Brindle 2: The River Journey
It was a cold and blustery day. On the north side of Watership Down, little rabbits stirred from their slumber. But there were still a few around. Brindle was one. He was sitting up on his hind legs cleaning his ears. When he had done so, he pressed himself close to the ground, to try and keep out the wind. The wind ruffled his fur, and he was sure it would blow him away soon. If the truth were told, he was bored. After his last adventure, nothing exciting had happened since. He used to be a shy rabbit, but he had grown more confident over the past months. He shivered. Glancing up the hill, he saw a rabbit coming towards him.
Rian, a young sentry, who had made friends with him, came up close and they huddled up to each other. 'BRRRR!' said Rian. ' There seems to be nowhere warm, and its not even winter yet!'
Brindle looked up at the sky. 'And it looks like it's about to rain!' And indeed it was. The sky, once so blue, was now a murky grey, which made everything seem really dark Then came the patter of raindrops on leaves, and the clash of thunder overhead. Then came the deluge. The rabbits were soaked in seconds.
They turned to go back, but then they heard a cry, coming from down by the stream.
'Someone's in trouble!' said Brindle. They ran for the stream, which was already full from yesterdays rain, and saw who was crying out for help. It was a field mouse. He had evidently been in his nest home in the grass, when it was lifted from it by the wind, and plonked in the stream, which was very rough. It had caught on some weeds, and was being held momentarily.' I'll go in and get him!' shouted Brindle through all the rain. 'But you'll be swept away, at that speed!' shouted Rian in reply, but Brindle did not hear him. He plunged into the freezing waters, and made for the field mouse. Rian was right. It was hard work. The rain battered at his eyes, and the small waves were no help either. Rian saw lightning strike a nearby tree, and a big branch fell into the river.
Brindle was up to the mouse by now, and had the nest in his teeth. He began to swim back to the edge. He could see Rian, but couldn't make out what he was doing or saying. He seemed to be pointing at something downstream, and he turned with difficulty. Brindle had no time to see what it was that was coming, before it struck him over the head. He disappeared under the surface, nest and all. The branch passed, and Rian strained his eyes to see where Brindle was. He couldn't see him anywhere.
'Brindle! Brindle! Where are you!?' he cried.
Blethlin was snug in her burrow. She had gone inside when the rain had started. She was just getting comfortable, when Rian staggered in, in great distress. 'What's the matter?' she asked, sensing something was wrong. 'Brindles been swept away downstream somewhere! I can't find him!' puffed Rian. Seconds later, both were outside, by the bank, searching in vain for any sign of Brindle.
'Wake up! Wake up!' Someone was tugging at Brindles ear. He opened his eyes slowly, not expecting anything to be real. He thought he must have drowned in the river. But when he opened his eyes fully, he could see he was lying on a bank, covered in mud and grit. A mouse was jumping up and down in front of him. 'Hurray! You're awake awake!' it cried.
'Who are you?' asked Brindle, groggily. The sun was beating down on him hard. 'I'm Levey-evey-evey' cried Levey.
'Why do you repeat yourself?
'Why don't you? Asked Levey
'You aren't supposed to repeat yourself' said Brindle
'I know, but it's more fun-fun-fun!' said Levey ecstatically.
Brindle lay there for a while, to gather his strength again. Then he got to his feet. He didn't know which way to get back. He was well and truly lost.
'Gotcha!' cried a voice. Brindle leapt in fright as a net was thrown over him. He struggled, but couldn't get free. Levey leapt clear. The smell of man came to Brindles nostrils. 'Oooh! Can I keep him Daddy!' came a girls voice.
'Of course not-he'd die!' said the father. He put Brindle into the back of his hrududu, with the little girl. Levey watched them pull out into the road, and disappear down the lane. A trickle of break oil dripped every few paces along the road.
Back at Watership Down, miles away from Brindle, Rian and Blethlin had almost given up hope in finding Brindle. 'He can't be gone' Blethlin kept saying. Then she sat up quickly. 'Look Rian! A bird! At what a big one!' cried Blethlin. 'So what? It's a bird. Whoopee.' Said Rian dejectedly.
'But don't you see? We could ask if he has seen him, or will look for him!' exclaimed Blethlin, cuffing Rian slightly. 'Bird! Bird! Come down! Please!' she cried. The bird saw them, circled for a few seconds, and landed a few yards away. 'What?' said the bird. 'I hope you have a good reason for calling me down like this! I had just seen the biggest fish in the river ever, and I hope I haven't lost it to two little time wasters!' He was such a large bird, that if they had been time wasters, they would have been far away from him by now.
'We need a favour' said Rian. 'We have a friend rabbit who was swept away downstream, and we haven't seen him since. We wondered if you'd look for him for us. In return, we'll look for that fish you wanted, and 'fish' it out again!' He giggled at his own joke, but stopped when he realised he'd just made a bad pun. The bird thought for a second. 'You promise me the fish? Very well, if I find him, I tell you where he is. If you do not have the fish when I get back, then no rabbity friend for you. Deal?' there was silence while the two rabbits thought about this. 'Deal' said Rian, nodding in agreement. The bird nodded also, took a running leap and fly into. Seconds later, he was off skimming the surface of the river.
Brindle had never been in a hrududu before. He didn't want to again. The little girl was holding on to him tightly in the back seat, so he couldn't escape. The girl was doing something funny. She was making a wailing noise with her mouth, though he saw no tears. She looked happy anyway. She was a strong little girl anyway. He had bitten and scratched her, but to no avail. She had her arms clamped tight. The hrududu started to jolt here and there. Brindle lifted his slightly, looking through the sheet of glass a metre in front of him. There was another hrududu coming towards. The man in front began to get panicky. This confused Brindle. Surely this man wasn't afraid of another hrududu? The lights of the other vehicle blinded him. He could see nothing, but felt a large jolt, and went flying out the girls arms. The hrududu twisted round in the road, and went bumper first into the ditch, and rolled upside down.
There was silence when Brindle first opened his eyes. The hrududu was empty of men. Obviously they had thought him dead and left him there. 'So, Brindle, Its another mess you've got yourself into' he said, getting up. He found, thought he did not know it, that he was on the roof of the hrududu, and there was no way of getting out. Brindle searched every corner of the van, looking in vain for a way out. Then he stopped. He could here a noise in the distance.
A minute or so later, he felt the van move again, this time it was being pulled up and out of the ditch.
The bird was still searching among the reeds along the river, seeing if the rabbit had been washed up there. Finding nothing, he then came to a clearing. A mouse of some kind was there. It looked at him in a funny way. 'Lost your fish-fish-fish?' it asked, almost mockingly.
'No' replied the bird. 'If I had, you could be its replacement if you don't cooperate'. Levey gulped nervously, his mischievous smile fading away in seconds. 'What do you want-want-want?' he asked
'Do you have to do that' asked the bird
'What-what-what?'
'Repeat everything'
'Yes. Because I want to-to-to'
'Well don't. Its giving me a headache'
'Sorry-sorry-sorry'
The bird gave up on this subject. 'Have you seen any stray rabbits around? They might have, literally, drifted down stream. You can just nod!' he quickly added. Levey nodded his head in anticipation. 'They went down that way with men, in a car-car-car' said Levey. He pointed down the road, and then looked back at the bird. The bird followed his gaze. 'Thank you' he said. Then he spread out his wings, and soared into the air, leaving Levey way down below him. 'Look out fish. Here I come!'
Rian and Blethlin weren't having a great amount of luck with getting the fish out the water. They had found it easily enough, trapped in some weeds, but getting it out was proving to be tricky. 'Just lean out a bit further' said Blethlin.
'I don't see the point' retorted Rian, pulling himself back in. 'I don't have claws to fish it out with!'
'Try and bit it or something!'
'There is no way I'm biting something which will probably taste so disgusting'
'We have to get it out, or won't get Brindle back!'
'He never said to get it out the water for us' said Rian. 'Look, he's back already'. The bird came closer and closer towards them. When it was just metres away, it started to come down gracefully. It came up to them. 'Where is my prize fish?' demanded the bird. 'Its over there, caught in the weeds. We couldn't get it out'. The bird took off once more. It circled round the bank, and dived. It scooped the fish up from the weeds, and into its beak.
They waited until the fish had been eaten. Then the bird, named Flutter, lifted his head and said 'Now I show you the way. You both walk, because I cannot carry both of you'. He took off for the fifth time that day, the other two following him in his shadow.
When the car had finally been removed from the ditch, it was nighttime once more. A little trickle of liquid, unknown to Brindle, seeped out of the back end of the car, behind the back wheel, spilling onto the road. The thin trail of breaking oil still evident behind it. The hrududu was pulled out with many bumps and bangs, and the rear window of the car had final had enough. It shattered to bits. Brindle could now see clearly through the hole. A great many pairs of human legs could be seen, and he didn't want to stay any longer than was necessary. He took a deep breath, for he was terrified of so many humans in large black boots, and ran for it. He hopped over the broken glass, and was off down the road, back the way he had come. The firemen saw him run, but let him go. Brindle followed the road back.
Rian, Blethlin and Flutter finally reached the place where Levey was still waiting situated. Unfortunately, they needed to be on the same side as him. Flutter fluttered over and landed next to Levey. 'How are we going to get across?' asked Blethlin. They looked inquisitively down at the rushing tide.
'I'll have to carry you across, one by one.' Said the bird. He came over to the other side. 'Ladies first!' he said. Careful not to put on to much pressure, he clamped his claws round Blethlins middle, and flapped his wings. They slowly rose into the air. Blethlin dared not look down as they went over the river, seeing the water flow below her. But she was landed safely on the other side. Then he went back for Rian. He made such a fuss. He even squealed as he looked down, over the river. 'Baby' said Blethlin as he landed. Rian ignored he snide remark, and said 'So, where is he?'
'Up the road-road-road!' said Levey 'Man came and took him'
'What should we do? If we follow him, we might get run over!' said Blethlin.
Still in darkness, the hrududu waited empty, upside down. The firemen were still there, waiting for the pick up truck. They hadn't yet seen the oil. One fireman lit a cigarette, and began breathing in the smoke. All was silent until he through it away, and it landed in the oil. The flames roared up. The car caught fire. Before the firemen could put it out, it exploded with such force, it was thrown into the air, and twisted round, landing on its side with a 'SMASH!' The flames proceeded the other way, back up the road, without being noticed amongst the commotion.
'I have to go now' said the bird. 'Perhaps we shall meet again someday!'
'We'd like that' said Blethlin. 'Come back to the downs soon!' she shouted as the bird took off. They watched him until he was out of sight. They noticed a thin black cloud hovering, but thought nothing of it. Levey disappeared down the bank, behind some bushes. 'Now where do you think he's got to?' said Rian, looking around him. 'Can you smell something?' asked Blethlin. They didn't have to look for more than a few seconds until Brindle came crashing through the bushes behind them. He jumped at the sight of Blethlin and Rian. 'How did you get here?' he exclaimed excitedly. 'We nearly flew, but we went on foot instead' said Rian.
'We can't stay here!' said Brindle suddenly remembering what happened. 'There's a fire coming at a tremendous speed. It follows this stuff!' he said pointing to the oil. 'It's practically everywhere!' said Blethlin in alarm.
Suddenly the bush where Brindle had sprung from exploded into light, making the rabbits jump. 'Oh no!' cried Blethlin what shall we do?' They went up to the riverbank. 'I can't see anyway of crossing, the rivers to quick!' said Brindle, choking and guttering. The flames were enveloping the clearing fast.
'Over here-here-here!' came a voice.
'Levey, you're still here?' asked Brindle, surprised.
'Come quick-quick-quick!' he called, gesturing towards him. The rabbits ran for it, the flames in engulfing the clearing {with help from the oil} in less than 30 seconds. They followed Levey through the bush. He led them quite a distance. They could tell the fire was gaining on them, because the smoke got thicker, and the smell got stronger.
They eventually came across another clearing. Bushes and trees surrounded this; one such tree was already on fire. The river was still in view. Across it was a hollow fallen tree trunk. It swayed as the waves beat it from side to side.
'If we cross, here we safe-safe-safe!' said Levey. 'Follow me-me-me!' He went inside the trunk, and disappeared in the darkness. Then they sighed with relief as they saw him come out on the other side. 'Now you come' he shouted, as the bushes flared up. Brindle and Blethlin dived into the hole, and Rian hopped across the top. Trees were hissing and spitting, creaking and cracking. Brindle and Blethlin got to the other side first. Rian was half way across, when one of the burning trees uprooted itself, and collapsed on the ground. It knocked the already unsafe tree, and dislodged on one end of the bank. It began to travel downstream, the other end about to pull away. 'Hold on! Quick!' cried Brindle, as Rian swayed, and nearly toppled off. He regained his balance. The fireside of the tree began to sink slightly, and Rian slide down a little way. The tree broke away from the bank completely. There was a fluttering sound, and Rian had gone.
'Where is he?' cried Blethlin in panic, over the crackling of the fire. They watched as the trunk was broken in two by a sharpe rock. 'Yoo-hoo! Up here!' came a voice. All three looked up. Rian and Flutter were descending from the sky. Flutter had Rian in his claws! 'That was fun!' he said as he landed. 'Lets do it again!' He would have if Brindle and Blethlin hadn't smothered him. 'We thought you were dead!' cried Brindle.
When everyone had settled down. Flutter spoke. 'I saw the fire and smoke coming towards you on my way back. You have already thanked me, so, I really must be going!' he flapped his wings. ' See you soon!' all four cried.
They then started their journey home. It took twice as long as usually, as there were twice as many ground creatures.
When they arrived back at Watership, they said goodbye to Levey at the riverbank. 'I come and see you soon, yes-yes-yes?' he said. The other three called back over their shoulders. 'YES-YES-YES!' And they disappeared down, into the burrows, and fell asleep almost immediately. They had had an exciting time, and there will be more adventures for them, just around the corner.
It was a cold and blustery day. On the north side of Watership Down, little rabbits stirred from their slumber. But there were still a few around. Brindle was one. He was sitting up on his hind legs cleaning his ears. When he had done so, he pressed himself close to the ground, to try and keep out the wind. The wind ruffled his fur, and he was sure it would blow him away soon. If the truth were told, he was bored. After his last adventure, nothing exciting had happened since. He used to be a shy rabbit, but he had grown more confident over the past months. He shivered. Glancing up the hill, he saw a rabbit coming towards him.
Rian, a young sentry, who had made friends with him, came up close and they huddled up to each other. 'BRRRR!' said Rian. ' There seems to be nowhere warm, and its not even winter yet!'
Brindle looked up at the sky. 'And it looks like it's about to rain!' And indeed it was. The sky, once so blue, was now a murky grey, which made everything seem really dark Then came the patter of raindrops on leaves, and the clash of thunder overhead. Then came the deluge. The rabbits were soaked in seconds.
They turned to go back, but then they heard a cry, coming from down by the stream.
'Someone's in trouble!' said Brindle. They ran for the stream, which was already full from yesterdays rain, and saw who was crying out for help. It was a field mouse. He had evidently been in his nest home in the grass, when it was lifted from it by the wind, and plonked in the stream, which was very rough. It had caught on some weeds, and was being held momentarily.' I'll go in and get him!' shouted Brindle through all the rain. 'But you'll be swept away, at that speed!' shouted Rian in reply, but Brindle did not hear him. He plunged into the freezing waters, and made for the field mouse. Rian was right. It was hard work. The rain battered at his eyes, and the small waves were no help either. Rian saw lightning strike a nearby tree, and a big branch fell into the river.
Brindle was up to the mouse by now, and had the nest in his teeth. He began to swim back to the edge. He could see Rian, but couldn't make out what he was doing or saying. He seemed to be pointing at something downstream, and he turned with difficulty. Brindle had no time to see what it was that was coming, before it struck him over the head. He disappeared under the surface, nest and all. The branch passed, and Rian strained his eyes to see where Brindle was. He couldn't see him anywhere.
'Brindle! Brindle! Where are you!?' he cried.
Blethlin was snug in her burrow. She had gone inside when the rain had started. She was just getting comfortable, when Rian staggered in, in great distress. 'What's the matter?' she asked, sensing something was wrong. 'Brindles been swept away downstream somewhere! I can't find him!' puffed Rian. Seconds later, both were outside, by the bank, searching in vain for any sign of Brindle.
'Wake up! Wake up!' Someone was tugging at Brindles ear. He opened his eyes slowly, not expecting anything to be real. He thought he must have drowned in the river. But when he opened his eyes fully, he could see he was lying on a bank, covered in mud and grit. A mouse was jumping up and down in front of him. 'Hurray! You're awake awake!' it cried.
'Who are you?' asked Brindle, groggily. The sun was beating down on him hard. 'I'm Levey-evey-evey' cried Levey.
'Why do you repeat yourself?
'Why don't you? Asked Levey
'You aren't supposed to repeat yourself' said Brindle
'I know, but it's more fun-fun-fun!' said Levey ecstatically.
Brindle lay there for a while, to gather his strength again. Then he got to his feet. He didn't know which way to get back. He was well and truly lost.
'Gotcha!' cried a voice. Brindle leapt in fright as a net was thrown over him. He struggled, but couldn't get free. Levey leapt clear. The smell of man came to Brindles nostrils. 'Oooh! Can I keep him Daddy!' came a girls voice.
'Of course not-he'd die!' said the father. He put Brindle into the back of his hrududu, with the little girl. Levey watched them pull out into the road, and disappear down the lane. A trickle of break oil dripped every few paces along the road.
Back at Watership Down, miles away from Brindle, Rian and Blethlin had almost given up hope in finding Brindle. 'He can't be gone' Blethlin kept saying. Then she sat up quickly. 'Look Rian! A bird! At what a big one!' cried Blethlin. 'So what? It's a bird. Whoopee.' Said Rian dejectedly.
'But don't you see? We could ask if he has seen him, or will look for him!' exclaimed Blethlin, cuffing Rian slightly. 'Bird! Bird! Come down! Please!' she cried. The bird saw them, circled for a few seconds, and landed a few yards away. 'What?' said the bird. 'I hope you have a good reason for calling me down like this! I had just seen the biggest fish in the river ever, and I hope I haven't lost it to two little time wasters!' He was such a large bird, that if they had been time wasters, they would have been far away from him by now.
'We need a favour' said Rian. 'We have a friend rabbit who was swept away downstream, and we haven't seen him since. We wondered if you'd look for him for us. In return, we'll look for that fish you wanted, and 'fish' it out again!' He giggled at his own joke, but stopped when he realised he'd just made a bad pun. The bird thought for a second. 'You promise me the fish? Very well, if I find him, I tell you where he is. If you do not have the fish when I get back, then no rabbity friend for you. Deal?' there was silence while the two rabbits thought about this. 'Deal' said Rian, nodding in agreement. The bird nodded also, took a running leap and fly into. Seconds later, he was off skimming the surface of the river.
Brindle had never been in a hrududu before. He didn't want to again. The little girl was holding on to him tightly in the back seat, so he couldn't escape. The girl was doing something funny. She was making a wailing noise with her mouth, though he saw no tears. She looked happy anyway. She was a strong little girl anyway. He had bitten and scratched her, but to no avail. She had her arms clamped tight. The hrududu started to jolt here and there. Brindle lifted his slightly, looking through the sheet of glass a metre in front of him. There was another hrududu coming towards. The man in front began to get panicky. This confused Brindle. Surely this man wasn't afraid of another hrududu? The lights of the other vehicle blinded him. He could see nothing, but felt a large jolt, and went flying out the girls arms. The hrududu twisted round in the road, and went bumper first into the ditch, and rolled upside down.
There was silence when Brindle first opened his eyes. The hrududu was empty of men. Obviously they had thought him dead and left him there. 'So, Brindle, Its another mess you've got yourself into' he said, getting up. He found, thought he did not know it, that he was on the roof of the hrududu, and there was no way of getting out. Brindle searched every corner of the van, looking in vain for a way out. Then he stopped. He could here a noise in the distance.
A minute or so later, he felt the van move again, this time it was being pulled up and out of the ditch.
The bird was still searching among the reeds along the river, seeing if the rabbit had been washed up there. Finding nothing, he then came to a clearing. A mouse of some kind was there. It looked at him in a funny way. 'Lost your fish-fish-fish?' it asked, almost mockingly.
'No' replied the bird. 'If I had, you could be its replacement if you don't cooperate'. Levey gulped nervously, his mischievous smile fading away in seconds. 'What do you want-want-want?' he asked
'Do you have to do that' asked the bird
'What-what-what?'
'Repeat everything'
'Yes. Because I want to-to-to'
'Well don't. Its giving me a headache'
'Sorry-sorry-sorry'
The bird gave up on this subject. 'Have you seen any stray rabbits around? They might have, literally, drifted down stream. You can just nod!' he quickly added. Levey nodded his head in anticipation. 'They went down that way with men, in a car-car-car' said Levey. He pointed down the road, and then looked back at the bird. The bird followed his gaze. 'Thank you' he said. Then he spread out his wings, and soared into the air, leaving Levey way down below him. 'Look out fish. Here I come!'
Rian and Blethlin weren't having a great amount of luck with getting the fish out the water. They had found it easily enough, trapped in some weeds, but getting it out was proving to be tricky. 'Just lean out a bit further' said Blethlin.
'I don't see the point' retorted Rian, pulling himself back in. 'I don't have claws to fish it out with!'
'Try and bit it or something!'
'There is no way I'm biting something which will probably taste so disgusting'
'We have to get it out, or won't get Brindle back!'
'He never said to get it out the water for us' said Rian. 'Look, he's back already'. The bird came closer and closer towards them. When it was just metres away, it started to come down gracefully. It came up to them. 'Where is my prize fish?' demanded the bird. 'Its over there, caught in the weeds. We couldn't get it out'. The bird took off once more. It circled round the bank, and dived. It scooped the fish up from the weeds, and into its beak.
They waited until the fish had been eaten. Then the bird, named Flutter, lifted his head and said 'Now I show you the way. You both walk, because I cannot carry both of you'. He took off for the fifth time that day, the other two following him in his shadow.
When the car had finally been removed from the ditch, it was nighttime once more. A little trickle of liquid, unknown to Brindle, seeped out of the back end of the car, behind the back wheel, spilling onto the road. The thin trail of breaking oil still evident behind it. The hrududu was pulled out with many bumps and bangs, and the rear window of the car had final had enough. It shattered to bits. Brindle could now see clearly through the hole. A great many pairs of human legs could be seen, and he didn't want to stay any longer than was necessary. He took a deep breath, for he was terrified of so many humans in large black boots, and ran for it. He hopped over the broken glass, and was off down the road, back the way he had come. The firemen saw him run, but let him go. Brindle followed the road back.
Rian, Blethlin and Flutter finally reached the place where Levey was still waiting situated. Unfortunately, they needed to be on the same side as him. Flutter fluttered over and landed next to Levey. 'How are we going to get across?' asked Blethlin. They looked inquisitively down at the rushing tide.
'I'll have to carry you across, one by one.' Said the bird. He came over to the other side. 'Ladies first!' he said. Careful not to put on to much pressure, he clamped his claws round Blethlins middle, and flapped his wings. They slowly rose into the air. Blethlin dared not look down as they went over the river, seeing the water flow below her. But she was landed safely on the other side. Then he went back for Rian. He made such a fuss. He even squealed as he looked down, over the river. 'Baby' said Blethlin as he landed. Rian ignored he snide remark, and said 'So, where is he?'
'Up the road-road-road!' said Levey 'Man came and took him'
'What should we do? If we follow him, we might get run over!' said Blethlin.
Still in darkness, the hrududu waited empty, upside down. The firemen were still there, waiting for the pick up truck. They hadn't yet seen the oil. One fireman lit a cigarette, and began breathing in the smoke. All was silent until he through it away, and it landed in the oil. The flames roared up. The car caught fire. Before the firemen could put it out, it exploded with such force, it was thrown into the air, and twisted round, landing on its side with a 'SMASH!' The flames proceeded the other way, back up the road, without being noticed amongst the commotion.
'I have to go now' said the bird. 'Perhaps we shall meet again someday!'
'We'd like that' said Blethlin. 'Come back to the downs soon!' she shouted as the bird took off. They watched him until he was out of sight. They noticed a thin black cloud hovering, but thought nothing of it. Levey disappeared down the bank, behind some bushes. 'Now where do you think he's got to?' said Rian, looking around him. 'Can you smell something?' asked Blethlin. They didn't have to look for more than a few seconds until Brindle came crashing through the bushes behind them. He jumped at the sight of Blethlin and Rian. 'How did you get here?' he exclaimed excitedly. 'We nearly flew, but we went on foot instead' said Rian.
'We can't stay here!' said Brindle suddenly remembering what happened. 'There's a fire coming at a tremendous speed. It follows this stuff!' he said pointing to the oil. 'It's practically everywhere!' said Blethlin in alarm.
Suddenly the bush where Brindle had sprung from exploded into light, making the rabbits jump. 'Oh no!' cried Blethlin what shall we do?' They went up to the riverbank. 'I can't see anyway of crossing, the rivers to quick!' said Brindle, choking and guttering. The flames were enveloping the clearing fast.
'Over here-here-here!' came a voice.
'Levey, you're still here?' asked Brindle, surprised.
'Come quick-quick-quick!' he called, gesturing towards him. The rabbits ran for it, the flames in engulfing the clearing {with help from the oil} in less than 30 seconds. They followed Levey through the bush. He led them quite a distance. They could tell the fire was gaining on them, because the smoke got thicker, and the smell got stronger.
They eventually came across another clearing. Bushes and trees surrounded this; one such tree was already on fire. The river was still in view. Across it was a hollow fallen tree trunk. It swayed as the waves beat it from side to side.
'If we cross, here we safe-safe-safe!' said Levey. 'Follow me-me-me!' He went inside the trunk, and disappeared in the darkness. Then they sighed with relief as they saw him come out on the other side. 'Now you come' he shouted, as the bushes flared up. Brindle and Blethlin dived into the hole, and Rian hopped across the top. Trees were hissing and spitting, creaking and cracking. Brindle and Blethlin got to the other side first. Rian was half way across, when one of the burning trees uprooted itself, and collapsed on the ground. It knocked the already unsafe tree, and dislodged on one end of the bank. It began to travel downstream, the other end about to pull away. 'Hold on! Quick!' cried Brindle, as Rian swayed, and nearly toppled off. He regained his balance. The fireside of the tree began to sink slightly, and Rian slide down a little way. The tree broke away from the bank completely. There was a fluttering sound, and Rian had gone.
'Where is he?' cried Blethlin in panic, over the crackling of the fire. They watched as the trunk was broken in two by a sharpe rock. 'Yoo-hoo! Up here!' came a voice. All three looked up. Rian and Flutter were descending from the sky. Flutter had Rian in his claws! 'That was fun!' he said as he landed. 'Lets do it again!' He would have if Brindle and Blethlin hadn't smothered him. 'We thought you were dead!' cried Brindle.
When everyone had settled down. Flutter spoke. 'I saw the fire and smoke coming towards you on my way back. You have already thanked me, so, I really must be going!' he flapped his wings. ' See you soon!' all four cried.
They then started their journey home. It took twice as long as usually, as there were twice as many ground creatures.
When they arrived back at Watership, they said goodbye to Levey at the riverbank. 'I come and see you soon, yes-yes-yes?' he said. The other three called back over their shoulders. 'YES-YES-YES!' And they disappeared down, into the burrows, and fell asleep almost immediately. They had had an exciting time, and there will be more adventures for them, just around the corner.