Bright Moon, Who Goes Farther Still by Hossgal
'Little Moon had lost children to foxes and owls and the traps of men; to White Blindness, to weasels, and to suffocation in over-crowded warrens, to the claws of hawks and to her own bitter heart. And when Little Moon discovered that El-ahrairah had been addressed by Lord Frith, and turned away, her anger was deep.' Hossgal's ambitious story gives us the does' perspective not only on the events of Watership Down, but also on rabbit mythology. The novella's two strands weave together perfectly as the tale builds to its moving climax. A real treasure
[Added 10/11/2008; Drama; 6000-20,000; Watership Down]
Captain Holly's Last Command by Edonohana
'Darnel smelled like primroses and oak-roots and moist black earth. In this land of tall spindly weeds and crumbling brown dirt, he still smelled like Sandleford. He was at once as familiar and alien to Holly as the words of a native tongue long since abandoned by its speaker for the language of some foreign shore.' A slow-moving piece, perfectly in tune with the original, with a well-realised OC. To say more would spoil it
[Added 06/08/2015; Drama; 2500-6000; Watership Down]
El-ahrairah and the Litter of Kittens by Luzula
'Then Hyzenthlay, on a sly impulse, said: 'I was just about to tell the story of El-ahrairah and the litter of kittens.' / Thethuthinnang made a strangled little noise beside her. / 'I don't think I've heard that one,' Foxglove said.' Luzula's feminist slant is a welcome addition to Adams' world, and this tale-within-a-tale remains remarkably canonical in tone, despite the mpreg
[Added 09/08/2015; Drama; 1000-2500; Watership Down]
Far Far Away by Redgear
'He has never seen a fox, but he knows it is one; he had once dreamed he was a man with a loud metal stick, and he had pointed it at a quicksilver flash of red in a bush, and it had smelled very strongly of smoke and rot and very faintly of blood and fox.' A dark, unusual vignette, in which a beautifully characterised Silverweed has a strange meeting. I love the edge of ambiguity to the ending
[Added 29/10/2017; Character Piece; 1000-2500; Watership Down]
Mixed Blessings by Astrokath
'The warrens of rabbits, the cities of man: they both rise and fall, and the soil always swallows them back into the ground again, as a doe spares her unborn kits from the trials and suffering of an unkind world.' A dark futurefic that plays with the notion that El-Ahrairah & the Black Rabbit are different aspects of the same deity. Unusual & memorable
[Added 11/08/2015; Drama; 1000-2500; Watership Down]
Run Fast and Dig Deep by Qwerty
'You'd never had need to dig new tunnels before coming here, but when the earth yielded beneath your claws, you understood immediately which way to dig, how to clear away the loosened earth, the tricks for shoring up the sides so the run would not fall in.' Adapting to freedom isn't always easy. A gorgeous, poignant story melding visions and tales, future and past
[Added 03/01/2007; Character Piece; 1000-2500; Watership Down]
The Story of El-ahrairah and the Stranger in the Field by Tanaqui
'El-ahrairah waved a paw unconcernedly. "What is that to me? If the Queen of the bees is not as clever as I am in arranging things to suit her people, why should that be my concern?"' A clever El-ahrairah tale that was somehow omitted from Adams' canon. To say more would spoil it
[Added 21/05/2015; Drama; 2500-6000; Watership Down]
The Story of Hrayatha and the Rabbit Who Left No Tracks by Luzula
'The Honeycomb was full of the small sounds of rabbits shifting, breathing, chewing pellets, and into that comforting atmosphere of rabbitry, Hrayatha spoke.' Poignant story of the rabbits we know & love passing into myth. Hrayatha is a believable original character who suggests that the warren's next generation will have adventures to tell their kittens about too
[Added 25/11/2011; Drama; 1000-2500; Watership Down]
The Story of Marli-hrair and the Black Rabbit of Inle by Edonohana
'We call her Marli-hrair [mother of a thousand] because she gave birth to so many large and healthy litters. What her real name was, nobody knows, nor does anyone now remember the name of her warren.' A beautiful & moving tale within a tale, which captures the feel of the original perfectly
[Added 04/08/2011; Drama; 1000-2500; Watership Down]
The Story Of The Doe Who Hid Her Kittens by Edonohana
'The listening rabbits scuffled in annoyance. Kittens learned not to interrupt stories by the time they were weaned. And this was Efrafa, where only the powerful and the foolhardy spoke so loud.' A tale within a tale told by Hyzenthlay. The frame story gives a moving glimpse of life in Efrafa, and the ending is particularly powerful
[Added 29/10/2017; Drama; 1000-2500; Watership Down]
Strong Yet Weak by KaptainSarcasm
'"The Black Rabbit will challenge you, and you must win. Just know that you will keep running, my son, and you will become the thing of legends."' Excellent mingling of myth with present as a new adventure begins for Blackavar
[Added 30/12/2005; Drama; 2500-6000; Watership Down]