Early Afternoon, in the Honeycomb

"I'm starving!", groaned Pipkin to Hazel

"Let's go out and see if we can find some flayrah! Pleeease!", he continued, jumping on the spot

Hazel thought for a minute

"Pleeease! Please, please, please, please, pleeease!", continued Pipkin

"Oh alright, I suppose we could. It's about time the babies learned some skills in raiding anyway.", replied Hazel

"Oh! Did I hear someone mention a raid?", shouted Dandelion, seemingly appearing from nowhere

"Yes, Dandelion. I was saying to Pipkin, lets bring the babies. They can watch and learn from a distance.", Hazel repeated

"Are you sure its safe?", asked Primrose, also appearing from nowhere with her family

"By Frith! Where do you all keep appearing from suddenly?", joked Hazel

Primrose, however, was not laughing, but continued looking sternly at Hazel

"Dont worry. They'll be fine. We'll not take them too close.", he finished, already heading for the entrance to the warren

As Hazel led up the run, they bumped into Hawkbit and Captain Broom who were just coming in

Writer's Note: Wow! A whole 13 lines without a mention of Hawkbit! ;)

"Where's everyone going?", asked Hawkbit

"We're going to raid the farm.", replied Hazel

"In this weather. Not Likely!", snorted Hawkbit

"Why. What's wrong with the weather?", asked Hazel

Hawkbit shook himself, soaking Hazel

"Is it raining outside?", he asked

Hawkbit looked back at Hazel with a 'What a stupid Question' look, but didn't answer. Hazel continued past them, and stood his head out into the rain

"Much as I don't like to say it, Hawkbit's right. We cant go out in this.", he shouted back

"Quite a storm out there, isn't it, ma boy. Reminds me of the time....", started Captain Broom

"Right, I'm getting into the warm.", snorted Hawkbit, hastily avoiding another life story from the captain. He started to head down the run, before finding his way blocked by Bushthorn.

"Oh no! Not this again! Can't you bother someone else? Look at Bigwig - he's got loads of hair you could cling on to.", continued Hawkbit

He walked past the kitten and, after a few seconds, felt the usual weight on his tail.

"You mean we're giving up on the raid, Hazel?", asked Pipkin

"We dont have much choice. We cant take the little ones out in this.", replied Hazel

"But I'm starving.", pleaded Pipkin

"You'll have to stick to the grass for today. We'll get some flayrah tomorrow, I promise.", replied Hazel, as they all hopped back into the Honeycomb

"None of us will be able to think of anything but food now, though.", sighed Pipkin

"Well, I know. How's about a story to take everyone's mind off things?", suggested Hazel

"Oh. Sounds like a great idea.", continued Dandelion

"Gather round everyone.", he continued

"Why does Dandelion always get to tell the stories?", asked Pipkin

"Well, I was known to be Sandleford's greatest storyteller for 3 seasons in a row!", replied Dandelion

"Please, dont mention Sandleford. I'm trying to forget about that place.", muttered Gooseberry

"Besides, that was ages ago. How come you still get to tell the stories to everyone. I'm way better than you these days. I've been practising!", continued Pipkin, triumphantly

"Oh is that so. Well, forgive me for not believing you, Pipkin.", replied Dandelion

Pipkin's eyes filled up

"Dont be so harsh! I've heard him, and he's getting quite good Dandelion. You should give him a chance!", interrupted Fiver

"Now there's an idea to help everyone forget about food for a short while.", spoke Hazel

"What?", asked Bigwig

"A Contest. Between Pipkin and Dandelion.", continued Hazel

"er... dont you think Pipkin's a little young to be fighting with Dandelion?", whispered Bigwig

"Dont be silly Bigwig. I meant a storytelling contest. You both tell us the best story you can, and we'll let the warren decide.", finished Hazel

"Sounds fair enough to me.", replied Dandelion

"Let's get everyone assembled then.", decided Bigwig, already moving off to find the others, secretly disappointed at the lack of a fight

*************

Soon...

"ooh, this is exciting, isn't it.", squeaked Clover

"Shhhh, they're about to start.", replied Blackavar

"So who get's to go first then Hazel?", asked Dandelion

"Me first! Me first! Me Me Me!!!", chanted Pipkin excitedly

Hazel looked at Dandelion

"I think the defender should really go first!", replied Hazel

"Awww!", sighed Pipkin

"Dont worry, you'll get your turn. Go ahead Dandelion.", continued Hazel

Dandelion cleared his throat, and stepped forward into the middle of a large circle of the assembled rabbits

"It's the rain thats keeping us down here, so I'm going to tell everyone the story of Elahrairah and The Flood", spoke Dandelion, before taking a deep breath

Everyone fell silent, as he began

"There was a time, when it never rained. Frith kept the world warm and dry all of the time. There were no lakes, rivers or streams."

"Everyone lived happily. The plants and other animals, never having had water before, survived fine on Frith's glow alone."

"Amongst all this, Elahrairah and Rabscuttle could live happily in the open, only ever having to worry about Elil."

Dandelion paused briefly, before continuing

"But one day everything began to change. Frith became upset, and began to cry"

"His tears covered all the world for the first time with water"

"They filled the valleys, they soaked the trees, they swamped the lettuces."

"The ground disappeared under his tears, and all those rabbits it covered, stopped running."

"Elahrairah knew he had to do something to save his people. So he and Rabscuttle journeyed to visit Prince Rainbow, Frith's messenger."

"The journey was hard, for Prince Rainbow was not always easy to find. Elahrairah had to use all his cunning to move safely through the forest, constantly on the lookout for Elil, whilst all the time battling against the tears of Lord Frith."

"A lesser rabbit would have given up, and Rabscuttle suggested it to him many times. However, Elahrairah loved his people, and could not bear to see them taken by the Black Rabbit. So he continued."

"Eventually, his perserverance paid off. Him and Rabscuttle found Prince Rainbow."

" 'Prince Rainbow', spoke Elahrairah, 'Why is Frith crying. Have we upset him in some way?'. To which Prince Rainbow replied, 'It is not you, nor any other animal on this world which made him like he is. One of his favourite creatures from another world was destroyed. Frith mourns their loss.' "

" 'But we cannot live as he mourns. My people are all dying.', argued Elahrairah."

" 'Then you must find a way to help ease his suffering.', replied Prince Rainbow"

"Elahrairah listened to what Prince Rainbow had to say with great interest. Somehow he had to cheer up Frith. He thought for a moment, before suddenly coming up with an ingenious idea."

"He asked Prince Rainbow to carry a message to Frith telling him that his favourite from another world could also be found on this one."

"Very soon, Frith came over the hilltop to where Elahrairah was waiting."

"His tears stopped. 'Where are they?' asked Frith."

" 'They are among us, but they are very small my lord. Even you may not be able to see them.', spoke Elahrairah"

" 'If only there was some way you could see them closer up....', he muttered to himself."

" 'If being closer would enable me to see them one more time, then I'll bring them closer to me.', replied Frith, exactly as Elahrairah had hoped"

"With that Frith began to change the world. He raised the hills; he raised the fields; he raised most of his world, but not all. Into those parts, the water settled."

"It didn't take Frith long to realise that he had been tricked, and he burned red with anger."

"You have pulled some dirty tricks in your time, Prince Rabbit, but this is the worst yet. You cannot play with emotions. For this you must, and will be punished."

"Rabscuttle backed off in fear, but Elahrairah stepped forward. Climbing to the top of the tallest hill to be as close as possible to Frith, he spoke 'But Lord, I did this for you. All the animals on this world of yours are now closer to you, and we are happy, for it is no secret that each and every one of us loves you dearly.' "

"Frith paused to think. He was still furious with Elahrairah's trick, but the Prince had made him realise just how unfair he had been to those who depended upon him. He suddenly felt a renewed compassion for them all, and shone brighter than ever."

" 'The world will never again be rid of the lasting tears upon it. I may be upset again some days, however no matter how bad things are, your people can always be safe somewhere close to me, and I promise that one day soon, I will be happy again.' "

"And Frith has always remained true to that. Watership Down is one of those places close to Frith and, no matter how upset, his tears have never reached us here.", finished Dandelion

All of the rabbits, who had sat in silence, burst out cheering, as Dandelion stepped back.

"Very well told Dandelion.", spoke Hazel

"Yes, nice one Dandelion.", continued Primrose

"Me never hear such nice story. Yar-ah-ahhh!", screeched Kehaar, bursting out crying

"Yeah, okay Kehaar, calm down. You still have Pipkin to listen to yet.", interrupted Bigwig, as Pipkin stepped forward

Pipkin cleared his throat. At that, everyone instinctively fell silent.

"What story are you going to tell us this time?", asked Hazel

Pipkin paused, attempting to appear phased by the question, but it was clear his mind was already made up

"I would like to tell everyone the story of Elahrairah and the Hrair-eth Elil", he started, before pausing again to take a deep breath, and to allow Kehaar's last sobs to die away

"Now there is not a rabbit still running who doesn't know the story of Frith's Blessing, where Frith originally caused Elahrairah to become the Prince with a thousand enemies. Frith also gave Elahrairahs people the gift of cunning and trickery, to help them save themselves from the elil."

"It couldn't just end there. The Elil did as Frith had intended. They prevented Elahrairah's people from ruling the world at first."

"After a time, however, its effectiveness began to fade. Every day that Frith shone, Elahrairah became cleverer and more cunning."

"His people came to avoid the Elil more and more. Gradually the rabbits began to spread everywhere again."

"At the same time the Elil, who could no longer catch Frith's people as easily, began to fall in number."

"Frith watched this, and worried. He didn't want to see a repeat of the problems Elahrairah's people had caused earlier."

"At the same time though, how could he stop them."

"He had already given the Elil there means to slay his children. He couldn't give them more."

"At the same time, he couldn't take away the gift he had given to Elahrairah"

"Finally he came up with an idea. A new species of Elil. One which even Frith's people could not outwit."

"The new elil had to be different, if Elahrairah were not to outsmart it."

"It had to have stealth to be able to move through the world without being sensed."

"It had to be able to move through the air, or over the land."

"However, Frith did not simply want another Elil with claws and teeth to kill instantly. This one had to work slowly."

"It could either kill them, or work together with the other Elil. Weakening Elahrairah's people, so the thousand could move in"

"And so it was. Frith unleashed yet another species onto the world. One which no creature, not even Elahrairah's could see. The Invisible Elil!"

"It worked as Frith expected. Not even Elahrairah with his cunning could save his people from it. The Rabbit numbers began to fell."

"What Frith hadn't expected, however, was that it could work too well. Whole warren's were wiped out in days."

"Before long, Elahrairah's people were on the brink of extinction. Frith suddenly realised he had gone too far."

"He realised he had to change things before it was too late, so he summoned Elahrairah"

" 'Elahrairah.', he spoke, 'I have told you before. You're people cannot rule the world. However, I am going to change some things.' "

" 'With your cunning, you can avoid the elil.' "

" 'You're people cannot see it before it comes, however once it hits your people, I shall make it so others can sense it, and escape to safety. A second sight to see which of your people has been infected by the invisible elil.' "

" 'However, to be fair, the other elil can sense this too. They will be able to attack those of your people who are close to death' "

" 'This elil will no longer just be your enemy, though. It can assist the other elil, or it can slay them too. You will just never know' "

" 'The only thing you do know is this. There are some elil that even you cannot contend with. But always remember my promise - you're people will never be destroyed', finished Frith"

"And so the Great Sickness was born. To this day it lurks the hills, praying on weak rabbits, and leaving them for the Black Rabbit"

"As with everything, though, Elahrairah's people were resourceful. He did find some plants which, when eaten by his people, can sometimes scare away the invisible elil, even once it has taken hold. Ultimately though, Frith was right. It can never be totally stopped, as long as he wishes it to be that way.", finished Pipkin

As with Dandelion, the assembled crowd cheered as he finished, and stepped back from the circle

"That was brilliant Pipkin. It's quite clear you've been practising. Well done!", congratulated Hazel

Kehaar just burst out crying for no apparent reason again

"Okay everyone. I know you're all excited after hearing such wonderful tales, but lets not forget this is a contest. It's up to you to decide who is the greatest storyteller. It's the classic stone voting system. Place a stone in that pile for newcomer Pipkin, or one in that pile for the defender Dandelion.", spoke Hazel

"We'll be back to check on the results later.", he continued, before turning to Bigwig

"You guard those stones, and make sure there's no cheating. On Owsla's honour!", he finished

Some of the rabbits rushed to place their votes, whilst others retreated to their burrows to think. Kehaar just continued to roll on the ground crying.

"There's something not quite right with that gull.", whispered Hawkbit

*************

Later

What seemed like days to Pipkin, but was in actual fact only a few hours soon passed. Hazel entered the Honeycomb to find everyone already assembled

"Glad to see you all back. Everyone's vote is in. Bigwig should be just about finished counting by now.... That's assuming you can count to Hrair Biggy!", he joked

Everyone sniggered, although there was no response from the Owsla Captain. Suddenly he turned and hopped silently across to Hazel

"Dandelion, Pipkin. Both step forward.", spoke Hazel

Instead the two rabbits simply stood still as everyone else instinctively stepped back.

"It's going to be Dandelion for sure.", whispered Hawkbit

"I dont know. I've never seen him look so frightened before.", replied Blackavar, as Bigwig whispered in Hazel's ear

"The winner is...", started Hazel, deliberately pausing to drag things out for dramatic effect

Pipkin twitched nervously as Hazel took a deep breath.

"Both of you.", he finally announced proudly

There were gasps of shock from all those assembled.

"Both of you received the same number of votes Hrair. That means you are both as good a storyteller as the other.", he continued

"er... Hazel.", whispered Bigwig, looking nowhere near as cheerful

"What?", replied Hazel

"Aren't you aware of the convention for these storytelling contests?", asked Bigwig

"Convention?", replied Hazel, the smile disappearing from his face

"In the event of a tie, the Chief Rabbit must always make the final decision.", continued Bigwig

"Why did nobody tell me about this before?", sighed Hazel, before turning back to the audience

"er... As you would expect, I, as leader must pick a winner. er...", he started, before glancing at both Dandelion and Pipkin

"But I will need some time to think about this.", he finished, quickly avoiding having to decide on the spot, and retreating to his burrow. Primrose followed him

"You dont sound too happy.", she spoke, once they were safely out of earshot

"I dont want to have to choose between them.", replied Hazel

"I can understand that, but do you have a choice?", asked Primrose

"If I have to choose one, it's going to upset the other. Personally, I prefer Dandelion, but Pipkin has put his whole heart into this and would be devastated to lose. I'm sure Dandelion wouldn't mind Pipkin winning, but I could never look him in the eyes again, knowing I'd allowed him to lose just to avoid upsetting Pipkin.", continued Hazel

"As Chief Rabbit, sometimes there will be difficult choices. It's the strength of a leader to always find a way, Hazel.", finished Primrose

*************

Back in the Honeycomb

"Do you think Hazel will be long? I hope not.", shouted Pipkin, excitedly

"I'm sure he's putting a lot of thought into it.", replied Bigwig

"Well, I know I'm not waiting. I'm going out to silflay.", decided Hawkbit, heading for the run

"Are you okay, Fiver?", asked Bigwig, noticing Fiver shivering

"I dont know. There's danger close by.", he replied

"Like what?", asked Bigwig

"I'm not sure. All I can see, all I can ever see these days is a vague mist. I can hear somebody calling my name, but I dont know who.", replied Fiver

"Well, All of the Owsla's been underground all day with the contest, so perhaps it would be wise to take out a sentry before it gets to dark. It'll put yur mind at rest.", decided Bigwig

Fiver was about to reply, when Hawkbit was suddenly heard squealing

"A Fox! A Fox! There's a fox heading down the run!!", he squealed, running into the Honeycomb

"Everybody get back. Pimpernel, Gooseberry, Blackavar. Let's rush at him. Hopefully we can scare him before he gets out of the narrow run.", shouted Bigwig, already heading towards the main run

There was panic as all the rabbits ran round trying to follow Bigwig's orders. Within seconds, the 3 bucks were alongside Bigwig, as they ran up the run.

"Rahhhh!!!!", shouted Bigwig, charging first at the fox

For a second, the fox decided to hold his ground, but as soon as he realised he was outnumbered, and in a confined space, he changed his mind and turned

Bigwig slammed his head into the side of the Fox, sending him flying up the run. The Fox yelped, before running out into the open

"And dont come back!", shouted Bigwig, as the 4 of them emerged into the open just in time to see the Fox disappearing into the forest at the bottom of the run

"What in the name of Frith is going on?", shouted Hazel, running out of his burrow and into the Honeycomb

"A blasted fox! Nearly had me!", shouted Hawkbit

"And I didn't even see it coming.", continued Fiver

"It's alright everybody. It's gone now!", shouted Bigwig, re-entering the warren

At this, Hazel suddenly had an idea.

"So have you decided who wins the contest yet Hazel? Have you, Have you, Have you?", shouted Pipkin

"Yes Pipkin, I have.", replied Hazel

Everyone in the Honeycomb fell silent

"It was not necessary for me to decide. The warren had already decided it. You're both equally good storytellers.", started Hazel

"That fox was proof. Do you really think that was just normal elil? No, it was sent specifically by Frith, to show how your wonderful storytelling can attract animals from miles around.", he continued

"With that, I name both Pipkin and Dandelion as Chief Storytellers of Watership Down.", he finished

"Two? Does that really work?", asked Pipkin

"Of course it does. In fact, it could be the basis for a whole new story.", replied Dandelion

Pipkin's eyes lit up

"I'm going to get working on this new story.", he shouted, running off

"Not without me you aren't. Wait up!", shouted Dandelion, chasing after him

"A fox sent by Frith? Where do you come up with these brilliant ideas?", whispered Bigwig

"Are you sure you aren't the true storyteller round here", he continued, at which they both chuckled

"We shall see Bigwig. We shall see!"