17: Chapter 19. Fear in the Dark 17.1 Burrowkeeping Last weeks episode was done a bit on the fly and was a bit more rough around the edges than usual, for which I apologise. There was also another very annoying sound drop last week at 8:20, which I didn't notice until I published. The full phrase was: "The chapter opens on the evening of the following day after the group left the Warren of the Snares" I am taking steps to ensure such sound drops don't happen again, starting with this episode. Please also note that I have edited the podcast description to make it clear that this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for reading the original book, or watching one of the film versions of WD. 17.2 Chapter 19. Fear in the Dark The opening quotation from Thomas Hardy speaks of a pale messenger who will soon be known. The burrows and runs discovered by Hawkbit are rough but dry. Bigwig says that they suit a bunch of 'Hlessil' like them. The short summer night passes quickly and the rabbits sleep after dawn. Upon waking Hazel goes outside to silflay. The mist is burning off the fields below and it is going to be a hot day. Blackberry joins him and they feed together. Hazel comments that many of the group will probably have to sleep in the open as bucks, or male rabbits, don't dig Burrows, which begs the question that, if finding the Burrows they just slept in was so important, what kind of plan for their long-term future did Hazel have when he lead them to this place? Blackberry cleverly connects the idea of rabbits doing un rabbit-like things to something that was already happening in their warren. This leads to a radical idea: Buck rabbits don't dig burrows because does dig them as part of providing shelter for their litters. Blackberry's idea is to dig in a small wood, or beech hanger, he saw at the top of the slope. They both go to the top to check it out. The beech hanger is unlike the woods they are used to. It is a lot more open and is a narrow belt of trees running away from the scarp slope towards the south. They come to the north east corner of the hanger, where there is a bank. Fiver comments that Blackberry is right. This is ideal for digging. Although this shocks several of the group, several of them are soon digging, lead by Hazel and Pipkin. Hazel suggests going back to the bottom of the hill to find some good grass. Bigwig, Dandelion and Speedwell join him. Once at the bottom of the hill, Hazel finds an old overgrown ditch to use for cover. Bigwig comments on the different quality of the soil at the top of the hill and Hazel mentions the possibility of trying to copy the Great Burrow they saw at the Warren of the Snares. The sun has set at the foot of the Down. Suddenly they hear a rabbit stamping an alarm followed by another. They both dash to the ditch. Speedwell and Dandelion join them fast. They have both heard an animal approaching clumsily along the line of the hedge. They wonder what it could be. A cat? A stoat? They wait as darkness falls. Suddenly they hear a strange unnatural wailing. Bigwig becomes convinced it is the Black Rabbit of Inlé. Then they hear words, the first of which is 'Zorn', meaning destroyed. And then it calls out Bigwig's name. Bigwig, now completely convinced it is the Black Rabbit, starts to make his way towards the voice, saying that you have to go when you are called, but Hazel pushes past him. Hazel pulls himself out of the ditch and sees a rabbit underneath the hedge. His eyes are wide and one ear is ripped and bloody. He cries out as if wanting to be hunted down and killed. It is Captain Holly of the Sandleford Owsla. 17.3 Next Episode Next time Holly is looked after, work begins on a new Great Burrow and Hazel makes friends with a mouse. Vocab: Hlessi: a rabbit with no warren. Plural: Hlessil Inlé: The Moon, as in 'Fu Inlé' (after moonrise), but also with a meaning associated with death. Zorn: destroyed

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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