It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
-Ursula K. Le Guin
The three rabbits remained under the seat where they had hidden. They did not try to attract the humans' attention and spent the entire trip playing bobstones with one of the passengers' money.
After a few hours, the airplane was nearing Heathrow Airport. The runway was plainly visible to the pilot, but there was something in the middle of it that was not supposed to be there. It was the self-driving double-decker bus that Hazel and the others had taken earlier in their journey. It had been fished out of the Thames and slightly reprogrammed to prevent further accidents. It had somehow made its way to the runway and was a hazard to any airplane that would land there. That would be a difficult landing.
Despite the risk of the procedure, the pilot still managed to land the airplane without crashing into the bus or anyone getting hurt. The passengers slowly got up and started to leave.
-I suppose it's time to leave this place, isn't it, Fiver my dear? asked Vilthuril.
-You're right. In fact, the Down is only one more hrududu away.
-Which type, this time?
-This one moves on roads.
The rabbits also got out of the airplane and went largely unnoticed, as most of the passengers were paying attention to the bus instead. Several airport employees were trying to remove the hood, so they could access the engine to turn it off. Unfortunately, it was held in place by several large bolts and nobody had the right tool to remove them. The three rabbits walked inside the hrududu through its open doors.
-Be prepared for a bumpy ride, warned Fiver as the doors closed, and always expect the unexpected.
With that, the bus rolled off the runway towards the electric fence surrounding the airport. The vehicle kept pushing against the fence, and after several minutes, it finally succeeded in breaking through. Several of the fence's wires remained tangled around the bus' roof and wheels, but this did not prevent it from continuing its trip, and it was soon travelling towards the Hampshire countryside.
The rest of the trip was mostly uneventful, with the rabbits occupying themselves by telling El-ahrairah stories. Suddenly, Fiver stopped and started to stare wide-eyed through the window. He only regained touch with reality a few minutes later.
-Something very bad is going to happen. We must all stay very close to each other so we won't get hurt.
Soon afterwards, the bus rolled off the road at a sharp turn and continued its way through the field. Almost immediately afterwards, it fell into a ditch, and stopped moving.
The three rabbits were looking like a ball of fur with a few paws and ears sticking out at random angles. They got back up and started to clean their fur.
-Hrududil can be really terrible places, complained Buttercup.
-We've been travelling inside hrududil for a few weeks, and you get used to it after a while, said Vilthuril. What do we do now, Fiver?
-We just get out through the small hole over there.
The "hole" was actually a window that had shattered when the bus fell into the ditch. The rabbits climbed onto a seat and jumped out through the window. Only then did they realize the bus had stopped much closer to the Down than they thought: the ditch was in the middle of a field close to Nuthanger Farm.
The three rabbits slowly made their way through the field. They were in no hurry, and frequently stopped to silflay. When they finally reached the bottom of the Down, it was ni-Frith.
-Here it is, proclaimed Fiver. Watership Down. Our warren is at the top.
-That is the most beautiful hill I've ever seen, said Buttercup, amazed.
The rabbits slowly climbed the Down. When they reached the top, there were no other rabbits around, as everyone was either digging with Thethuthinnang or sleeping underground. They remained outside for a while, eating and contemplating the view, before finally going underground.
