Watership Down

“The funny thing is that you feel terrified to stay and I feel terrified to go. Foxes here, weasels there, Fiver in the middle, begone dull care!”

Blackberry distills the fears of every rabbit who thinks of leaving the warmth and safety of a warren for the uncertainties of the wider world. It’s a decision no one wants to make, especially not a rabbit, but Fiver insists it must be done, and his cohorts believe him and leave the warren. This is the first of several prophecies uttered by Fiver, whose psychic connection to an alternate way of knowing impacts the plot at critical moments.

“All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.”

Frith the sun god promises El-ahrairah that, though his people must be punished for his arrogance, they still are Frith’s friends and always will have the means to survive. The passage foreshadows the adventures of Hazel’s group, which will call upon every ounce of strength and wit it has to survive.

“‘[…] we need to cross the river, Hazel, so that we can get into those fields—and on beyond them too. I know what we ought to be looking for—a high, lonely place with dry soil, where rabbits can see and hear all round and men hardly ever come. Wouldn’t that be worth a journey?’ ‘Yes, of course it would. But is there such a place?’”

Fiver lays out for Hazel the basic description of what they’re searching for—a place with a good lookout, safe from flood and humans, and easy to live on. Fiver knows that, beyond a river, there are uplands, and these may lead them to their destination. Still, they’re searching for a rabbit’s version of heaven, and Hazel knows enough to doubt if it’s real.