Watership Down
Original character
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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; Characters: Hyzenthlay, Frith, El-ahrairah, Prince Rainbow, Black Rabbit of Inlé, Thethuthinnang, Blackavar, Bigwig, Hazel, Fiver, Woundwort, original characters]
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; Characters: Holly, Fiver, OCs]
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; Characters: Hyzenthlay, Thethuthinnang, El-ahrairah, Frith, OCs]
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; Characters: Pipkin, Hazel, original characters]
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; Characters: Black Rabbit of Inlé, Bigwig, Fiver, Hyzenthlay, Hazel, Threar, original characters]
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; Characters: Hyzenthlay, Thethuthinnang, Blackavar, Nelthilta, Vervain, OCs]
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; Characters: Blackavar, El-ahrairah, Fiver, Black Rabbit of Inlé, original character]