Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 "Where?" Firestar's meow was tense. "By the Sky Oak," Thornclaw mewed, panting. "It was killed by a trap." Jaykit heard loose pebbles clattering down the wall of the hollow. Brambleclaw was scrambling down into the camp, followed by Squirrelflight. "What's happening?" he called. "Thornclaw and Spiderleg have found a dead fox," Firestar explained. "Killed by a trap." "Male or female?" "Female," Spiderleg told her. "Then there may be cubs," Brambleclaw growled. Jaykit was puzzled. "What harm can a couple of fox cubs do?" he whispered to Hollykit. "Cubs grow up into foxes, mouse-brain!" she hissed back. "An adult fox can kill a cat." "The fox had the scent of milk on her," Thornclaw reported. "So there are definitely cubs," Firestar concluded.

第二章 “在哪儿？” 火星的声音绷得紧紧的。 “就在天橡树下。”荆爪喘着气说。 “它被捕猎夹咬死了。” 松鸦崽听见凹坑岩壁上的碎石哗啦啦往下掉。 黑莓掌爬进营地，松鼠飞跟在他身后。 “出什么事了？”他大声问。 “荆爪和蛛足发现了一只死狐狸。”火星解释道。 “被捕猎夹咬死的。” “公狐还是母狐？”“母狐。”蛛足回答。 “那说不定还有幼崽呢。”黑莓掌低声吼道。 松鸦崽有点摸不着头脑。 “一对狐狸幼崽能造成什么危害呀？”他小声问冬青崽。 “幼崽会长成大狐狸啊，笨老鼠！” 她嘶声回应道。 “成年狐狸能杀死猫。” “这只母狐身上有奶味。”荆爪报告说。 “所以肯定还有幼崽。”火星断定。

The warriors" den rattled as Ashfur scrambled out. "Where was this trap?" Brambleclaw asked. Was that anxiety Jaykit heard in his voice? Surely his father knew enough about the Twolegs" traps not to be scared by them? No, Jaykit decided, it wasn't anxiety, but something else, some darker emotion Jaykit did not recognize. Thornclaw's answer broke into his thoughts. "The trap is lakeside of the camp, not far from the Sky Oak." "The cubs must be near," Brambleclaw guessed. "Their mother will not have wandered far from them." "What should we do?" Ferncloud had emerged from the nursery. "We can't let the forest be overrun by foxes! What about my kits?" "We must find the den," Brambleclaw replied without hesitation. "If the cubs are very young, they'll starve without their mother," Firestar meowed. "It would be best to kill them quickly." There was nothing malicious in the ThunderClan leader's voice; Firestar had to do

艾须爪钻出武士巢穴时，巢穴晃了晃。 “捕猎夹在哪儿？” 黑莓掌问道。 松鸦崽听出他声音里的焦虑了吗？ 他父亲肯定很了解两脚兽的捕猎夹，不至于会害怕吧？ 不，松鸦崽断定，那不是焦虑，是别的情绪，一种他辨认不出来的、更阴沉的情绪。 荆爪的回答打断了他的思绪。 “捕猎夹在营地湖边，离天橡树不远。” “幼崽肯定就在附近。”黑莓掌猜测。 “母狐不会离幼崽走太远的。” “我们该怎么办？” 蕨云从育婴室走了出来。 “我们不能让狐狸霸占森林啊！ 我的幼崽怎么办呀？” “我们必须找到狐狸窝。”黑莓掌毫不犹豫地回答。 “如果幼崽还很小，没了妈妈它们会饿死的。”火星说。 “最好赶快解决掉它们。” 这位雷族族长的话里没有恶意；火星只是不得不做

what was best for the Clan. "What if they're old enough to survive alone?" Hollykit asked curiously. "Then they must be driven out," Firestar told her. "They can't be allowed to settle in our territory." "The cubs will be hungry by now," Ashfur pointed out. "What if they've ventured out of their den already?" "They might find the camp!" Ferncloud gasped. "The camp will remain well guarded," Firestar promised. "I'll take Sandstorm and check the old Thunderpath up to the empty Twoleg nest. Brambleclaw, you sort out the other patrols." The ThunderClan leader and his mate raced away through the prickly thorn barrier that shielded the camp from the forest. "Stormfur, Brook!" Brambleclaw called. "Patrol outside the hollow! Ashfur, guard the entrance." Brightheart and Cloudtail paced in front of him. "What do you want us to do?" "Head toward the ShadowClan border," Brambleclaw told them. "The earth is sandy there,

对族群最有利的事。 “如果它们长大到能独自生存了怎么办？” 冬青崽好奇地问。 “那就要把它们赶走。”火星告诉她。 “不能允许它们在我们的领地上定居。” “幼崽现在肯定饿了。”艾须爪指出。 “万一它们已经爬出窝了呢？” “它们说不定会找到营地！” 蕨云倒吸一口冷气。 “营地会好好守卫的。”火星保证道。 “我带沙风去检查旧雷路，一直到空的两脚兽巢穴。” “黑莓掌，你安排其他巡逻队。” 这位雷族族长和他的伴侣冲过挡住营地的坚硬荆丛，消失在森林里。 “风暴毛，溪儿！” 黑莓掌大声唤道。 “到凹坑外巡逻！ 艾须爪，守住入口。” 亮心和云尾在他面前停住脚步。 “你要我们做什么？” “往影族边界走。”黑莓掌告诉他们。 那里的土地是沙质的,

ideal for a den. Squirrelflight will lead you. Do whatever she tells you. There may be more traps, and Squirrelflight is the best at springing them. Take Cinderpaw, but keep her close to you." Cloudtail called his apprentice's name, but the young gray tabby was already charging across the clearing. Squirrelflight headed toward the entrance. Jaykit felt her warm pelt brush past him. Brambleclaw called to Thornclaw and Spiderleg, "Go back to where you found the fox. See if you can trace its scent back to her den." Sorreltail's kits Poppypaw and Mousepaw were waiting expectantly, hardly able to stand still. "Can we go with them?" Poppypaw called. "Yes, but do everything your mentors tell you," Brambleclaw warned. Jaykit felt their excitement crackle in the air like lightning as they headed out of the camp after Spiderleg and Thornclaw. His paws itched with frustration. Nearly all the apprentices were out hunting down the fox cubs. It wasn't fair! He might be small, but he could still fight a cub.

非常适合做窝。 松鼠飞会领你们去。 按她说的做就行。 那里可能还有更多捕猎夹，松鼠飞最擅长解除它们了。 带上蜡爪，但要看好她。” 云尾喊了他学徒的名字，可这只年轻的灰虎斑猫已经冲过空地了。 松鼠飞朝着入口走去。 松鸦崽感觉到她温暖的皮毛擦过自己身旁。 黑莓掌对荆爪和蛛足吩咐道：“回到你们发现狐狸的地方去。 看看能不能顺着气味找到狐狸窝。” 罂粟爪和鼠爪是蕨荫的幼崽，正满心期待地等着，都站不住了。 “我们能跟他们一起去吗？” 罂粟爪大声问。 “可以，但必须完全按照你们导师说的做。”黑莓掌警告道。 他们跟着蛛足和荆爪出营地的时候，松鸦崽都能感觉到空气中他们兴奋得像闪电一般噼里啪啦。 他的爪子因为发痒，满心沮丧。 差不多所有学徒都出去追捕狐狸幼崽了。 这不公平！ 他虽然个子小，但也能对付狐狸幼崽呀。

"We're not going to be left behind!" Lionkit announced, echoing Jaykit's thoughts. "Brambleclaw!" "What?" Brambleclaw's voice was impatient. "Can't we do something to help?" Lionkit begged. "We're nearly apprentices." "Nearly isn't good enough," Brambleclaw replied. He must have seen a look of disappointment on Lionkit's face, because his voice softened as he added, "You, Hollykit, and Jaykit can help guard the camp. I'm taking Dustpelt and Hazelpaw to search the lakeshore. We need brave cats to make sure those fox cubs don't come into the hollow. If you scent or see anything strange, send Leafpool to fetch me at once." "Okay," Lionkit mewed eagerly. He hurried back to his brother and sister. "We've got to guard the camp," he told them. "In case the fox cubs try to get in." "You don't think the fox cubs would really get this far, do you?" Jaykit mewed grumpily. "There must be a ThunderClan apprentice behind every tree out there. Brambleclaw's just trying to keep

“我们才不要被留在这儿！” 狮崽大声说，他说出了松鸦崽心里的想法。 “黑莓掌！” “什么事？”黑莓掌的声音有点不耐烦。 “我们就不能做点什么帮忙吗？” 狮崽恳求道。 “我们都快当学徒了。” “快当还不够。”黑莓掌回答。 他肯定看到狮崽脸上失望的表情了，于是语气软下来，补充道：“你、冬青崽和松鸦崽可以帮忙守卫营地。 我带尘毛和榛爪去湖边搜索。 我们需要勇敢的猫，保证狐狸幼崽不会闯进凹坑里来。 要是你们闻到或者看到什么不对劲，马上让叶池来找我。” “好嘞！”狮崽兴冲冲地说。 他连忙跑回弟弟妹妹身边。 “我们要守卫营地。”他告诉他们。 “防止狐狸幼崽闯进来。” “你不会真觉得狐狸幼崽能闯到这么远吧？” 松鸦崽闷闷不乐地说。 外面每棵树后面都有雷族学徒呢。 黑莓掌只是想把我们

us busy." Lionkit sat down with a bump, like a leaf that had been dropped by the breeze. "I thought he really wanted us to help." "You never know," Hollykit mewed. "The fox cubs might head this way, and if they do I bet we could smell them first—especially with Jaykit helping." A surge of anger pulsed in Jaykit's paws. "You're just as bad as Brambleclaw," he snapped. "Stop trying to pretend we're important to the Clan when we're not." Hollykit kneaded the ground with her forepaws. "We will be important one day," she vowed. Lionkit suddenly stood up and turned in an excited circle, his tail fluffing out. "We'll be important today!" he declared. "We're going to chase those fox cubs off ThunderClan territory ourselves!" Hollykit gasped. "But if we leave the camp without permission, we'll be breaking the warrior code!" "We'll be doing it for the good of the Clan,"

忙得不可开交。” 小狮猛地坐下，就像微风轻轻吹落的一片树叶。 “我本来以为他真想要咱们帮忙呢。” “那可不好说，”小冬青轻声说。 “狐狸幼崽说不定会往这边来，真要来的话，咱们肯定能先闻到它们——尤其是有小松鸦帮忙呀。” 一股怒火猛地冲上小松鸦的爪尖。 “你和黑莓掌一样讨厌，”他怒气冲冲地说。 “别装了，咱们在族里根本不重要，就别自欺欺人了。” 小冬青用前爪扒了扒地面。 “咱们总有一天会变得重要的，”她发誓说。 小狮突然站起来，兴奋地转了个圈，尾巴都炸毛了。 “咱们今天就能变得重要！” 他大声宣布。 “咱们要亲自把那些狐狸幼崽赶出雷族领地！” 小冬青倒吸一口凉气。 “可是咱们不打招呼就离开营地，是违反武士守则的呀！” “咱们这么做都是为了雷族好，