History Fridge / WatershipDown

** This is a rare mistake for Adams. ''The Private Life of a Rabbit'' mentions that rabbits allowed to overcrowd an area until the grass was gone refused to eat the cowslips. Accordingly, it's hard to know if the rabbit Cowslip should be interpreted as "rich treat" or "(literally) poisonous friend".

** This is a rare mistake for Adams. ''The Private Life of a Rabbit'' mentions that rabbits allowed to overcrowd an area until the grass was gone refused to eat the cowslips. Accordingly, it's hard to know if the rabbit Cowslip should be interpreted as "rich treat" or "(literally) PoisonousFriend".

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* Bluebell is CourtJester in ''Literature/WatershipDown'', and even gets openly referred to as such. It wasn't until I thought it over that I realized: his name is Blue''bell'', like [[MeaningfulName the bells on a jester's cap]].

** It's not just Cowslip. Hazel is curious that one of the rabbits in Cowslip's warren is named Laburnum, a name that translates into Lapine as "Poison Tree" (laburnum is toxic to rabbits and other animals). Some of the other rabbits in the warren are Silverweed and Kingcup--both of which are also plants poisonous to rabbits. (Unsurprisingly, the one rabbit they end up keeping with them is Strawberry; strawberries are fine as occasional bunny treats.)

** Or if he has existed thousands of times -- a gestalt of every truly brave or ingenious Chief Rabbit.
** All but explicitly called out in Cowslip's Warren. That warren has no chief rabbit because "A chief rabbit must be El-ahrairah to his people and lead them from danger, but they have no danger except for one."

* Bluebell is TheJester in ''Literature/WatershipDown'', and even gets openly referred to as such. It wasn't until I thought it over that I realized: his name is Blue''bell'', like [[MeaningfulName the bells on a jester's cap]].

* One the SlidingScaleOfGenderInequality, this could be a ''feminist'' example of Level 1: if a bunch of '''does''' had chosen to leave an established warren, they probably wouldn't have gotten into nearly as much trouble, as does are the usual dispersers among rabbits and could easily dig themselves shelters as needed, while picking up a few solitary males along the way. It's ''because'' Hazel's group is bucks-only that their journey and their quest for mates run into enough near-disasters to rate as remarkable.

* Bluebell is TheJester in ''WatershipDown'', and even gets openly referred to as such. It wasn't until I thought it over that I realized: his name is Blue''bell'', like [[MeaningfulName the bells on a jester's cap]].

** All but explicitly called out in Cowslip's Warren. That warren has no chief rabbit because "A chief rabbit must be El-ahrairah to his people and lead them from danger, but they have no danger except for one."

* This one could make SlidingScaleOfGenderInequality a ''feminist'' example of Level 1: if a bunch of '''does''' had chosen to leave an established warren, they probably wouldn't have gotten into nearly as much trouble, as does are the usual dispersers among rabbits and could easily dig themselves shelters as needed, while picking up a few solitary males along the way. It's ''because'' Hazel's group is bucks-only that their journey and their quest for mates run into enough near-disasters to rate as remarkable.

* FridgeBrilliance: The fact that the doe at the end is ostentatiously telling a story about El-ahrairah, but is actually telling Hazel, Fiver and the others story makes you wonder how many of El-ahrairah's stories actually are things he did, or if he ever really existed at all.
** Or if he has existed thousands of times - a gestalt of every truly brave or ingenious Chief Rabbit.
** All but explicitly called out in Cowslip's Warren. That warren has no chief rabbit because "A chief rabbit must be El-ahraira to his people and lead them from danger, but they have no danger except for one."

** Or if he has existed thousands of times - a gestalt of every truly brave or ingenious Chief Rabbit.

* FridgeBrilliance: The fact that the doe at the end is ostentatiously telling a story about El-ahrairah, but is actually telling Hazel, Fiver and the others story makes you wonder how many of El-ahrairah's stories actually are things he did, or if he ever really existed at all.

* In the Sandleford warren, cowslips are considered to be a rare treat, to the point where some {{Jerkass}} Owsla bully Fiver away from one that he found just so they can eat it themselves. However, the cowslip plant is fairly toxic to rabbits. So when a rabbit who goes by the name Cowslip invites the protagonists over to his warren, it should be your first clue that something is very amiss with it.

** This one could make SlidingScaleOfGenderInequality a ''feminist'' example of Level 1: if a bunch of '''does''' had chosen to leave an established warren, they probably wouldn't have gotten into nearly as much trouble, as does are the usual dispersers among rabbits and could easily dig themselves shelters as needed, while picking up a few solitary males along the way. It's ''because'' Hazel's group is bucks-only that their journey and their quest for mates run into enough near-disasters to rate as remarkable.