Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 The cold air chilled Firepaw's bones as blackness wrapped itself around him. He could hear nothing, and his nostrils were filled with the musty scent of damp earth. Out of nowhere, a brilliant ball of light flared in front of him. Firepaw ducked his head, screwing up his eyes against the glare. The light shone, dazzling coldly like a star; then it blinked out, disappearing as quickly as it had come. The darkness fell away, and Firepaw found himself in the forest. He felt comforted by the familiar smells of the woods. He breathed in the moist green scents, and calmness flowed through his body. Without warning, a dreadful noise burst from the trees. Firepaw's fur bristled. It was the screeching of terrified cats racing out from the bushes up ahead. Firepaw recognized their ThunderClan pelts as they fled past him. He stood rooted to the spot, unable to move. Then came great cats, huge dark warriors, their eyes glittering cruelly. They thundered toward him, pounding the earth with massive paws, their claws

第十四章寒冷的空气把火爪的骨头冻得冰凉，黑暗把它包围了。 他什么也听不见，鼻孔里充满了潮湿泥土的霉味。 不知从哪里冒出来，一个明亮的光球在他面前闪烁。 火爪低下头，眯起眼睛挡住强光。 灯光照着，冷冷的像一颗星星；然后它眨了眨眼睛，消失得和来时一样快。 黑暗消失了，火爪发现自己在森林里。 树林里熟悉的气味使他感到宽慰。 他吸了一口湿润的绿色的气味，平静的情绪在他的身体里涌动。 毫无征兆地，树林里突然传来一阵可怕的声音。 火爪的毛竖了起来。那是受惊的猫从前面的灌木丛里跑出来的尖叫声。 火爪认出了他们迅雷氏族的皮毛。 他一动不动地站在那里，一动也不能动。 然后是巨大的猫，巨大的黑色战士，他们的眼睛闪闪发光。 它们向他咆哮而来，用巨大的爪子敲打着地面

unsheathed. And out of the shadows, Firepaw heard a high, desperate cry filled with grief and rage. Graypaw! Firepaw woke, horrified. His dream vanished, leaving his ears ringing and his fur standing on end. As he opened his eyes, he saw the face of Tigerclaw peering into the den. Firepaw leaped to his feet, instantly alert. "Something wrong, Firepaw?" asked Tigerclaw. "Just a dream," Firepaw mumbled. Tigerclaw gave him a curious look, then growled, "Wake the others. We leave shortly." Outside the den, the sky glowed with a new dawn, and dew sparkled on the ferns. It would be a warm day once the sun was up, but the early- morning dampness reminded Firepaw that the time of leaf-fall was not far off. Firepaw, Graypaw, and Ravenpaw quickly gulped down the herbs that Spottedleaf had given them. Tigerclaw and Bluestar sat watching them, ready to leave. The rest of the camp was still asleep. "Ugh!" complained Graypaw. "I knew they'd be bitter. Why couldn't we eat a fat, juicy mouse

未覆盖的。从阴影中，火爪听到一声凄厉、绝望的呼喊，充满了悲伤和愤怒。 Graypaw !火爪醒了，吓坏了。 他的梦想破灭了，他的耳朵嗡嗡作响，他的毛竖了起来。 当他睁开眼睛时，他看见虎爪的脸正朝洞里张望。 火爪一跃而起，立刻警觉起来。 “怎么了，火爪？”虎爪问。 “只是个梦。”火爪咕哝道。 虎爪好奇地看了他一眼，然后咆哮道：“把其他人叫醒。 我们马上就要走了。”洞穴外，天空闪耀着新的曙光，蕨类植物上闪烁着露珠。 太阳一出来，天气就暖和了，但清晨的潮湿提醒了火爪，落叶的时间已经不远了。 火爪、灰爪和鸦爪迅速地吞下了斑点叶给他们的草药。 虎爪和蓝星坐在那里看着他们，准备离开。 营地里的其他人还在睡觉。 “啊！”灰爪抱怨道。 “我知道他们会很痛苦。为什么我们不能吃肥美多汁的老鼠

instead?" "These herbs will keep your hunger at bay longer," answered Bluestar. "And they will make you strong. We have a long journey ahead of us." "Have you eaten yours already?" Firepaw asked. "I cannot eat if I'm going to share dreams with StarClan at the Moonstone tonight," replied Bluestar. Firepaw felt his paws tingle when he heard these words. He was itching to begin the journey. With the dawn's light and the familiar voices, the terror of his dream had left him. All that remained was the memory of the brilliant light, and Bluestar's words sent a renewed thrill of excitement through him. The five cats made their way through the gorse tunnel and out of the camp. Lionheart was just returning with a patrol. "Safe journey," he meowed. Bluestar nodded. "I know I can trust you to keep the camp safe," she answered. Lionheart looked at Graypaw and dipped his head. "Remember," he meowed, "you are almost a

而不是?”“这些草药会让你的饥饿感持续更长时间。”蓝星回答。 他们会使你坚强。 我们还有很长的路要走。” “你已经吃了吗？”Firepaw问道。 “如果我今晚要在月光石和星族分享梦想，我就不能吃东西。”蓝星回答。 火爪听到这些话，觉得爪子发麻。 他渴望开始旅行。 随着黎明的曙光和熟悉的声音，梦中的恐惧已经离开了他。 留下的只有对那道灿烂光芒的记忆，蓝星的话使他再次感到兴奋。 五只猫穿过金雀花隧道，走出了营地。 狮心王带着巡逻队回来了。 “一路平安。”他叫道。 蓝星点点头。“我知道我可以信任你保证营地的安全，”她回答。 狮心王看着灰爪，低下了头。 “记住，”他喵喵地叫道，“你几乎是一只

warrior. Don't forget what I have taught you." Graypaw looked back at Lionheart with affection. "I will always remember, Lionheart," he mewed, nudging his head against the tabby's broad golden flank. They retraced their route to Fourtrees. This was the quickest way to pass into WindClan territory. HighStones lay beyond. As Firepaw bounded down the side of the glade toward the Great Rock, he could still smell the scents of last night's Gathering. He followed the others through the grassy clearing and up the slope on the other side, into WindClan territory. The bushy slope became steeper as they climbed, and rockier, until the cats had to leap from boulder to boulder up the side of a craggy cliff face. Firepaw paused when they reached the top. Ahead of them, the ground flattened out into a wide plateau. The wind blew in a steady gust that rippled the grass and bent the trees. The soil was stony, and outcroppings of bare rock dotted the landscape here and there.

战士。不要忘记我教你的。” 灰爪深情地回头看着狮心。 “我永远记得，狮心王。”他叫道，用头轻轻蹭着虎斑猫宽阔的金色侧翼。 他们沿原路折回到四树村。 这是进入WindClan领地的最快途径。 远处是高地石。当火爪沿着林间空地向巨岩方向蹦蹦跳跳时，他仍能闻到昨晚聚会的气味。 他跟着其他人穿过草地，爬上另一边的斜坡，进入风氏族的领地。 他们越往上爬，山坡越陡峭，岩石也越来越多，直到猫们不得不从一块巨石跳到另一块巨石，爬上陡峭的悬崖。 到了山顶，火爪停了下来。 在他们前面，地面变得平坦，成了一片宽阔的高原。 一阵风吹来，吹得草地荡起涟漪，树木也被吹弯了。 土壤是石质的，裸露的岩石在这里和那里点缀着景观。

The air still carried the scents of WindClan, but they were stale. Much fresher, and more alarming, were the pungent markings of ShadowClan warriors. "All Clans are entitled to safe passage to the Moonstone, but ShadowClan seems to have no respect for the warrior code anymore, so be alert," warned Bluestar. "We mustn't hunt outside our territory, though. We'll follow the warrior code, even if ShadowClan doesn't." They set off across the plateau as the sun rose into the sky, following the tracks through the heather. Firepaw had grown used to living under a canopy of trees. Without their shade, his flame- colored pelt felt heavy and hot, and his back seemed to burn. He was thankful for the steady breeze blowing from the forests behind. Suddenly Tigerclaw stopped dead. "Watch out!" he hissed. "I smell a ShadowClan patrol." Firepaw and the others lifted their noses, and sure enough, the scent of ShadowClan warriors traveled on the wind. "They are upwind. They won't know we are here if we keep moving," meowed Bluestar. "But

空气中仍弥漫着风氏族的气息，但已是陈腐不堪。 更新鲜，更令人担忧的是暗影族战士的刺鼻印记。 “所有氏族都有权安全前往月长石，但暗影氏族似乎不再尊重战士法则了，所以要警惕，”蓝星警告道。 “不过，我们不能在我们的领土之外打猎。 我们将遵循武士守则，即使暗影氏族不这么做。” 当太阳升上天空时，他们沿着石南丛中留下的足迹，穿过高原。 火爪已经习惯了在树冠下生活。 没有了它们的遮荫，他那火红的皮毛感到又重又热，他的背似乎在燃烧。 他感谢从后面森林里吹来的稳定的微风。 虎爪突然停了下来。 “小心！”他嘶嘶地说。“我闻到了暗影族巡逻队的味道。” 火爪和其他人抬起鼻子，果然，影子氏族战士的气味随风飘荡。 “他们在逆风。如果我们继续前进，他们就不会知道我们在这里，”蓝星喵喵地说。 “但

we must hurry. If they move ahead they'll detect us. It's not far to the edge of WindClan territory now." They moved on quickly, leaping over the rocks, pushing their way through the sweet- smelling heather. Every few steps, Firepaw sniffed the air and glanced over his shoulder, on the lookout for the ShadowClan patrol. But gradually the odor grew fainter and fainter. They must have turned back, he thought with relief. Finally they reached the edge of the uplands. The landscape changed dramatically, shaped and altered beyond recognition by Twolegs. Wide earth tracks crisscrossed green and golden meadows, small woods dotted the land, and Twoleg nests were scattered here and there among the fields. In the distance Firepaw saw a familiar wide, gray path, and an acid tang that stung his throat drifted on the breeze. "Is that the Thunderpath?" he asked Graypaw. "Yes," replied Graypaw. "It runs up from ShadowClan territory. Can you see HighStones behind it?" Firepaw looked at the distant horizon. The

我们必须快点。如果他们往前走，就会发现我们。 现在离风氏族领地的边缘不远了。” 他们飞快地往前走，跳过岩石，在芳香的石南丛中挤出一条路来。 每走几步，火爪就嗅嗅空气，回头看一眼，寻找暗影族的巡逻队。 但渐渐地，气味变得越来越淡。 他们一定是回头了，他如释重负地想。 最后他们到达了高地的边缘。 这里的景观发生了巨大的变化，特沃莱格斯塑造和改变了他们的面貌。 宽阔的泥土足迹在绿色和金色的草地上纵横交错，小树林点缀着大地，特沃莱格的巢穴散落在田野里。 在远处，火爪看到一条熟悉的宽阔的灰色小路，一阵刺痛他喉咙的酸味随风飘荡。 “那是雷道吗？”他问格雷paw。 “是的，”灰爪回答。“它从暗影部落的领土上跑出来。 你能看见高石在后面吗？”火爪看着远处的地平线。 的