue to surface and this is how Wide Patrols come into being. You could say that loyalty and fear are his main two methods. But where loyalty ends, fear will also do the job. Really, Woundwort's and the Council's initial ideas worked well and helped lead them to where they are now. But Efrafa is now overcrowded, as a result of his obsession with strength in numbers. Individual freedoms are traded for security, as happens in human societies all the time. This does nothing good for morale among the rank and file, and especially the does, who don't really get the social benefits that the Owsla, Council, and Owslafa, or Council Police, benefit from. Additionally, the Owsla are not, now, enjoying their normal prestige and there is a shortage of rabbits who might fill in. This is primarily because the tiered social system of Efrafa is also breaking down. Lack of freedom tends not to produce people with initiative. Yet this is exactly the trait that is needed for new recruits capable of getting into the Owsla. To make things even worse, the getaway of the WD Party, and the recent death of an Owsla Captain, due to Bigwig's actions with a fox, have made things worse. Woundwort knows that there is a large band of rabbits out there but beyond the Iron Road. So, our heroes are now a big issue for Woundwort and he has very limited information on them. He's not used to this. And then a stranger arrives, who we know to be Bigwig. Interestingly, I think that, in all his dealings with Efrafa, he is referred to as Thlayli, his name in Lapine. To rabbits in the story, this distinction would not exist, but it is an interesting subtlety for the reader. We are now well into the chapter, and we ended the last one with Bigwig heading out, so his re-introduction to the reader in this way is nicely done. During this chapter we are told none of Bigwig's internal monologue, Only Woundwort's. Bigwig is allowed to remain a mystery for just this one chapter. The Efrafans are somewhat, almost comically, taken aback. Here comes this sizable buck with a few battle scars who WANTS to join Efrafa. Bigwig almost has the Efrafans over a barrel. Of course they're going to take him! What they don't know yet is that Thlayli is here to work from the inside and take away as many does as he can. He's not only a spy, but a spy on a mission! The chapter ends with Bigwig having just received his scratch to join him to the Near Hind Mark within the warren.
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33: Chapter 33. The Great River
This episode is scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher.
The pre-chapter quote, from 'The Wind in the Willows', is all about a river as a living, moving thing, almost talking about it as if it's a living animal.
Pipkin sees Hazel and states that his leg is dragging. We now see that what Hazel said earlier about his permanently wounded leg is holding true. It will never be what it once was.
The WD rabbits find the river in a few paragraphs every bit as descriptive as something written by JRR Tolkien. References are made to arriving in an alien place, where you, the stranger, are of no importance.
If Hazel earlier paid for not listening to Fiver, we see that this will never happen again. He confers with Fiver who gets him to settle down a bit. At this point, Hazel truly needs Fiver. They all also need Kehaar who is trying to get them to recognise a bridge. However, neither Hazel nor Fiver knows what a "pridge" is.
Fiver has a great idea to get the rabbits moving along the bridge by acting in a way that will make them curious.
A fish is seen and Fiver's description of this as a "water hawk" is fascinating.
It's tough for the rabbits to move. They are very unfamiliar with these surroundings and even Bigwig moves hesitantly.
Kehaar is putting a bit of pressure on Hazel to get this operation going. Hazel seems to agree with Kehaar's point though.
The river becomes a major topic as Hazel discusses how they can all get away.
Reconnaissance saves the day at Blackberry's suggestion. They find a wooden footbridge and then, the real discovery, a boat!
Hazel is completely out of this. While the solution to their getaway is being solved in front of him, he's asking Kehaar if he can delay going by another day.
Hazel is the leader but he's not the smartest or toughest etc. One of his talents is recognising the skills he does not have in others, and putting those to best use.
In any case, Blackberry reacts to Bluebell's "water rabbit" comment with the phrases "Great golden Frith on a hill!" and "Great jumping Rabscuttle!" and gives Fiver a friendly cuff. This is his eureka moment.
Blackberry is truly excited! Intelligence-wise, Blackberry and Fiver are in their own category.
Once explained, the idea comes to light in the minds of the other rabbits. Hazel quickly identifies that their plan will now fulfill all three of the criteria that he spelled out to Blackberry back in Chapter 28. His words to the small group are really inspiring. There's no reason to wait and he verbally identifies Bigwig as "the leader now." Bigwig's reaction is him at his very best and bravest.
In this chapter, Adams' has again shown us readers that Blackberry and Fiver are the smartest. He also shows us that Hazel and Bigwig are the bravest and possess the most leadership qualities. Hazel gives instructions to Bigwig and he accepts them. The tension of the Lost Paragraph is gone for now. The touching of Hazel's and Bigwig's noses reads like it has special significance. This is two leaders, one in charge and the other a subordinate, sharing their last moment together for the time being. Bigwig touching Hazel's nose is military in nature and is the equivalent of a salute, something certainly not lost on Richard Adams and his war service.
Bigwig, without further delay, heads towards Efrafa...
Next Episode:
Many thanks, again, to John Ruths for basically saving this episode, as well as the next few.
Next time, we meet General Woundwort in person...and a stranger arrives at Efrafa.
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32: Chapter 32. Across the Iron Road
The opening quote is another one in French. John Ruths has helped me out here. He says the translation is:
"Spirit of rivalry and misunderstanding which more than once preserved the English army from defeat."
The person quoted is General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, a French officer in the revolution and Napoleonic Wars. The backhanded compliment towards their historical enemy, the English, is both funny and interesting. Basically implying that an army where there is a little chaos and dissent can have an advantage.
During the last chapter, Pipkin excused himself because he found the story of the Black Rabbit too frightening. Because he excused himself he was able to spot the Fox approaching them at the end of the Chapter.
This chapter opens with an explanation of how rare encounters between rabbits and foxes are. The only hope a fox has is to sneak up on them downwind. So Pipkins spotting this fox is very lucky.
Hazel also realises that Fiver probably used Pipkin's fear as an excuse to act as a sentry. Yet again his instincts preserve the group.
Hazel sensibly observes the Fox, while planning what to do next.
Suddenly a rabbit pushes past him out into the open. Fiver says it was Bigwig, who they then watch deliberately draw the fox away from the group by pretending to limp away from them. This was completely unnecessary and Hazel feels very angry.
As Bigwig and the Fox disappear into undergrowth, they hear the squeal of a rabbit and immediately conclude that Bigwig has been killed by it.
Suddenly he reappears and runs towards them fast. He is unharmed. A very angry Hazel begins to round on Bigwig before Fiver points out that the group are very stressed and need to get away. Hazel takes his advice.
They cross the road into more open farmland beyond, where they make good progress.
As soon as they stop, Hazel has a conversation with Bigwig.
Hazel tells Bigwig how angry he is and asks him to explain himself.
Bigwig says that he was feeling tense, though the source of his tension is kept from the reader for now, and felt he had to do something such as run a risk. And it worked.
He explains the rabbit that cried out by saying that, as he made away from the fox, he bumped into a group of large rabbits, who tried to stop him going any further. As he broke free he heard squealing and concluded that the Fox must have got one of them.
This is the death of Mallow, member of the Efrafan Owsla, that we learn about in chapter 37. For Bigwig had bumped into a wide Patrol.
How much more luck are the rabbits of Watership Down going to have to rely on? First they narrowly avoid an encounter with a fox, then that same Fox saves them from an Efrafan Wide-Patrol that was tracking them. And that only happens because one of the group does something stupid.
Maybe they ARE under the protection of Frith?
Silver comes up to Bigwig and Hazel to say that he's realised are closer to Efrafa than he thought. They need to go.
Hazel says he wants to skirt around Efrafa and cross the Iron Road.
This next part of the journey takes place during a moonlit night, and Adams embellishes it's description with the sounds downland Birds that they Encounter during it.
Eventually, as morning approaches, Silver thinks they are near the Iron Road. Here, rather than being at the top of a bank it is in a cutting.
They cross it and rest in the field beyond where they are met by Kehaar.
They are exhausted but he warns them that another Wide-Patrol is tracking them and they need to go immediately.
Again, having aerial reconnaissance proves crucial for the group.
They take cover among some trees. Kehaar says that they moved just in time, as the Wide Patrol turned back as it reached the Iron Road.
He keeps watch as the rabbits sleep and the day grows hot.
32.3 Next Episode
Next time the rabbits reach the River Test, where they have an idea...and Bigwig goes to Efrafa
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31: Chapter 31. The Story of El-ahrairah and the Black Rabbit of Inlé The opening quotation, from the poem 'Prospice' by Robert Browning, is on the theme of almost looking forward to death as a way of facing it. The story opens with the fairly predictable premise of King Darzin learning of how he was fooled into giving away his lettuces by El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle. There is an escalation, starting with the capture of Rabscuttle by Darzin. The rescue of Rabscuttle provokes Darzin into all out war against El-ahrairah's people. Their attack on the burrows is easily repelled. So the conflict quickly settles into a siege. Eventually the siege drives El-ahrairah to such despair that he cries to Frith that he would drive a bargain with anyone just to save them. Even Death itself. El-ahrairah decides to go to the Black Rabbit and offer him his life in exchange for those of his people. He decides to take Rabscuttle with him as a Messenger. Their journey to the realm of the Black Rabbit is explained in mystical terms, has no one can know how it was undertaken. Eventually they came to a "high place" with no grass. At last they reach a burrow tunnelled into the rock itself. They are about to enter this tunnel, when they realise that what they thought was part of the rock is actually the Black Rabbit of Inlè. The Black Rabbit asks them what they are doing there, as they are alive. When El-ahrairah explains that he has come to trade his life for those of his people, the Black Rabbit replies that there are no bargains to be had with him. The Black Rabbit makes it clear that they are his guests and offers to "entertain" them. First El-ahrairah dices with death, or at least the rabbit equivalent, in a game of Bobstones. Of course, he loses. And the price of that loss is for the Owsla take away his tail and whiskers painfully. The next day they go to see the Black Rabbit again as if nothing has happened. He repeats that they are free to go at anytime. He says that if they are going to stay then they should both tell a story. Of course this becomes a competition, with El-ahrairah proposing the same stakes as before. Only this time he will pay with his ears. This time he is mutilated while in a deep sleep, and when he wakes his ears are gone. A weeping Rabscuttle begs for them to leave, but El-ahrairah again refuses, telling him to fetch two dock leaves switch to replace his ears. El-ahrairah realises that the Black Rabbits Owsla can only hurt him with his consent and has no power to make him leave. He comes across a place guarded by Owsla who try to turn him away with fear. They point out in particular nearby burrow in which is kept the "white-blindness", or myxomatosis. Without giving himself time to think, El-ahrairah jumps into that Burrow in an attempt to catch the disease, so he can take it back and infect King Darzin's troops. He begins to make his way out of the Warren and is met by the Black Rabbit who delivers the final blow by pointing out that the White Blindness is transmitted by fleas that live in rabbit's ears, which El-ahrairah no longer has. El-ahrairah is finally defeated and knows it. The Black Rabbit acknowledges the courage of El-ahrairah, as well as the fact that he is a nuisance, and sends his terrible Owsla to frighten away the troops of King Darzin. We are told that the journey of El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle back to their own Warren takes three months, yet the Warren that El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle arrive back at is larger than they remember. All the rabbits who fought King Darzin's troops are old and the young rabbits of the Warren know little of the fighting that took place and care even less. In fact some of them view it with contempt. El-ahrairah is joined by Lord Frith himself.Frith gives El-ahrairah a new tail, whiskers and ears lit by a little starlight. Just as Frith is about to reward Rabscuttle as well, the story is interrupted by Pipkin, who has spotted a fox.
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30: Part Three: Efrafa. Chapter 30 A New Journey 30.1 Burrowkeeping From now on I will very strictly deal with one chapter per episode, especially during the events of Part Three.
30.2 Introduction to Part Three Parts 1 and 3 of WD are basically not set on the Down at all. The only part of Part 3 set on WD comes right at the start of its first chapter, with the departure of the Great Raid on Efrafa. The Great Raid is, arguably, an antagonistic act of interference in another culture. On the other hand, Efrafa is, as it is described, blatantly a "failing state" in which its own citizens, in private, say that the system is breaking down.
On a similar vein, a while ago I started benefitting from the assistance of John Ruths, who is in the US military. It was he who emphasised to me just how much Richard Adam's military experience seems to have influenced the book. The majority of being a soldier in an active war-zone seems to be not about fighting, but about staying concealed and safe until you are ready to do what you need to get done. In this sense, the life of a rabbit can be compared to life in an active war-zone. And there is no part of WD that is more military in character than Part Three. 30.3 Chapter 30. A New Journey Adams succinctly describes the group that sets off for Efrafa as being the same as that which left Sandleford Warren 5 weeks earlier, minus Buckthorn and plus Bluebell. The progress of this larger party on open downland is slower than Holly's small mission and Hazel uses the sensible tactic of dividing them into 3 separate groups. Sometime before Ni-frith (or noon) they reach Caesar's Belt.
It is mentioned that Bigwig has seemed preoccupied during the morning. Bluebell has overheard him talking to Hazel Fiver and Blackberry, and it sounded as if he was being reassured. They are now likely to be within the range of Efrafan wide-patrols.
Hazel makes it clear that he has brought this many rabbits because not one member of a wide-patrol must make it back to Efrafa if they meet one. They are going to use Caesars Belt to avoid Efrafan wide-patrols and find somewhere near Efrafa to hide.
Silver says that this will not be easy and warns that wide-patrols that spot them may not make themselves known but just report back to Efrafa. The group move along Caesars Belt for about half a mile to the west. There, before sunset, Kehaar meets them. Hazel makes it clear to Kehaar that they need him to find somewhere for them to hide. Kehaar suggests crossing the river to the south of Efrafa, using a bridge, and Fiver comments that they should get there as quickly as possible. Hazel says they will travel at night, starting Fu-inlè, or after moonrise. He decides some entertainment would be in order. A couple of light-hearted stories are suggested , but Bigwig interrupts. There is only one story he wants to hear. When it is pointed out to him that it might not be appropriate he reacted angrily towards Hazel, saying that if anyone has the right to choose the story that is told it is him. After an awkward pause, Dandelion begins. 30.4 Next Episode Next time we hear the story of El-ahrairah and the Black Rabbit of Inlè.
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29: Death in Watership Down This episode is dedicated to Elli 29.1 Burrowkeeping The theme of this episode has kind of been dictated by events. Last Friday, one of our cats was killed on a road near where we live. So...on the principle that, if life gives you lemons, you should probably make lemonade, death in WD will now be the theme of this episode, as a tribute to our Elli cat. 29.2 The death-toll of the book Death is an unavoidable part of WD. It even has a specific character dedicated to it. Yet there are very few direct references to deaths in the book. There is a brief reference to the possible death of Strawberry's mate Nildro-hain in Chapter 17. The Shining Wire. The named death-toll at Sandleford, and during Holly and Bluebell's terrible journey to WD, is Scabious, Celandine, Toadflax and Pimpernel. The escape of Holly's mission to Efrafa, in Chapter 27, leads to the death of Captain Charlock on the Iron Road. We only learn this from Hyzenthlay in Chapter 35. Then, in Chapter 32, during the expedition to Efrafa, Bigwig leads a fox onto an Efrafan wide-patrol. We later learn, from Woundwort in Chapter 37, that this lead to the death of Mallow. I think I am right in saying that the first direct contemporaneous reference to a death in WD is that of the doe Thrayonlosa at the beginning of Chapter 40. The Way Back. Even at the climax of the book, at the conclusion of the siege of WD, there is only a direct reference to the death of one Efrafan sentry at the start of Chapter 49. Hazel Comes Home. Though we should perhaps realistically conclude that Woundwort was also killed? And then there is, of course, the incredibly poignant death of the aged Hazel in the Epilogue. This gives us a verifiable book death-toll of...10. Or 11 if you accept that Woundwort wasn't actually invulnerable. Please feel free to challenge my figures. So the named death-toll of the book is: Nildro-hain Scabious Celandine Toadflax Pimpernel Captain Charlock Mallow Thrayonlosa An un-named Efrafan sentry of the Great Patrol General Woundwort Hazel Of these, 5 are killed by humans or human activity. The others are killed by other rabbits, a fox, as a result of an injury and two by a dog. Only one dies of old-age. 29.3 The death-toll of the 1978 film There is a video, on YouTube, of questionable taste, called "Watership Down (1978) Kill Count". It has to be said, though, that it is very accurate, and its total is a shocking...62 observable deaths. It misses the death of Mallow, giving a death-toll of 63...plus Woundwort, giving a final observable death-toll in the film of 64. However, the named death-toll of the 1978 film, despite its bloodthirsty nature, is a surprisingly low 3: Violet Blackavar Hazel 29.3 The Black Rabbit of Inlè The Black Rabbit of Inlè, who we will meet shortly in the book, is a fascinating mythological figure. Basically he (we have to assume his sex in historical context) is the rabbit Grim Reaper. Yet he is a bit subtler than that. In the 1978 film, Hazel seeks to make a deal with Frith, the rabbit Sun God, at the climax of the film, as he seeks to rescue the WD warren from the besieiging Efrafans. Frith responds to him directly in a very poignant moment. However, in the original book the words spoken by Frith are actually spoken by the Black Rabbit to El-ahrairah in one of the tales told by Dandelion a lot later in the story, and the Black Rabbit then takes the action necessary to save El-ahrairah's people. So he is not just an impartial taker of lives at their inevitable end. He can choose to take lives or to save them. John Ruths identifies 4 attitudes towards death in WD.
First there is a kind of pragmatic callous attitude. Then there is death as a feature of fate. Then there is death as an utter pointless waste. Lastly, there is death as a noble act or sacrifice. 29.4 Next Episode Next time, we begin Part Three of the book...and the Great Raid On Efrafa begins.
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28: The Unscripted Meta Episode
28.1 Freeform episode, due to family circumstances
28.2 Ramble One
The appeal of WD WD as a Special Interest (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) Creating a WD aesthetic
28.3 This podcast's audience as at 9/9/21
Audience numbers Country Gender Age
28.4 Next Episode
One more in which I don't go through the book. Not sure what I'll be doing yet.
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27: Chapter 29. Return and Departure and Review of Part 2. 27.1 Burrowkeeping One bit of burrowkeeping: I have added the musical interludes to episodes 1 to 7, as I didn't start using them until episode 8. 27.2 Chapter 29. Return and Departure The opening quotation is among the more obvious in the book, as Shakespeare's Henry the Fifth guilt-trips his troops into fighting alongside him.
The chapter opens with the eagerly anticipated return of Hazel to the Down. Just after sunrise Fiver arrives on the Down, followed by a limping Hazel. He is greeted back at the Warren with play fighting. He then has a conversation with Boxwood about how he is settling in. Hazel also talks to Strawberry, who has been very badly affected by his experiences in Efrafa. Hazel, like a true leader, make sure he talks to all the rabbits before going underground. Later Hazel calls a meeting in the Honeycomb, where he makes clear his intention to get more does from Efrafa. This is greeted with astonishment. When Bluebell asks how they're going to do this Hazel explains that he and Blackberry have a plan but they're not going to explain it in case anyone is caught and taken to Efrafa.
Although Hazel hopes to avoid fighting he is going to take enough rabbits to deal with any wide-patrols they may meet He confirms that they will not be going into Efrafa. Holly interrupts and gives a comprehensive speech criticising Hazel's plan based on his experiences of Efrafa. This causes a buzz of conversation in the honeycomb and Hazel wait patiently for this to stop. He then reminds them of the reality that they do not have enough does and they have this chance to put that right for good. Someone asks what Fiver thinks. He says that he is going and that Hazel is right. But if he gets any feelings that things aren't right he will speak up. Hazel promises that he will not ignore such warnings. Bigwig then speaks, saying that he is going and they will have Kehaar with them. Hazel says that the hutch rabbits, and anyone who went to before, is not expected to come, though Silver says he will.
Little Pipkin in a confused speech confirms he is going. So now the strongest and the weakest have confirmed they are going. No one else has any excuse. Henry the Fifth indeed. Blackberry, who Hazel thought was already in the meeting, then arrives to say that he has been talking to Kehaar, who has improved the plan considerably. Bluebell pipes up with his with his usual joking turn of phrase. But his reference to Bigwig being involved in the plan seems to annoy Hazel, who tells him to shut up. As we learn later, Bluebell has indeed accidentally guessed part of the plan which must have alarmed Hazel. Hazel then goes to speak with Kehaar. He says he will help them to get the 'mudders' out of Efrafa, but he will then want to leave them to return to thec sea, though he will return in the autumn or winter. Bigwig appears and Hazel confirms that they will set off at daybreak. Holly will be chief rabbit until they return and the farm rabbits, as well as Buckthorn and Strawberry, will remain with him on Watership Down. Anyone else who wants to can also stay. 27.3 Review of Part Two: On Watership Down So ends Part Two of Watership Down, which began with the rabbits arrival at the foot of the down, and ends with most of them leaving a well-established warren on an expedition to ensure it has a future. Three more rabbits, two of them does, have joined them from Nuthanger Farm. But this has nearly resulted in the chief rabbit losng his life. We are well past the halfway point of the story, the rest of which is very much focused on Efrafa. Some frightening times lie ahead. 27.4 Next Episode As ever, thank you to John Ruths for his notes. At the end of Part One of the book, I paused going through it for a couple of episodes and I now plan to do so again.
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26: Chapter 28. At the Foot of the Hill
26.1: Burrowkeeping
Rebecca Porter is proving a very effective correcter of detail. Her latest refers to my skepticism about Blackberry definitely being the rabbit with black tipped ears, which I completely missed, from Chapter 3:
“…Blackberry, the rabbit with tipped ears who’d been startled by Fiver the evening before…”
26.2 Kehaar and Black Headed gulls briefly revisited
Last week me and my wife travelled to Wiltshire to visit relatives. During the journey we stopped at a motorway service area that is close to Watership Down. There I clearly saw a black-headed gull with its head moulted white. Conclusion: The 1978 film got his appearance almost entirely wrong.
26.3 Chapter 28. At the Foot of the Hill
This chapter follows on immediately from Holly's account of Efrafa in the previous chapter.
Bigwig spots Blackberry, returning to the Down, who brings the news that Hazel is alive. It has taken them all evening to get Hazel to the ditch at the foot of the hill. Hazel couldn't go on any further, thus giving this chapter its title.
Bigwig immediately says he is going to see Hazel. Bigwig finds Fiver feeding by the ditch and they both spend the night crouched by Hazel.
The next morning Bigwig sees Kehaar nearby, who asks if they have taken out the "liddle black stones" from Hazel's wound. Kehaar's sense of smell and beak does its magic. Doctor Kehaar prescribes 2 or 3 days ditch-rest. He may well have just saved Hazel's life. Hazel stays at the foot of the hill for 3 days, with nurse Fiver licking his wounds and monitoring his recovery.
Their conversations there are what decide the course of the rest of the book. When Hazel says that none of them would be there if it weren't for him, Fiver talks of "another country" where we go when we dream, and when we die. Many rabbits think it is a pleasant place to be in, but Fiver disagrees. This is a far more classical view of the Underworld than the Judeo-Christian-Islamic idea of Heaven. When Hazel mentions Silverweed, the poet from the warren of the snares, Fiver responds by saying that the terrifying thing about him was that he knew he belonged in that other place. That the "ones in that country" got Silverweed. And that they don't give away their secrets for nothing.
The arrival of Holly and Blackberry ends this conversation. When he told of the messenger of Frith saving them, Fiver, for all his mysticism, was sure there was a natural explanation. Their discussion about the does makes it clear that, aside from the females being referred to as little more than livestock, in this world of talking rabbits there is no romance, even though rabbits do form enduring pairs. The warren clearly needs more.
Hazel says that he now knows what they need to do. But he can't yet see how to do it. They have to go back to Efrafa and get some does out.
Holly, unsurprisingly, thinks this plan is very ill-advised. Hazel agrees that it cannot be done by fighting. So they will have to use a trick. He outlines the three things this trick must acheive:
1) Get does out of Efrafa...obviously
2) Evade the pursuit of the Efrafan Owsla
3) Make the raiding party impossible to find. Beyond the reach of even a Wide Patrol
Devising this trick will be the job of Blackberry. Blackberry says he thinks he can see how to achieve the first goal, but not the other two yet. He wants to talk to Fiver about it.
Holly is not happy. He thinks Hazel is making a bad mistake that could get them all killed. He is very nearly correct about this. But Fiver responds. He agrees it ought to feel that way. But it somehow...doesn't. The scene is being rapidly set for the most exciting, and frightening, events of the book.
26.4 Next Episode
Thank you, once again, to John Ruths for his notes and to Rebecca Porter for her scrutiny. This is all very helpful.
Vocab:
Inlé: (additional definition to the one in episode 4) The Underworld or afterlife
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25.2 Chapter 26. Fiver Beyond
Fiver slips into what might be called just a dream in which he follows the ghostly rabbit he saw disappear on WD into the landscape below. You can clearly see how this description inspired the sequence in the 1978 film.
The similarity with that scene ends with the appearance of the disturbing human who gives Fiver all the clues he needs about where to find Hazel.
He finds himself at the place where the notice board was that warned of the destruction of the Sandleford Warren. The black stick shapes on the board seem to chatter to Fiver of a memorial to Hazel-rah. But the man says he cannot get to Hazel to hang him up on the board. Because he's gone down the "bloody hole". Fiver wakes up to a shower of earth from the roof of his burrow having landed on him due to the hot weather.
Blackberry has come to check on him. He was crying out Hazel's name in his sleep. Fiver asks if Blackberry knows exactly where Hazel was shot. Blackberry confirms he does and Fiver cuts short his objections to Hazel still being alive by saying they have to go and save Hazel right away.
On reaching the site of Hazel's shooting, Fiver notices the dried trail of blood coming out of the culvert. He has found the Bloody Hole.
And in that hole...is Hazel. Who is alive.
25.4: Chapter 27. 'You Can't Imagine it Unless You've been There'
This chapter mainly consists of Holly speaking as he recounts the experiences of the expedition to the other warren to try to get some Does for the WD warren. Holly gives an excellent account of a seasoned Owsla officer's tracking across open country. Then they meet a hare, who can obviously communicate with them easily. As soon as the hare realises where they are going, he recommends they run away very fast. Three large Efrafan rabbits appear and one of them asks to see the expedition rabbits' "marks".
And so they arrive at Efrafa. Efrafa is a big warren. The entire warren is designed to conceal its existence. As well as the Owsla, there is a Council, each member of which is responsible for things such as feeding, breeding and concealment. The Efrafan Owsla is terrifying and the chief of the warren is General Woundwort. Under him are multiple captains of the Owsla, rather than the usual single captain. Each of them responsible for a mark.
Holly and his companions are then taken to see the Council. They meet General Woundwort, who has no interest in why they have travelled to Efrafa. He simply explains the rules under which they will live there.
The expedition are told they will join the Right Flank Mark under Captain Bugloss. It occurs to him that Captain Bugloss is a bit overstretched in his role, so Holly decides to adopt the role of a messenger from the Council, just as his mark are going on silflay.
The WD rabbits immediately escape. Just as Holly thinks they will have to turn and fight, they come to a steep bank, which they climb. This is a railway embankment.
They fall down the other side of the embankment and then experience the passing of a train as a visitation from one of Lord Frith's messengers, which overwhelms Holly. It would be far more frightening than just a car.
Next day Holly finds a tunnel under the track and they begin the journey north back to WD. It is a very difficult journey and only Silver makes it back in a healthy condition. But they meet no Efrafans.
It takes a day and a night and they do not rest. They return to the news of Hazel's death, though this low point for them isn't quite as bad for us as readers, as we know that he is alive.
Were it not for what we know as readers, this would truly be the lowest point in the story.
25.5 Next Episode
Next time, Hazel returns to WD...and hatches a plan that will make the raid on Nuthanger Farm seem like a walk in the park.
Vocab: Hyzenthlay: Shine-Dew-Fur (Fur that shines like the dew) Crixa: a crossroad between two human tracks. Owslafa: Efrafan Council Police
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23: Chapter 25. The Raid
23.1 Burrowkeeping
Returning to the Lost Paragraph, I have now found two places in the book where Bigwig calls Hazel 'Hazel-rah' before the ending, where, in an edition with the Lost Paragraph, he does not. In the puffin edition, these occur on pages 225, at Nuthanger Farm, and 374, on the River Test. Thank you to Amber Rizzi for helping me find that second example.
This means that the manuscript that omits the Lost Paragraph was also edited in detail in order to ensure that Bigwig does use Hazel's title, more than once, before the end.
23.2 Chapter 25. The Raid
This chapter possibly represents the low point for the Warren on WD. And yet, within it, lie all the seeds of their future success.
The opening quotation relates to the coming of age of a leader and is taken from 'The King must Die' by Mary Renault.
Hazel and Pipkin don't get back to the Warren until it is nearly dark. Hazel has missed the news that Holly and the rest of the expedition had reached the other warren the previous evening, as reported by Kehaar. Fiver is less than impressed with him when he outlines his plan. The raid has to be put off as the rain settles in. Fiver talks to Hazel again about the Raid, asking him not to go. He agrees not to enter the farm itself.
The next day is dry. Bigwig and Hazel decide to go to the farm at sunset. As Hazel waits just outside the farm the raiding party sets off.
Bigwig meets a cat almost straight away. This is not the cat that chased Fiver and Pipkin. Bigwig and Dandelion attack it immediately, with Speedwell following up. They quickly find the shed with the hutch. Bigwig and Blackberry set about opening the hutch while the others keep watch.
In the hutch, the buck Boxwood speaks first, asking if that is Hazel who has come back to let them out. Blackberry sets about getting the hutch open. It is slow work. Blackberry suggests pushing the door from outside, which produces a twisting that wears the hinge off its final nail. The hutch is open.
In the yard outside the cat is still watching them, though it won't attack. Boxwood and Clover seem to understand the urgency of the need to get away, but Laurel and Haystack are a lot slower. The cat begins to circle them. The cat Hazel and Pipkin met also emerges.
And then the dog wakes up. It sees the rabbits and begins to bark.
Bigwig orders them all to run. Clover and Boxwood do, but the other two stay where they are. Hazel gives some of the party the job of getting Clover and Boxwood back to WD, while he and Dandelion will go and get the other two hutch rabbits.
Joining Hazel, Dandelion finds him taking to Haystack. An odd light becomes apparent. Adams' introduction of the car arriving at the farm, with its headlights on, is pure genius, as we experience it completely from a rabbit's point of view.
Hearing human voices, Hazel snaps out of it and tells them all to close their eyes and run. Dandelion and Haystack do so, but the buck Laurel has to be left behind.
The men are searching for them with the torch. Hazel creates a diversion so they can get away. They keep the torch on him. And he is shot.
Hazel manages to drag himself into a land-drain just in time to avoid being found. They all wait for Hazel just in case. Then Bigwig and Dandelion go looking for him. They see blood and obviously get very close to where he is. But Hazel is unconscious and they can't see him.
An advance party reaches the Down at first light. Fiver comes to meet them and is told what has happened by Blackberry. But he already knows. As they approached, he saw a rabbit following them, limping and blood-soaked, and then it disappeared.
Later that morning, the party who went to the other Warren return with no does. Of the four of them, only Silver is okay.
We have truly reached a low point in the story.
23.3 Next episode
Next time, Fiver has a vision...and we learn about the other Warren.
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22: Chapter 24. Nuthanger Farm 22.2 Nuthanger Farm This farm, which is a real farm, still with that name, lying just north of the foot of WD, is the setting of the main interactions between rabbits and humans in the book. Those interactions span the whole range of the relationship between our species and wild animals such as rabbits, from brutality to compassion. It is also the site of the main interactions between rabbits and the Elil who live with humans, namely cats and dogs. And, of course, it is, because of this, the source of the salvation of the rabbits of WD from the main peril they face from other rabbits during the climax of the story. For those of you wanting to know the exact road Nuthanger Farm lies on, it is the one between Sydmonton and Kingsclere in Hampshire. Its name as it passes WD and Nuthanger Farm, seems to be 'Sydmonton Road'. Nuthanger Farm lies up the lane that heads north from this road to the north of WD. 22.3 Chapter 24. Nuthanger Farm The opening quotation, which seems to be in late Middle English, is a reference to Robin Hood visiting Nottingham in secret, where he is recognised by a monk. As this chapter opens Hazel feels the need for adventure. He seems to be feeling the need to prove himself to all the former Owsla members, and in particular the two, Holly and Silver, who are on the expedition. This is uncharacteristic of Hazel and rather disappointing I think. His humility has been a hallmark of the strength of his leadership and here that fails, as he lapses into individualism. His idea is initially to go to the farm where Kehaar saw the rabbits being kept in a box and to just scout it out. He decides not to go alone but to take one other rabbit. A rabbit who will do as he is told: Pipkin. The most vulnerable rabbit in the group. They make their way down the scarp slope of the Down. Hazel feels supremely confident. He asks a rat for directions to the farm. The sky is growing lighter. They make their way along a lane heading north from the road, to the top of the low rise the farm stands upon. Hazel takes in the smells as they reach the farm. among these are a lot of cat, less dog and definitely rabbit. They can see a dog kennel with a large black dog inside, tied up with a rope. They make their way through the farmyard, becoming more confident as there is no sign of a cat, and following the rabbit smell to a shed in which they find a rabbit-hutch. Hazel tells Pipkin to guard their only exit then speaks with the rabbits in the hutch. There are four of them, both bucks and does. The buck he speaks to is called Boxwood. He and his doe, Haystack, are black and white Himalayan rabbits. The other two, the buck Laurel and doe Clover, are short-haired black Angoras. Hazel tells them that he wants them to join his warren and takes some time describing life in the wild. The doe Clover is particularly interested and asks several questions. But her speech, again, is just reported, not quoted. A doe has still not spoken directly in the book. The hutch rabbits have heard bad things about living in the wild and are going to take some persuasion. Hazel decides to leave, but promises to return. Just then Pipkin says that a cat has appeared outside in the yard. Hazel reassures Pipkin and tells him to follow before leaving the shed in plain view of the cat. He tells Pipkin not to run until the cat starts to attack then deliberately provokes it to do just that with insults. The cat pounces and they manage to outrun it back to the lane. Hazel says a rabbit can outrun a cat, but only if the cat attacks first. Their adventure over, Pipkin asks what all this has been about and Hazel promises to tell him later on. They make their way back to WD slowly. 22.4 Next Episode Thank you to John Ruths for his notes on this chapter, which were useful as always. Next time, the rabbits of WD raid Nuthanger Farm, with horrific consequences. And the expedition returns empty handed.
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21: Chapter 23. Kehaar
21.1 Burrowkeeping
A couple of mistakes from last week.
I got the Chapter number wrong. It was Chapter 22 not 21. I have corrected the episode title and notes. I also referred to Hazel as Holly a couple of times.
21.2 Chroicocephalus ridibundus or the Black-headed Gull
The back-headed gull is a small gull. They have red beaks, as opposed to the yellow/orange beaks of larger white-headed seagull species. The black head is actually dark brown and moults in winter, leaving a patch behind each eye.
Although Kehaar has been portrayed on film as keeping his black head throughout the story, there is actually a clear reference to his head moulting during the course of this chapter, leaving just a brown patch behind each eye.
Can these gulls moult prematurely if they don't get to mate? Or did Adam's make a mistake by having Kehaar moult prematurely?
21.3 The Doe-problem
the overriding challenge facing this Warren is about to rear its head: the absence of does.
The efforts of the rabbits of WD to get some does to join them has also been criticised as reducing female characters in the book to nothing more than breeders.
Solving the doe problem will drive the remaining plot of the book. The means by which the problem will largely be solved is about to enter the story.
21.4 Chapter 23. Kehaar
Bigwig and Silver are outside feeding when they come across a creature nearly as big as themselves. The creature, a bird, is obviously injured and is striking out at them with its bill in fear and anger.
Hazel tries to talk to it in the simple lingua franca used by all animals.
Its speech is very exotic and it obviously comes from a long way away. It is clearly starving.
Eventually they manage to find some rotten wood that will contain insects and take it to the bird.
Once the bird has finished eating they start to talk again. The bird denies it is hurt and swears at Hazel, who decides to leave it alone for a while. He returns to the bird early in the evening. It agrees to follow Hazel to the warren.
Bigwig learns that the gull was injured by a cat in a nearby farmyard but was able to stand up to it, before struggling up onto the Down. it lives with countless other birds of its kind in a place where...the earth stops.
On a more practical note, the gull is male (obviously) and is called 'Kehaar'
Hazel is keen to know if Kehaar will just leave once he is better. He explains why.
At this point the doe-problem is introduced for the first time. Hazel says he plans to "get hold of some does" and bring them to WD. He plans to have Kehaar look further afield for them.
Some days later, Kehaar has something to say to Hazel. He owes them his life. It’s is too late for him to breed now that year. He offers to look for "mudders" for the warren, as he puts it.
The next day Kehaar makes some practice flights, then, three days later, he sets out on a "perfect June morning".
'One afternoon' Kehaar returns. It is now July at the earliest. Kehaar has seen rabbits being kept in a "box" in a farm at the foot of the Down. He also flew south. There he saw a large "town of rabbits" with "Plenty mudders".
He estimates it would take about two days for a rabbit to get there.
The obvious answer is to go to the Warren and "get some does". Hazel suggests an expedition to the Warren. Holly is an obvious choice. They also choose Silver, Buckthorn and Strawberry.
They set out early the following morning, with Kehaar flying ahead, to navigate for them and bring back news.
21.5 Next Episode
A big thank you to John Ruths, whose notes have really helped in the preparation of this complex episode.
In the next episode, while waiting for news, Hazel has an idea. I would argue that it is the low-point of his leadership.
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20: Chapter 22. The Story of the Trial of El-ahrairah After the incredible heaviness of the previous chapter, a chapter about El-ahrairah being put of trial for his life comes as a bit of light relief. It takes the theme of rabbits mentioning things one wonders how they would know about to the next extreme, with the story-teller displaying knowledge of the concept of a jury-trial. The opening quotation from Congreve refers to Tyburn, a part of London that I believe is now Hyde Park Corner, where hangings used to take place in the 18th Century. Adams opens with a section about the resilience of rabbits and how Holly and Bluebell are already nearly recovered from their ordeal. This is balanced with the extreme reactions of the group as they had listened to their account of Sandleford's destruction. This ritual over, the rabbits return to practical matters. Hazel inspects Holly's ripped ear and realises it is a lot worse than he had thought and he, then Silver, start licking the wounds. Silver asks Hazel about his ideas for helping other animals, such as the mouse they saved from a kestrel. Hazel explains that non-rabbits who are not Elil could be a source of help and information. Bluebell mentions that El-ahrairah once enlisted the help of other animals and Hazel asks to hear the story. One evening Prince Rainbow arrives with a rabbit El-ahrairah has never seen before, called Hufsa and El-ahrairah is told he must look after him. After a while El-ahrairah notices his plans are going wrong, as if someone is leaking information. The following evening, Prince Rainbow asks El-ahrairah to help him plant a large crop of carrots nearby. Prince Rainbow makes it clear that if anyone were for steal these carrots, there would be dire consequences. El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle have a secret meeting at which they decide they will not only steal the carrots but they will also get rid of Hufsa. El-ahrairah meets Yona the hedgehog and offers him a load of slugs to eat if he will do something for him involving singing. Meanwhile Rabscuttle meets Hawock the pheasant and offers him a load of corn if he will do something for him involving swimming. El-ahrairah goes to Hufsa and says he cannot resist stealing Prince Rainbow's carrots any longer. He asks Hufsa to help him alone. As they make their way to the field, they come across Yona the hedgehog, who is standing on a box with petals stuck all over his prickles, making strange noises. When Hufsa asks him what he is doing, he replies that he is singing to the moon to make the slugs come. Moving on, they come across Hawock the pheasant splashing about in a pond. When Hufsa asks him what he is doing, he replies that he is swimming in the full moonlight to make his tail grow long and his head stay colourful. Moving on they come across a strange looking creature. It is a rabbit with a red tail and green ears. In its mouth it has a cigarette butt. This is, of course, Rabscuttle in disguise. He says he is one of the messengers of Lord Frith, returning home to his golden palace, before disappearing as quickly as he came. Arriving at the field of carrots they strip it bare and hide the carrots. The next evening, Prince Rainbow arrives with two large dogs to arrest El-ahrairah. Prince Rainbow asks if El-ahrairah seriously wants a trial. He says he would. The jury will be made up of Elil, rather than rabbits. Predictably Hufsa is produced as the witness. El-ahrairah says he would like to question the witness. The reader can be forgiven for predicting what happens next. What follows is Hufsa claiming to have seen a singing hedgehog, a swimming pheasant and a messenger of Frith. He pulls his trump-card, which is obviously the stolen carrots, which Rabscuttle has moved from where they were hidden. And so the trial collapses.
20.3 Next episode Next time, there is a new arrival on the Down. And a bit of swearing.
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19: Chapter 21. ‘For El-ahrairah to Cry’
The chapter is the first in the book to open with two quotes.
Holly begins his account by saying what happened in the immediate aftermath of the group leaving Sandleford. The search was quickly called off.
The following day there were a lot of rumours about Fiver saying something bad was coming. On the next day he saw a group of men approach the Warren. They looked at all the holes.
The next day was very different. He noticed a hrududu in a lane near the Warren. A lot of men were getting out of it, as well as a boy with a gun.
The men carried long heavy objects into the field. After a while one of them started filling in the entrances of all the holes he could find.
He continues that another man fetched some things like lengths of bramble. One of these was attached to each of the long heavy objects. There was a hissing sound and the air started to "turn bad".
The heavy objects were clearly gas cannisters. The brambles were hoses.
The men put one of the hoses in each of the holes they had not blocked up.
After a while Holly saw a rabbit called Scabious come out of a hole the men had missed. The boy shot him.
Bluebell, who was underground, takes over the story.
He says the does seemed to be affected by the gas first. They tried to get out, apart from the ones with kittens, who started attacking anyone who came near them. The runs started to fill up with rabbits trying to claw and clamber over eachother to use ways out that no longer existed.
Bluebell explains how lucky he was in being able to escape. The gas wasn't working in the open run he was in and he managed to keep his senses and run back down to an old deep run called the "Slack Run". Terrible sounds were coming down shafts from above.
Bluebell found himself with another rabbit called Pimpernel, who knew the way out. Bluebell was terrified Pimpernel would die and block the run ahead. Eventually they smelled fresher air and emerged from a hole in the woods.
Holly takes up the story again.
Eventually the men took the hoses out of the holes and the boy put all the dead rabbits on a stick. This detail is too much for Holly, who stops for a moment.
Holly then describes what is clearly a JCB having come into the field and dug it up. In describing this it is clear that among the earth it dug up were the bodies of rabbits.
Holly was joined by Bluebell, Pimpernel and Toadflax, the Owsla member who bullied Fiver out of eating a cowslip in Chapter One.
All Holly could think about was finding Bigwig so he could apologise to him. During the night Toadflax died. The remaining three rabbits found the place where Hazel's group had crossed the Enbourne. He describes crossing the road and coming to the Common. Pimpernel was feverish and Holly was afraid he would die too.
They fell asleep, exhausted, and woke up the next day to find themselves surrounded by rabbits from the Warren of the Snares. As soon as Holly mentioned the names of the rabbits they were looking for, Cowslip ordered them torn to pieces.
Holly got his ear ripped badly in the fighting, but he and Bluebell got away quite easily. But Pimpernel was left behind and must have been killed.
Holly decided to take on Cowslip, who saved his skin by telling Holly where Hazel's group had headed. Holly's ripped ear was painful and Bluebell kept him going by joking with him the whole time. All he could think about was finding Bigwig to tell him he had been right to leave. When they reached the foot of WD and Bigwig was not there to greet him, his mind finally went.
It was a happy coincidence that Bigwig was, indeed, close by to hear him.
He closes by saying how grateful he is to be here with them all and tells Bigwig that the rabbit who tried to arrest him was another rabbit a long time ago.
19.3 Next Episode
The rabbits react to Holly's account, Hazel explains making friends with mice and Bluebell tells a story of El-ahrairah
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18: Chapter 20. A Honeycomb and a Mouse 18.1 Burrowkeeping This week we look at Chapter 20, but first a brief look at a character in the book who has been changed perhaps more than any other in screen versions of the story. 18.2 Strawberry Strawberry is the only rabbit who arrives at WD with the group who was not from Sandleford and his emotional journey in the book is fascinating. He begins as a deceptive and weird member of the Warren of the Snares. Then he becomes a little mentioned member of the group as they arrive on WD. As the story progresses, he becomes more and more impressive as a member of the group, eventually being indistinguishable from those who left Sandleford.
One of the many things that really annoys me about the 1999 TV series is the treatment of Strawberry as they arrive on the Down, which goes directly against what happens in the book. He is portrayed as a lazy decadent slob who wants nothing to do with digging the new warren, though he redeems himself later, his portrayal in the distinct third series being very different, both in appearance and attitude. In the 2018 Netflix series Strawberry is changed to a female character.
I haven't mentioned the 1978 film yet. The reason for this is very simple. Strawberry is completely edited out of the story in the first screen version of WD. To sum up, I think that Strawberry is a character who has been changed, to his detriment, in the screen portrayals of WD perhaps more than any other. Overall I think this is a shame for such a positive figure of redemption. 18.3 Chapter 20. A Honeycomb and a Mouse The opening quotation, from the oldest surviving written work in history, 'The Epic of Gilgamesh' simply emphasises that Holly has clearly been through a lot.
We are told first of the position Holly, or rather CAPTAIN Holly, held in the Sandleford Warren. We also now have a calm confirmation of Fiver's supernatural abilities.
It takes a long time to get Holly up the hill to the holes halfway Up the slope. He's in a bad way. Bigwig comments to Hazel that he won't forget how Hazel left the ditch ahead of him to see whatever it was that was approaching them. The next day is also hot and Hazel takes the rabbits in small groups to the top to continue digging under the Beech Hanger. He asks Strawberry about the Great Burrow. The new great Barrow is named the Honeycomb for reasons that still seem unclear to me. Hazel is content to allow Strawberry to direct its digging as he clearly knows what he's doing. Suddenly there is a stamp of alarm as a kestrel has been spotted. Silver spots a field mouse trapped out in the open. Hazel suddenly decides to help it, going out in the open and telling it to run to their holes. Dandelion arrives to report on Holly, who has had a bad night but is showing signs of recovery. Holly is in good spirits and curious for information. Hazel proudly tells him that the whole group who left Sandleford gave made it too the Down, though not without injury. Strawberry joins them and calls Hazel 'Hazel-Rah', which surprises Holly. He says that everyone wants to sleep in the Honeycomb and they are curious to hear Holly's account of what has happened since they left Sandleford. Holly warns them that what he has to say will not be easy to hear. Holly asks Silver to make it clear to the group that he is not going to try to dominate the group on any way and that he respects Hazel's leadership.
Bigwig says they are keen to hear what he has to say. Holly had assumed he would be speaking above ground and the Honeycomb is a big surprise to him. Holly is just about to begin when Speedwell enters to say that the mouse would like to speak to Hazel. The mouse makes it clear that he would like to help them if he ever can, in return for helping him. They rejoin the rest of the group...and Holly begins. 18.4 Next episode Next time, we learn of the terrible fate of the Sandleford Warren.
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17: Chapter 19. Fear in the Dark
17.1 Burrowkeeping
Last weeks episode was done a bit on the fly and was a bit more rough around the edges than usual, for which I apologise.
There was also another very annoying sound drop last week at 8:20, which I didn't notice until I published. The full phrase was: "The chapter opens on the evening of the following day after the group left the Warren of the Snares"
I am taking steps to ensure such sound drops don't happen again, starting with this episode.
Please also note that I have edited the podcast description to make it clear that this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for reading the original book, or watching one of the film versions of WD.
17.2 Chapter 19. Fear in the Dark
The opening quotation from Thomas Hardy speaks of a pale messenger who will soon be known.
The burrows and runs discovered by Hawkbit are rough but dry. Bigwig says that they suit a bunch of 'Hlessil' like them. The short summer night passes quickly and the rabbits sleep after dawn.
Upon waking Hazel goes outside to silflay. The mist is burning off the fields below and it is going to be a hot day. Blackberry joins him and they feed together.
Hazel comments that many of the group will probably have to sleep in the open as bucks, or male rabbits, don't dig Burrows, which begs the question that, if finding the Burrows they just slept in was so important, what kind of plan for their long-term future did Hazel have when he lead them to this place?
Blackberry cleverly connects the idea of rabbits doing un rabbit-like things to something that was already happening in their warren. This leads to a radical idea:
Buck rabbits don't dig burrows because does dig them as part of providing shelter for their litters. Blackberry's idea is to dig in a small wood, or beech hanger, he saw at the top of the slope. They both go to the top to check it out.
The beech hanger is unlike the woods they are used to. It is a lot more open and is a narrow belt of trees running away from the scarp slope towards the south.
They come to the north east corner of the hanger, where there is a bank. Fiver comments that Blackberry is right. This is ideal for digging. Although this shocks several of the group, several of them are soon digging, lead by Hazel and Pipkin.
Hazel suggests going back to the bottom of the hill to find some good grass. Bigwig, Dandelion and Speedwell join him. Once at the bottom of the hill, Hazel finds an old overgrown ditch to use for cover.
Bigwig comments on the different quality of the soil at the top of the hill and Hazel mentions the possibility of trying to copy the Great Burrow they saw at the Warren of the Snares.
The sun has set at the foot of the Down. Suddenly they hear a rabbit stamping an alarm followed by another. They both dash to the ditch. Speedwell and Dandelion join them fast.
They have both heard an animal approaching clumsily along the line of the hedge. They wonder what it could be. A cat? A stoat? They wait as darkness falls.
Suddenly they hear a strange unnatural wailing. Bigwig becomes convinced it is the Black Rabbit of Inlé.
Then they hear words, the first of which is 'Zorn', meaning destroyed. And then it calls out Bigwig's name.
Bigwig, now completely convinced it is the Black Rabbit, starts to make his way towards the voice, saying that you have to go when you are called, but Hazel pushes past him.
Hazel pulls himself out of the ditch and sees a rabbit underneath the hedge. His eyes are wide and one ear is ripped and bloody. He cries out as if wanting to be hunted down and killed.
It is Captain Holly of the Sandleford Owsla.
17.3 Next Episode
Next time Holly is looked after, work begins on a new Great Burrow and Hazel makes friends with a mouse.
Vocab:
Hlessi: a rabbit with no warren. Plural: Hlessil
Inlé: The Moon, as in 'Fu Inlé' (after moonrise), but also with a meaning associated with death. Zorn: destroyed
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16: Part Two: On Watership Down. Chapter 18. Watership Down 16.1 Burrowkeeping I am going to ask for some feedback on the notes. Are they useful? Or have you not looked at them? Please let me know what you think. This can be a comment on the facebook page or an email to thewatershipdownpodcast@outlook.com. Or @thewatershipdo1 on Twitter. And do remember you can get your voice on this podcast by leaving a voice message at https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message. 16.2 Chalk Downland You might be wondering why a high place would be called a "Down". The word originates from the Old English word "dūn" (doon) meaning "hill". I don't know how this relates to the word "dune" as in a sand-dune, if at all. In the case of Watership Down the summit is 237 m (778 ft) above sea level and is one of the highest points in the county of Hampshire, on the Hampshire Downs in the South of England. As the main setting of our story is about to switch to this very British geological setting, I think it best to just explain its nature a little. On the high downs there are no streams at all, no cave-systems, no waterfalls and no natural ponds. This is because chalk is very porous and water is just absorbed through it, so there is no way for water to run off on the surface when there isn't an ice-age in progress. And no way for it to erode the soft chalk to create caves. If you ever see a scene in any portrayal of WD set near the Warren, in which there is a stream, waterfall, cave-system or pond, that scene is displaying an ignorance of the basic geology of the very place the book is named after. If you want excitement and drama in a portrayal of WD, look to the rabbits. Not the rocks. 16.3 Introduction to Part Two
What our heroes are about to do is going to have to become a lot more than just setting up a place where they can survive. If their new home is to have any prospect of succeeding, it will need to become something far more civilian in character: a sustainable community. 16.4 Chapter 18. Watership Down The opening quote from William Blake is an effective reminder that the dream of a new home is about to become reality. Hazel and his companions are sheltering beneath some trees at the foot of the "turf cliff" of the scarp-slope of Watership Down. Since the Warren of the Snares, any doubts about their abilities have disappeared. This has been demonstrated by their working together during the rat attack. As the sun gets lower in the sky, the rabbits emerge to feed. Hazel suggests he go to the top to scout it out. He chooses Dandelion and Hawkbit to come with him, as they seem less tired. He sees Dandelion up ahead, standing out clearly against the sky. Alarmed he rushes towards him. At this point Dandelion says one of the phrases that seems most loved by fans of the 1978 film, in which it features prominently: "Come and look! You can see the whole world". The ground they are on has become more level. They are at the top of the Down and it is immediately obvious that they will have clear view of the approach of any danger here. Fiver was right. They realise Hawkbit is missing and wonder if he has turned back or come to harm. They come across a little group of stunted trees surrounding a dry bank that is commonly found on downs and there they find Hawkbit, who has found some old rabbit holes there. Hawkbit's discovery has probably saved lives and Hazel says to go and fetch the others straight away. And so they all arrive safe on Watership Down. 16.5 Next episode In the next episode the rabbits start to plan for their new home...and something terrifying approaches. Vocab: Tharn: paralysed by fear.
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15: Bigwig's Character and the Lost Paragraph 15.1 Burrowkeeping I made my favourite mistake yet last week, when I referred to 'The Warren of the Snares' as 'The Warren of the Swears' That would make for a completely different story. One where they have to leave Cowslip's Warren because Fiver has an issue with all the bad language. Which is a bit rich for a rabbit who comes out with such potty-mouthed stuff as "embleer Frith". 15.2: Bigwig's Character and the Lost Paragraph revisited. I have come to the view that the character the TV portrayals have got most wrong is Bigwig, though Michael Graham Cox's portrayal of him in the 1978 film got him just about right. In the 1999 TV series he is portrayed by Stephen Mangan largely as a self-important buffoon, with his Owsla training becoming a running joke. His portrayal improves, though, in the very distinct third series. The recent Netflix series made him far too aggressive in my view. It is the script that demands this aggression as it changes the whole tone of how he talks to Hazel and his attitude towards him is made far less supportive. Yes Bigwig is capable of being overbearing and aggressive. But, like all good military types, that is not what he is all about. It is a nuance that I think is possibly sadly lost on a civilian population where such qualities are increasingly seen in a negative light. But in a world where you can be killed at any time, they can be essential. And we need to always bear in mind, of course, that Adams drew heavily on his experience in the military to create the characters in WD. This is a major reason (or excuse?) for the sexism of the novel. He was simply drawing on his relevant experience of a very male world. So...back to the Lost Paragraph. Could Bigwig's put down of Hazel be seen as the kind of harsh-but-necessary comment a Non commissioned officer might share with a commissioned officer? Though hopefully out of the hearing of the lower ranks. I make this distinction as Hazel has only just gained responsibility for the group, whereas Bigwig has, arguably, been trained for such a role by experience. Or so he could he forgiven for thinking. Or is what he says just bullying and unnecessary? In either case, I agree with John that the tension it sets up is essential to the story. Though I have very much seen the other view expressed, that Bigwig's character is better without it. This is the Bigwig who just says "Splendid!" when he sees Hazel, possibly keeping his true thoughts to himself. This Lost Paragraph really will not go away though. For good reason. 15.3 The Lost Paragraph analysed It appears that the lost paragraph appeared in a minority of of the editions I have information on. So this becomes an exercise in chasing its presence rather than its absence, which actually makes this a bit simpler.
My provisional conclusion is this:
The version first sent to Rex Collings in 1972 was missing the Lost Paragraph. Then, when Penguin became interested, they were sent a version that included it in 1973. This became the version that appeared in all their editions, both Puffin, their childrens’ division, and Penguin.
The Kestrel illustrated edition used the penguin version as its text, so the Lost Paragraph ended up in that edition, from 1976.
And the 1978 Martin Rosen film used the Penguin edition as their base text, which is why it appears in the film.
I would welcome any further information on this subject. In particular anything that blows my theory out of the water.
I will be posting images of my spreadsheet analysis to the Facebook page for scrutiny. Please note that green signifies the lost paragraph being present and red means it was absent.
15.4 Next episode Next week I return to going through the book and we begin Part Two with perhaps the pivotal Chapter of the entire story. A chapter with the title...Watership Down.
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Episode 14: Originalism and Revisionism plus early reviews of the original book. One day I will finish going through the original book and will embark upon a discussion of the portrayals of the book on film and TV. At that point I am going to have to address the tension between the originalist approach to the story and the revisionist approach. Basically this is the tension between the view that the original book is Canon and should never be changed in any portrayal of it and the view that the original source material is there to be played with, changed and expanded. The 1978 film, at a running time of 102 minutes, obviously had to summarise the story heavily. This is surely forgiveable. However it did not just summarise the story. There were places where it changed it. Yet the 1978 film, and its telling of the story, is much loved by many in it's own right, independently of the original book. And this leads us to an awkward possibility that I am going to introduce into the debate at this point: When it comes to WD there are actually TWO originalist positions. One treats the original book as Canon in any analysis of subsequent versions. However another treats the 1978 film as Canon in any analysis of film or TV versions that came after it. In fact I'll go even further: The addition of a female character to those who leave Sandleford in the film was, perhaps, an implied criticism of the sexism of the original book. I'm going to introduce the idea that the 1978 film clearly has such a following, in it's own right, that it has earned a Canon status all of its own. I'm well aware that this may annoy devotees of the book. But it is so clearly the main reason for love of WD in so many of its devotees that it is, arguably, pointless to deny it this status. When it comes to analysing the 1978 film I do plan to fairly ruthlessly compare it to the original book, and will not hold back on criticising it from a Book originalist perspective. However, the 1978 film set up conventions, when it comes to telling the story on screen, that subsequent versions have felt the need to acknowledge, for example the opening of the story with a stylised version of the story of the Blessing of El-ahrairah. In any case, my analysis of film and TV versions of the book is going to throw up some surprising examples of much loved portrayals being ridiculously inaccurate, while far less admired versions get some very specific elements of the story surprisingly right. To this end, there will be a theme of 'Crimes against Watership Down'. Specific charges including abuse of geology and geography. Coming across Efrafa on the way to WD from Sandleford is an example of the latter, that I regret to say the 1978 film is guilty of. This would involve a ridiculous journey on the part of Captain Holly. As for geology...the 1999 tv series has too many offences to name. But they will be named. As an interesting aside, the portrayal of the stories of El-ahrairah in the Canadian TV series are worthy of credit as it is the only version that includes more than one of them. Let me sum the above up as follows: there is no version of WD, including the original book, that should be free from criticism or from praise. I will respect originalist perspectives completely. But I will also give a full and fair hearing to any revisionist portrayals of the story. 14.3: Early reviews of WD Courtesy of Ric Morris. A short 1974 review of WD from the Daily Mail. A longer 1974 review from the Liverpool Daily Post. A 1976 article, again from the Daily Mail, abourt the first audiobook of WD, read by Roy Dotrice, which was heavily abridged, and advance information on the 1978 film, that was being made at the time.
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13: Chapter 17. The Shining Wire
13.1 Snares
Before I researched this episode, I vaguely assumed that the use of snares was now illegal in the UK. It isn't. And I am embarrassed not to have already realised this.
There is no excuse for using such a cruel and fundamentally lazy method as snaring.
There is a campaign to ban the use of snares in the UK that I fully support. They can be found at antisnaring.org.uk.
13.2 Chapter 17. The Shining Wire
Hazel is dreaming again. As Hazel wakes, he realises Fiver has gone. He wakes Bigwig.
They first look under the Yew tree, but he is not there. Following this, and passing through a hedge, they find Fiver feeding. Fiver suddenly announces that he is leaving for the hills.
Bigwig turns on Fiver and unleashes his temper on him, telling him he is going to turn the others against him. Then he dashes back through a gap in the hedge.
Instantly there is the sound of something dreadful happening. Bigwig is caught in a snare. Hazel desperately asks Bigwig what they should do. He just manages to reply that it is useless to bite the wire. They need to dig the peg out. Hazel tells Fiver to run and get the others.
Blackberry joins them first, followed by the others. Hazel asks Pipkin if Cowslip is coming. Pipkin responds that Cowslip told Fiver to stop talking about it.
Blackberry has worked out to dig out the peg. Hazel starts digging, followed by Silver then Buckthorn.
Blackberry suggests sending the smaller rabbits in to bite through the peg. Pipkin starts, followed by Fiver. Despite cutting their noses on splinters, they split the peg.
Bigwig lies still. Hazel realises he has to get them away quickly. He utters the famous line about his heart joining the Thousand "for my friend stopped running today".
Hazel asks Pipkin to say more about what Cowslip said. The rabbits of the Warren had ignored Fiver, then, when he went up to Cowslip, he had struck Fiver, scratching him.
Suddenly Bigwig's voice rings out. He is alive and very angry. Silver says they should drive the rabbits from the Warren and take it for themselves. Several of the group agree.
Fiver shout out a shocking Lapine phrase. He lays out what has been happening and they listen in silence. The Warren is snared every day. The local farmer realised he could farm these rabbits for their meat and pelts.
They became big and healthy. But also strange in their ways. There was one rule: never ask where anyone is, unless in a poem or song. And any actual mention of the snares could provoke violence.
If they take over this Warren they will just be living in a place of death. Bigwig, still recovering, asks Fiver what they should do. Fiver replies that they should leave.
Hazel adds that they should go to the hills.
Suddenly Speedwell spots a rabbit coming towards them from the Warren, running headlong. It is Strawberry. He begs them to take him with them.
They leave.
13.3 Part One of Watership Down
So ends Part One of the book, which has taken us from one warren Fiver warned the group they had to leave to another where the same happened again.
The Warren of the Snares, to give it its proper name, possibly confirms the supernatural nature of the world in which this book is set even more. The imagery of Hazel's dreams and Fiver's comments on this Warren remind me a little of the influence of Cthulu in H.P. Lovecraft's 'The Call of Cthulu'.
The challenges our travellers have faced so far have severely tested their cohesion as a group, but they have come through these united. They have lost no one. In fact their group has grown by one.
They are heading, at last, for the hills to the south. One of which is called, it may not surprise you to learn, Watership Down.
13 4 Next Episode
I am going to pause from going through the book for one, maybe two, episodes, so that I can discuss wider subjects around the book and its portrayals. Vocab: Silf: Outside (as in 'silflay')
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12: Chapters 15-16. The Story of the King's Lettuce and Silverweed 12.1: Burrowkeeping There is a petition against building on Sandleford Park, the site of the Sandleford Warren in WD. Petition link: https://www.change.org/p/secretary-of-state-for-housing-communities-and-local-government-sandleford-watership-down-faces-developer-threat-to-ancient-woodlands-protected-animals?recruiter=890837112&utm_campaign=signature_receipt&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=share_petition 12.2 Chapter 15. The Story of the King's Lettuce The story opens with El-ahrairah and his people having already gone too far and being forced to live in the Marshes of Kelfazin. We are introduced to Prince Rainbow. He checks that they remain in the marshes regularly. El-ahrairah asks if they can be released if he can steal the lettuces from the garden of King Darzin. Prince Rainbow agrees that, if El-ahrairah succeeds, his people will be allowed to multiply across the world and will never be able to be kept out of a vegetable garden ever again. Yona the Hedgehog overhears all that has been said and goes to tell King Darzin. El-ahrairah goes to inspect the garden with his Captain of Owsla, Rabscuttle. When Prince Rainbow later mocks him for not yet having the lettuces, he informs him that they are going to be delivered. They plot what to do. Rabscuttle hides himself in a garden where King Darzin's children are taken to play. When the children arrive the next day he joins them. Rabscuttle is able to make friends with some of the many children and all the adults assume he belongs to someone else. When the children go back to the city, Rabscuttle goes with them. Then he goes to the store-room where the food is kept and spoils it. When the King and some of his people try eating some of it next day, it makes them ill. Rabscuttle keeps doing this to any food that is brought in for five days. Then he goes back to El-ahrairah. El-ahrairah disguises himself and goes to King Darzin, who is so ill he is desperate to he cured. He examines the King, then the store-room, then the lettuces in the secure garden and declares that it is the lettuces themselves that are the problem. He says that the lettuces need to be got rid of. Yona arrives with the Captain of the guard who says that the followers of El-ahrairah are planning to attack. So the King has a better idea: to take a thousand of the lettuces to the Marsh of Kelfazin to poison the rabbits. Prince Rainbow sees that El-ahrairah has succeeded and is as good as his word. The rabbits are set free and multiply all over the world, never being kept out of another vegetable garden.
12.3: Chapter 16. Silverweed As Dandelion finishes his story the reaction of their hosts is not what they expect. Cowslip says that they don't really tell the old stories of El-ahrairah. Buckthorn comments that rabbits will always need tricks, but an unfamiliar rabbit disagrees. Cowslip introduces this rabbit as Silverweed, a poet. To Fiver Silverweed smells of dying things. The poem Silverweed recites has four stanzas. In the first one, he describes the wind and asks it where it is going. The second stanza describes a stream in the same way. The third autumn leaves. The last stanza speaks of Frith. The speaker is ready to give their life for him. Fiver has reacted to the poem with fascination and terror. Suddenly he forces his way out of the Great Burrow violently. Hazel and Bigwig follow Fiver, who turns to them and says he felt himself like a cloud drifting towards Silverweed, that the roof of the Great Burrow is actually covered by a mist. He finishes with saying that something can be true and yet still be "folly", or a serious mistake. Fiver is forced to return to the burrow they slept in the previous night. 12.4 Next Episode In the next episode we finally learn the horrific secret of Cowslip's Warren. At what cost will this knowledge come?
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11: Chapter 14. 'Like Trees in November' 11.1 Housekeeping: Correction of the week: There was a brief sound drop while discussing the opening quote of the chapter last episode.
11.2 Chapter 14. 'Like Trees in November': This is a phrase that needs explaining to anyone who lives in a different climate. In the UK, particularly in southern England where the book is set, the year is very much divided into two equal halves. At the beginning of May the leaves come out on deciduous trees. Then, after Halloween, at the end of October, the leaves fall from the trees.
The quote that gives this chapter its name is based on something Pipkin says. The chapter opens with a quotation from the Earl of Chesterfield about learning to "read the room" as we might say now. As Hazel arrives back in the Great Burrow he notices Strawberry talking to Cowslip about his reaction to the 'shape'. He asks Blackberry to join him outside. Cowslip interrupts and invites them to share in food that seems to be available in the Great Burrow. Hazel insists his group would prefer to go above ground to feed. Cowslip laughs. This is utterly alien to rabbits. Is there something a bit too...human about these rabbits? And what would be causing that? Hazel explains the 'shapes' to Blackberry and asks Pipkin what he thinks, which leads to the line that names this chapter. Hazel responds that he is right about how sad they all seem. As if they have something on their minds. Blackberry brings up the fact that they nowhere near fill the warren. The three of them go below ground and find an empty burrow to sleep in.
The following morning we are told of the smells from outside that tell Hazel what time of day it is. But there is another smell as well. A smell of burning. A smell of a cigarette, or "white stick" as the rabbits call them. A man has been walking about outside the Warren. There is the sound of a rabbit stamping underground and singing the word 'Flayrah', meaning good quality food. Basically anything better than grass. It is Strawberry, who tells Hazel that the man has been and now there is good food outside. One of the Warren rabbits explains that the man leaves it out in the field. Hazel comments that, with food so freely available, the Warren should be full of rabbits. Hazel meets Pipkin, who says he hasn't seen Fiver in a while. He sees Fiver sitting under a Yew tree. He asks if he is going to help with the food. Fiver says he won't have anything to do with it. He says they are acting like dogs with sticks. Hazel says even Fiver can be wrong about something. But Fiver asks him why the man puts out food for the rabbits. It turns out that Fiver has been outside all night.
When evening arrives Hazel goes exploring with Bigwig. They come across a rabbit hole where there are signs of commotion. Leaves have been thrown up in the air and at the centre of this is a patch of bare earth. They discuss Cowslip's unwillingness to answer any questions, in particular on where anyone is. Finding Fiver still under the Yew tree, Bigwig bullies him into coming below ground. The Great Burrow is crowded with plenty of food. Cowslip approaches Hazel and says it has been suggested that one of his group might like to tell a story. Blackberry suggests that Hazel tell of their journey before they arrived at this warren. This does not seem to be received very well, judging by the silence, so he suggests that Dandelion tell a story of El-ahrairah. Hazel suggests the story of the King's Lettuce. Cowslip says they will enjoy that. So Dandelion begins. 11.3 Next time: The story of El-ahrairah and the King's Lettuce...and some welcome relief from whatever is going on in this warren. How will their hosts respond to the story? And how will Fiver react to that?
Vocab: Silflay: The verb for going above ground to feed. particularly on grass. Sayn: Is Lay: groundswell Narn: nice Marli: mother Flayrah: Good food, such as fruit and vegetables.
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10: Chapter 13. Hospitality 10.1 Housekeeping
Slip up of last episode: I referred once to being a "fact of WD" rather than a fan. Jeremy Downing from Ohio has been going through his collection of editions of WD in search of the lost paragraph. I will be feeding back with the results once I have crunched the information. No sermon this week. I'm sorry if I laid on the politics a bit thick last week, but I felt it necessary to emphasise the complete contrast between the ways I will analyse the two dangerous warrens in WD. 10.2 Chapter 13. Hospitality Opening quote from Tennyson's 'The Lotus Eaters' about a land you never want to leave. As the group follow Cowslip they have their first sight of his Warren. The holes are all large and plain to see. The rabbits that greet them are 'sleek and unusually large'. They greet Hazel with a dancing motion of the head and front legs that the group finds bizarre. They tell the group that Cowslip is in the 'Great Burrow'. Hazel is so curious to see it he forgets to decide properly who should go in what order. Suddenly he finds himself in a huge underground open space, exposed on three sides. There are more rabbits than his group has in the burrow. Adam's describes how his senses are able to tell so much about the space in the dark. Hazel is unsure how to introduce his group. He speaks plainly, as the last of his group arrive, commenting what a large warren this must be. This seems to strike the wrong note. The two groups mingle and get to know each other. But Fiver keeps himself apart from proceedings. Hazel finds himself between a couple. He asks the buck if Cowslip is Chief Rabbit. The buck responds by asking Hazel if he is Chief of his group. Hazel's response only, arguably, makes sense if the lost paragraph at the end of Chapter 11 is included, as he seems worried how Bigwig and Silver will react.
The buck tells Hazel that they don't need to worry about the things a Chief is meant to worry about, such a dealing with Elil or supervising digging. Elil stay away from this Warren. A homba (fox) that came near the previous winter had been shot by the "man who comes through the fields" As for digging, there is no need. The buck says no one has dug there in his lifetime. A lot of Burrows are lying empty. The buck ends by saying that Hazel's group will be happy living there. But he doesn't sound very happy. Hazel tries asking where the man...but he is interrupted by the buck introducing himself as Strawberry and his partner as Nildro-hain. She is the first female rabbit to be named in WD, though she still has yet to speak. Her good looks are commented upon by Hazel, but she is not given a voice. One day I will do an episode on sexism in WD. However it is worth noting the convention of does in WD only being known by their names in Lapine. They begin a tour of the Warren, ending up in a pit. One curved wall is formed from bricks, laid by humans. Strawberry says this is the outer wall of an old well. Another wall is flat. Hazel notices stones have been pushed into the surface of this wall at regular intervals. He asks what they are for. Strawberry explains that this is a "shape" and that it is meant to be El-ahrairah. This makes absolutely no sense to Hazel, for whom the very concept is meaningless. Hazel starts to ask where are...but is interrupted again by Strawberry. Hazel realises that any question that includes the word "where" is interrupted. He puts this to the test by deliberately asking another such question. Strawberry immediately shouts into a burrow to ask if the occupant is going to join them in the Great Burrow.
As they move on, after no response, Hazel checks the soil at the entrance of this burrow. It is very obviously unoccupied. 10.3 Next episode Next time, Hazel's group learn more about this strange Warren, which Fiver doesn't want to stay in at all. Even at night. Vocab: Homba : Fox Nildro : Song? Hain : Blackbird?
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9: Introduction to Cowslip’s Warren and Chapter 12. The Stranger in the Field 9.1 Housekeeping Correction from last episode: I said Hazel was with Fiver, rather than Pipkin, as he came through the Common, while I was going through Chapter 11. The Lost Paragraph: Further information from Maxine Tubb re. first edition not having the paragraph. Please let me know any information you have on years and country of printing as well as hard or softback. And whether your copy has the "Splendid" line from Bigwig or the put down of Hazel as chief. This is at the end of Chapter 11. 9.2 Introduction to Cowslip's Warren The main danger rabbits face in this book, arguably, comes not from the Elil, but from other rabbits. While Efrafa is the far greater threat, Cowslip's Warren is, arguably, the far more disturbing, I think, and here's why. When I come to discuss Efrafa, the parallels I will be drawing will be purely political. I will be drawing extensive comparisons with the works of George Orwell. When it comes to Cowslip's Warren the comparisons I will draw will be from the works of H.P. Lovecraft and Joseph Conrad. For me, Cowslip's Warren could be seen as a manifestation of religion, or, at the very least, philosophy, at it's very most destructive and abusive. But that isn't the world this book is set in. WD is set in a world in which the supernatural very much DOES exist. And that is where the events of the last 6 chapters of Part one of WD get seriously disturbing. It is made very clear in the text that the thing that truly horrifies Fiver about this warren is that its guiding inspiration, the poet Silverweed, has knowledge of...something that Fiver knows to be true. In this supernatural shadow-world, there are very clearly horrors that should not even be contemplated, as in Lovecraft's works. Efrafa might be horrendous, as a Warren, but at least its guiding philosophy is about staying alive. Not so in the place our heroes are about to visit. Welcome to the Heart of Darkness...with long ears... 9.3 Chapter 12. The Stranger in the Field The opening quote, from R M. Lockley's book about rabbits, hints that the group may be able to find a place in an established warren. This is followed by an extended general description of the relief of coming through hard times, using some human examples. Adams really lays on the optimism thick. We are told then of the relief of the travelers now they are out of the Common. They rest, feed and play in the Sun. They notice the roof of a farm some way off. Not close enough to worry about. There also seems to be no hint of Elil...which is a bit unusual. But maybe they are just used to there being more of them about. By mid day (ni-Frith) they have dug a few scrapes. Fiver keeps himself separate. The sky clouds over and there is a smell of rain. This seems like foreshadowing. Suddenly Fiver stamps a warning, which seems appropriate. He has seen another rabbit, who is watching them. The other rabbit is very big and healthy looking, but seems unaggressive and even gentle in his manner. The rabbit comes towards them and Hazel notices a strange smell that suggests good feeding and easy living. Yet he seems melancholy. The rabbit introduces himself as Cowslip. He says there are plenty of empty burrows at his Warren, while the scrapes Hazel's group have dug are actually facing into the usual wind. Cowslip leaves and the rain begins. Hazel asks Blackberry's advice. On balance, he advises they should go to Cowslip's Warren. Bigwig agrees. Only Fiver disagrees. He says they should have nothing to do with Cowslip's Warren and leave at once. Silver says they should all go to the Warren together, in answer to a question from Hazel. They make their way towards Cowslip's Warren. 9.4 Next Episode In the next episode the group arrive at Cowslip's Warren. Will Fiver be reassured by what he finds? Just what kind of place is it?
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8: Chapters 10 and 11: The Road and the Common and Hard Going 8.1 Housekeeping: I referred briefly to Speedwell waking up Acorn It was Hawkbit waking up Speedwell only.
Bigwig's phrase "u embleer rah" suggests a more complex meaning of "u", possibly meaning "you" as well as "the" depending on context. Interesting discussion of the book in the latest episode of the 'Read it twice' podcast on spotify. Episode 2. There is now a link in the description if you would like to leave a voice message for possible use in the podcast. The link is https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message 8.2 Chapter 10. The Road and the Common. Opening quote from the Pilgrim's Progress introduces the idea of resistance to going any further as dangers seem to increase. The rabbits stay in the beanfield for most of the day. Suddenly there is the sound of a gunshot. The rabbits scatter. It takes a while for them to gather again and they set off across a pasture. Hazel sees a hrududu on the other side of a hedge. Bigwig and Hazel go ahead to the road and Bigwig explains they are harmless as long as you leave them alone. Except at night when they have bright lights. A dead hedgehog proves the point. The road referred to is the B4640 between Newtown and Newtown Common. By moonrise they reach Newtown Common, which is an alien environment to them. Hawkbit approaches Hazel. He says they have gone far enough and need to stop. Speedwell and Acorn back him up. They think things are just getting worse the further they go. They want to go back. Hazel points out this is impossible as they wounded an Owsla officer. Fiver wants to talk to Hazel, while Bigwig has a go at the three rebellious rabbits. The Downs are mentioned for the first time in the book. They are 4 miles away. Fiver suddenly says that is where they need to go and he explains why very well. He says there is a mist between them and the hills that they will have to go through. A mist that feels like being deceived. 8.3 Chapter 11. Hard Going and The Lost Paragraph. The opening quote, from the Mort d'Arthur hints at coming through a hard journey through difficult terrain to better country. Hawkbit, after being threatened by Bigwig, has asked who is Chief Rabbit, which was followed by Bigwig biting him. BlackBerry asks who is Chief Rabbit. Hazel says he doesn't know, though Bigwig is the strongest. This is a key moment for Hazel as he promises them he will get them to better country by sunrise. It is nearly dawn and we learn of Hazel's feelings of self-doubt, as they are not clear of this difficult terrain. He can now see the ridge of the Downs clearly ahead. They seem closer. Suddenly Blackberry exclaims, from up ahead, that "He's done it". They have come out of the other side of the Common. They see Silver and Bigwig ahead of them. At this point the text varies depending on which edition of the book you read. This is the place of the Lost Paragraph I mentioned previously. Thank you to Ric Morris for this information. Full notes will be posted on the Facebook page. In my 1978 copy Blackberry calls Hazel 'Hazel-Rah' (Chief) and Bigwig reacts by saying the day he calls Hazel that will be the day he stops fighting. However, in many/most editions of the book this incident is omitted. Bigwig just says "Splendid Hazel!" and the whole tension of the issue of leadership is avoided. In any case, the chapter ends with the rabbits entering the thick grass of a meadow as the sun rises. 8.4 Next Episode The next episode covers the beginning of the last 6 chapters of the end of Part One of the book. These chapters cover that metaphorical mist that Fiver spoke of in trance when he first saw the distant Watership Down. Vocab: Embleer: Stinking (missed in last episode) Hrududu: a car or other human vehicle Yona: Hedgehog
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7.1 Introduction
Another shout out to Will Fuller for his recommendation on the WD Fans Facebook group. We’re planning an episode in June on the two most recent audiobooks. Thanks also to Ric Morris who has been providing me with a LOT of material for future podcasts. Including information on...THE LOST PARAGRAPH. More on this when I cover Chapter 11.
There may be times I pair chapters together. This was nearly one example, but it makes sense to pair the following chapter with the one after that. Besides, this chapter has a particular feature that merits a bit more time: the largest example of Lapine in the book.
7.2 Chapter 9
The Sun rises as the rabbits rest. They must be exhausted and the lack of cover is not enough to prevent several from sleeping. Hazel is aware they are not safe, but where is there to go? He scouts out the country uphill and detects another smell that is dominating everything. He decides to check it out on his own.
There are signs of insecurity here due to Bigwigs presence in the group. An insight into the realities of leadership? He sees what he does not realise is a crow. It is hunting a mole along the ground. Hazel is unaware of the risk this might pose. The smell gets stronger. It is a field of broad beans. Rabbits cannot eat them, but their smell and height will provide cover.
Getting back to the others, Hazel explains his plan and they get the other rabbits up to get to the bean-field. They still do not move as a group but straggle widely. These touches demonstrate that we are still dealing with rabbits with rabbit instincts.
Suddenly there is a screaming sound. Fiver and Pipkin have been attacked by the crow! It is aiming at their eyes, as crows do. Hazel rushes towards them, just to distract it, followed by Bigwig then Silver. The crow actively stands up to Silver, who hesitates. This is the first active contact with Elil in the book. Bigwig actually attacks the crow and tells the others to get in behind it. But it has already had enough.
Bigwig goes to Pipkin as he utters the poem I will discuss in the next section. Hazel notices Pipkin is clearly wounded in a front paw. They enter the bean-field. It is clearly going to be a safe place and they gather in a hollow. Safe at last. Hazel offers to look at Pipkin's paw and sees a thorn sticking out of his foot. Hazel manages to get it out.
Speedwell sees the size of it and jokes that they could have used it to make another notice board to scare Fiver with, or a weapon to use against the Lendri (Badger). How does he know what a notice-board is? Would rabbits need a word for this? Hazel tells Pipkin to lick the wound better and sleep.
7.3 Lapine grammar and THAT poem
If Lapine were an actual language, this poem would give us vital clues. I am speaking as a monolingual English speaker, so input from any linguists or bilingual listeners would be welcome. Word order in Lapine appears to coincide mostly with English. A little too convenient? However this poem does contain an example of changed word order. The reversal of the noun 'hraka' and the following verb does vary from English word order.
Vocab:
Hoi: Hey!
u: the
m' : a possibly contracted and inflected version of 'we'?
saion: a possibly contracted and inflected version of 'meet them' (sai... - ...on)?
ulé: 'even' (as in "even when we") OR 'stop'. Possibly slang. Possibly a single word for a concept that would only need a word for rabbits, given the importance of feeding in the open and flight to such animals.
hraka: droppings as in rabbit excrement
vair: pass, as in pass droppings. Possibly a verb meaning to defecate, distinguishing the noun for excrement from the verb, as opposed to words such as 'poo'. Is this conflation unique to English?
7.4
Next episode: Chapters 10 and 11. The rabbits face more new dangers...and there is dissent about whether they should even have left their old warren at all.
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6.1 Chapter 8: The Crossing
A shorter episode this time. Possibly pushed my luck with 3 chapters at one go.
There is a possibility of an episode in the near future in which I discuss the two most recent audiobooks of WD with another fan of the book, comparing Ralph Cosham’s interpretation with that of Peter Capaldi.
On to Chapter 8:
Opens with the first biblical quotation, from the Acts of the Apostles, which basically gives the game away as to what happens in this chapter.
This is the first chapter in which all three of this group of rabbits advantages come in to play. First there is the basic advantage of physical strength, as characterised by Bigwig. Then there are the psychic abilities of Fiver, which have started the whole adventure. And lastly there is rationalism and the ability to innovate, as demonstrated best by Blackberry.
Hazel, as leader, is properly tested for the first time, as he has to reconcile the input of all three.
The scene is described in Adam’s usual brilliant way, making clear that the rabbits are taking in some of the details. Then they move upstream to feed.
Hazel asks Fiver why they need to cross the river, rather than just move along it. His explanation might be a mixture of actual knowledge of landscape and a more mystical sense of the kind of place they need to find. In any case, it amounts to needing to cross so the ground will start to rise again to a high lonely place with dry soil.
However Fiver and Pipkin are too tired to swim yet and must rest.
Bigwig comes along and asks if they are ready to move on. Hazel says no firmly and Blackberry diffuses tension by suggesting Bigwig swim the river to scout out the other side.
As soon as Bigwig has gone he’s back with the news there’s a dog loose in the wood, trailing its chain.
Bigwig’s approach is for those who can to swim and the others to manage as best they can. They hear the dog yelp nearby.
Hazel rejects this and says he will stay with those who cannot swim. Bigwig loses his temper. Not through fear though, Hazel notices. Simply because he cannot see another way.
This is where the innovation of Blackberry comes in. He has found a piece of wood on the bank and understands that it can be used to float Fiver and Pipkin across to the other side. He is clearly extremely intelligent for a rabbit, as none of the others even understand what he is going on about.
Except Fiver. Again, is this also intelligence or something else?
As soon a Fiver gets it the plan comes into play. Bigwig and Silver push the piece of wood out, once Pipkin has been made to get on it as well. When the two small rabbits rotate on the wood, the sight makes no sense to most of them. But Blackberry asks Hazel to take the lead. As soon as he does, the rest of them start across.
Pushing the little raft is obviously not easy for Bigwig, but he understands what he needs to do once he can see it will work.
They all reach the other side safely and make for a hedgerow. Fiver makes it clear to Blackberry that he knows he saved him and Pipkin. Blackberry comments that it was a good idea that they should bear in mind for the future. He doesn’t seem boastful. Just objective. And his idea to bear it in mind will prove crucial later in the book.
Next episode: The rabbits make their way across new open countryside. What will they find?
Vocab:
Embleer: Stinking
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5.1: Housekeeping re. Blackberry and Dandelion and the first conversation: I didn't actually say it. Also must say "geek" less. First shout outs to Nati Plavin and Will Fuller. Thank you for your lovely comments. Also a comment, from Nathan Holec that the podcast is a bit quiet. I only record it on my smartphone, so I can believe that. The working title for WD was 'Hazel and Fiver' apparently. There seem to be two Facebook groups called 'Watership Down Fans'. I will be posting on, both. Editorial decisions: I will be dealing with versions of WD in chronological order. This means the 1978 film before the sequel 'Tales from Watership Down' (1996). Then the 1999 TV series. I have also decided that my site visits will follow the numerical order on the map at the start of the book. Today I will cover 3 chapters. Two short and one long, sandwiched between the other two.
5.2 6. In The Woods
Opening quote about rabbits leaving a Warren to find somewhere else to settle. It's nearly moonset when they leave the fields and enter the woods. Indicates how slowly they are travelling? Hazel is still nervous of the Owsla, even though they are further from the Warren than any of them have ever been. Why so little apparent urgency? They are following a brook and arrive at the woods. Hazel decides to go straight into the woods. Again we are told his internal monologue. The spookiness of the woods at night, for rabbits, is well described. First mention of rabbit mythology. More on this later. Bigwig says they need to rest, so Hazel asks Dandelion to tell them a story.
5.3 6. The Story of the Blessing of El-ahrairah
This will be very familiar to anyone who has seen the original film version as it opens the film, but not the book. A stylised version has become a convention for film versions. It gives us a first view of how rabbits see their place in the world and is quite Judeo-Christian in tone. First we learn of how Frith (God) made the world. It starts out as a Garden of Eden, where no animal eats another. Explanation of the word El-ahrairah. Elil-Hrair-Rah (Enemies-Thousand-Prince). El-ahrairah angers Frith with the original sin of breeding too much. Frith decides not to destroy El-ahrairah because he needs his tricks in the world. Instead he calls a meeting of all animals and gives each a "gift". Some of those gifts make animals into the Elil, the animals who will, from now on, try to hunt and kill rabbits. El-ahrairah is warned what Frith has done as he is on his way to the meeting. This frightens him and he starts to dig a hole. When Frith arrives he can only see El-ahrairah's bottom. He knows it is him. This defines the gift he is given: strong hind legs for running and stamping on the ground to warn other rabbits, and the flashing white tail of a running rabbit. As soon as he receives his gift he leaves the hole and runs away, the fastest creature on Earth. The chapter ends with the very familiar speech from Frith that makes the place of rabbits in the world very clear.
5.4 7. The Lendri and the River
Translation of quote at start: “As for moral courage, it is very rare, he said, to find that kind found at 2 o'clock in the morning; that is to say, courage in the face of the unexpected.” ― Napoléon Bonaparte
As the story ends they become aware of a badger, which can be dangerous. Bigwig takes the lead and they leave. They find themselves at the bank of the River Enborne. Fiver says they will have to cross the river, which Bigwig finds ridiculous. Hazel thinks that if fiver says they should cross the river, it might be dangerous not to, then realises that it is morning and that, on the other side of the river, are open fields.
5.5 Next Episode: Chapter 8. The Crossing. Which should give a clue what happens next.
Vocab:
El-ahrairah: The Prince with a thousand enemies (Elil-Hrair-Rah). Frith: God. Also the Sun.
Lendri: Badger
Tharn: a state of paralysis in rabbits brought on by fear.
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4.1 Introduction and opening comments. Intro subject: This podcast and copyright. Corrections and clarifications: Swallowing phrases still noticeable. Example from last episode: Fiver's HAVING a nightmare. Blackberry and Dandelion and the first conversation in the book. I let the film influence me.
4.2 Introduction to Chapter 4 The chapter starts with an explanation of "fu Inlé" ("after moonrise") as indicating how rabbits have no sense of punctuality. Adam's comparison of the way the rabbits gather with "primitive people" is a bit awkward to modern ears. However, the description of the right time to begin something being a communal venture is beautifully described, as it applies to birds, and is very true, in many animals including people. Adam's treatment of Does in the book also needs mentioning. He was inspired by R.M. Lockley's 'The Private Life of the Rabbit'. Yet, apparently, Lockley made it clear that Does will often leave a warren to start a new one. So why is it only Bucks that leave the Sandleford Warren?
4.3 The leaving party in order. First arrivals: Hazel: Group leader (Already introduced) Fiver: his brother. The main protagonist of the reason for leaving (Already introduced) Pipkin ("Hlao" in Lapine): Small, like Fiver, but without his psychic abilities.
4.4 Second arrivals Hawkbit: A less than intelligent rabbit that Hazel spent some time with during the snow a while before. Dandelion: Has persuaded Hawkbit to join. Later he plays a crucial role as the story-teller.
4.5 Third arrivals Blackberry: Already introduced. A highly intelligent rabbit who MAY have been the rabbit talking to Buckthorn, not Dandelion, in Chapter One. Buckthorn: The only named rabbit in the opening conversation of the book. A tough rabbit who is a candidate for the Owsla. Speedwell and Acorn: Described as "typical outskirters - thin-looking six-monthers" who Hazel does not recognise.
4.6 Fourth arrivals Bigwig: Already introduced. The physically strongest rabbit in the group...we later learn. Silver: Over 12 months old. Grey fur with patches of white. A new member of the Owsla and nephew of the Threarah. The arrival of these two gives another chance for us to learn of Hazel's leadership qualities. The group of rabbits that leaves the Sandleford Warren. 11 male rabbits (Bucks) and no females (Does): Hazel Fiver Pipkin Hawkbit Dandelion Blackberry Buckthorn Speedwell Acorn Bigwig Silver
4.7 The fight Having established the group that leave, we proceed to the first act of violence in the book. Three members of the Owsla arrive, including Captain Holly (the leader of the Owsla). Bigwig confronts him and is informed that he, and Silver, are under arrest. Is the implication that the rest of the rabbits could have just left with no problems? If so, this is just a case of a highly militarised warren in which anyone outside the Owsla is treated like dirt? Bears comparison with human societies. What is the Owsla FOR? Bigwig attacks Holly as soon as he has finished making his accusations. Buckthorn and Dandelion join in. The two Owsla run away. Holly remains, clearly ready for more fighting. But it is Hazel, uninvolved in the violence, who calmly tells him, twice, to go or he will be killed. Holly leaves, after making empty threats. A wounded Dandelion says they should leave immediately, as the whole Owsla will be after them soon. He is backed up by Fiver. Hazel says they should leave right away and follow the stream to keep together. Bigwig tries to offer advice, but Hazel points out there isn't time. They leave.
4.8 Next episode Next time: the journey begins. And the rabbits learn just how scary things can get.
Vocab: Hlao: Any small dip in the grass where moisture might collect.
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3.1 Chapter 2: The Chief Rabbit
Hazel is woken by Fiver having a nightmare.
Fiver's nightmare contains some serious call forwards for the rest of the book involving Hazel. Especially relating to the two rivers.
The idea that the whole warren would leave on his say so is totally unrealistic unless his reputation has spread. But it seems it hasn't. Even Hazel, who trusts his abilities, says so at first.
They go to see the chief rabbit, the Threarah.
Introduction to Bigwig (Thlayli), the 3rd main character. While Fiver is the wise archetype, Bigwig is the strong archetype, with Hazel as the balancing leader between the two.
Bigwig clearly knows Hazel and trusts him even though it could get him in trouble.
The Threarah is introduced positively. Although now old, he has, in the past, been a highly effective leader and has earned his respected position.
However there is no chance of his taking Fiver's warning seriously, even if the whole Warren leaving eas realistic. And he points out convincing reasons why it is not.
His inability to get names right indicates failing senses possibly, depending on how well he can be expected to know individual rabbits, though he claims to have known Hazel's mother.
He very much fits the aging statesman archetype. Past his best though with an undiminished sense of self importance.
Hazel argues Fiver's case as well as he can, but Fiver can't follow up as well, because he can't articulate the feelings he gets.
The Threarah points out his well things are going at the moment. The whole Warren leaving just isn't realistic.
Fiver loses the plot and that puts paid to the conversation. As they leave, Bigwig is called into the Chief's burrow to be given a hard time for letting them in in the first place. Or "getting his head bitten off".
Vocab:
Ni Frith : Noon Thlayli : Fur head Threarah : Lord Rowan Tree Rah: Lord/Chief/Prince
3.2 3: Hazel's Decision
Is it though? It seems to be Bigwig who first mentions the idea of leaving.
Hazel and Fiver are talking to Blackberry, who later proves to be very intelligent and has tipped ears, and Dandelion, both neighbours of theirs.
Hazel reveals he's never even been near the Chief Rabbit before.
Suddenly Bigwig arrives and says he's left the Owsla. He was obviously already discontented, and says he trusts things like Fiver has been saying. Later in the book he seems to contradict this though.
As soon as Bigwig mentions leaving, Hazel comes to his decision. Bigwig says he'll come too.
At this point we are intruced to Hazel's thoughts, as we often are in the book. He is nervous of a mend of the Owsla dominating things.
Blackberry also says he'll come along because he clearly isn't happy there anyway.
Bigwig says he'll talk to a couple in the Owsla who might also want to come along.
Hazel says they must leave tonight and to meet there again fu Inlé. There is some urgency if Owsla might leave, as the Chief and Captain Holly wont like that.
Vobab:
Frithrah: Basically 'God almighty' fu Inlé: After moonrise
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Episode 2: Introduction and Part One: The Journey. Chapter One: The Notice Board
First I talk about my battered old copy of Watership Down from 1978. Childish 11 year old's signature inside the front cover. Cost 90p. Must have got it after seeing the film.
No introduction in my copy so I relistened to the audiobook reading of it.
The plausibility of the entire book coming from car journeys. Amazing if true. What a memory!
Adam's goes through the origins of characters. Many derived from wartime experiences.
After the car stories he was urged to write it down by his daughters and went through each section with them. His love of the countryside where the book is set is obvious.
The origins of lapine is explained. Needing words for things only rabbits would say. Arabic influence and onomatopoeia.
Draft was rejected 7 times. Too babyish but with adult language.
Rex Collings was the small publisher who took it on and gave the title in 1972. Were there working titles before then?
Was popularised in the UK via America.
Deluxe illustrated version appeared in 1976. I've never seen this. I'm curious about it.
Thr book has never been out of print since.
Adams didn't quite understand the popularity of the book and asserted it was never meant to be an allegory. When looking at such features as Efrafa, I am sceptical. Maybe he just didn't want to get drawn into such discussions? Just said it was a story about rabbits told in a car.
Oh to have been able to listen in...
On to Chapter One:
I recorded this section without notes. Won't be doing that again!
The book opens with the beautiful book ending of the primroses being over, which contrasts with its last line. An entirely human description of nature leads us into the Sandleford Warren, where we are then directed to a group of holes where Hazel and Fiver are sitting. They are described. Fover small and nervous. Hazel larger.
The episode with the cowslip demonstrates the nature of the Owsla at this warren. A bit authoritarian.
Then they come across the notice-board. Fiver realises why he is feeling so nervous. A bad thing is coming to the Warren. In the sunset, the fields seem covered in blood.
As human readers we get to know what is on the notice board: houses are going to be built right where the Warren is. For rabbits, that is only going to end one way.
Vocab:
Hrair: more than four U Hrair: The Thousand Owsla: The elite group of rabbits who help with the running of a Warren. Elil: Enemies. Any animal that hunt or kill rabbits. Hrairoo: Little Thousand. Fiver's name in Lapine.
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Episode 1: In this episode I simply go through the intention of the podcast.
I will be focussing on the books first before looking at film and tv portrayals.
I am aware there is a danger of treading on toes with this subject. The book means a lot to a lot of people.
I am new to podcasting. Plans may well change. For now it will be just me talking. apologies for that :)
The basic episode plan at this point:
Go through original book chapter by chapter Introduce 'Tales from Watership Down' Go through Tales chapter by chapter Introduce 1978 film Go through 1978 film Introduce 1999-2001 series Go through 1999-2001 series by episode Introduce 2018 series Go through 2018 series Analysis of 2019 audiobook.
Occasional episodes:
Site visits Character analysis Themes
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This is a podcast about all things Watership Down related.
Please note: This unofficial podcast is not intended to be a substitute for reading the original book, or watching one of the film versions.
There will be spoilers.
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