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Chorus: Why do you cry out thus, unless at some vision of horror?
Cassandra: The house reeks of death and dripping blood.
Chorus: How so? 'Tis but the odor of the altar sacrifice.
Cassandra: The stench is like a breath from the tomb.
-- Aeschylus, Agamemnon
The primroses were over. Toward the edge of the wood, where the ground became open and sloped down to an old fence and a brambly ditch beyond, only a few fading patches of pale yellow still showed among the dog's mercury and the oak-tree roots. On the other side of the fence, the upper part of the field was full of rabbit holes. In places the grass was gone altogether and everywhere there were clusters of dry droppings, through which nothing but the ragwort would grow. A hundred yards away, at the bottom of the slope, ran the brook, no more than three feet wide, half choked with kingcups, watercress and blue brooklime. The cart track crossed by a brick culvert and climbed the opposite slope to a five-barred gate in the thorn hedge. The gate led into the lane.
The May sunset was red in clouds, and there was still half an hour to twilight. The dry slope was dotted with rabbits -- some nibbling at the thin grass near their holes, others pushing further down to look for dandelions or perhaps a cowslip that the rest had missed. Here and there one sat upright on an ant heap and looked about, with ears erect and nose in the wind. But a blackbird, singing undisturbed on the outskirts of the wood, showed that there was nothing alarming there, and in theother direction, along the brook, all was plain to be seen, empty and quiet. The warren was at peace.
At the top of the bank, close to the wild cherry where the blackbird sang, was a little group of holes almost hidden by brambles. In the green half-light, at the mouth of one of these holes, two rabbits were sitting together side by side. At length, the larger of the two came out, slipped along the bank under cover of the brambles and so down into the ditch and up into the field. A few moments later the other followed.
The first rabbit stopped in a sunny patch and scratched his ear with rapid movements of his hind leg. Although he was a yearling and still below fall weight, he had not the harassed look of most "outskirters"' -- that is, the rank and file of ordinary rabbits in their first year who, lacking either aristocratic parentage or unusual size and strength, get sat on by their elders and live as best they can -- often in the open -- on the edge of their warren. He looked as though he knew how to take care of himself. There was a shrewd, buoyant air about him as he sat up, looked around and rubbed both front paws over his nose. As soon as he was satisfied that all was well, he laid back his ears and set to work on the grass.
His companion seemed less at ease. He was small, with wide, staring eyes and a way of raising and turning his head which suggested not so much caution as a kind of ceaseless, nervous tension. His nose moved continually, and when a bumblebee flew humming to a thistle bloom behind him, he jumped and spun round with a start that sent two nearby rabbits scurrying for holes before the nearest, a buck with black-tipped ears, recognized him and returned to feeding.
"Oh, it's only Fiver," said the black-tipped rabbit, "jumping at bluebottles again. Come on, Buckthorn, what were you telling me?"
"Fiver?" said the other rabbit. "Why's he called that?"
"Five in the litter, you know: he was the last -- and the smallest. You'd wonder nothing had got him by now. I always say a man couldn't see him and a fox wouldn't want him. Still, I admit he seems to be able to keep out of harm's way."
The small rabbit came closer to his companion, lolloping on long hind legs.
"Let's go a bit further, Hazel," he said. "You know, there's something queer about the warren this evening, although I can't tell exactly what it is. Shall we go down to the brook?"
"All right," answered Hazel, "and you can find me a cowslip. If you can't find one, no one can."
He led the way down the slope, his shadow stretching behind him on the grass. They reached the brook and began nibbling and searching close beside the wheel ruts of the track.
It was not long before Fiver found what they were looking for. Cowslips are a delicacy among rabbits, and as a rule there are very few left by late May in the neighborhood of even a small warren. This one had not bloomed and its flat spread of leaves was almost hidden under the long grass. They were just sitting on it when two larger rabbits came running across from the other side of the nearby cattle wade.
"Cowslip?" said one. "All right -- just leave it to us. Come on, hurry up," he added, as Fiver hesitated. "You heard me, didn't you?"
"Fiver found it, Toadflax," said Hazel.
"And we'll eat it," replied Toadflax. "Cowslips are for Owsla -- don't you know that? If you don't, we can easily teach you."
Fiver had already turned away. Hazel caught him up by the culvert.
"I'm sick and tired of it," he said. "It's the same all the time. 'These are my claws, so this is my cowslip.' 'These are my teeth, so this is my burrow.' I'll tell you, if ever I get into the Owsla, I'll treat outskirters with a bit of decency."
"Well, you can at least expect to be in the Owsla one day," answered Fiver. "You've got some weight coming and that's more than I shall ever have."
Watership Down. Copyright © by R Adams. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.I love this story, it is wonderful, a whole world and it's history. It is a story of overcoming obstacles, and makes some powerful statements about community and being part of a team, yet shows the dangers of collectivism & socialism. I wish this hardback version had the illustrations and quotes that were in the original paperback... (or is the preview just not showing them?)
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 29, 2012
I Also Recommend:
Watership Down is one of the best in classic literature. It is a novel about the lives of a small group of rabbits in search of a home after their warren is destroyed by humans. In the book, the leader of the rabbits, called Hazel, and his friend Fiver the mystic both lead their gang across rivers, escaping predators, and humans with their snares and traps. The rabbits finally find a good place to make their new warren, and after doing so are faced with the problem of there not being enough rabbits to keep the warren going. They attempt to solve the problem by trying to steal some pet rabbits from a farm nearby. When that doesn’t work to plan, they decide to find another warren and to convince some of their rabbits to come to the new warren. When they find a new warren, they find it under the tyrannical reign of a huge rabbit named General Woundwort. After they escape from his guards they plan on raiding his warren and taking some of his rabbits that are not as loyal. They succeed by a small margin, and the General pursues them. Soon they find themselves in a war, each side fighting for their lives. During the book they tell each other side stories of a mythical rabbit named El-ahrairah, yet do not realize their adventure is a legend in itself. I think part of the reason Richard Adams wrote this book was because he wanted to show how rabbits live, and how their lives are affected by humans. I liked the originality of this book, and the way it intertwines a view of the world through a rabbits eyes, within a human world. I also liked how the story tells of their journey, and when they finish the journey half way through the book it continues with a new problem. I did not like the way he used weird made up words to describe human things, because it made the story hard to read and awkward. Despite this, this book has earned itself a five star rating, above average. This is a book everyone should read, because it is such a great classic, and shows a new view on life. I would also like to recommend ‘The Dragons Nine Sons’, because after reading that, I vowed to recommend it to everyone I could. It is the best book I have ever read and will probably never be beaten. No one can go without reading it; it is a science fiction masterpiece.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 12, 2012
I had to read Watership Down for my 7th grade English class, and started out disliking it immensely. I mean, I don't know a single seventh grader who would actually enjoy reading a 400+ page book about talking rabbits. As I read more and more in the book, though, my opinion of Watership Down changed drastically. I realized that the themes and characters in the book are powerful and more than they appear to be. The characters are vivid and strong, and I especially liked Hazel, the beloved and courageous chief rabbit who proves his worth again and again to his people. The ending in Watership Down was perfect, and it will have a lasting impression on me. My advice to possible readers is this: Watership Down is a great book. Yes, it was sometimes slow and tiresome, but it was also more than a book about talking rabbits. Don't let those rabbits stop you from such a wonderful story. I was pleasantly surprised by this book, and would recommend it to anyone who appreciates quality literature.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.It does not take long to get atatched to this book. Adams brings the reader on an adventure starting early on in the book. Once Hazel and Fiver, start their journey, the book becomes extremely addictive. I am a consatnt reader, and this book is easily one of my top three novels I have ever read. As the characters were being introduced I found a strong connection to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. This is a true adventure book, but I would also recommend this book to any peron that loves to read.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This was the first novel that I stayed up late reading (with a flashlight under the covers so my folks wouldn't know I was up past my bedtime)! Worth reading again and again - an enchanting story.
P.S. This is also a particularly good story for reading out loud to older children and adults (a chapter or two a night).
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I read it and it is awful. Richard Adams is very good at giving detail and writing about rabbits but not writing an exciting story. I mean really I don't want to read about a book that has talking rabbits who don't really do anything. You might like this book if you like animals or stories that are very detailed. I could not finish this book it was just so boring and I love reading. I think Watership Down is a long story where there is almost No action, or excitement.
1 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 15, 2012
I really liked it when i was younger, but I started to read it again and found it less exciting. But it is still an awesome book!
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Posted May 6, 2012
Fav novel because they said in the book nightshade if you love this book youll love nightshade
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I read this book years ago when I found this and plegue dogs at my school's old and very limited library. I cannot see how individuals can rate this story under 3 stars; this is a classic like Wind in the Willows. Highly recommend this book.
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Posted April 20, 2012
it was every bit as good as I remember it being. In a few years I'm going to share it to my grand daughter.
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Posted May 27, 2012
This book is great. It is about rabbits that have to move away. It is really long, but it is worth it. The main characters are hazel and fiver, two rabbits. Read it, its worth the money!
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Posted March 18, 2012
Richard Adams weaves beautiful diction with a story about a deep society from creatues you would't expect
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 9, 2012
Very long l lost intered halfway through
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Posted February 23, 2012
This is the most boring i've ever picked up. Don't waste your time reading about talking rabbits. LAME LAME LAME!!!!!!!!!!
0 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 21, 2012
I first read this book when i was nine and have re read it more than a few times in the last twenty years. It is still a good read and even after thirty years since itss original publishing it is still one of the most beloved books in american literature.
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Posted February 15, 2012
I love the Warriors series alot. But its riddicous to be posting stuff aboit it on a whole different books page. This book Wateship Down is an amazzing bok that deserves to get reviews on iys page about the book. So stop bein ridiculous and go write on some horrible books reviews, but please dont do it on and amazing book like this. Thank you
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 14, 2011
Richard Adams is a true genius. "Watership Down" is a captivating story, that kept me spellbound from start to finish. The lapine language was especially clever. I'm only sorry I don't know of more books by Adams. I would definitely recommend this book to friends and family.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This book was recommended to me by a friend and I went into it with some reservations. I'm very glad I stuck with it. On the surface it's an adventure story featuring some rabbits. Really, though this book is a social commentary. This book can be enjoyed by a wide range of ages.
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Posted December 11, 2011
I love this book. Some parts do get a little boring, but you have to stay with it.
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Posted November 4, 2011
Great book
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Overview
A phenomenal worldwide bestseller for over thirty years, Richard Adams's Watership Down is a timeless classic and one of the most beloved novels of all time. Set in England's Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage and survival follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of brothers, they journey forth from their native Sandleford Warren through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, to a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society.