Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 By the following morning, a thin drizzle soaked the treetops and dripped down into the camp. Firepaw woke up feeling damp. It had been an uncomfortable night. He stood up and shook himself vigorously, fluffing out his fur. Then he left the apprentices' den and trotted across the clearing to Yellowfang's nest. Yellowfang was just stirring. She lifted her head and squinted at Firepaw as he approached. "My bones ache this morning. Has it been raining all night?" "Since just after moonhigh," Firepaw replied. He reached out and prodded her mossy nest cautiously. "Your bedding is soaking wet. Why don't you move nearer to the nursery? It's more sheltered there." "What? And be kept awake all night by those mewling kits! I'd rather get wet!" Yellowfang growled. Firepaw watched her circle stiffly on her mossy bed. "Then at least let me fetch you some dry bedding," he offered, keen to drop the subject of

第十章第二天早晨，一场细雨浸透了树梢，滴落在营地里。 火爪醒了过来，觉得浑身潮湿。 这是一个不舒服的夜晚。 他站了起来，使劲地抖了抖身子，抖了抖身上的毛。 然后他离开学徒窝，小跑着穿过空地，来到黄牙的巢穴。 黄方正在搅动。 她抬起头，眯着眼睛看着火爪走过来。 “今天早上我骨头疼。 是不是整晚都在下雨？”“就在月高之后。”火爪回答。 他伸出手小心翼翼地捅了捅她长满青苔的窝。 “你的床上用品湿透了。 你为什么不搬到离育儿室近一点的地方？ 那里比较隐蔽。” “什么?然后被那些喵喵叫的玩具弄得整晚都睡不着！我宁愿被淋湿！”Yellowfang咆哮道。 火爪僵硬地看着她在长满青苔的床上转圈。 “那至少让我给你拿些干被褥来吧，”他提议说，急于放弃这个话题

kits if it upset the old she-cat so much. "Thank you, Firepaw," replied Yellowfang quietly, settling down again. Firepaw felt stunned. He wondered if Yellowfang was feeling all right. It was the first time she had thanked him for anything, and the first time she had not called him kittypet. "Well, don't just stand there like a startled squirrel; go and fetch some moss!" she snapped. Firepaw's whiskers twitched with amusement. This was more like the Yellowfang he was used to. He nodded and sprinted off. He almost crashed into Speckletail in the middle of the clearing. This was the queen who had watched Yellowfang's angry outburst at the tabby kit the day before. "Sorry, Speckletail," Firepaw mewed. "Are you on your way to see Yellowfang?" "What would I want with that unnatural creature?" replied Speckletail crossly. "Actually it's you I was looking for. Bluestar wants to see you." Firepaw hurried toward the Highrock and Bluestar's den. Bluestar was sitting outside, her head bobbing

如果这让老母猫这么不安的话。 “谢谢你，火爪。”黄牙平静地回答，又坐了下来。 火爪惊呆了。他不知道黄牙是不是还好。 这是她第一次感谢他，也是第一次没有叫他小猫咪。 “好吧，别像只受惊的松鼠一样站在那儿；去拿些苔藓来！”她厉声说。 火爪的胡须好笑地抽搐着。 这更像是他所熟悉的黄方部队。 他点点头，飞快地跑开了。 在空地中央，他差点撞上斑点尾巴。 这就是前一天看到黄牙冲着虎斑猫箱发脾气的女王。 “对不起，斑点尾巴。”火爪叫道。 “你是要去看黄方吗？”“我找那个不自然的家伙有什么用？”斑点尾巴生气地回答。 “其实我要找的就是你。 蓝星要见你。” 火爪匆匆奔向海岩和蓝星的巢穴。 蓝星坐在外面，摇着头

rhythmically as she licked the gray fur below her throat. She paused when she noticed Firepaw. "How is Yellowfang today?" she meowed. "Her bedding is wet, so I was going to fetch her more," Firepaw replied. "I'll ask one of the queens to see to that." Bluestar gave her chest another lick, and then eyed Firepaw carefully. "Is she fit enough to hunt for herself yet?" she asked. "I don't think so," Firepaw meowed, "but she can walk well enough now." "I see," meowed Bluestar. She looked thoughtful for a moment. "It is time for you to return to your training, Firepaw. But you'll need to work hard to make up for time you have lost." "Great! I mean, thank you, Bluestar!" Firepaw stammered. "You will go out with Tigerclaw, Graypaw, and Ravenpaw this morning," Bluestar continued. "I've asked Tigerclaw to assess the warrior skills of all our apprentices. Don't worry about Yellowfang; I'll make sure someone sees to her while you are gone." Firepaw nodded.

她有节奏地舔着喉咙下面的灰色皮毛。 她注意到火爪，停了下来。 “小黄牙今天怎么样？”她喵喵叫道。 “她的被褥湿了，所以我去给她拿些。”火爪回答。 “我会让其中一位女王来处理这件事。” 蓝星又舔了舔胸口，然后仔细打量火爪。 “她能自己去打猎了吗？”她问。 “我不这么认为，”火爪叫道，“不过她现在已经能走得很好了。” “我明白了，”蓝星叫道。她沉思了一会儿。 “你该回去训练了，火爪。 但是你需要努力工作来弥补你失去的时间。” “太好了!我是说，谢谢你，蓝星！”Firepaw结结巴巴地说。 “今天早上你要和虎爪、灰爪、乌鸦爪一起出去。”蓝星继续说。 “我已经让虎爪评估了我们所有徒弟的武功。 别担心黄方；你不在的时候，我会让人照顾她的。” Firepaw点点头。

"Now, join your companions," Bluestar ordered. "I expect they're waiting for you." "Thank you, Bluestar," Firepaw mewed. He turned with a flick of his tail and darted toward his den. Bluestar was right; Graypaw and Ravenpaw were both waiting for him by their favorite tree stump. Graypaw looked stiff and uncomfortable, his long fur clumped by the dampness of the air. Ravenpaw was pacing around the tree stump, lost in thought, the white tip of his tail twitching. "So, you're joining us today!" Graypaw called as Firepaw approached. "Some day, huh?" He shook himself roughly to get rid of the clinging wetness. "Yes. Bluestar told me that Tigerclaw is going to assess us today. Are Sandpaw and Dustpaw coming too?" "Whitestorm and Darkstripe took them out on warrior patrol. I suppose Tigerclaw is going to look at them later," Graypaw answered. "Come on! We should get going," urged Ravenpaw. He had stopped pacing and now

“现在，加入你的同伴们。”蓝星命令道。 “我想他们在等你。” “谢谢你，蓝星。”火爪叫道。 它甩了甩尾巴，转过身向自己的窝跑去。 蓝星是对的；灰爪和乌鸦爪都在它们最喜欢的树桩旁等着他。 灰爪显得僵硬而不自在，它的长毛被潮湿的空气揉成了一团。 拉文爪绕着树桩踱来踱去，陷入了沉思，白色的尾巴尖在抽动。 “所以，你今天要加入我们！”灰爪在火爪走近时喊道。 “总有一天，嗯？”他粗暴地抖了抖身子，以摆脱粘在身上的湿气。 “是的。蓝星告诉我虎爪今天要评估我们。 Sandpaw和Dustpaw也要来吗？”“白风暴和暗条纹带他们出去巡逻。 我想虎爪一会儿会去看他们的。”灰爪回答。 “来吧!我们该走了。”拉文爪催促道。 他停止了踱步，现在

hovered beside them anxiously. "Fine by me," mewed Graypaw. "Hopefully some exercise will warm me up a bit!" The three cats trotted through the gorse track and out of the camp. They hurried to the sandy hollow. Tigerclaw had not arrived, so they hung around in the shelter of a pine tree, their fur fluffed up against the chill. "Are you worried about the assessment?" Firepaw asked Ravenpaw, as the young cat padded backward and forward with quick, nervous pawsteps. "There's no need to be. You're Tigerclaw's apprentice, after all. When he reports back to Bluestar, he's going to want to tell her how good you are." "You can never tell with Tigerclaw," mewed Ravenpaw, still pacing. "For goodness' sake, sit down," Graypaw grumbled. "At this rate you'll be worn out before we begin!" By the time Tigerclaw arrived, the sky had changed. The clouds looked less like thick gray fur, and more like the soft white balls of down that queens used to line the nests of their

焦急地在他们身边徘徊。 “我没问题。”灰爪叫道。 “希望一些运动能让我暖和起来！”三只猫小跑着穿过金雀道，走出了营地。 他们匆匆奔向沙洞。 虎爪还没有到，所以他们在一棵松树的遮蔽处呆着，皮毛都抖了起来，以抵御寒冷。 “你担心评估结果吗？”火爪问拉文爪，这时这只小猫用急促而紧张的爪子前后踱步。 “没有必要。毕竟你是虎爪的徒弟。 当他向蓝星汇报的时候，他会想告诉她你有多好。” “虎爪的情况你可说不准。”拉文爪叫道，仍然在踱步。 “看在上帝的份上，坐下吧。”格雷paw抱怨道。 “这样下去，我们还没开始，你就累坏了！”虎爪到达的时候，天空已经变了。 这些云看起来不太像厚厚的灰色皮毛，而更像是女王用来装饰自己的巢穴的柔软的白色绒毛球

newborns. Blue skies couldn't be far behind, but the breeze that brought the softer clouds carried a fresh chill. Tigerclaw greeted them briskly and launched straight into the exercise details. "Lionheart and I have spent the last few weeks trying to teach you how to hunt decently," he meowed. "Today you'll have a chance to show me how much you have learned. Each of you will take a different route and hunt as much prey as possible. And whatever you catch will be added to the supplies in the camp." The three apprentices looked at one another, nervous and excited. Firepaw felt his heart begin to beat faster at the prospect of a challenge. "Ravenpaw, you will follow the trail beyond the Great Sycamore as far as the Snakerocks. That should be easy enough for your pitiful skills. You, Graypaw," Tigerclaw continued, "will take the route along the stream, as far as the Thunderpath." "Great," mewed Graypaw. "Wet paws for me!" Tigerclaw's stare silenced him. "And finally you, Firepaw. What a shame your

新生儿。蔚蓝的天空离我们不远了，但微风吹来了柔和的云朵，带来了一种清新的寒意。 虎爪轻快地跟他们打了个招呼，然后就直接开始讲解演习的细节。 “狮心王和我在过去的几个星期里一直在教你如何体面地打猎，”他喵喵地说。 “今天你有机会向我展示你学到了多少。 你们每个人都要走不同的路线，尽可能多地捕猎猎物。 凡所得的，都要加在营中。” 三个徒弟面面相觑，既紧张又兴奋。 想到即将面临的挑战，火爪感到自己的心跳加快了。 “拉文爪，你沿着那条小路，过了大梧树，一直走到蛇岩那里。 以你可怜的技术，这应该很容易。 “你，灰爪子，”虎爪继续说，“沿着小溪走，一直走到雷道。” “太好了。”灰爪叫道。“给我湿爪子！”虎爪的目光使他哑口无言。 “最后是你，火爪。 真遗憾。