Watership Down Summary

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Watership Down Summary

In the Sandleford warren, a young runt rabbit called Fiver, who is a seer, receives a very disturbing vision of his warren's imminent destruction. He and his brother Fiver are unable to convince their chief rabbit of the urgent need to evacuate, so they decide to set out on their own with a small band of rabbits to seek out a new home, only just managing to elude the Owsla, the warren's military presence, as they do so.
The travelling rabbits find themselves following the strong leadership of Hazel who was until now a relatively unimportant member of the warren, with very little influence. They travel through dangerous territory, with former Owsla members Bigwig and Silver the physically strongest among them. They soon meet a rabbit called Cowslip, who generously invites them to join his warren; when Bigwig is almost killed in a snare, the travelling rabbits realize that the residents of Cowslip's warren are simply using them to …show more content…

Woundwort is a formidable fighter and stands his ground as the dog closes in for the kill, but his body is never recovered and at least one of his former followers continues to believe in his survival. Hazel is almost killed by a cat but is saved by the farm girl, Lucy, owner of the hutch rabbits.
The novel's epilogue reveals that Hazel, napping in his burrow one "chilly, blustery morning in March" some years later,is visited by rabbit-folk hero El-ahrairah, who invites Hazel to join his Owsla. Leaving his friends and the earthly body he no longer needs behind, Hazel leaves Watership Down with the spirit guide, "running easily through the wood where the first primroses were beginning to

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