Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 That morning, as Rusty slept off his night's wanderings, the mouse dream came again, even more vivid than before. Free of his collar, beneath the moon, he stalked the timid creature. But this time he was aware of being watched. Shining from the shadows of the forest he saw dozens of yellow eyes. The Clan cats had entered his dream world. Rusty woke, blinking in the bright sunshine that was streaming across the kitchen floor. His fur felt heavy and thick with warmth. His food bowl had been topped up, and his water bowl rinsed out and filled with bitter-tasting Twoleg water. Rusty preferred drinking from puddles outside, but when it was hot, or he was very thirsty, he had to admit it was easier to lap up the water indoors. Could he really abandon this comfortable life? He ate, then pushed his way out of the cat flap into the garden. The day promised to be warm, and the garden was heavy with the smell of early blossoms. "Hello, Rusty!" mewed a voice from the fence.

第3章那天早上，拉斯提刚睡完，老鼠的梦又来了，比以前更生动。 他摘下项圈，在月光下，悄悄地跟踪这只胆小的动物。 但这一次他意识到有人在监视他。 从森林的阴影中，他看到了几十只黄色的眼睛。 氏族的猫已经进入了他的梦幻世界。 罗斯蒂醒了，明亮的阳光照在厨房地板上，他眨着眼睛。 他的毛摸起来又重又厚，很暖和。 他的碗已经装满了食物，他的水碗也冲洗干净，装满了苦味的特沃莱格水。 拉什蒂更喜欢在外面的水坑里喝水，但当天气热的时候，或者他很渴的时候，他不得不承认在室内喝水更容易。 他真的能放弃这种舒适的生活吗？ 他吃了东西，然后从猫窝里挤进了花园。 天一定会暖和起来，花园里充满了早开的花的香味。 “你好，罗斯蒂！”篱笆里传来一个声音。

It was Smudge. "You should have been awake an hour ago. The baby sparrows were out stretching their wings." "Did you catch any?" Rusty asked. Smudge yawned and licked his nose. "Couldn't be bothered. I'd already eaten enough at home. Anyway, why weren't you out earlier? Yesterday you were complaining about Henry sleeping his time away, and today you're not much better yourself." Rusty sat down on the cool earth beside the fence and curled his tail neatly over his front paws. "I was in the woods last night," he reminded his friend. At once he felt the blood stir in his veins and his fur stiffen. Smudge looked down at him, his eyes wide. "Oh, yes, I forgot! How was it? Did you catch anything? Or did anything catch you?" Rusty paused, not sure how to tell his old friend what had happened. "I met some wild cats," he began. "What!" Smudge was clearly shocked. "Did you get into a fight?" "Sort of." Rusty could feel the energy surging

是斯玛奇。“你一小时前就该醒了。 小麻雀在外面伸展翅膀。” “你钓到了吗？”生锈的问道。 斯玛奇打了个哈欠，舔了舔鼻子。 “我不介意。我在家已经吃够了。 不管怎样，你为什么不早点出去？ 昨天你还在抱怨亨利睡觉浪费时间，今天你自己也没有好转多少。” 罗斯蒂坐在篱笆旁凉爽的地上，把尾巴整齐地卷在前爪上。 “我昨晚在树林里，”他提醒他的朋友。 他立刻感到血管里的血液在沸腾，他的毛也变硬了。 斯玛奇低头看着他，眼睛睁得大大的。 “哦，是的，我忘了！怎么样？ 你抓到什么了吗？还是有什么东西抓住你了？”拉什蒂停顿了一下，不知道该如何告诉他的老朋友发生了什么。 “我遇到了一些野猫，”他开始说。 “什么!”斯玛奇显然很震惊。 “你们打架了吗？”“的”。 罗斯蒂能感觉到这股能量在涌动

through his body again as he recalled the strength and power of the Clan cats. "Were you hurt? What happened?" Smudge prompted him eagerly. "There were three of them. Bigger and stronger than any of us." "And you fought all three of them!" Smudge interrupted, his tail twitching with excitement. "No!" Rusty mewed hastily. "Just the youngest one; the other two came later." "How come they didn't shred you to pieces?" "They just warned me to leave their territory. But then…" Rusty hesitated. "What!" mewed Smudge impatiently. "They asked me to join their Clan." Smudge's whiskers quivered disbelievingly. "They did!" Rusty insisted. "Why would they do that?" "I don't know," Rusty admitted. "I think they need extra paws in their Clan." "Sounds a bit odd to me," Smudge mewed doubtfully. "I wouldn't trust them if I were you." Rusty looked at Smudge. His black-and-white friend had never shown any interest in venturing

当他回忆起氏族猫的力量和力量时，他的身体再次充满了活力。 “你受伤了吗？”发生了什么事?”斯玛奇急切地提示他。 “有三个人。 比我们任何人都高大强壮。” “你和他们三个都打过！”斯马奇打断了他的话，他的尾巴兴奋地抽动着。 “不!”罗斯蒂急忙叫道。 “只有最小的那个；另外两个人后来也来了。” “他们怎么没把你撕成碎片？”“他们只是警告我离开他们的地盘。 可是……”罗斯蒂犹豫了一下。 “什么！”斯玛奇不耐烦地叫道。 “他们邀请我加入他们的部落。” 斯玛奇的胡须难以置信地抖动着。 “他们做了!”生锈的坚持。 “他们为什么要这么做？”“我不知道，”罗斯蒂承认。 “我觉得他们的部落需要多一些爪子。” “听起来有点奇怪。”斯玛奇满腹狐疑地叫道。 “如果我是你，我就不会相信他们。” 拉斯提看着斯玛奇。他那黑白相间的朋友从未对冒险表现出任何兴趣

into the woods. He was perfectly content living with his housefolk. He would never understand the restless longing that Rusty's dreams stirred in him night after night. "But I do trust them," Rusty purred softly. "And I've made up my mind. I'm going to join them." Smudge scrambled down from the fence and stood in front of Rusty. "Please don't go, Rusty," he mewed in alarm. "I might never see you again." Rusty nudged him affectionately with his head. "Don't worry. My housefolk will get another cat. You'll get on with him fine. You get along with everyone!" "But it won't be the same!" Smudge wailed. Rusty twitched his tail impatiently. "That's just the point. If I stay around here till they take me to the Cutter, I won't be the same either." Smudge looked puzzled. "The Cutter?" he echoed. "The vet," Rusty explained. "To be altered, like Henry was." Smudge shrugged and stared down at his paws. "But Henry's all right," he mumbled. "I mean, I

走进树林。他和家人住在一起非常满意。 他永远也无法理解，罗斯蒂的梦一夜又一夜在他心中激起的那种不安的渴望。 “但我相信他们。”拉什蒂轻声咕噜着。 “我已经下定决心了。 我要加入他们。”斯马奇从篱笆上爬下来，站在罗斯蒂面前。 “请不要走，罗斯蒂，”他惊恐地叫道。 “我可能再也见不到你了。” 拉什蒂用头亲切地碰了碰他。 “别担心。我的家人会再养一只猫。 你会和他相处得很好的。 你和每个人都相处得很好！”“但那就不一样了！”涂抹恸哭。 罗斯蒂不耐烦地扭动着尾巴。 “这正是问题的关键。如果我一直呆在这里，直到他们把我带到Cutter那里，我也会变了。” 斯玛奇看起来很困惑。“樵夫？”他重复道。 “兽医，”拉斯蒂解释说。 “像亨利那样被改变。” 斯玛奇耸耸肩，低头盯着自己的爪子。 “可是亨利没事，”他咕哝着说。 “我的意思是，我

know he's a bit lazier now, but he's not unhappy. We could still have fun." Rusty felt his heart fill with sadness at the thought of leaving his friend. "I'm sorry, Smudge. I'll miss you, but I have to go." Smudge didn't reply, but stepped forward and gently touched Rusty's nose with his own. "Fair enough. I can see I can't stop you, but at least let's spend one more morning together." Rusty found himself enjoying the morning even more than usual, visiting his old haunts with Smudge, sharing words with the cats he had grown up with. Every one of his senses felt supercharged, as if he were poised before a huge jump. As sunhigh approached, Rusty grew more and more impatient to see if Lionheart would really be waiting for him. The idle buzz of meows from his old friends seemed to fade into the background as all his senses strained toward the woods. Rusty jumped down from his garden fence for the last time and crept into the woods. He had said his good-byes to Smudge. Now all his

我知道他现在有点懒了，但他并不不开心。 我们仍然可以玩得很开心。”一想到要离开他的朋友，罗斯蒂心里就充满了悲伤。 “对不起，斯玛奇。我会想你的，但我得走了。” 斯马奇没有回答，而是走上前，用自己的鼻子轻轻地碰了碰拉什蒂的鼻子。 “很好。我知道我不能阻止你，但至少让我们再一起度过一个上午吧。” 拉什蒂发现自己比平时更享受这个早晨，他和斯马奇一起去他以前常去的地方，和那些和他一起长大的猫聊天。 他的每一种感官都感到超负荷运转，就好像他准备好要跳一跳。 太阳快出来了，罗斯蒂越来越不耐烦，想看看狮心是不是真的在等他。 当他所有的感官都向树林靠拢时，老朋友们懒散的喵喵声似乎消失在了背景中。 罗斯蒂最后一次从花园的篱笆上跳下来，爬进了树林。 他向斯玛奇告别了。 现在他所有的

thoughts were focused on the forest and the cats who lived in it. As he approached the spot where he had met with the Clan cats the night before, he sat down and tasted the air. Tall trees shielded the ground from the midday sunshine, making it comfortably cool. Here and there a patch of sunlight shone through a gap in the leaves and lit up the forest floor. Rusty could smell the same cat-scent as last night, but he had no idea whether it was old or new. He lifted his head and sniffed uncertainly. "You have a lot to learn," meowed a deep voice. "Even the tiniest Clan kit knows when another cat is nearby." Rusty saw a pair of green eyes glinting from beneath a bramble bush. Now he recognized the scent: it was Lionheart. "Can you tell if I am alone?" asked the golden tabby, stepping into the light. Hastily, Rusty sniffed again. The scents of Bluestar and Graypaw were still there, but not as strong as the previous night. Hesitantly, he mewed, "Bluestar and Graypaw aren't with you this time."

思绪集中在森林和住在里面的猫身上。 当他走到前一天晚上和氏族猫相遇的地方时，他坐下来，呼吸着空气。 高大的树木挡住了正午的阳光，使地面凉爽舒适。 一片片阳光从树叶的缝隙里照进来，照亮了森林的地面。 拉斯蒂还能闻到和昨晚一样的猫味，但他不知道那是新的还是旧的。 他抬起头，不确定地嗅了嗅。 “你还有很多要学，”一个低沉的声音叫道。 “即使是最小的猫咪也知道附近有另一只猫。” 罗斯蒂看见荆棘下面有一双绿眼睛在闪闪发光。 现在他认出了气味：那是狮心王。 “你能分辨出我是不是一个人吗？”金色虎斑猫走到灯光下问道。 拉斯提又急忙嗅了嗅。 蓝星和灰爪的气味还在，但不像前一天晚上那么强烈了。 他迟疑地叫道：“蓝星和灰爪这次没和你在一起。”