Watership Down
Page 48
General Woundwort was never seen again. But it was certainly true, as Groundsel said, that no one ever found his body, so it may perhaps be that, after all, that extraordinary rabbit really did wander away to live his fierce life somewhere else and to defy the elil as resourcefully as ever. Kehaar, who was once asked if he would look out for him in his flights over the downs, merely replied, "Dat damn rabbit-I no see 'im, I no vant I see 'im." Before many months had passed, no one on Watership knew or particularly cared to know whether he himself or his mate was descended from one or two Efrafan parents or from none at all. Hazel was glad that it should be so. And yet there endured the legend that somewhere out over the down there lived a great and solitary rabbit, a giant who drove the elil like mice and sometimes went to silflay in the sky. If ever great danger arose, he would come back to fight for those who honored his name. And mother rabbits would tell their kittens that if they did not do as they were told, the General would get them-the General who was first cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument: and perhaps it would not have displeased him.
One chilly, blustery morning in March, I cannot tell exactly how many springs later, Hazel was dozing and waking in his burrow. He had spent a good deal of time there lately, for he felt the cold and could not seem to smell or run so well as in days gone by. He had been dreaming in a confused way-something about rain and elder bloom-when he woke to realize that there was a rabbit lying quietly beside him-no doubt some young buck who had come to ask his advice. The sentry in the run outside should not really have let him in without asking first. Never mind, thought Hazel. He raised his head and said, "Do you want to talk to me?"
"Yes, that's what I've come for," replied the other. "You know me, don't you?"
"Yes, of course," said Hazel, hoping he would be able to remember his name in a moment. Then he saw that in the darkness of the burrow the stranger's ears were shining with a faint silver light. "Yes, my lord," he said, "Yes, I know you."
"You've been feeling tired," said the stranger, "but I can do something about that. I've come to ask whether you'd care to join my Owsla. We shall be glad to have you and you'll enjoy it. If you're ready, we might go along now."
They went out past the young sentry, who paid the visitor no attention. The sun was shining and in spite of the cold there were a few bucks and does at silflay, keeping out of the wind as they nibbled the shoots of spring grass. It seemed to Hazel that he would not be needing his body any more, so he left it lying on the edge of the ditch, but stopped for a moment to watch his rabbits and to try to get used to the extraordinary feeling that strength and speed were flowing inexhaustibly out of him into their sleek young bodies and healthy senses.
"You needn't worry about them," said his companion. "They'll be all right-and thousands like them. If you'll come along, I'll show you what I mean."
He reached the top of the bank in a single, powerful leap. Hazel followed; and together they slipped away, running easily down through the wood, where the first primroses were beginning to bloom.
Lapine Glossary
Bob-stones — A traditional game among rabbits.
Crixa, the — The center of Efrafa, at the crossing point of two bridle paths.
Efrafa — The name of the warren founded by General Woundwort.
El-ahrairah — The rabbit folk hero. The name (Elil-hrair-rah) means "Enemies-Thousand-Prince" = the Prince with a — Thousand Enemies.
Elil — Enemies (of rabbits).
Embleer — Stinking, e.g. the smell of a fox.
Flay — Food, e.g. grass or other green fodder.
Flayrah — Unusually good food, e.g. lettuce.
Frith — The sun, personified as a god by rabbits. Frithrah! = the lord Sun-used as an exclamation.
Fu Inlé — After moonrise.
Hlao — Any dimple or depression in the grass, such as that formed by a daisy plant or thistle, which can hold — moisture. The name of a rabbit.
Hlao-roo — "Little Hlao." An affectionate diminutive of the name of Hlao, one of the rabbits in the story.
Hlessi — A rabbit living above ground, without a regular hole or warren. A wandering rabbit, living in the open. — (Plural, hlessil.)
Homba — A fox. (Plural, hombil.)
Hrair — A great many; an uncountable number; any number over four. U Hrair = The Thousand (enemies).
Hrairoo — "Little Thousand." The name of Fiver in Lapine.
Hraka — Droppings, excreta.
Hrududu — A tractor, car or any motor vehicle. (Plural, hrududil.)
Hyzenthlay — Literally, «Shine-dew-fur» = Fur shining like dew. The name of a doe.
Inlé — Literally, the moon; also moonrise. But a second meaning carries the idea of darkness, fear and — death.
Lendri — A badger.
Marli — A doe. Also carries the meaning "mother."
M'saion — "We meet them."
Narn — Nice, pleasant (to eat).
Ni-Frith — Noon.
Nildro-hain — "Blackbird's Song." The name of a doe.
Owsla — The strongest rabbits in a warren, the ruling clique.
Owslafa — The Council police (a word found only in Efrafa).
Pfeffa — A cat.
Rah — A prince, leader or chief rabbit. Usually used as a suffix. E.g. Threarah = Lord Threar.
Roo — Used as a suffix to denote a diminutive. E.g. Hrairoo.
Sayn — Groundsel.
Silf — Outside, that is, not underground.
Silflay — To go above ground to feed. Literally, to feed outside. Also used as a noun.
Tharn — Stupefied, distraught, hypnotized with fear. But can also, in certain contexts, mean "looking foolish," — or again «heartbroken» or "forlorn."
Thethuthinnang — "Movement of Leaves." The name of a doe.
Thlay — Fur.
Thlayli — "Fur-head." A nickname.
Threar — A rowan tree, or mountain ash.
Vair — To excrete, pass droppings.
Yona — A hedgehog. (Plural, yonil.)
Zorn — Destroyed, murdered. Denotes a catastrophe.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following publishers, agents and other copyright holders for permission to reprint copyrighted material:
"The Witnesses," Copyright 1945 by W.H. Auden; reprinted from Collected Shorter Poems 1927–1957, by W.H. Auden, by permission of Random House, Inc., and Faber and Faber Ltd.
The Ascent of F6 by W.H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood, Copyright 1936, 1937 and renewed 1964 by W.H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood; reprinted by permission of Random House, Inc., and Curtis Brown, Ltd.
"The Pilgrim," "Dame Hickory," and «Napoleon» by Walter de la Mare reprinted by permission of The Literary Trustees of Walter de la Mare and The Society of Authors as their representative.
"Two Fusiliers" from Fairies and Fusiliers by Robert Graves, Copyright © 1917 by Robert Graves. All rights reserved; reprinted by permission of Collins-Knowlton-Wing, Inc.
"Who's in the Next Room?" from Collected Poems of Thomas Hardy, Copyright 1925 by Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.; reprinted by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., Macmillan Co. of Canada Ltd., the Trustees of the Hardy Estate and Macmillan, London and Basingstoke.
"Hurt Hawks," Copyright 1928 and renewed 1956 by Robinson Jeffers, reprinted from The Selected Poetry of Robinson Jeffers by permission of Random House, Inc.
"Fern Hill" from The Poems of Dylan Thomas, Copyright 1946 by New Directions Publishing Corporation, reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation, J.M. Dent amp; Sons Ltd., and the Trustees for the Copyrights of the late Dylan Thomas.
"A Woman Young and Old" from The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats, Copyright 1933 by Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., renewed 1961 by Bertha Georgia Yeats; reprinted by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., M.B. Yeats and Macmillan Co. of Canada Ltd.
Примечания
1
Rabbits can count
up to four. Any number above four is hrair — "a lot," or "a thousand." Thus they say U Hrair — "The Thousand"-to mean, collectively, all the enemies (or elil, as they call them) of rabbits-fox, stoat, weasel, cat, owl, man, etc. There were probably more than five rabbits in the litter when Fiver was born, but his name, Hrairoo, means "Little Thousand" — i.e., the little one of a lot or, as they say of pigs, "the runt."
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2
Nearly all warrens have an Owsla, or group of strong or clever rabbits-second-year or older-surrounding the Chief Rabbit and his doe and exercising authority. Owslas vary. In one warren, the Owsla may be the band of a warlord: in another, it may consist largely of clever patrollers or garden-raiders. Sometimes a good storyteller may find a place; or a seer, or intuitive rabbit. In the Sandleford warren at this time, the Owsla was rather military in character (though, as will be seen later, not so military as some).
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3
The stresses are the same as in the phrase "Never say die."
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4
Stinking-the word for the smell of a fox.
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5
Tractor-or any motor.
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6
Hoi, hoi, the stinking Thousand, We meet them even when we stop to pass our droppings."
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7
Song of the Blackbird.
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8
Go above ground to feed.
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9
Bigwig's word was hlessil, which I have rendered in various places in the story as wanderers, scratchers, vagabonds. A hlessi is a rabbit living in the open, without a hole. Solitary bucks and unmated rabbits who are wandering do this for quite long periods, especially in summer. Bucks do not usually dig much in any case, although they will scratch shallow shelters or make use of existing holes where these are available. Real digging is done for the most part by does preparing for litters.
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10
Zorn means «finished» or "destroyed," in the sense of some terrible catastrophe.
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11
The first syllable is stressed and not the second, as in the word "Majesty."
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12
Hyzenthlay: "Shine-Dew-Fur"-fur-shining-like-dew.
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13
Bob-stones is a traditional game of rabbits. It is played with small stones, fragments of sticks or the like. Fundamentally it is a very simple kind of gambling, on the lines of "Odds or Evens." A «cast» of stones on the ground is covered by the player's front paw. The opponent must then hazard some sort of surmise about its nature-e.g., one or two, light or dark, rough or smooth.
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14
Thethuthinnang: "Movement of Leaves." The first and last syllables are stressed, as in the phrase "Once in a way."
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15
Marli-a doe. Tharn-stupefied, distraught. In this particular context, the nearest translation might be "the maiden all forlorn."
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Document ID: 90908b-e2e3-5047-c99a-2584-ab74-4c83e2
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Document creation date: 01.09.2008
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