- "All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies. And when they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you; digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. Be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed."
- — Lord Frith to El-ahrairah
Lord Frith is the sun, whom the rabbits deem as a god. According to the beliefs of the rabbits, he created the world, the stars and all animals.
He is known to have several messengers, like the Black Rabbit of Inlé or Prince Rainbow. He uses these messengers to communicate with the animals of Earth when he is unable to. Lord Frith stopped communicating with animals after the days of El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle were over.
Origin[]
Frith creating the universe.
Long ago, Frith made the world. He made all the stars, too, and Earth is one of the stars. He made them by scattering his droppings all over the sky and this is why the grass and the trees grow so thick on the world. Frith makes the rivers flow. They follow him as he goes through the sky, and when he leaves the sky they look for him all night. Frith made all the animals and birds, but when he first made them they were all the same. The sparrow and the kestrel were friends and they both ate seeds and flies. And the fox and the rabbit were friends and they both ate grass. And there was plenty of grass and plenty of flies, because the world was new and Frith shone down bright and warmed all the world.
The Blessing of El-ahrairah[]
El-ahrairah was among the animals in those days and he has many wives. He has so many wives that there was no counting them, and the wives had so many young that even Frith could not count them, they ate the grass, dandelions, lettuces and the clover, El-ahrairah was the father of them all. After a time, the grass began to grow thin and the rabbits wandered everywhere, multiplying and eating as they went. Then Frith said to El-ahrairah, 'Prince Rabbit, if you cannot control your people, I shall find ways to control them. So mark what I say', But El-ahrairah would not listen and he said to Frith, "My people are the strongest in the world, for they breed faster and eat more than any of the other people. And this shows how much they love Lord Frith, for of all the animals they are the most responsive to his warmth and brightness. You must realize, my lord how important they are and not hinder them in their beautiful lives."
Frith could have killed El-ahrairah at once, but he had a mind to keep him in the world, because he needed him to sport, jest and play tricks. So he determined to get the better of him, not by means of his own great power but by means of a trick. He gave out that he would hold a great meeting and that at that meeting he would give a present to every animal and bird, to make each one different from the rest. So all the creatures set out to go to the meeting place. But they all arrived at different times, because Frith made sure that it would happen that way. When the blackbird came, he gave him his beautiful song, and when the cow came, he gave her sharp horns and the strength to be afraid of no other creature. When the fox, the stoat and the weasel's turn came Frith gave the cunning, the fierceness, the desire to hunt, slay and eat the children of El-ahrairah. So they went away from Frith full of nothing but hunger to kill the rabbits. Now all this time El-ahrairah was dancing and mating and boasting that he was going to Frith's meeting to receive a great gift.
And at last he set out for the meeting place. But as he was going there, he stopped to rest on a soft, sandy hillside. And while he was resting, over the hill came flying the dark swift, screaming as he went 'News! News! News!' For you know, this is what he has said ever since that day. So El-ahrairah called up to him and said, 'What news?' 'Why,' the swift replied, 'I would not want to be you, El-ahrairah. For Frith has given the fox and the weasel cunning hearts and sharp teeth, and to the cat he has given silent feet and eyes that can see in the dark, and they are gone away from Frith's place to kill and devour all that belongs to El-ahrairah." And he dashed on over the hills. At that moment El-ahrairah heard the voice of Frith calling, 'Where is El-ahrairah? For all the others have taken their gifts and gone, I have come to look for him.'
Frith blessing El-ahrairah's bottom.
Then El-ahrairah knew Frith was too clever for him and was frightened. He thought that the fox and the weasel were coming with Frith so he turned to the face of the hill and began to dig. He was digging a hole, but he had dug only a little of it when Frith came over the hill alone. And he saw El-ahrairah's bottom sticking out of the hole and the sand flying out in showers as the digging went on. When he saw that, he called out, 'My friend, have you seen El-ahrairah, for I am looking to give him my gift?' 'No,' answered El-ahrairah, without coming out, "I have not seen him. He is far away, he could not come." So Frith said, "Then come out of that hole and I will bless you instead of him," "No, I cannot," said El-ahrairah, "I am busy. The fox and the weasel are coming. If you want to bless me, you'll have to bless my bottom, for it is sticking out of the hole."
Then Frith felt himself in friendship with El-ahrairah, because of his resourcefulness, and because he would not give up even when he thought the fox and the weasel were coming. And he said, "Very well, I will bless your bottom as it sticks out of the hole. Bottom, be strength and warning and speed forever and save the life of your master. Be it so!" And as he spoke, El-ahrairah's tail grew shining white and flashed like a star; and his back legs grew long and powerful and he thumped the hillside until the very beetles fell off the grass stems. He came out of the hole and tore across the hill faster than any creature in the world. And Frith called after him, "El-ahrairah, your people cannot rule the world, for I will not have it so. All the world will be your enemy, Prince With A Thousand Enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first, they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed." And El-ahrairah knew then that although he would not be mocked, Frith was still his friend.
And every evening, when Frith has done his day's work and lies calm and easy in the red sky, El-ahrairah and his children and his children's children come out of their warren and feed and play in his sight, for they are his friends, and he had promised them that they can never be destroyed.
Trivia[]
- Frith is Old English for peace and freedom.
- The idea of the Sun being a deity itself was a common belief in ancient human societies and religions, such as Ra of Egyptian mythology. People did not really understand why the Sun existed, but its warmth and the fact that it would give light to the world, almost as if it was watching over humanity each day, helped promote this idea.
- Most rabbits in Watership Down believe in Lord Frith.
Gallery[]
| Non-rabbit characters |
|---|
Cross-media Bob (dog) • Cemetery Owl • Crows • Fox • Hawks • Kehaar (seagull) • Lendri (weasel) • Tab (cat) • Yona (hedgehog)Humans Doctor • Lucy • Mr. Cane • Mrs. Cane Folklore Lord Frith • Prince Rainbow Books only Introduced in Watership DownDoctor (human) • Hawock (pheasant) • King Darzin (beaver) • Rowsby Woof (dog) Introduced in Tales from Watership Down Flairgold (glanbrin) • King of Tomorrow (deer) • King of Yesterday (bison) • Old Brock (badger) • Shindyke (glanbrin) • Zhuron (illip) Bark (badger) • Calohki (puffin) • Duster (dog) • Frost (lamb) • Gluk (gull) • Hannah (mouse) • Hyacinth (pig) • Katerina (gull) • Owls • Puffins • Ruffle (moorhen) • Skree (hawk) • Slate (turtle) • Tabitha (cat) • Tassel (squirrel) • Weasel |