That night at Efrafa, Captain Bugloss came striding into the quarters of the Right Flank Mark with an announcement. "Everyone, come wid me," he ordered. "The General wants us all aboveground."

Stan was confused. "But we've already silflayed today."

"We're not goin' up there ter eat," said Bugloss. "This is somethin' else. Woundwort just called all of us captains tergether fer a meetin' an' said that he needs every single rabbit in Efrafa, bucks an' does an' all, t'help 'im wid a special job."

"I wonder wot it could be?" Hyzenthlay said. "He's never allowed all of us to go outside at once afore."

"Never yew mind," said Bugloss. "Ye'll find out soon enuff." Actually, he didn't know himself. All Woundwort had said about this job was that it was something huge that would forever alter the destiny of rabbitkind.

Stan, Kyle, and all the rest followed Bugloss out of the warren and into the open air. The full moon was out in the big sky. All the rabbits from all of the other Marks were already gathered outside, and for once the officers weren't trying to prevent rabbits from different Marks from mingling with each other. Stan glimpsed Kenny and pushed his way over to him, followed by Kyle.

"Hey dude, do you have any idea what's going on?" Stan asked Kenny. Kenny only shook his head.

But now General Woundwort had hopped up onto a stump and was beginning to make a speech.

"Rabbits of Efrafa!" he proclaimed. "Today marks the fulfillment of our destiny! Throughout all o' history, all the world has been our enemy. We've bin hunted by foxes, stoats, weasels, an' all sorts o' other animals. But the greatest enemy of the rabbit is MAN. Humans have shot us, trapped us, eaten us, even poisoned us wid chemicals. And why?" He raised his voice to a shout. "Because rabbits are too weak an' cowardly to fight back! Well, that ends today! Today the prey will become the predator!"

There was a very pudgy pause. Everyone stood there staring at him. What did he mean?

When Woundwort next spoke, his voice almost sounded calm. "How will we do this, you ask? Simple! Foller me."

He hopped down from the stump and trotted eastward across the field.

"Come on, get movin'! You heard 'im," the officers began clamoring, as they chivvied the other rabbits along in Woundwort's wake. Stan, Kyle and Kenny were swept along with the rest of the crowd.

They hadn't gone far when they came to a road, and there was a huge boulder lying by the side of the road. Woundwort gave the order to halt, and all the rabbits stopped and gawked at the boulder.

"I found this lyin' by the side o' the road when I came by here earlier today," Woundwort said, a manic gleam in his eye. "I couldn't move it by meself, but I know if'n we all work together, we will be able ter push it up that hill there!" He pointed to a hill on the opposite side of the road. "That's why I said I needed every single one o' ye fer this job."

"Why would we want to do that?" Kyle demanded.

"Hahahahaharr!" Woundwort spewed. "You'll see. You will see…"

Everyone gathered around the boulder. "Come on, push!" Woundwort commanded. Stan and his friends were reluctant, but they didn't see what choice they had. They began pushing on the boulder along with all the others.

The rabbits rolled the rock across the road and up the hill. Woundwort was impatient with the pace and kept exhorting everyone to move faster. "Hurry it up! Put yer backs into it, me beauties!"

Slowly, the stone slid up the slope. The closer to the top it got, the antsier Woundwort became. "Come on, come on, there's no time ter lose! If'n we're too late, it will all have been fer nothin'!"

Stan had no idea what Woundwort was talking about. Why did it matter what time they got the boulder to the top?

At last, they reached the summit. Stan saw to his surprise that the hill ended in a cliff, and there was another iron road running along below the cliff, just like the one that marked the border of Efrafa.

General Woundwort was calmer now that they'd arrived at the top. He stood at the edge of the cliff, peering over the side in anticipation. "All right," he said. "Won't be long now…"

They heard a whistle in the distance. A few seconds later, a train hove into view, a shiny red steam engine pulling a long line of passenger cars.

Now Stan grasped Woundwort's wicked plan. "That thing's full of people, isn't it?" he said. "And you're going to kill them. You're going to push this boulder onto them and murder them!"

"Human bein's have bin killin' rabbits fer centuries," said Woundwort icily. "Tonight, we're gonna have some vengeance!"

"But this isn't right," said Kyle. "These particular humans haven't done us any harm. We can't just kill them!"

"Kyle's right," said Stan. "Humans may be bastards, but if we start killing them, we'll be just as bad."

Woundwort stamped his feet. "We can't ascend to the top of the food chain until we kill a human! We must fulfill our glorious destiny, which is our birthright as children of El-ahrairah!"

"El-ahrairah wouldn't want this," said Stan. He hopped between Woundwort and the boulder and started trying to push it in the opposite direction, back down the hill. The other rabbits scattered in all directions, fearful of being flattened.

"Come back here, yew idjits!" Woundwort yelled. "We can't let the train pass by unharmed!"

But the boulder wasn't budging. Stan couldn't roll it on his own. "Guys, I need help!" he called to Kyle and Kenny. His two friends scrambled to help him. With all three of them pushing, they actually managed to move it a few inches.

"You fuckin' traitors!" Woundwort roared. Down below, the train was coming closer and closer. "Stop them!" Woundwort screamed.

At his word, six of the Owsla officers rushed at Stan, Kyle, and Kenny, and grabbed them by the arms, pulling them away from the boulder. But it was too late. Now the boulder was moving on its own, rolling back down the hill. Although it had taken all the rabbits in Efrafa to bring it up here, thanks to the force of gravity it only took three to knock it back down. The boulder landed at the bottom of the slope and smashed harmlessly into rubble. And down on the track, the train rumbled past the cliff, out of harm's way.

Woundwort was livid. "I took yew three vagabonds in an' gave ye shelter, an' this is how ye repay me?" he screamed into the faces of Stan and his friends. "I might have expected this from Stan and Kyle, but you, Mysterion, I have ter say I'm mighty disappointed in yer. Ye coulda risen high in my ranks, perhaps in time been second in command to me."

Kenny let Woundwort know exactly what he thought of that idea by spitting in his face.

For a moment, Woundwort was too shocked to move or speak. Then he regained his composure. "That sealed yer doom," he said as he wiped his face with the back of his paw. "Tomorrow at dawn, all three of yer will die!"