September 30th, 2026
Tales from Watership Down is the sequel to the famous work Watership Down. It is divided into three parts: the first chronicals a more or less random collection of tales concerning El-ahrairah, the second is a series of stories concerning the period between El-ahrairah's visit to the Black Rabbit of Inlé and his return to his warren. The final section is a series of short stories which collectively form a narrative concerning the rabbits of Watership Down.
The rabbits have a wide variety of names. What do you make of rabbit naming conventions?
Each story begins with a number of short quotations. The Bible features frequently, but many and varied other sources are included. What do you make of these quotes? Did they add to the story?
Many of these stories are mythology. What do you make of Adam's decision to include so much mythology both in the original book and here?
El-ahrairah is especially bold and has a strong mastery of his fear. These are not attributes rabbits are well known for. What do you think of the rabbit's mythology centering such traits as desirable?
What do you think the creatures in the land of perpetual darkness would have looked like if it weren't perpetually dark?
"The Sense of Smell" has El-ahrairah go to several different places. What do you make of his abillity to visit these places? Did you have a favorite place?
"The Sense of Smell" establishes man as the enemy of all creatures with a focus on his having driven many to extinction. Thoughts?
Many of the stories say something akin to "El-ahraihah, they say,...". Who do you suppose is doing the saying? Where do these stories actually originate?
El-ahrairah is alive! Why haven't they met him?
What did you make of El-ahrairah's journey to achieve immortality?
The Third Cow is Time itself. Why do you suppose a cow is the physical manifestation of time in rabbit lore?
Did you particularly like one of the cows?
Dandelion tells most of the stories, but Bluebell tells the story of King Fur-Rocious, Coltsfoot tells a ghost story, and Speedwell tells... his story. In what ways do the narrators differ in their story telling?
"The Story of King Fur-Rocious" and "The Fox in the Water" are very similarly structured. Is this rabbit plagiarism? Compare and contrast the stories.
What do you make of the hole in the sky?
Do you believe Coltsfoot's ghost story?
Fiver provies words of reassurance with authority and comforts Coltsfoot. What do you make of Fiver's leadership here? What do you make of Fiver's authority when speaking on supernatural matters?
Speedwell tells the most grounded and down to earth of all the stories in the book. Does his focus on keeping strictly to the facts detract from his story telling?
This third part presents us a case of apparent rabbit precience. What do we make of these apparent intrusions of foresight?