"A rabbit has two ears; a rabbit has two eyes, two nostrils. Our two warrens ought to be like that. They ought to be together—not fighting. We ought to make other warrens between us—start one between here and Efrafa, with rabbits from both sides. You wouldn't lose by that, you'd gain. We both would. A lot of your rabbits are unhappy now and it's all you can do to control them, but with this plan you'd soon see a difference. Rabbits have enough enemies as it is. They ought not to make more among themselves. A mating between free, independent warrens—what do you say?"

Just before the great fight, Hazel comes to Woundwort and offers him this deal. Woundwort declines of course, because he lacks the vision to see what would truly be good for Efrafa. However, what is important is that Hazel sticks to this vision. Even though they defeat the Efrafans he does not want domination, merely cooperation. Hazel wants the rabbits to work together because he knows that in doing so they can overcome more obstacles than if they work against each other. Hazel shows with this speech that he truly is a great leader. He dreams of nothing more than happiness for rabbits; he cares little for his personal glory or power. Woundwort, on the other hand, cares little for most rabbits and is concerned with maintaining power over his Efrafan empire. Woundwort's vision may be bound to fail eventually, while Hazel's could provide unity and peace. The way Hazel presents it, it appears an obvious conclusion that rabbits should not fight each other; when the metaphor is extended to human civilization, however, we see that it is not always so simple. Nonetheless, it is the vision that counts, and that vision extends to all civilizations.

Previous section Important Quotes Explained Page 2 Next section Important Quotes Explained Page 4

Popular pages: Watership Down

Take a Study Break