Easter Bunny Bloodbath

In Lapine language mythology, the world was created by the god Frith. All animals were similar, living harmoniously as grass-eaters. The rabbits multiplied though, and their appetite led to a food shortage. Frith ordered the rabbit prince, El-Ahrairah, to control his people, but was scoffed at. In retaliation, the angered Frith gave special gifts to every animal, making some into predators to hunt the rabbits, humbling El-Ahrairah which caused him to play it safe and try to head underground. Satisfied that El-Ahrairah had learned his lesson, Frith gave rabbits the gifts of speed and cunning. In the present, in a warren near Sandleford, a young rabbit seer named Fiver has an apocalyptic vision when he and his older brother Hazel come across a signboard; it says a residential development is coming but they cannot read it. The two beg the chief rabbit to order an evacuation; the chief dismisses them, and orders Captain Holly, the head of the warren's Owsla "police force", to attempt to stop those trying to leave. Hazel and Fiver manage to escape with six other rabbits named Bigwig, Blackberry, Pipkin, Dandelion, Silver, and Violet. They journey through the woods, avoiding several dangerous situations, until Violet – the group's only doe – is killed by a hawk. During the journey, they meet a rabbit named Cowslip, who invites them to his warren, where a farmer leaves Cowslip's group ample vegetables. They are grateful, but Fiver leaves when he senses something unsettling in the atmosphere. Bigwig follows, berating Fiver for causing tension. When Bigwig is caught in a snare, his friends free him, and Fiver realizes the farmer is protecting and feeding Cowslip's warren so that he can snare rabbits for his own meals. The rabbits discover Nuthanger Farm, which contains a hutch of domesticated does. Before they can free the females, the farm cat and dog chase them away. Later, they are found by Holly, who recounts the destruction of Sandleford warren by humans as well as an encounter with vicious rabbits called the "Efrafans". Fiver finally finds the hill he envisioned, Watership Down, where the group settles with Hazel as their new chief. The rabbits soon befriend a black-headed gull named Kehaar, injured by the farm cat, who flies out in search of does. That night, the rabbits return to Nuthanger Farm to attempt to free the does there, but as they escape, the farmers respond to the disturbance by trying to block them in, and Hazel is shot in the leg and collapses into a storm drain. Fiver follows a vision of the mythical Black Rabbit of Inlé to his injured brother. Kehaar returns and, while removing the lead shotgun pellets from Hazel's leg, reports of the many does at the overcrowded Efrafa warren. Holly describes it as a dangerous totalitarian state ruled by its tyrannical chief, General Woundwort, but Hazel feels they must go there. Bigwig infiltrates the warren and is made an Owsla officer by Woundwort. Bigwig recruits several potential escapees to his cause, including Blackavar and Hyzenthlay. With Kehaar's help, the escapees use a boat to float down the river. That night, Kehaar leaves for his homeland, but promises to return in the future. Efrafan trackers eventually find Watership Down. Woundwort rejects Hazel's offer of peace, and demands that all deserters must be turned over or Watership Down will be wiped out. While the Watership rabbits barricade their warren, Fiver slips into a trance, in which he envisions a dog running loose in the woods. This gives Hazel an idea: he chews through the leash of Bob, the Nuthanger Farm watchdog, and Blackberry, Dandelion, and Hyzenthlay bait him into following them back to the warren. When the Efrafans break through the warren's defences, Woundwort goes in alone. Blackavar attacks him but is easily killed. Bigwig ambushes Woundwort and they fight to a standstill. When Bob arrives, Woundwort abandons Bigwig and emerges from the warren, refuses to flee and fearlessly stands his ground until Bob notices him, and the two lunge at each other. No trace of Woundwort is ever found, and his fate is left a mystery. Several years later, an elderly Hazel is visited by the Black Rabbit, who invites him to join his own Owsla, assuring him of Watership Down's perpetual safety. Reassured, Hazel accepts and dies peacefully. His spirit follows the Black Rabbit through the woodland and trees towards the Sun, which metamorphoses into Frith, and the afterlife, as Frith's parting advice to El-Ahrairah is heard once more.