Prove Yourself
Erklania. Dusk. A lone rabbit makes its way up the gentle slope towards the main body of the warren. His name? Pea-tree. He is one of the smaller rabbits of Erklania; a warren built on the border between a copse and a sheep field. If you were to stand by the chief rabbit's burrow and look down towards Pea-tree you would be faced with the slope down towards the river Nailbourne, said to flow every seven years and currently in one of its gap years. Now it barely seems a river, unless you know your dried up, half obscured by many years worth of growth, and thus barely visible, rivers. Look beyond the river and you see, after a thin line of trees, a park with swings, a slide and a climbing frame, and beyond that…well, let us not concern ourselves with that silent village. Instead, look to your right. There you see two adjoining houses- River View and Sunny Side, set comfortably away from the road by a long drive. The road itself is only a small country lane, but look beyond and you see the fine gardens of Oswalds. Stretch your eyes beyond the blue house towards Bourne Park, home to a magnificent mansion and a small lake. Look no further than that, because the story does not go beyond the lake you see before you. Now look at the rest of your surroundings. To one side you have the copse, a dark and overgrown place that is now home to the many Erklanian rabbits. Marvel at the array of trees that can be seen from your position- oaks, redwoods, blue cedars and the odd ginko. If you look up the slope you can see a hedge separating the Erklanian warren from another sheep field, and then the A2 running from London to Dover, or vice versa depending on who you are and where you are going. Of course none of the Erklanian rabbits use this busy road; they simply continue to live and breathe upon the gentle slope that contains their vast tunnelling system and spare not even a passing thought for its existence. Their neighbours, the Hrean warren of that small country lane I had mentioned earlier, are on the receiving end of the overflowing traffic as the cars pull off the main road. The rabbits of Hrea need not concern us this early on, so let us return to Pea-tree. Ah! He has made his way to the chief rabbit's burrow…
"Halt! Who goes there?" demanded Captain Bilberry as Pea-tree approached.
"It is I; Pea-tree, son of the late Captain Pillwort."
"Oh yes, I remember you now. State your business."
"I believe I have found something of interest amongst the man's metal poles across the river."
"Frithrah! What were you doing down there alone?"
"I was, er…I was looking for something narn."
"Oh," chuckled Bilberry, "did you find anything?"
"No, Sir. Nothing edible, anyway. I found something else though. Please come and have a look! I really don't know what to make of it!"
"I'll have to have a word with Catkinrah. Wait just one moment…" he said as he scuttled down the burrow that sat proudly on the highest point of the field, surrounded by the protective roots of an old tree. Several rabbits had come to see what was going on and sat half hidden by the brambles as Pea-tree waited patiently. He smoothed down his dark grey fur and licked his toes to pass the time. One of the rabbits, a young buck named Poplar, lopped towards Pea-tree.
"It'll be dark by the time Catkinrah is done with him, show us instead!"
"I would, but this is important!"
"Pea-tree, remember that last important thing you found? I seem to remember it being little more than human rubbish. Now what was important about that?"
"It shone," said Pea-tree. "It shone like the moon does in the puddles in the field after heavy rain."
"And what was before that? A dead bird?"
"It worried me. I didn't know what killed it, Poplar!" Captain Bilberry rose from below ground and rubbed his front paws over his ears and the thin scar that ran down the right side of his face; a badge towards the fights he had won to gain his position as Captain of Owsla.
"If you could find Hornbeam to take my place as guard I am to see what you have found," he said. "You! Butternut! Go to his burrow and get him out."
"Oh yes, Sir! I'll go right away," said one of the rabbits that sat by the fence as she backed away from sight. Within seconds Hornbeam had come out of the dark copse and was at Bilberry's side.
"So run along then! I want as little time here as possible; the sooner you leave the quicker you get back," he grumbled as he settled down. "And the lighter too," he added as he looked at the darkening sky.
"Oh come on then!" said Pea-tree as he took off down the slope and back towards the river. A few of the other Erklanians started to follow at a distance, but Bilberry turned sharply.
"Get going!" he shouted back at them. They stopped, but didn't move away. "I'll have your ears if you disobey me!" he yelled. The rabbits looked from one to the other and decided it wasn't a good idea to argue with their Owsla and left.
Pea-tree sprinted towards the river and ducked into the cover it offered. Bilberry practically fell through the canopy of weeds and landed with a thud onto a floor of dry silt flints. The river cliffs showed traces of chalk beneath the thin covering of dusty soil and it soon came away as Bilberry scrabbled to heave his large body up to the bank. Only large, you understand, for a rabbit. Had he been a fox or cat he would have been able to jump up effortlessly. Had he been a smaller, more agile rabbit, or a mouse, or rat, he would have been able to climb up as Pea-tree had done. He was far more akin to throwing his cumbersome weight about in order to gain more control over the lower ranks in the warren, or to get higher up in some cases. As he struggled onto the west bank of the river Nailbourne he caught sight of Pea-tree sitting way ahead and to the right beside a strange, metal structure built by men to perform some bizarre (and no doubt torturous, Bilberry presumed) activity on its high bars.
"Come on, Bilberry!" called Pea-tree.
"Call me Sir, by Frith!" replied Bilberry in an attempt to regain a little more respect after his somewhat embarrassing run-in with the river cliff. "Or at least Captain." He trotted towards Pea-tree and looked at what had caught the little rabbit's attention.
"By Frith!" he exclaimed as he looked at the strange object.
"What do you think it is, Sir?"
"I don't know… a man thing, I would imagine…"
"A man thing? But it's a rabbit!" said Pea-tree as he pushed a paw towards the pink, furry object that lay before him.
"It doesn't smell like a rabbit," said Bilberry as he pressed his nose up to the peculiar finding. "It certainly isn't alive," he concluded. "Or dead either, for that matter."
"Like a stone, or the soil?" asked Pea-tree.
"Yes, I suppose so…but Frithrah! What a stench! It smells badly of humans! And something else too, but I don't know what. Nothing I've ever smelt before…"
"I thought it might be a man's rabbit. I heard they have them, you know. Have you heard that?"
"Yes," said Bilberry nodding his head. "If you carry on past that black gate, and then once you are on the road you carry along to those cottages," he said as he tossed his head in the direction of the line of small cottages, "you will find several caged rabbits, poor souls."
"How awful! Did the men dig them out of their burrows?"
"Frith knows, they never mentioned where they came from."
"You've met them?"
"Oh yes. Being Captain of Owsla requires a knowledge of the layout of the land."
"Oh, I see. Is it exciting to see new places?"
"Exceedingly so. And frightening too. I have a lot of stories to tell of my explorations around the village, but I won't tell them. Spindle is the rabbit for that!"
"Is he still alive?"
"Such negligence in you young rabbits!" laughed Bilberry; "he's around. He doesn't come out when there are a lot of us around at silflay. He likes to eat away from the rest because he likes the peace and quiet."
"So what do we do about this man thing?" asked Pea-tree, realising that it was very nearly dark and they shouldn't be so far away from the warren.
"Leave it. We don't need it. Men have strange things, this is one of the strangest things I have ever seen."
"Yes. Why would a man want a fake rabbit?" asked Pea-tree, but his captain was already crossing back over the river.
Pea-tree sat in silence and looked towards the row of cottages. He then glanced about and had a few nibbles of grass. "Very quiet," he muttered to himself. "Very quiet indeed." He then looked at the dark sky and felt the light drop of rain on his nose. "Best be going then."
When he got back to Erklania he was surprised to find that several rabbits were laughing at him. It was now almost complete night and the rain had started to speed up, so he knew they were not out for any normal reason. They sat behind a fence post and chuckled amongst themselves as he came up the slope towards them. He could make out three rabbits altogether, and as he began to go under the wire of the fence he got jumped by one of the larger ones. He was knocked onto his back, but he quickly scrambled back onto his feet and stared at the attacker in an attempt to scare him (although, in all honesty, he really did look like he was going to cry. Some rabbits just aren't tough.)
"Little Pea-tree," said the leader of the three, "I hear you have been bothering our Owsla with more useless man things! What was it this time? A magnificent hat?"
"Don't mock me, Rusty! If you had seen-" but he was cut off before he could finish.
"If I had seen it I wouldn't have bothered our busy Owsla. Captain Bilberry shouldn't waste his time on rabbits like you!" It wasn't actually that Rusty and his two followers had any kind of need to defend their Owsla because they are, as is in every story, the bullies of the tale. I suppose modern day councillors would say they had suffered in their childhood and were trying to get attention. Or that they were lacking in stimulating activities to occupy themselves with. Or that they were rebelling against their crumbling society in the struggle to achieve something before it disappeared off the face of the earth. None of these were true to Rusty and Co. Rusty has just always been one of these rabbits that don't like as many rabbits as they can, and it was clear he really didn't like Pea-tree. Give him the slightest excuse to bully him and he would take it and kiss your feet in thanks. Or maybe rub his cheek along it as cats do, or lick your ear as dogs do. I am not aware of any signs of affection used by rabbits, so if you know then you know what he would do. If, like me, you don't have a clue then you would be none the wiser. Now then, back to the story. How did our hero respond to that? Like so…
"But you don't understand!"
"I understand perfectly well! Our Owsla work hard to keep this warren working, and you go and disrupt them by pulling this stunt!" he turned and kicked damp soil into Pea-tree's face, causing his comrades to burst out into fits of insane laughter.
"Let that be a warning to you!" giggled the rabbit that had jumped him, and the three blurred into the darkness.
"What is going on here?" asked a voice from behind the fence. A large, grey rabbit broke out of the cover of weeds and faced Pea-tree.
"It was Rusty, Silver-Fir. He and his comrades attacked me for wasting Captain Bilberry's time, but I thought it was important!"
"Pea-tree," said his elder, wiser and therefore better, "let them have their fun. They'll get bored in time. Are you hurt?"
"Well, no, but-"
"Then don't let it bother you. You should be underground anyway, unless you want an owl to get you."
Pea-tree scampered down into his dry, safe burrow and curled up to have a long snooze. His mind was full of thoughts. Being a young, small and often solitary rabbit he had often been made fun of by the other rabbits in the warren and not just Rusty and his cronies. What was there to do to gain the respect he wanted and to erase he mistakes he had made with his findings? The only way to do this, he suspected, was to find something amazing. But what? No one else seemed in the least bit interested in his findings as they had no effect on their lives, so what did? What did the warren need? The answer was nothing. Of course the ideal find would be a rabbit-friendly dog to protect them from elil, but did such things exist? No, of course not. So what else then? Flayrah? Yes, lettuce wouldn't go unnoticed in the warren, but where would he get it from? Ah well, when it is raining outside in the dark wilderness, do we want to stay awake plotting such schemes? Thought not. Let's skip to the next morning…
Pea-tree arose to silflay at the same time the other Erklanians did, but he was careful to stay away from the rabbits on the main slope. Pea-tree assumed that word of his finding had spread and so he kept to the East Side of the copse, where he fed from the grassy border of a ploughed field. As he ate he became aware of some other rabbit a little way into the field. He was sitting in a furrow and so was almost invisible against the dark backdrop of the soil. Pea-tree sat on his haunches and sniffed at the old creature, who just stared right back through black eyes.
"Speak to me, Young One, or stop staring and leave me alone!" said the old rabbit.
"I'm sorry. I'm Pea-tree," said Pea-tree meekly.
What?" asked the old rabbit harshly, "you'll have to speak up; I'm a bit deaf, you see."
"Pea-tree," repeated Pea-tree in a louder voice. "Isn't it suicidal to sit in the middle of an empty field when you are deaf?"
"Well, Pea-tree, you said yourself it is an empty field."
"Yes, but I meant uncovered. What if some elil came from the sky and snatched you up? Or from the copse?"
"Well maybe that is the point of it."
"To kill yourself?"
"Ah, Young One! So much to learn! Just wait and see what you will be like if some elil doesn't steal you first! I'm the oldest rabbit in Erklania and I get looks as though I am already rotting away from you young kits!"
"I'm not a kitten, I'm just small."
"Oh, you are a kitten compared to the withered thing you see before you!" grumbled the greying rabbit. Pea-tree hopped forwards and saw that his face, pitted and scarred from previous fights, had turned grey around his eyes and nose. His ears were almost all grey, and his teeth (or rather the single incisor that could be seen) had turned into deep yellow and almost orange. The silver lining of his face and ears were in complete contrast with the rest of his haggled body, which remained a pale and slightly red brown.
"Are you Captain Spindle?" asked Pea-tree. The old rabbit laughed gruffly.
"Not a captain now, Young One. Now I'm plain old Spindle. I used to be Spindlerah in my fitter days, but they are long gone. Oh what days they were! I could have had any doe I wanted, now look at me! I have to stay out of sight of the rest of the warren now. Catkinrah doesn't like to see me. Something about being faced with his own mortality. He thinks himself the modern day El-ahrairah, I suppose. Stupid fool!"
"Perhaps, Sir, you could help me with something…?"
"As you asked me so nicely I don't see why not. What would you like me to tell you? A story of some kind, perhaps? Maybe of the time I had to tackle that beastly hare when-"
"No, Sir. I don't want to hear a story. Maybe some other time, but not now."
"Oh, very well. What would you like me to tell you then?"
"Well I have troubles with the rest of the warren, you see…"
"Build your own."
"I'm sorry?"
"Build your own. Leave this dump of a place and set up a new one far away in a safe place. Leave Erklania and get away from them all!"
"Pea-treerah? I think not. And I certainly wouldn't handle life as a hlessi. Do you mean become a chief or live a vagabond?"
"Whichever suits you best."
"I'll die," said Pea-tree, "I don't think either would really be for me, after all I am only a small creature. I'll just die all alone with no one to wish me on my way and no one would miss me."
"We will all die eventually. Would you rather die bravely, or end up like me? Old and half dead, with nothing to live for except suicide!"
"Well I…I don't know. But it wouldn't necessarily be a brave death, would it? I could get caught in a snare, or worse!"
"I don't think you would be any kind of a leader, Pea-treerah. A hlessi? Possibly. Maybe for a short time if you keep your wits about you, but you would die in your first encounter with a larger buck. Have you ever been told about this place that existed? Efrafa was it's name, I don't know whether it is still around. But if you came across a place like that, then woe betide you!"
"I have heard about it, but I don't think such a place exists around here."
"Well how many warrens do you know of? I'm telling you, there is a funny place up on the opposite rise of the valley, way beyond that house we can see from the main slope. Now they are strange rabbits. Not in an Efrafan way, but weird none the less. I say, if they caught sight of you they would sacrifice you to Frith and be done with it! A very religious lot, always talking to themselves and sitting on logs and such things like that. I fought their patrols and they let me stay for a night. Now what were they called…Mortlerarians? No, that isn't them. Began 'Kah' something. Kahbenia, I think was the place."
"But Sir, what shall I do?"
"Well don't go to the Kahbenians as they'll have you within a day of catching whiff of you."
"I wasn't planning on it. I need to stop them making fun of me, then I can live here happily!"
"Who? The Kahbenians?"
"No, Sir! The Erklanians! They make fun of me and I don't fit in!"
"Is that why you are here in this place of exile?"
"Yes, I couldn't bear to face them after last night."
"Oh, the discoverer of man things, eh?" wheezed Spindle. Pea-tree nodded.
"I think I should find something amazing to impress them, but I don't know what!"
"Maybe it isn't what you find, Young One, maybe it is who."
"Who I find? Who can I find?" asked Pea-tree. Spindle spluttered and coughed, then turned his back on Pea-tree.
"Just leave me in peace for the Black Rabbit of Inle to get me. I don't want to be bothered with your problems any longer!"
Pea-tree left through the fence and into the copse. There he came across Butternut.
"Hello, Butternut," he said.
"Oh, hello Pea-tree. Good silflay?"
"Not good, but interesting."
"What have you found this time?"
"Nothing at all…" said pea-tree as he left Butternut in the shadows of a crippled tree.
Now there comes a time in every creature's life, be they human, rabbit, dove or vole, when they have the sudden urge to pack in everything they know and leave. Cat owners are well aware of losing their loved ones for long periods of time, often lasting several months, and then having them turn up with barely a scratch on them. This time came for Pea-tree when he saw the silflaying Erklanians and realised that he really didn't like them all that much. "They all laugh at me," he muttered "every one of them, every day! Even Catkinrah has a good laugh about poor little Pea-tree. I'll show them all! I'll show them that Pea-tree is not an object of ridicule!" With his last (yet pointlessly unheard) words he darted through the copse and back down to the Nailbourne; this time travelling downhill within the boundary of the trees so as to go unseen. Once in the ditch he travelled little way north and under two bridges. One of which was built for feet alone (either man, dog or sheep) to get from the Erklanian field to the strip of land between the forge and the village hall, and the other built for cars coming in or leaving the village. It was after this bridge that Pea-tree emerged onto the same bank he had started on, but further down and tucked neatly away from Erklanian view.
Pea-tree found himself in the well-flowered garden of Oswalds and could smell their vicious dog in every direction. Deciding that it was best not to linger in such a deadly paradise he hurried forwards and into another sheep field. To his left he had the seemingly distant lake, and ahead of him he saw the shepherd's cottage, and beyond that the warren of Hrea. Hrean rabbits are known throughout this particular area of the valley as being incredibly reckless without being stupid. Of course there is a certain amount of stupidity in building a warren where men tend to go. But it is not a busy road (rush hour would see around a car every one and a half minutes) but it is a steep hill and cars are oblivious to the Hrean rabbits, or the other animals that end up under their wheels, and so continue to charge down without a care in the world. Road kill is frequent, and this encourages elil and carrion crows, which either become the road kill themselves or take to hunting down the Hrean rabbits.
As Pea-tree passed by the shepherd's cottage (setting the little brown and white terrier into mad fits, only to be shouted at by his domineering mistress,) Pea-tree found himself looking up at Hrea in amazement. He saw no rabbits (not even splattered into the tarmac. All he saw along the road was an unfortunate pigeon) but he could smell them everywhere. The land lay fallow after a hurricane many generations ago and the area received an eerie yet comforting feel. The remains of uprooted beech trees lined the roadside, and young trees had been planted to replace them (beech, wild cherry and field maples). The result of which was a shabby, crumbling stretch of land made no better than the looming presence of the remaining beech trees.
"Hello, who are you?" asked a quiet voice from underground. "Are you a hlessi?"
"Hlessi? Well I suppose I might be for the time being," answered Pea-tree. "I'm from Erklania, but I've left for a bit."
"An explorer?" asked the voice.
"Why yes, I am!"
"What is your name, Erklanian explorer?"
"I'm Pea-tree. Who might you be?"
"I am Rowan, daughter of Alderrah."
"I can't see you, please come out!" said Pea-tree as he poked his nose to the entrance of the hole. He instantly back off as he got the scent of something he hadn't detected before, but now it seemed to be seeping out of the trees themselves. "What is that?" he gasped.
"It's hit us bad, the illness. It makes us blind and the flies climb on our eyes, but we don't blink. We hope it makes us better, but it doesn't," she whispered.
"The White Blindness?" asked Pea-tree.
"Yessssss," whispered – no, hissed- another voice from below ground. "Come in and join us! We're disappearing fast now. Come in! It doesn't hurt if you are welcoming. If you fight it gets harder…come in!" chanted the voice. It then let out a high pitched laugh, almost a cackle, and there was a scuffling sound coming from the darkness.
"The lot of you have it, don't you? The whole Hrean warren! I won't have you infecting me, not in a long time! Not ever!"
"Run, Pea-tree, run before it gets you!" called out Rowan, "Never again think of the Hrean; we are as good as dead!" she wailed desperately before she was silenced by the other voice. There was a lot of hissing and whispering going on as Pea-tree backed away, and as more voices joined in with the argument he felt the dying voices calling up through the soil. He could not make out a word they said, except for a lot of 'help ussss!' Pea-tree backed away slowly, but as the voices built up he turned tail and ran as quickly as he could to get away from them.
Now remember that this is a rabbit scared for his life and for other rabbit's lives, and for the fact that a whole warren lies dying beneath a ground of fallow grasses and uprooted trees. Now imagine that you are a walker casually passing into the village by means of this small road, and what should you see as you get to the corner? Nothing more than a terrified Pea-tree racing around the corner, along the side of the road and completely oblivious of your presence. Well then, it is lucky you do not have a dog with you! Pea-tree had never run so fast in his life, and he soon found himself along the road that joins the village with its larger neighbour. It was here that the poor, lonely and afraid soul sat at a puny hedge and shivered with fear. "Oh Frith above!" he said to himself.
Now we are taken to outside the village and into a patch of land between the two villages, a sort of No-man's land, if you will. It is Bourne Park and is basically a small valley made up of sheep fields and a lake, full of water this time of year and with a couple of swans and several wild ducks. The Nailbourne has water in this part of the river because there is a spring that Pea-tree did not notice in his mad dash to escape Hrea.
Pea-tree gazed down towards the lake in amazement. He had never seen so much water, and at first he thought it was a patch of wet tarmac. He took a look at the sky and surrounding area and decided that it was safe enough. He quickly flung his little body downhill and stopped below a cluster of shady trees that sat along the bank. Cautiously he made his way towards the water's edge and found himself looking at his reflection in the dark water. "By Frith! How did you get in there?" he asked the rabbit. "I say, you are as small as I am! But I can't hear what you are saying, speak up!" He sat and looked, but the rabbit seemed to be imitating him. He moved his head to the left; so did the other. He sat on his haunches, then rolled onto his side. He wiggled his nose and thumped his feet. "Stop that!" he cried as the rabbit in the water did all that he did. "Why are you doing it?" He poked his nose towards the water and dipped a paw in. Several ripples spread out and blurred his image, but after it settled the rabbit was back again. As he tried to get at the rabbit with both paws he found himself sliding down the muddy bank and landed in the cold water with a splash. He wriggled and squirmed and found himself taking in huge mouthfuls of water and having to cough them out again. His back legs kicked madly and he found that they pushed him forwards. He couldn't stop kicking in case he sunk underwater and drowned, so he simply carried on swimming in circles. He was beginning to grow tired when he saw a great white giant under water and it was almost right underneath him. He screamed out and kicked faster.
"Stupid rabbit!" it yelled at him. "Stupid rabbit being in my lake like this!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" gurgled Pea-tree to the giant. He could smell it now as well and he saw that it was some kind of bird. Then another came, and this was too much for Pea-tree. He kicked hard and found himself going in a circle, and then he managed to get his feet caught in some weeds underwater. "Oh dear, oh dear!" he said.
"Get out!" called the giant. Pea-tree could now see that it was on the surface of the water with him, and it looked angry.
"I can't. I'm stuck!" said Pea-tree. The swan swam over to him and stuck it's head under water and Pea-tree felt it tugging at the weeds his legs were caught in. "Thank you!" he said. The swan then pushed his rump with its beak and Pea-tree found himself being propelled back towards the muddy bank.
"There you go, now what were you thinking of doing?" asked the swan once he had pushed Pea-tree back. Pea-tree shook himself and took to licking at his slimy legs. The algae made his belly green, and Pea-tree did not like it.
"I was trying to get to that other rabbit," said Pea-tree in between licks.
"Other rabbit? The other rabbits don't come on this side of the bank, and they certainly don't swim around like they are some kind of fish!"
"But he was there, and he looked just like me!"
"Stupid rabbit!" said the second swan, "that was just your reflection! Have you never seen water before?"
"Only small puddles never like this!"
"It was just you that you saw. Everything gets trapped in the lake."
"Like the moon does! I saw it in the water once, and it shone and looked magical!"
"Magical indeed. It's just the way things are, I don't know why they are in there!"
"Where are you from?" asked the male swan.
"Erklania, the warren past the road"
"What road? The one up there?" asked the female swan as she poked her long neck towards where he had just come from.
"No, another road. You can't see it from here."
"So you are a long way from home? Why is that?" asked the male.
"I'm out to find something amazing, but I don't know what."
"And what will you do once you have found it?"
"Show the rest of the Erklanians, of course."
"Will you take it to them or will they go to it?"
"Well…I don't know. It all depends on what it is, really."
"I bet they won't want to come all the way here, so you can forget about showing them. And how will you carry it?"
"I don't know…I'll know when I find it, I suppose. I really must get some rest now, though. It's been a terribly busy day so far. Is there somewhere nice and warm and dry for me?"
"There are rabbits up there," said the male who was looking towards some woodland known by both locals and maps simply as 'the Wilderness'. "But it is still quite far if you are tired, and they may not like a worn out old…what is the word? Hlessi? I used to converse with them, but they don't come down here anymore; not when the weather is warm because humans come along with their dogs."
"Do you not mind the humans coming?"
"They give us food, why should I mind? I, by the way, am Gertrine. This is my lovely mate Snathia."
"Who are you?" asked Snathia.
"I'm Pea-tree," said Pea-tree as he let out a large yawn. I think I will just sleep here, for the moment. Wake me if a dog comes." With that he moved into the trees and curled up amongst some long grass.
Pea-tree woke up in the evening when he heard footsteps passing very closely. He sat in silence as they passed by, and he saw a single man travelling away from the lake. He could see Snathia sleeping on the bank across the lake and Gertrine drifting past him.
"Morning, or rather evening, little rabbit."
"Evening, Gertrine. Tell me, where do I cross to get to the other rabbits?"
"Well, there are two ways. You can travel along the river until you get to the area where it has dried out, or swim across where the sheep are."
"Sheep?" asked Pea-tree as he looked around. He saw that the large animals had moved into the field while he was sleeping and that a line of them were crossing in one particular area of the river, and turned back to Gertrine. "What is so special about there?"
"Well there are pebbles there to stop it becoming too muddy, the shepherd put them there, I think. And beyond that there are too many weeds. It is also quite shallow, so you might be able to swim with the tips of your toes on the pebbles, for balance, you see."
"I see. I'll try that then, I don't want to double too far back on my tracks."
"Wise thinking, Pea-tree. I'll come and make sure you cross safely." So Pea-tree hopped towards the sheep with Gertrine swimming alongside, and Snathia slipped into the water to watch.
"Leaving so soon?" she asked.
"Yes, I must be going."
"Take this in case you never find anything else, Pea-tree. Tell them it belonged to a gigantic monster that you had to fight!" she said as she picked a large feather that had fallen from her wing from the water. Pea-tree had some difficulty getting it into his mouth, but he succeeded eventually.
"Thank you, Snathia. I'll try and keep it with me for all time!" With that he slowly got into the water and tried swimming, but he veered off towards the weeds to his left and Gertrine had to steer him in the right direction. "Thank you very much, you two!" said Pea-tree once he arrived safely on the other side. They nodded their head and started to swim off back down the river.
"Good luck and stay well," they said as they swam away.
Pea-tree ran with the feather in his mouth up to the Wilderness and he found himself in a rather odd looking patch of woodland. It was not odd in the same way as Hrea, but a different sort of odd. It all looked very old and undisturbed, and there was a thick canopy way above him with a very littered floor (old logs, weeds, and stones) but there was nothing in-between in the area that he had entered. He noticed a worn path that must be used by some kind of large mammal, either fox or badger, or human, and so he kept off it. Instead he travelled through the undergrowth and found himself at an uprooted Scots Pine that smelt strongly of rabbits.
"Hello?" he called. There was silence all around him so he decided to take a look. As he was about to enter through the largest door he remembered the Hrean rabbits and backed away. "Hello? Is there anyone there?" he called out again. This time there was a scuffling coming from the hole and a small doe popped her head out.
"Hello, who are you?" she asked.
"I'm Pea-tree of Erklania. Who are you?"
"I'm Heather, this is Bromthord. Are you a traveller? We have a lot of travellers here. I'll just get Seeker, he'll know about Erklania…" she said as she disappeared underground again.
Seeker, named by his mother for the obvious reason, is one of the Bromthord's many explorers. Bromthord is made up of poets, storytellers and explorers. I may even go so far as to call them scribes. 'Ancient' is the word best used to describe Bromthord. 'Ancient' sums up the many years of growth of the underground society. The vast chambers underground have the markings that look like random scratches, but are really primitive words, that tell of the trials and tribulations that the rabbits have gone through. Their chief, Daffodilrah, may be their thousandth leader. The ancient woodland that houses them has more of less been conquered by the small inhabitants. The complicated tunnelling system is tucked away beneath the litter on the floor. Think about the ancient pyramids of Egypt, with their dark and mysterious tunnels that, if you do not understand them, will lead to dead ends every time. And the large, glorious tombs that seep out majesty and beauty as well as the hard labour and dedication that went into building them. Bromthord is this on a smaller scale and built within the dark earth that house both fox and rabbit together. There is no way I can speak of the Bromthordian tranquillity without making the rabbits into the hippies of the leporidae world. They are pacifists bent on spreading their wisdom and discovering other's. They require all their members to be at one with the earth around them, to feel it, to breathe it. They hold no fear of elil, and it is an honour to be snatched by the mighty hawk or cunning fox. They run from predators, as is natural to do so, but they hold comfort in having their life serving the life of another, even if they are of the hunting kind. And so that is the brief outline of Bromthordian life, and let us carry on with Pea-tree's journey.
Heather reappeared with a buck not much larger than Pea-tree himself and he sniffed about the newcomer.
"You don't look Erklanian…I remember that they were very large rabbits," he said.
"I'm one of the smallest in the warren, maybe even the smallest. Catkinrah and the Owsla are all very large."
"Yes, they were. I was there last spring."
"I wasn't born then."
"Well why are you here? None of the Erklanians I spoke to were interested in travelling. And what is that you are holding? A feather?"
"I need to find something amazing so they stop laughing at me. The swan gave this to me in case I didn't find anything else."
"Ah, a finder? We haven't had one of those in several generations. The newer rabbits don't like to take the risks, you see. They prefer to be poets or scribes."
"Are all your rabbits small?"
"Oh yes, mostly. We have a few larger ones but they don't make up the majority. We don't need large rabbits because we aren't likely to be fighting anyone, so it's no big loss. As I recall there weren't any nearby warrens in Erklania, so do you need the brute force?"
"No, not really. But the larger rabbits become Owsla, so naturally I would like to be larger and stronger."
"Oh, we don't do it like that. Our chief is just the wisest of us all."
"And also," added Heather, "we do not value size here."
"Sounds like my idea of the perfect warren!" laughed Pea-tree.
"You can join us if you want, Pea-tree."
"Oh no, I couldn't. I'm Erklanian at heart, I couldn't be Bromthordian. Not at all!"
"Well at least stay for a while," said Seeker, "I would like to talk with you about what you have seen on your trip from Erklania. It isn't far, but length doesn't necessarily give you interesting things."
"It seems like it has taken me a lifetime, but it is just a day!" said Pea-tree. Seeker sat up and sniffed the air.
"Feel that?" he asked Heather. She nodded. "Underground now!" They darted underground, Pea-tree following awkwardly along at the back. He looked at the fine craftsmanship of the tall, strong walls and commented on it.
"Yes, it is very old. It was built by the best architects known to oryctolagus cuniculus many years ago. It has been planned to withstand even the most violent earth tremor, and it is so complex that if we are invaded we head for the heart of the warren and the attacker will surely get lost. It's all based on illusions. That turning looks like it goes right, but it goes left because it is at a slight angle in conjunction with the main passage and it goes overhead so gradually that the rabbit will not know he has started to go left instead of right. It really is quite amazing and it has taken me a lot of time to figure out. There are illusions like that all over the place. In several entrances the surrounding area has been duplicated by adding identical stones and things around the entrance, so they think they have gone around in circles. Although we have not had to use them before we expect they will work. Our architects are the brains behind the whole warren."
"You call them architects, we just called them diggers."
"Oh every rabbit is a digger, but not all are capable of such brilliant plans."
"And what are these markings on the walls? I thought they were accidental, but they are everywhere."
"Oh, they are our Thorns."
"Thorns?"
"Yes, they tell stories. Thornrah, our chief a long time ago, invented them and taught them to the wisest rabbits. They have developed a lot since those simple days, but they are named after him." She stopped and faced one. "This is the story of when men came and shot a lot of our rabbits. They had dogs that dug up almost the whole of the South Side, which destroyed one of our main storytelling chambers. It was a shame, but it has been rebuilt. It doesn't seem the same now because it is fresher."
"You get all that from one mark?"
"Oh no, silly!" she laughed, then she put out a paw towards them. "This one is for dog, and with that extension on it they had owners. Without it they would be feral dogs. This one is for guns that kill rabbits. There are lots of different gun signs, depending on what they shoot at. This shows our South Side, and the indentation leading from the dogs to that means that they have caused harm to it. It is a simpler form of Thorn so younger rabbits can understand it. In some of the older tunnels it is far harder and a lot of different symbols are used. I cannot understand it all because I am not one of the wiser rabbits."
"We had nothing like that in Erklania. We had simple tunnels and they weren't so communal."
"Communal?"
"Well I see that you aim for other rabbits to use this tunnel, and we only did that with the main chamber."
"There are quite a lot of busy tunnels in the centre of the warren, but towards the edge they get more private and it is up to the resident to decorate them."
"You really are far more advanced than Erklania was."
"You speak of it as if it no longer exists."
"Do I? I don't intend to. It feels like it is no longer there. It feels as if it has gone forever."
"It isn't even very far away. It is the third nearest warren to us."
"What are the others?"
"Threarn, which is across the lake and up that woody slope, and Hrea."
"Oh Hrea is almost all gone now."
"Gone? How?"
"White Blindness. I spoke to them, but I didn't see them. They were all underground and crying out for help. I couldn't help them so I ran away."
"Oh dear! That's awful!"
Pea-tree and Heather followed Seeker into a glorious, high chamber. Pea-tree gasped in amazement as he saw the tall, adorned walls. "This is the most spectacular warren I have ever seen! Not that it has a lot of competition, though."
"We like to think so. Did you leave your feather outside?" asked Seeker.
"Oh no! My feather! Shall I go now?"
"No, I felt something outside. It felt like a lot of people."
"You felt it? What do you mean? Surely you smelt or heard them."
"No. You should feel the earth more often, Pea-tree. It warns us of danger."
"It warns you? How?"
"Shut your eyes for a moment," said Seeker. Pea-tree did so. He then opened them in surprise.
"I say! I felt some movement! What is it?"
"It works in the same way that thumping your foot as a warning does, but less obvious. It is useful for when you are sleeping in the open. Remember it."
"Oh I will!"
"Now then, what shall we do? Would you like to hear some poems, or a story?"
"Oh yes please! I've never heard a poem before!"
"Heather, be a doe and run along and get Lichen."
"Yes, Seeker," said Heather as she left the large chamber.
It took a short while for Heather to track down Lichen, who had been having a nice meditate in the North Side. When she returned with him she found Pea-tree and Seeker resting in the entrances to two of the tunnels. When they arrived they climbed down and joined Heather and Lichen. A couple of other Bromthordians had also come along to listen.
"Ah, you must be Pea-tree!" said Lichen. He was a rather lithe rabbit that spoke slowly with a slight slur. Pea-tree nodded. "Peeeeaaa-treeeeee" said Lichen, sounding out the vowels. "It has a nice…ring to it. I like that name. It sounds…innocent."
"Well thank you, I think. Your name, I like that too…what was it? I'm sorry, I have forgotten."
"Lichen," said Lichen, "my name is Lichen. It is what grows on the bark of trees. It overtakes them…throttles them, as legend would have us believe. But I don't believe legends. I believe that it gives them life; feeds them, nurtures them. And that, my dear Pea-tree, is what I do to this warren. I nurture it. It is my duty"
"Oh yes, duties are important."
"Yes, important. Every rabbit in this warren is of importance. Every kitten will take it upon themselves to greater this society."
"Oh, I suppose so…" considered Pea-tree, rather put off by Lichen's voice in both the words he used and the way he said them.
"Now then, shall we hear a poem?" interrupted Seeker.
"Yes," said Lichen. He took a deep breath and began to speak.
"This life has sucked me down,
There is no escape.
Sharp claws pin me to the wall,
Someone with a scared face holds me back.
This tired body of mine
Can no longer fight back
Against the torrents of abuse
And self-abuse.
All alone now,
Not really alive at all.
Souls begin to whither,
Blood begins to dry out.
Skin just an empty sack.
Hollow bones.
Shattered existence.
I feel the heartbeat of betrayal,
Smell its hot breath on my heels,
Rising from the depth of my mind
Escaping to the light
Yearning to return to a place I love
But still I am alone.
No one calls me.
No one hears my calls.
I am trapped,
Half in the light, half in the dark,
Looking up at the powerful trees.
The blossom- so pure, so new,
Will fall and die one day,
As I too will fall and die."
Lichen was silent as his small audience absorbed his solemn words. No one said anything. Lichen suspected that they were moved, but in truth Pea-tree was actually annoyed that he waited for it. He didn't like the vague wording, and he didn't want to hear anything depressing while he was in a new place for he first time. He certainly didn't want to be reminded that he is as frail as blossom! "Very well done," he lied.
"Thank you," rasped Lichen in his hypnotic voice. "Thank you very much."
Pea-tree was led through a long and cramped passage and finally arrived in a small chamber away from the rest of the warren where he curled up for his first night in he mysterious Bromthord.
He woke with a start after a dark and choking dream which he couldn't remember. He was alone in the strange warren with its markings and poetry, with the trickery of the tunnels outside his chamber. He knew that if he left he would end up dazed in some strange run with stories on the walls. It was hot in his chamber, and he desperately wanted to get outside. He remembered his feather and wanted it now for a brief touch of familiarity, but it was outside. What time was it? He thought it must be dark, but time seemed to have come to an almost complete standstill in this warren. He could hear nothing but the distant rustle of leaves up above, but no rabbits. Where were all the kittens? In Erklania they would be mewing all through the night, begging for food, but here there was nothing. He thought momentarily about the kittens in this warren and decided they must be different if they are raised by poets and scribes instead of bullying Owsla members. He stretched and poked his head out of the chamber and listened intently, trying to pick up the slightest sound that would tell him there were rabbits nearby. Just a snort or movement. At first there was nothing at all; just the eerie silence of a hundred sleeping rabbits. After a long time Pea-tree was growing restless and almost delirious with nerves. Out of the darkness there came an enormous rabbit that could barely get through the run. His hard face looked blankly at the runt before him and his lip curled in a growl to reveal his stained teeth. Pea-tree yelped and ran up the tunnel towards what he thought was where he had left Seeker and Lichen. The colossal beast behind him didn't give chase, he merely carried on with his slow lumber and Pea-tree could hear his claws scratching on the earth.
Pea-tree stumbled into a large chamber and at first thought he had reached his destination. As he looked around he saw that he had not. It was another large chamber, but colder and less lived in. It seemed as though no one had been here in a good long time, and gave off the same cold force that old churches in the late autumn give off. Pea-tree looked back up the run and heard the large rabbit coming towards him, and calling out to him. Pea-tree shook madly as he tried to get his bearings. It was no use, he was lost and the murderous giant was coming right for him. He moved towards the entrances to other tunnels but they were all the same: cold, dark and unforgiving. Panic grabbed onto the little rabbit and he flew about from tunnel to tunnel in the desperate attempt to catch the light whiff of air that might signal a way of escape into the normal world. "It's just a dream!" he realised, laughing to himself. "I'm still asleep! This warren isn't as mad as I think it is!" but somehow he wasn't convinced. He threw himself at the walls and spun around as he caught the scent of the giant behind him. He leapt backwards and fell against the wall, trembling in fear. "Stay back!" he warned shrilly, "stay back or I'll eat you!" The giant looked at him with his head cocked. He was a large rabbit with a very heavy build. He was far larger and more menacing than any Erklanian rabbits Pea-tree had seen. His fur was not especially dark but it seemed so in the dim coldness of the chamber. The dark hairs along his back and on his ears and face looked almost black to the fearful Pea-tree, who was the typical ghostly grey known to the Erklanian rabbits. The giant sniffed him up and down, then growled. No, he didn't growl. He actually smiled, but with such a hard face his smile looked like a growl to such a paranoid rabbit as Pea-tree. The giant was Burdock, who had achieved his great size from having a Lop Eared grandfather who had escaped for long enough to breed in the wild before a fox got him. Poor chap couldn't get away fast enough, you see. And his ears didn't really pick up the sounds they should have. Years of Man's selective breeding brought him into the world, but it couldn't save him. In the end it killed him. His poor owner never knew what had happened to her beloved Rufus. But he lived on in the form of a litter of kittens, and litters from them too. Burdock came about in this way. He never knew of his domestic origins, but he had them nonetheless. His heavy ears were not lopped, for his Lop Eared uncles and aunts had not managed long. His ears were large and hung at a slight angle, but this did not stop him from being a useful member of Bromthord. He sat back on his hind legs and looked at the trembling mess in front of him.
"Get up, you are a disgrace!" he joked. Of course he was a silent rabbit, and his seldom used voice rang out like the sound of a shotgun in the dark. Pea-tree wailed and covered his face with his paws.
"Please leave me!" he begged.
"Leave you? You'll never get out. Who are you anyway? You don't smell Bromthordian."
"I'm Erklanian! Please, why are you chasing me?"
"I'm not doing anything of the sort! I was just on my way to this chamber for some thinking. I can't sit in most of the warren comfortably because I am so much larger than the other rabbits. This lonely place is as good as my own. Now what are you doing in Bromthord?"
"I was just passing through, I'll leave if you want me to…?"
"No need for that, we like visitors."
"W…who are you? I'm Pea-tree."
"My name is Burdock. You'll do well not to get in my way."
"Oh, I won't, sir! I won't!"
"Good, good…" muttered Burdock. Pea-tree relaxed momentarily, but Burdock turned sharply and he immediately tensed up. "Where will you go when you leave?"
"I don't know, Sir I-"
"Burdock. Call me Burdock, I am no higher than you."
"Sorry, Sir. I mean Burdock."
"You were saying?"
"Yes, quite. I was saying…er…what was I saying? Oh yes, when I leave. I have to find something to present to my warren to prove to them that I am not worthless."
"And they said you were?"
"Yes. They always made fun of me."
"I'll help you find what you are looking for, Pea-tree. I have so far not left this warren, and I feel I need to. My grandfather was a hlessi, and my father thought it was right if he left in his footsteps. Now it is my time."
"You're most welcome to join me," said Pea-tree who was actually quite scared of having this deformed creature at his side. "I warn you though, I am not a good fighter and I don't know my way around or what I am looking for."
"That's quite alright, who does know where they are going? Anyway, are you hungry?" Pea-tree nodded and smiled with relief. Burdock led him through the vast tunnel system and out into the starlit night. It was a full moon and foxes were bound to be about. Burdock stood at the base of a large tree and looked out into the darkness with his nose twitching and his eyes darting around. "It seems safe to me," he said.
"I do hope so," said Pea-tree as he nibbled at what little he could find amongst the undergrowth.
"We tend to go into the field to feed," said Burdock, "but it seems a bit risky tonight…a full moon brings terror and gloom, as they say," muttered Burdock. "A half moon and happiness looms," he said quietly to himself as he completed the rhyme.
Pea-tree watched his new companion from the corner of his eye. He seemed trustworthy…yet not so. There was some sort of 'mist' surrounding the giant, and it frightened Pea-tree. Burdock was so large and silent that Pea-tree couldn't help but feel that in some way Burdock affected him, but he couldn't tell how. It was as if Burdock was his beginning, or was it his end? It was this uncertainty that led Pea-tree to his final conclusion: Burdock must be kept near him, but not too near. He should be there to protect him but not to crush him. How he would tell this creature that he didn't trust him was not even considered, so it never came about. Burdock came back onto his four legs and turned to look at Pea-tree. He eyed him, then hopped off into the darkness more silently than a sparrow through the air. Pea-tree looked up to see him, but he was gone. He crept forwards and looked deep into the dark woodland, but there was nothing. A few branches knocked against each other in the breeze above Pea-tree's head and he sunk into the ground. After a few seconds his head reappeared above the undergrowth and he looked back into the darkness around him. He couldn't call out no matter how much he wanted to, because something stopped him. He knew not what it was, he just knew he shouldn't. He crept further out into the darkness and almost fell into the entrance of a burrow. He poked his head in, but it was lifeless and he couldn't smell Burdock.
Pea-tree was now very alone and very desperate. He looked around all he could but there was nothing. Absolutely nothing whatsoever. He sped up and hurried away in the direction he thought Burdock had gone and suddenly complete darkness fell. The moon was hidden behind a covering of dark clouds and the wind picked up and chilled his small body as it ruffled his fur. Then, from out of the darkness, he heard the short, sharp yelp of a rabbit in pain. Pea-tree's first reaction was to run, but where to and what from? The sound seemed to come from everywhere, and the burrows in this side of the wood seemed deserted. After another pause as he hid in the leaf mould, he decided to investigate. What kind of a finder was he if he didn't find things? He slowly went onwards and found himself at a tree stump. With a quick look around him he scrambled onto it and got a better view of the woodland. It took him some time before he recognised the small shapes in the brambles ahead of him. He squinted his eyes and sniffed at the air, but he couldn't tell what they were. Then one of them looked right at him with wicked eyes that reflected the light from the stars and turned them into pinpoints of calculating evil. It looked like a rat, but it was massive. Pea-tree had seen rats before, but never this big. He looked amongst the swarm of possible rats and saw that they were spread about on the limp and bloody body of some poor rabbit. Pea-tree's first thought was of Burdock, but this rabbit was smaller and paler. Pea-tree slunk backwards slipped onto the ground. It was all he could do to keep from screaming when he fell onto the large body of Burdock. Burdock was not dead, despite Pea-tree's first impression. He lay covered in mud and looked up at Pea-tree with his dark eyes. Pea-tree was thoroughly confused.
"What are you doing?" he whispered.
"They are rats, but no natural rat. Big rats from far off lands, I don't know what they are doing here, the vicious brutes!"
"But why did you leave me? And why are you covered in mud?"
"Shhh, keep your voice down! I'm covered in mud to blend in more, so the sheen of my fur is less obvious. And I left because I thought I saw a rabbit, and I went to speak with her. The poor doe, she was taken before I got to her. I take it you heard her scream?"
"Yes. I must confess, I thought it was you!"
"No, not me. I'll have to fight them."
"Fight them?"
"Yes. It is my duty to Bromthord. We have to drive them off."
"But the tunnelling system, won't they get lost in that?"
"No, it's a myth. Those tunnels wouldn't fool a blind shrew! They haven't been put into practise, you see. The rabbits like to think they would fool them… in some cases it might be true. But not with those rats…rats are crafty and these are bloodthirsty. We have to drive them off."
"How do you propose we do it?" asked Pea-tree. Burdock was silent for a moment.
"Noises first. Then we come in on them. Go back to the main warren and find all that you can. Get them over here, then get them to form a ring around the rats and make wailing sounds, but leave a gap towards the field so they can run to it. Tell them to make the sounds as quiet as possible to begin with, but get them to raise them until it is as loud as they can go. Then you must all storm in and growl and snap- act like a rabid dog! They'll run or fight… I hope they run. If they fight…if they fight then we must fight too. I want you to come back here when the others are positioned so I know when to start talking to them. When I give the word you and the others make the wailing noises."
"What will you say?"
"You'll see, now go!"
Pea-tree turned and walked smoothly away. When he got a safer distance away from the rats he started to run to the main burrow. He darted into the entrance and called out. "Hello? Please come now! Rat-attack! Rat-attack! We must get them away!"
"Young boy," said an old rabbit from a nearby chamber, "we'll use the tunnels!"
"No!" snarled Pea-tree, "we fight with Burdock!" There was a commotion from down the tunnel and gradually the small rabbits left the tunnel and gathered around the entrance. Pea-tree waited as the word spread and more rabbits came. He saw Heather and Seeker, but Lichen wasn't around. He presumed the strange poet lay in his burrow to write about his warren's bravery after the event. "This will give you something for your walls!" snapped Pea-tree, "now I want your attention!" Some of the younger rabbits looked excited, and the rest were a very miserable lot. After explaining what the rabbits were to do he carefully led them to their positions and told them to wait for Burdock's words.
The rabbits were frightened and were hard to organise, but he finally had them in their positions. Pea-tree ran back to Burdock and told him they were ready to go. Burdock climbed onto the stump and looked at the rats, who had about finished devouring the doe's body.
"Rats!" he called out, "which is your leader?"
"It is I!" hissed one, the largest of them, from on top of the dead rabbit's skull. "I am Hazard!"
"I am Burdock. I command you to leave the warren of Bromthord before you destroy more of our people!"
"Oh yes?" cooed Hazard with glistening blood on his face and front. "Under whose authority?"
"Mine and the people of Bromthord. Get out before we throw you out!"
"Oh, what threats coming from such a creature!" said the leading rat as he signalled with his vile claws for the others to make moves into attacking Burdock.
"This wood is cursed, Hazard. You have killed one and if you kill any more the wood itself will come for you! I can command it to do as I say!" Hazard grew nervous and drew his troops back. Burdock was a large rabbit and he wandered how large the rest of the warren was. The doe they had taken had given a short yet powerful attack with her hind legs and had seriously damaged one of his numbers. He looked about the woodland and saw nothing.
"I don't believe you!" he said, but did not get his troops to advance any more.
"Leave now, or the ghosts will rise and tear your livers from your feeble bodies!" screamed Burdock madly as he tensed his muscles and looked ready to pounce. Hazard muttered to his companions and Burdock silenced them with a shrill yell. "Enough! I do not want to hear your chatter any longer! Rise up, o great ancestors of the past!" From all around the rats could hear the growing cries of the Bromthord rabbits and, completely unplanned, the howl of pain as a rabbit was snatched by an owl. The rabbit's cries became stronger and even had Pea-tree quivering in fear. The rats looked about at each other and tried to find the strength to attack, but none wanted to make the first move. "We will bring you down!" shrieked Burdock, who had long since given up on talking rationally and had now resorted to his mad shrieks. From out of the woodland the rabbits began to stir and the charged forwards, smashing down the brambles and increasing their suspected size to double that of Burdock's. To the rat's eyes the brambles and weeds were being torn down by invisible creatures whose cries were that of the dead or dying. They ran for their lives and had soon left the woodland alone. If Hazard were to know he and his troops ran away from a flock of unstable, tiny poets he would have not been able to look his mother in the face.
Pea-tree and Burdock jumped about happily when the rats had completely gone, and the other rabbits gathered around the dead doe. They looked sadly at her and some of them kicked soil onto her to deaden the blare of her white bones. A dainty buck with slim legs and an old, tired face came forwards to look at Pea-tree and Burdock. Burdock bowed his head and Pea-tree did the same, although he did not know why.
"Thank you, my children," said the rabbit in a quiet, muffled voice. "Thank you on behalf of the Bromthord rabbits!"
"It is my duty, sir," said Burdock. The Chief looked at Pea-tree in amusement.
"And you, little fellow. I haven't seen you before. What is your name? You are a brave thing for getting my rabbits into order in a time of crisis."
"I am Pea-tree. I am visiting while I find something for my home-warren, Erklania. But it was not me, really. It is Burdock who deserved the applause." Burdock was secretly pleased that Pea-tree said this, but he didn't show it. All Bromthordians know not to question Daffodilrah's judgement. Daffodilrah ignored his last comment anyway.
"Erklania? Ah, I remember there…a very backwards place, if I remember correctly."
"They weren't all bad, Sir."
"Mmm, I'm glad you defend your homeland but I do not appreciate you questioning me. I will let you off, and I will offer you a chamber for as long as you like." With that the old rabbit turned and hobbled off. Lichen stood behind him, almost invisible with his dark body, and glared at Pea-tree.
"We don't need your strange ways here, little rabbit," he said despite referring to Burdock's plan.
"And what would you have done? Recited them your dismal poetry and be done with it? To be honest I think it would have worked…" as he said it he regretted it. It was something Rusty would say, not dear little Pea-tree! Lichen ignored him and left with his nose in the air.
"Ignore him, Pea-tree. Lichen is a weed. He sponges off the other rabbits and demands the credit. I wouldn't be too sad if the rats had got him!" Pea-tree nodded and yawned. Time to go back underground for some sleep.
Pea-tree stayed in Bromthord for a week (not that he knew this, for what does a rabbit know of weeks?) before deciding he should leave. His days had been spent exploring the wondrous chambers, feeding in the field with the lake in and keeping out of the way of rude poets. He woke up one morning afraid that he would forget his mission. He also didn't want to stay away from Erklania too long in case they fared better without him. He went to find Burdock and told him of his plan to leave. Burdock simply nodded and asked when would be best to go.
"Now, I feel. I should thank Daffodilrah for his kind hospitality first,"
"Oh no, don't bother with that. He really doesn't care, and to be honest he probably thinks you have already left. Look, there's Heather. We'll tell her and she can spread the word. It works best in that way. Rabbits leave all the time, they lose interest after a while."
"Okay then, you know best," said Pea-tree as they approached Heather. "Heather we are to leave today."
"So soon?" asked Heather with not the slightest bit of sorrow in her voice. "That is a shame," she lied. "What will we do if rats attack again?"
"They won't. Not those rats, anyway," said Burdock with disinterest. He bowed his head and he and Pea-tree departed.
As they headed south from the warren and passed through the garden of a fairly large cottage, and then crossed a road. They found themselves in a field completely open for attack, and so raced on to a small hut built in the shade of some trees. The hut was a Scout hut that was no longer used by the children and had since fallen into waste. The two rabbits sat at the corner and looked up the slope to a large house and garden.
"Did you enjoy Bromthord?" asked Burdock.
"It was alright. The rabbits were a little withdrawn though."
"Yes, they always have been. There is no compassion in those old walls…I'm only too happy to get out. They say they have explorers because they are so interested in the world, but I have my own theory. They all want to get out, and that it the only excuse for going. Why do you think I used it?" Pea-tree was silent.
"I have not seen many warrens, and I don't know which I prefer between Erklania, the warren that shunned me, or Bromthord, the warren that tolerated me. None of them ever really liked me, I could tell. At least Erklania had the decency not to pretend they liked me. Oh blast! I left me feather! I would like to go back for it, but it's too late now, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is," agreed Burdock. "I'm tired, let's sleep."
"Very well. Hey, look there!" said Pea-tree as he approached a gap under the hut. "It's a bit damp, but it's safer!" Burdock nodded and followed Pea-tree in.
When Pea-tree woke up he was surprised to find his feather at his side. "By Frith! Burdock, have you seen? Burdock?" But burdock wasn't there. "Oh no, not again!"
"It's okay, little chap!" came a voice from outside. "I'm just eating. I couldn't sleep so I went back for the feather, and guess who I found it with?"
"I don't know, who?"
"None other than Lichen! He was convinced it was his and a gift from Frith, and he wouldn't let me have it. I had to kick him down, and then he let go! I've never liked that rabbit one bit, and it serves him right!"
"Thank you, Burdock! Thank you ever so much!"
"You're welcome. Now, are we going to carry on with this search? I've been talking to some birds and I think I may have something."
"What?"
"Have you heard that men have rabbits in cages?"
"Yes! I have! I know where there are some, Captain Bilberry pointed them out to me!"
"Good. We can get them! We can be brave rescuers and bring them back to your warren!"
"Oh marvellous!" said Pea-tree.
They set off through the field until they arrived at a house originally built for a farm but no longer served it's purpose.
"I know we have to go through this house, but can you smell that? It's cats, dogs and men. What shall we do?"
"What can we do? Go through or go around?" asked Burdock as he stuck his head through some wire and looked about the garden and saw chickens and ducks scrabbling around in the soil. A cat sat far off on an old fence post, and Burdock drew his head back. "Go around. I see a cat."
"Okay then, this way," said Pea-tree as he led Burdock around the house and to a gate that led to a small lane. The lane was not a busy one because it led to a dead end, as far as cars are concerned. It actually turned into a small footpath wide enough for one person or one dog as they walk up the hill to the woods. Pea-tree looked in the other direction and saw where the lane joined the main street, and the small pub on the corner. "We have to go up there. I know where we are now, there are the allotments!"
"How far?"
"Not very. We go to that pub, then we turn left and along that line of cottages. In one of the gardens there are some caged rabbits, or so Bilberry says."
"Okay then, what are we waiting for?"
"Hey watch it, lepine-shits! I ate your mother!" barked a black Labrador from an open window. "You want to join her?"
"Burdock! A dog!" gasped Pea-tree.
"He won't hurt us, the window isn't open far enough." The two started slowly, but decided to get it over and done with was a better idea, and the dog calling to them did not make them want to hang around. They didn't happen across any people, so luck was on their side. At the pub they turned left and found the small line of red brick cottages and went to the very last one, a semi-detached building next to an overgrown garden belonging to the house with the cat. Pea-tree went first under the fence, followed quickly by Burdock.
After a quick look around the garden they found a hutch with three does in it. Two of the rabbits were Dutch, one grey and white the other black and white. The last was black with flecks of white on its underside. She was a Black Silver Fox. All three looked tired, but they looked on with interest as Burdock and Pea-tree tried to get to them.
"Who are you?" asked the grey and white Dutch. "My name is Lizzie."
"And I am Angelica," said the other Dutch. "This is Rosemary, but she doesn't talk very much."
"I am Pea-tree and this is Burdock. We've come to rescue you."
"From what?"
"The cage. I say, you are a funny colour!"
"What's wrong with my colour?" asked Lizzie.
"Nothing, it's very nice. But it's different. You have a lot of white on you."
"Why do you want to take us out?"
"To be honest I need you. You see I come from Erklania, which is-"
"I know it," said Lizzie. "We've had visitors from there that came to talk to us. They never offered to get us, though."
"That's why we are different."
"I'm not actually from Erklania, you see I am Bromthordian."
"Never heard of it," said Rosemary sternly. "Please leave. I don't want your disease."
"Disease?" asked Pea-tree.
"Oh I know what you are like, you wild rabbits! All illness and no health! Now run before the dog gets you!"
"Hey now! We came to get you, and is this how you repay rescuers?" asked Burdock.
"Let's just leave them. I long for an Erklanian sunset! Leave them to die in their cage!"
"Yes, quite right! You have the feather after all!" said Burdock. Pea-tree picked up his swan feather and turned to leave, half-hoping the hutch rabbits would change their minds. But no, they didn't. When they got back into the street they crossed the road quickly and just in time as a man on a bicycle went past.
"That is Erklania," said Pea-tree. "Shall we rest before crossing the river?" They were in the park once again, where Pea-tree had found the pink rabbit all those nights ago. Part of him didn't want to go back, but he had to and he knew it.
"I think we should wait until evening. Meetings are best that time of day."
"What shall we do first?" asked Pea-tree, sensing the end of the journey. "And what have I got for them?" There was silence as they looked at the feather.
"I've got it," said Burdock. "The story runs like this: You went on a quest to find the Great Giant, a big white bird that can turn into a dog, to protect the warren. On your journey you found it and it tried to attack you, but you fought it off with your cunning and bravery…let's say you kicked it into the lake and it drowned. Then you were so badly injured that you had to stay with the Bromthordians until you healed, and I have been sent to guide a wise and brave rabbit back to safety."
"It suits me just fine!" said Pea-tree, "and we have to mention the rats, and the evil Lichen that wanted to steal my feather and say he defeated the monster."
"No, that could be risky. Mention the rats, by all means, but if we mention Lichen's name it could be checked on. Let's leave it as we have it."
"Very well," said Pea-tree as he saw the sense in it.
After a day spent lounging around in the park they decided to head back up to Erklania and across the river. Burdock had more troubles with getting across than Bilberry did, but Pea-tree waited until he had freed himself from the grabbing weeds. They turned and looked up the slope, then made their way towards the warren.
And here we find ourselves once again, the slope leading to Erklania surrounded by the copse and river. Most stories have a tendency to end where they began, and this is one of them. Pea-tree introduced Burdock and his feather to his warren, which had written off his disappearance as another casualty to fox or weasel. They told their story, and the Erklanians took in every word with awe. Some called him a hero, others a fake. Pea-tree didn't care because there was no proof to prove his lie, and he and Burdock swore by the Great Giant.
"You are a strange little rabbit, Pea-tree," said Captain Bilberry as he shook his head in disbelief. "But how could I not believe it? I have certainly caught wind of a pack of rats terrorising the local rabbit community, so what is to say it isn't true?" with that he left underground. Poplar stared at Pea-tree and said nothing. From out of the shadows Spindle, still not taken by elil, smiled at his wise little friend. But there was someone missing, who was it? Ah, now I see! At the fence post sat Rusty's gang, but no Rusty.
"Where has Rusty gone?" asked Pea-tree. The rabbits looked uncomfortable for some time before one of them spoke up.
"A passing cat got him, I'm afraid. Listen, Pea-tree, I'm sorry I knocked you down so many times, I was only having a laugh!"
"Of course you were!" said Pea-tree.
"Of course you were!" repeated Burdock, kicking out his powerful back legs into the rabbit's side. "My name is Burdock. You'll do well to not to get in my way!" he said. The rabbit lay on the floor and said nothing, knowing full well he got what was coming to him. His friends also did nothing; they simply shied away into the woodland.
And so we end the story with Pea-tree, our little hero, returning back to his safe burrow with all the respect he wants as well as a new friend and a ravishing, although now slightly dirty, white feather. After their long journey Pea-tree deserves to rest along with the other rabbits of Erklania. Will we ever see them again? Probably not; rabbits enjoy their privacy; we've probed into their life enough.
Fin.