The Warren at Bramblegate Farm

The Warren at Bramblegate Farm

By

Darryl Martel

On the edge of an old farm lies a rabbit warren—ancient, crumbling, and nearly forgotten. When the farmer brings young rabbits to repopulate it, the newcomers believe they've been granted a safe life: full bellies, soft earth, and no need to fear the fox or the hawk.

But Clover, a quiet doe with unsettling dreams, begins to sense the truth. The farmer's kindness is no gift. He keeps the rabbits alive only to feed his snares, his gun, and the hungry predators who circle the fields.

With the help of her friend Fern, the fiery buck Ash, and the wise elder Bramble, Clover dares to imagine another life—one beyond the farmer's bargain. Yet not all agree. Moss and the proud young Thistle cling to safety, warning that escape is folly. The warren splits, torn between fear of leaving and fear of staying.

Through dark nights of owls and foxes, across fields veined with streams and roots, Clover leads a small band toward freedom. Their journey is fraught with danger, but also with choice: to accept the world as it is, or risk shaping something new.

At last, on a rise above a stream, they find soil soft for digging. Not the farmer's warren, not a trap—but their own. Uncertain, perilous, yet chosen.

A story of courage, vision, and the meaning of freedom, Clover and the Warren blends animal adventure with fable, asking young readers: what does it mean to be safe, and what does it mean to be free?