Watership Down Characters: Hazel

Hazel is a leader among rabbits. He is described as being “still below full weight” and with a “shrewd, buoyant air”. He is not one of the “Owsla”, the top rank of clever and strong rabbits in a warren, but he is not a bullied, harassed rabbit because of this. He can take care of himself and is a very good leader.

Hazel is protective of those under his care. His brother Fiver is small, underweight and often bullied, and Hazel keeps older, stronger and meaner rabbits away from him. He is capable too, and noble in that he is willing to stay by the smaller rabbits. When they are journeying, they come to a river. It is swelled and rushing, but on the side they’re on is a dog who is hunting. The older rabbits can swim the flood, but Fiver and Pipkin are too small and tired out to. Bigwig, an impatient, tough rabbit, says that those who can should cross the stream and whoever can’t can just come later or not at all. Hazel says that he isn’t leaving Fiver and Pipkin, and if one of the other rabbits hadn’t found a large piece of wood for a raft, Hazel would have stayed and been killed by the dog along with Pipkin and Fiver before abandoning them.

Hazel is essential to the plot. One might call him the “star”. He is the one who takes care of everyone and keeps them going until they reach Watership Down. Without him, the plot would feel empty, as though something important were missing. But like everyone else, he has his weak points. Because he is secretly a little upset at not being chosen to “ambassador” to Efrafa, a nearby warren, he leads a disastrous raid on a nearby farm to rescue four rabbits who have lived there all their lives and are well taken care of, but lack the important instincts necessary to live in the wild. This raid results in three rabbits joining their warren, one being captured again and put back in the hutch, and Hazel being shot with a gun in his leg (causing in him being slightly lame there for the rest of his life).

I admire Hazel for his bravery, fortitude and nobility. When everyone else is tired and wants to stop traveling and stay where they are, he is the one who keeps them going. When Bigwig is caught in a snare and believed dead, he is the one who tries to get them away before a man comes. When the other rabbits begin to doubt Fiver’s visions and start turning against him, he is the one who restores them to sense. “A Chief Rabbit must be El-ahrairah [the rabbit hero; literally Elil-Hrair-Rah, enemies-thousand-prince: Prince with a Thousand Enemies] to his people and teach them cunning.” He is a true leader and one of the best personalities I have ever met.

Friday Freewrite

Yesterday my wonderful Mother Auma borrowed a curriculum called The Writer's Jungle from one of the Ambleside Online women. One of the activities in it is a freewrite, and here is mine:

The water in the cup near me looks blue Is it? I love Mommy that M is awful but I dont care haha I didn't put any apostrophe in dont look I did it again and i like it and my I is not capitalized. I griped to thumper about being thirteen this morning and cried but then at 2:15 I went out and apologized she growled What was this guy's name again? I love Mommy's rolls or biskits or whaterer they are called haha look bad spelling What happens if we run out of paper before 10 minutes is up? I don't know and I won't care until I get there I can't wait to go to California and tell Ggmom and GGDad that we're 100 % tx and 100% ca! I wish we were there already I like freewriting it's so ridiculous I was going to write something else but I forgot it :-) I don't know if smileys go on paper I wish I could get into my Squirrel Band drawings whoa I'm thirsty but I still have 5 min or actually a bit less hey we're going to a church meeting tonight I wish I could bring Thumpee don't ask why did you know the early Celts wore hare instead of underwear? I'm spelling words I've known how to spell forever but I'm spelling them wrong and don't care the Celts didn't wear bunnies sorry they wore HAIR Mariel and Cornflower are mad at each other and I'm getting writers cramp I never realized I thought about such a wide variety of subjects!

Thinking...

Near the end of July, my thoughts inexplicably turn to the approaching school year.

We don't start school until September, so there is no reason why my mind has to start a month early...except maybe for the fact that I like to have a schedule. One that goes the whole day.

Or maybe it's because Fall is my favorite season. Calm, tranquil and a lot cooler than hot summer sun. Leaves that are supposed to turn red and orange turning brown, long sleeves, and the schedule. Why does my mind keep coming back to that schedule?

I like to have the whole day on paper. Anywhere from "get up-go to bed" to "visit so-and-so, go to IKEA, clean house, do schoolwork, and go to the pool".

Oh dear.

In Fall the pool closes.

So maybe we couldn't do that particular thing. Go to the park instead.

Which brings up yet another rabbit trail. In Fall when it cools off considerably, Mr. Honey and Mother Auma take Cornflower and Mariel and I on Bike Rides and Nature Walks and Trips to the Park and the Zoo and the...World of Outside. My favorite place.

To go on another trail that is clearly a rabbit one...

My rabbit, Thumper, can stay outside for the whole day when it gets to be nice and cool and only gets up to 70 degrees outside in the middle of the day.

And church meetings! Almost as good as singing schools except you have to stay in your nice clothes all day. There are kids you've never met and people you knew a long time ago and friends you just made a month or two ago at Harmony Plains. Makes for some very good Indian bands, Castles with Invaders (usually boy-invaders against princesses and lady warriors (Ray and I, and whoever wants to be a warrior with us)), Cowboys (and Cowgirls), and any kind of pretend game you can get 20 kids to play all at once. I really enjoy church meetings.

I REALLY enjoy Fall. Just Fall.

Musical Rabbit

Yesterday morning my little sister Mariel was busily practicing her violin. It was a beautiful day, so my rabbit was in the back yard and the windows were open.

As strains of music were wafted by the late morning wind through the window and reached Thumper's long, sensitive ears, she sat up, trying to sniff the music. Suddenly, she jumped sideways with a funny twist. Her ears shot up in the air. She ran around the back yard, twisting and leaping with her ears high and her eyes wide until she reminded me of Wilbur in Charlotte's Web where he is being radiant.

Not to mention that when I was outside, playing my harmonica, Thumper suddenly ran around and around my feet, stopping when I stopped and racing around my feet when I played. Racing around someone is a bunny way of showing love...