It was Tansy's idea to leave the little warren at the edge of the farmland, but she could not have done anything about it without Willow's help. She it was who had recruited most of their followers, and who thought of crossing the fields to the iron road.

'Banks,' she said, by way of explanation.'Sooner or later, those things all end up in a valley.'

'But they're so fast!' said Tansy. 'Any rabbit stepping in front of one wouldn't stand a chance.'

Willow was dismissive. 'Let's hope none of them are stupid enough to step in front of one, you leave them alone, they don't take any notice; they just go whizzing past 're like hrududil, in that respect.'

She was right, as usual, and it didn't take long for the rabbits to get used to the tremendous noise and stop going tharn, although that had been better than bolting for non-existent holes. At least none of them was stupid enough or unlucky enough to bolt in front of a train.

The question was where along the bank they should settle. Really, it all depended on what was on the other side of the fence, for the bank alone, cut off by the railway line, hadn't enough either in the way of grass or of range for movement. It was always Bramble who had to be the first to look, and more than once, he blundered into a human garden. At one point, he came back with a half-grown radish in his mouth.

'Did you take that from a garden?' Tansy asked sternly.

'Where else?' said Bramble while Knapweed, their only other buck, shrank back in alarm.

'You mustn't draw attention to us,' said Tansy.

'They didn't see me,' said Bramble. 'Anyway, they aren't farmers with guns. They're hardly going to come after us, even if theydonotice anything.'

'Let's keep going,' said Willow. 'There'll be something suitable eventually.'

She had no real way of knowing this, but Tansy supposed it was likely, as the iron road never seemed to stop. If it went all the way to the end of the world, in both directions, it was sure to come to some place that would do for rabbits. Then, before too long, it did.

Tansy found the place. She smelled it on the wind: human to an extent, but not infested with them, nor with any other elil. It smelled green, and it sounded peaceful. She hopped through a gap in the fence, stood on her hind legs and found herself at the top of a small bank, looking out on a field that seemed to be growing large, flat stones.

'Willow!' she called. 'Knapweed!'

Bramble was beside her first, but Willow and Knapweed were only moments behind. The others hung back, waiting.

'Have you ever heard of a place like this?' asked Tansy.

'A field of stones,' said Willow. 'I may have heard something... that they're quiet places. Man places, yes, but when they come it's to be quiet.'

'Who on earth told you that?' said Bramble.

'Captain Nettle,' said Willow.

'Oh, him,' said Bramble, sneering, and he turned to go back to the others.

'What do you think, Knapweed?' asked Tansy.

Knapweed didn't answer straight away. From crouching low, trying to avoid Bramble's notice, he sat up on his haunches and rubbed his nose a few times. Then he said, 'I think it's the best place we've come to, but then what do I know? If Willow says it's safe, then I'm quite sure it's safe.'

Willow looked alarmed. 'Don't say that. I don't know everything – not nearly!'

'You know a good deal more than the rest of us,' said Tansy.

'Well,' said Willow, 'we might as well give it a try. Let's go and tell them. If it turns out not to be a good place, we can always keep going along the bank.'

'I'm heartily sick of your bank, Willow,' Knapweed said good-naturedly. 'I vote we stay here for a few days at least.'

Willow gave him a playful cuff on the shoulder, then ran back to the others, leaving Tansy and Knapweed alone together.

'Why do you ask me what I think?' said Knapweed. 'I'm no better than those does back there... not half as good as most of them, really. You'll make them jealous.'

'I ask you because we've always shared everything,' said Tansy.

'Yes, you've looked after me.'

'Well, I shan't have to look after you much from now on. You're very important, you know. You and Bramble are the only bucks we have.'

'Mmm... it worries me, when you put it like that.'

'Why?'

Knapweed didn't answer, and Tansy never knew whether he would have done if Willow hadn't brought the rest of the group at that, a lively and inquisitive youngster, sat up with nose twitching and said, 'There's a human.'

'Yes,' said Tansy, 'digging about in the earth, as we shall be doing later. But I'm going to stay here for a while first, and silflay.'

'Do you think the human would notice?' Knapweed asked nervously.

'Or if it does,' said Poppy, 'would it care? Well, I intend to find out. I like this place.'

All the rabbits stayed to silflay that evening. The human took no notice of them, but left after a time, and then no other humans came until a hrududu brought one with the approach of sunset. Most of the rabbits were frightened by the hrududu, and went back to the other side of the fence, but Willow and Bramble stayed, which gave Tansy courage to stay with them.

'I've never seen a hrududu move so slowly,' said Willow.

'Let's see what it does,' said Tansy, and she followed it at a distance until the man got out. The hrududu had taken him through a set of large gates, which he proceeded to close and tie up with a chain. Tansy ran back to report this. She found only Willow to tell, but then Bramble ran up behind them, saying, 'That's what he did at the other end, too, where the hrududu came gates are keeping out the humans.'

'No men after sunset,' said Willow.'That will be nice.'

'How do you know those gates won't stay chained forever?' asked Bramble.

'Men have their routines, just as we do,' said Willow. 'They'll be opened again tomorrow.'

'What about other elil?' said Tansy. 'Those gates won't keep out a fox, or a cat.'

'I did think I smelled cat,' Bramble admitted, 'when I went down to that lower gate.'

'There's nowhere we can get away from elil completely,' said Willow. 'Let's go back to the bank by the iron road. Perhaps the cats keep away from that. We'll make some scrapes to begin with, and hope for the best.'

The place turned out to be a good one, with the humans' complete lack of interest, and the occasional visit from a strong-smelling fox was no real hardship. Cats were the chief difficulty, but most showed themselves to be wary of the railway line, as Willow had seemed to consider herself an expert on cats, having got all her information from an El-ahrairah story that her mother had told her.

'He and Rabscuttle were on a farm,' she said, 'and Rabscuttle kept a look-out for cats. We'll just have to do that... take turns watching during you run the moment they pounce. They miss, and it makes them look give up after that.'

'I heard El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle fought the cat and frightened it off,' said Bramble. 'A couple of good strong kicks to the flank... I wouldn't mind giving that a go myself.'

'Well, for Frith's sake, be careful,' said Tansy. 'We need you alive, for the first year at least.'

It was clear that Bramble felt very important, though really he was no more important than Knapweed, who spent most of his time trying to stay out of the larger buck's way. When Bramble did speak to Knapweed, it was because he had looked for him on purpose one morning, and found him silflaying among the stones before the gates were opened.

'You are still here, then,' Bramble said, sitting up and casually combing his ears. 'I wondered if a cat had got you.'

Tansy, nibbling a stem of groundsel a short way away, raised her head to listen. She looked over at Willow, who was eating and chatting with Poppy and a few other does.

'Yes, Bramble,' said Knapweed, trying to sound friendly. 'I'm still here.'

'Good news for the warren,' said Bramble. 'There's no need for you and me to fight, is there?'

'None whatsoever,' said Knapweed.

'Of course, we both know what the outcome would be. I think you're a sensible chap, but I just wanted to be sure. There's no question, is there, as to which of us is to be Chief Rabbit?'

'Chief Rabbit?' Knapweed stopped nibbling and sat up. 'I should say Tansy ought to be Chief. She led us to this place.'

'A doe, be Chief Rabbit?' sneered Bramble. 'You have a high opinion of your sister, young fellow. Too high.'

'I don't think so. I should say it will either be Tansy or Willow.'

'Why, you little...' Bramble began, and finished with a cuff to Knapweed's shoulder that knocked him down. 'That ought to tell you who's to be Chief Rabbit!'

'It tells me nothing of the kind,' said Knapweed, bravely, but ready to bolt if Bramble should attack him again. This was not necessary, however, for in an instant Tansy was at his side and Bramble was receiving a hard cuff of his own, from Willow. She was no match for him physically, so he stayed on his feet, but he had been caught off-guard and swayed most embarrassingly. He turned on her.

'You don't really think you can fight me, Willow,' he snarled.

'I can try,' said Willow, 'if I have to, but I hope I shan't. We didn't come here to run that kind of warren, Bramble.'

'What other kind of warren is there? The strongest rabbit is Chief, that's all.'

'Willow and I together are stronger than you,' said Tansy.

Bramble was scathing. 'Would you care to put that to the test?'

'You'll have me to contend with as well.' Suddenly Poppy, small and comically fierce, was among them. 'Would you care to put that to the test?'

'And there's me,' Knapweed added quietly.

'Two decent-sized does and a couple of sparrows.' For a moment, Bramble seemed to be seriously considering the prospect. Then he turned and lolloped off, muttering, 'Who wants to be Chief Rabbit anyway, with that sorry lot for an Owsla?'

'Oh dear,' said Tansy. 'What's going to happen now?'

'He'll get over it.' Willow sounded sure of herself. 'He's like a storm that soon blows itself out... except over that one thing. You remember why he left the old place, don't you? Sick of waiting for his place in the Owsla. He'll have to be an Owsla member here, you know, or there'll be trouble.'

'That's for the Chief Rabbit to decide,' said Poppy. 'Who is Chief Rabbit, anyway? You or Tansy?'

'Not me,' said Tansy. 'I don't want to be Chief. I don't know anything, and besides, I wanted to get away for a quiet life. Will you do it, Willow?'

'I'm asking you too, Willow,' said Knapweed. 'You know more than any of us.'

'Thank you,' said Willow. 'Well... yes, I'll be your Chief Rabbit, if enough of the others want me.'

'They'll want you,' said Poppy. 'I'll go and tell them, Willow-rah.' A moment later, she had fled.

'Tell them what?' Knapweed said wryly. 'That they want you for their Chief, Willow?'

'Well,' said Willow, 'I'm much obliged to her for that.'