Post 11 ; Chapters 46-47

Bigwig defends the other Honeycomb rabbits from Woundwort

Woundwort prepares his assault on the rabbits of the Honeycomb warren, leaving two of his sentries outside. He breaks in, and sees Fiver lying on the ground, sleeping after becoming lost in a trance. Woundwort thinks he is dead so he ignores him. On the other side of the warren, Bigwig and Holly are coming up with a plan to defeat Woundwort. Bigwig decides to bury himself underneath and wait for Woundwort to get near. Woundwort sees a newly made wall and breaks through it. Just at that moment, Bigwig bursts out from underground and bites Woundwort's leg. They fight for a while, giving each other harsh bites and scratches.

Woundwort (top) and Bigwig in a bloody and violent battle

The dog chases one of Woundwort's sentries

Back outside, Dandelion and Blackberry are trying to get the dog's attention to follow them back to the warren.  At first the dog isn't interested in them, but they eventually get it's attention and starts following them. Back in Honeycomb, Woundwort and Bigwig continue their fight. Bigwig isn't afraid to die because he knows his body will be an obstacle for Woundwort to get around. They both lock onto each other and start pushing each other backwards. When Woundwort starts losing his strength, Bigwig injures his nose and it starts bleeding, causing Woundwort to not be able to breathe. He lets go of Bigwig, who has fainted due to his injuries. Woundwort leaves Bigwig and assigns Vervian, a sentry, to kill him, but refuses because he is too scared. Bigwig is barely conscious, and tells Woundwort that he will not move for anything because the chief rabbit has told him to stay, which confuses Woundwort because it was thought to be that Bigwig was the chief. Above ground, Woundwort starts making a new plan until he sees two rabbits followed by a dog chasing them. Campion screams to everyone to run, and all the rabbits except Woundwort disperse. He stands his ground and shouts out "dogs aren't dangerous! Come back and fight!" That is the last time anyone has heard from Woundwort. Presumably, the dog won the battle.

Woundwort and the dog charge at each other for the final battle

Comments/Questions

It was interesting to me that Woundwort was the only one fighting for Efrafa. I thought the sentries would at least help Woundwort with the fights, but I guess Woundwort thought they would be better off standing guard. I think that Woundwort has too much pride to ask for assistance from his sentries. He could have easily have beaten Bigwig with their help.

I would have liked to have known the details of Woundwort and the dog's fight. The dog is clearly much bigger and stronger but Woundwort is a beastly rabbit who knows how to fight. I think in the end the fight was close but the dog eventually overpowered the weakened Woundwort. Even though he was clearly a ruthless tyrant, I still admire Woundwort's bravery in going up alone against the dog after all his sentries ran off in fear. He was a true leader and a strong fighter.

I wonder what happens after this point in the story? Do the Efrafan's join up with Honeycomb to unite as one big warren? Or do they call for peace and leave each other alone? Either way I see the story ending well for the Honeycomb warren.