The Story of a Hare

In Short

Set against the rugged, windswept terrain of Cornwall’s Land's End a century past, this naturalistic tale chronicles the life of a solitary wild hare from his vulnerable youth to old age. Constantly pursued by foxes, polecats, stoats, and human hunters, the leveret survives not through strength, but through innate cunning, sheer speed, and an extraordinary capacity for double-backing on his own scents and tracks. It stands as a classic of early wild animal fiction, remembered for its minute observation of nature, its refusal to sentimentalize the ruthless food chain, and its vivid, immersive portrait of a vanishing British landscape.

The Story

The narrative begins on the granite slopes of Chapel Carn Brea in Cornwall, where a mother hare narrowly shields her newborn leverets from a hunting vixen. To protect her offspring from predators, she separates the young jack and doe across a green moor, returning by night to suckle and instruct them. Under her watchful guidance, the young jack learns the geography of the wild uplands, the art of swimming across open waters, and the necessity of mistrusting every rock and shadow. Yet tragedy and isolation soon strike: as crop harvest arrives and enemies multiply, the young hare finds himself the solitary survivor of his kind across his usual haunts.

Life becomes a continuous game of outsmarting predators. The young buck relies on an intricate repertoire of survival tactics. When a pack of polecats discovers his scent, he runs to High Down to lay down a labyrinthine maze of intersecting trails, crisscrossing his steps until his pursuers are utterly bewildered. He seeks refuge on an island in an otter pool, only to be forced out when an otter surface-snorts just yards from his hideout. Season by season, his territory expands across the Cornish landscape, from farm pastures and crop fields to sea-battered coastal dunes and ancient ruins.

Winter brings the severe test of survival. Dense, blinding sea-fogs envelop the headlands, masking the approach of a formidable Grey Fox who haunts the hare’s steps for months. Sleet and freezing blizzards coat the moor, forcing the hare to huddle beside an old toad beneath the fallen stones of a ruined chantry to escape the bitter frost. Hunger drives both prey and predator to desperate measures. On Christmas Day, while farm families gather to celebrate, the starving Grey Fox and his mate stalk a rooster near a farmyard, cornering the hare instead. Trapped in a stone quarry, the hare makes a death-defying leap, squeezing through a cramped polecat's den just inches ahead of the fox's snapping jaws. Later, a ruthless pack of stoats pursues him across a frozen pool; he survives only by finding a hidden water channel under the dark cover of a passing cloud.

As spring returns, the bleaker months yield to warmth and renewal. The mature hare travels north across unexplored moorlands, past the ancient rocks of Carn Kenidzhek, searching for others of his species. There he discovers a mate at Hannibal’s Carn, enjoying a rare period of security and peace. Remaining faithful to his native Cornish hills to the end, he eventually slips away into the quiet shelter beneath the old chantry ruins, where his lifelong companion, the toad, guards the entrance to his final resting place.

How It Unfolds

The nest on Bartinney A mother hare hides her leverets from a roaming vixen on the slopes of Bartinney, separating the brother and sister on opposite sides of a green to split the risk of predation. She begins teaching them to navigate pastures, swim streams, and avoid human settlements.

Learning the land The young buck explores Cornish farms, feasting on garden pinks and clover while dodging farm cats and startled livestock. After the clover is cut and his sister disappears, he realizes he is the last surviving hare on his beat.

The polecat chase A mother polecat and her brood catch the leveret's scent and pursue him across fields of oats and stubble. The leveret escapes by racing up to High Down, where he weaves a complex, tangled maze of backtracks that leaves the hunters baffled.

The otter pool Seeking safety, the hare takes up residence on an island in a quiet mere. His peace is shattered when an otter suddenly emerges from the mist, forcing the hare to abandon his hidden form and return to the hazards of the mainland.

The great winter Thick Atlantic fogs and heavy snowstorms cover Cornwall, bringing starvation to the wildlife. The hare is relentlessly stalked by a gaunt Grey Fox, taking refuge in the crevices of ancient granite ruins alongside a solitary toad.

Narrow escape at the quarry Trapped by two starving foxes near a farmhouse during Christmas festivities, the hare plunges into a quarry rock pile. He squeezes through a tiny subterranean polecat den, leaving the larger Grey Fox wedged tightly in the rock entry.

Flight across the ice A pack of persistent stoats drives the hare into a half-frozen lake. He swims through a narrow ice channel in total darkness, eluding the stoats as they search the main ice sheet, before fleeing safely toward the curlew moors.

Finding a mate With the arrival of spring, the mature hare travels north past Carn Kenidzhek in search of his own kind. He joins with a mate at Hannibal's Carn, ultimately living out his days on his native hill before dying peacefully under the chantry stones.

The People

The Jack Hare The central figure of the narrative, a wild hare endowed with remarkable speed, acute senses, and an innate mastery of deceptive paths. He seeks nothing more than peaceful forage and survival, facing constant mortal danger from larger predators while remaining deeply attached to his native Cornish hills.

The Mother Hare A cautious and protective parent who guides her leverets through their early days. She teaches them how to forage, use cover, and swim, instilling the vital survival skills that allow her son to endure long after she and his sibling have perished.

Grey Fox A large, relentless predator who becomes the hare's most persistent threat through the brutal winter months. Starving, gaunt, and fiercely determined, he tracks the hare across farms and hills, driven by pure instinct to secure his next meal.

The Polecat Family A mother polecat and her kittens who ruthlessly track the hare's scent across farmland. Though persistent and swift, their straightforward hunting style is ultimately outwitted by the hare's superior ability to crisscross and tangle his scent trail.

The Chantry Toad A massive toad residing within the fallen masonry of an ancient chapel ruin. Initially hostile to the hare's presence, the toad eventually grows accustomed to his silent companion, sharing the dry shelter during bitter weather and watching over the hare's final resting place.

In Its Own Voice

"There is no man in this world that would say that any hound can unravel that which a hare has done, or that could find her."

This ancient hunting lore sets the theme for the story, highlighting the astonishing tactical tricks and evasive loops a wild hare uses to confuse those who pursue it.

"The wind blew, the rain pelted, but the high bank and domed roof protected them from all discomfort save that caused by the drippings of the sodden bushes."

The passage captures the daily reality of wild creatures enduring harsh seasonal weather while nestled in tiny, natural shelters across the open landscape.

"He was the solitary survivor of his kind, with enemies on every hand. Nevertheless, confident in the protection which his wiles and speed afforded him, he enjoyed life to the full..."

This line reveals the resilient spirit of the main character, who balances perpetual danger and lonely isolation with an instinctive joy in his own freedom and abilities.

What It's Really About

Beneath its narrative of animal adventure, the book explores the struggle for existence within an unforgiving natural ecosystem. It presents nature not as a gentle sanctuary, but as an arena of constant vigilance where prey and predator are locked in an endless battle of wits. The hare represents intelligence, adaptability, and passive resilience; his life is defined not by dominance, but by the art of evasion and endurance. The book also serves as a eulogy for a vanishing wilderness. Set in historical Cornwall, it contrasts the untamed freedom of the night wild with the gradual encroachment of human farming, hunting, and landscape alteration.

Why Read It Today

This novel will deeply appeal to lovers of classic nature writing, historical field lore, and realistic animal stories like Watership Down or the works of Henry Williamson. Reading it feels like stepping directly into the crisp, rain-washed air of the nineteenth-century English countryside. The prose is grounded, patient, and intensely observational, offering an immersive sense of place where granite cairns, coastal fog, and seasonal changes are rendered with absolute clarity.

Readers should be prepared for a unhurried pace that prioritizes environmental texture over rapid plotting. The story reflects older natural history traditions, incorporating regional Cornish terminology—such as fitchet, holts, and linhays—and period descriptions of wildlife encounters that do not shy away from the harsh reality of animal mortality. What stays with you long after reading is a profound respect for the small, unseen lives unfolding in the wild, and an appreciation for the extraordinary instincts that allow a frail creature to thrive against impossible odds.