Chapter Four

-Moving On-

Bigwig knew, in his heart of hearts, that he could not stay at Watership Down after what had happened; after what he had not prevented. He felt ashamed that he had been defeated before the battle was won. He had been fighting with Chervil-rah when it happened. A rabbit unknown to him had charged to protect his chief and caught Bigwig on his exposed side, injuring him and sending him rolling down the hill. The fall had knocked Bigwig unconscious.

The rabbit stopped once he was a few feet into the wood. He found cover in a large bush. The wood smelt of leaf mould, humans, dogs and something almost Lapine. Bigwig recognised the smell as that of a hare.

Bigwig had not met many hares in his life, but he knew that some thought of rabbits as inferior beings. Hares could run faster, jump higher and further, and were larger than rabbits. Something told Bigwig that he should keep to himself while in Hare Warren Wood. He moved quietly through the bushes, checking every now and then to see if he was trespassing on hare territory. Once or twice he saw signs of struggle. Familiar furrows in the ground and tufts of soft grey fur showed him that these particular hares were very territorial and did not like their land being walked on by other creatures. He tried to keep to the edge of the wood, but sometimes this was impossible because of the muddy puddles that blocked his way. Each time he was forced onto the path he expected to be set upon by an angry hare.

His journey through more open part of the wood was easy enough. Once the trees had blocked the sunlight, however, it became apparent that he would have to be extra careful about picking his way further into hare territory. The path widened here and there and the bushes on either side became sparser and sparser. The stream that ran through the wood soon blocked the edge of the path completely. Bigwig found that the water filled a long ditch that ran along the path's edge. There was nothing for it; he would have to continue on the open track. He hopped warily onto the leaf-strewn, muddy trail and began to move along it, hoping all the while that he would not meet any hostile hares.

He travelled for most of the day and in the evening when the air got cooler, he decided to stop and rest under a thick bush he had come across. He crawled in amongst the branches and lay down. He sniffed the earth and caught the faint sent of buck hares. It smelt as if the hares were a little younger than Bigwig. Bigwig knew that being older than the hares did not mean he was stronger.

Hares are larger than rabbits; they can run faster, jump higher and further and have stronger hind legs. Some hares think of rabbits as inferior because of these factors and also because leverets are born fully furred and adapt very quickly to their surroundings, whereas a rabbit doe's kittens are furless and blind. Hares do not believe in the stories of El-ahrairah. The idea that a rabbit could be a folk hero is considered ludicrous. They do not have a figure they call their god. Hares are totally atheist and do not discuss how they came to be living; it is just accepted as being one of those inexplicable things.

Bigwig slept for most of the night, but was awakened by the sound of two animals coming towards him. He raised his head quickly and focussed on the path in front of his bush.

'Damn rabbits,' said a large brown hare irritably, 'they're eating everything. There won't be anything left for us soon; you wait and see.'

'I agree with you,' said the second hare, 'but they've gotten wise to us. They know we're patrolling the woods and looking for them. It's getting harder and harder to find them.'

'King Woodgrain will have your ears for letting that one escape.'

'King Woodgrain can lick my muddy scut,' replied the larger of the two hares curtly, 'I'm disposing of those stinkweeds because I hate them, not because the King told me to.'
Bigwig felt the impulse to bolt down a run and to hide underground. He dug his claws into the ground, bracing himself and getting ready to run or fight. His eyes widened in shock as he noticed the hares stop.

'What is it, Sapling?'

'I can smell a rabbit.'

'A buck?'

'Yes.'

'Are you going to flush him out?'

'No, I'm tired. He'll keep.'

Bigwig waited until the hares were a long way off in the distance before heaving a huge sigh of relief. He moved deeper into the bush and went back to sleep. He slept lightly so he could move quickly if he had to. Nothing disturbed him and he slept on until the morning.