Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 Hollykit waited in the center of the clearing, where Brambleclaw had left her. The sun was sinking behind the trees, pulling a shadow across the camp. Lionkit sat beside her, his pelt golden in the fading sunshine. Cold air drifted down into the hollow, and Lionkit shivered. Suddenly the brambles at the entrance of the medicine den trembled, and Hollykit saw the gray-striped head of Jaykit poke out. She nudged Lionkit. "Look!" "He's okay!" he mewed in relief. "Thank StarClan!" Jaykit turned around and went back into the den. "Leafpool must be keeping him a bit longer," Hollykit observed. She dug her claws into the ground to stop her paws from trembling. At least she knew her brother was all right. But they still had to face Firestar. How was he going to punish them this time? She glanced around, hoping no cat was staring

第四章 冬青崽在空地中央等候，这里是黑莓掌留下她的地方 太阳正沉向树后，阴影慢慢笼罩了营地 狮崽坐在她身旁，他的皮毛在落日余晖里泛着金色光泽 寒气飘进山谷，狮崽忍不住打了个寒颤 突然，巫医巢穴入口的荆棘晃动起来，冬青崽看见松鸦崽带灰纹的脑袋探了出来 她用肩膀碰了碰狮崽 "看哪！" "他没事！" 他松了一口气，喵声说道 "感谢星族！" 松鸦崽转过身，走回了巢穴里 "叶池肯定还要多留他一阵，" 冬青崽说道 她把爪子抠进地里，不让爪子发抖 至少她确定弟弟平安无事 可他们还是得去见火星 这次火星会怎么惩罚他们呢 她环顾四周，希望没有猫正盯着

at them. Mousefur was leaning against the halfrock, a smooth low stone that stuck out of the ground near the entrance to the elders" den. It would still be warm from the sun. Dustpelt was sharing tongues with Whitewing beside the thornbush that formed the warriors" den. His apprentice, Hazelpaw, nodded to him before picking up a mouse from the fresh-kill pile and carrying it over to the apprentices" den. Her littermates, Mousepaw and Berrypaw, were there already, eating. Hollykit caught Mousepaw's eye. The young gray-and-white tom blinked sympathetically at her before looking away. Hollykit lifted her chin a little higher. She wasn't going to let any cat see how scared she was. She would take her punishment like a true warrior. She watched Sorreltail carry fresh-kill to her mate, Brackenfur. The dark ginger tom was resting beneath Highledge, his breath hoarse after his bout of whitecough. Sorreltail skirted the clearing, avoiding the kits, and dropped a mouse at his paws. "How are you?" she asked him.

她们 鼠毛靠在半石旁，那是一块光滑低矮的石头，凸出于长老巢穴入口附近的地面 它还留着太阳晒过的余温 尘毛在构成武士巢穴的荆棘丛旁，和白翅互舔整理毛发 他的徒弟榛爪冲他点了点头，接着从猎物堆里叼起一只老鼠，带去了学徒巢穴 她的同窝手足鼠爪和莓爪已经在那儿吃东西了 冬青崽对上了鼠爪的目光 这只年轻的灰白公猫同情地眨了眨眼，便移开了目光 冬青崽把下巴抬得更高了些 她才不要让任何猫看出她有多害怕 她会像真正的武士一样接受惩罚 她看着栗尾把猎物带给她的伴侣蕨毛 这只深姜色公猫正躺在高岩下休息，得过白咳症后，他的呼吸还很粗哑 栗尾绕着空地边缘走，避开了幼崽们，把一只老鼠放在他爪边 "你感觉怎么样？" 她问他

"Better," he croaked. "I'll be fine in a couple of days. Birchfall's recovered already, thanks to Leafpool." "Well, at least you're not in the medicine den anymore," Sorreltail meowed gratefully. "Leafpool needed room for Jaykit," Brackenfur reminded her. "Poor mite," Sorreltail meowed. "Do you think he'll be okay?" Hollykit felt a surge of irritation. Jaykit had been as keen to chase off the fox cubs as she and Lionkit, but he was being fussed over in Leafpool's den, while she and Lionkit had to sit here for the whole Clan to stare at. She gave a small snort of anger. "Have you got a tick in your ear?" Lionkit whispered. "No, but it's just not fair!" she hissed back. "We wouldn't be in so much trouble if Jaykit hadn't fallen over the edge! Why does he have to act like he can do anything and then be so helpless?" "We shouldn't have taken him with us," Lionkit murmured.

"好多了，" 他哑着嗓子说 "再过几天我就没事了 多亏了叶池，桦落已经痊愈了。" "太好了，你总算不用待在巫医巢穴里了，" 栗尾感激地喵道 "叶池需要给松鸦崽腾地方，" 蕨毛提醒她 "可怜的小家伙，" 栗尾喵道 "你觉得他会没事吗？" 冬青崽心头涌上一阵怒火 松鸦崽当初和她、狮崽一样一心要赶走小狐狸，可他现在却在叶池的巢穴里被悉心照料，她和狮崽却得坐在这儿，全族都盯着他们看 她气愤地轻轻哼了一声 "你耳朵里进蜱虫了吗？" 狮崽小声说 "才没有，这太不公平了！" 她嘶声回嘴 "要是松鸦崽没从悬崖边掉下去，我们也不会惹这么大的麻烦！ 为什么他总觉得自己什么都能做，出了事又这么没用？" "我们本来就不该带他一起去的，" 狮崽小声嘟囔

"Can you imagine the fuss he would have made if we hadn't?" Hollykit spat. But then she pictured her brother keeping up with them, finding the milk-scent that led to the den they had been looking for, and guilt swept over her. He could have died. The thought pierced her heart like a thorn. The three of them always did everything together. Losing Jaykit would be like losing her tail. She sighed ruefully. "None of us should have gone." "I wish you had realized that earlier!" Firestar's meow took Hollykit by surprise. Tiny stones were still tumbling into the clearing where he had leaped down the rockfall that led from his den. Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight followed him down and stood a little behind the ThunderClan leader. Hollykit's heart sank when she saw anger in her father's eyes and disappointment in her mother's. She stared down at her paws, remembering the disastrous ending to their assault on the fox's den. Thornclaw's patrol had arrived just in time to see her and Lionkit flee the den

"要是我们不带他去，你想想他会闹成什么样？" 冬青崽愤愤地说 可紧接着她想起当初弟弟跟上他们，找出那股指引他们找到目标巢穴的奶香味，愧疚一下子攫住了她 他差点就死了 这个念头像一根刺扎进了她的心里 他们三个向来干什么都在一起 失去松鸦崽就像失去她自己的尾巴一样 她懊悔地叹了口气 "我们本来谁都不该去的。" "真希望你早一点想明白！" 火星的声音吓了冬青崽一大跳 火星从他巢穴前的落岩坡跳下来，小石子还在纷纷滚进空地 黑莓掌和松鼠飞跟着他跳下来，站在这位雷族族长身后不远处 冬青崽看见父亲眼中的怒火，母亲脸上的失望，心一下子沉了下去 她低头盯着自己的爪子，想起他们突袭狐狸洞那场糟糕透顶的结局 棘爪的巡逻队赶到时，正好看见她和狮崽逃出狐狸洞

with two fox cubs at their heels. Thornclaw had yowled in surprise as she sped into the trees, but she dared not stop, fearing the snapping jaws behind her, till she hurtled into Brambleclaw's patrol on its way back from the lakeshore. "What's happening?" Brambleclaw demanded. He had grasped her by the scruff as she tried to race past. "What are you doing out here?" Hollykit had tried to explain, but she'd been panting too hard, her heart thudding like a woodpecker on a hollow tree. Spiderleg caught up with her. "The kits found the fox cubs," the black warrior told Brambleclaw. "It seems they decided to organize a patrol of their own." Hollykit did not dare catch her father's eye. "Where are Lionkit and Jaykit?" Brambleclaw growled. "Lionkit's with Poppypaw," Spiderleg reported. "He's okay. We haven't found Jaykit yet, but the fox cubs have scattered. It's going to take a while to hunt them out." Brambleclaw had glanced up at the sky and muttered under his breath, then escorted Hollykit

身后跟着两只狐狸幼崽。 她飞快冲进树林时，棘爪惊讶地大吼起来，可她不敢停下，害怕身后咬来的尖牙，直到撞上正从湖边返回的黑莓掌巡逻队才停住。 "发生什么事了？" 黑莓掌喝问道。 她想往前冲的时候，他一把叼住了她的后颈。 "你跑到这里来做什么？" 小冬青本来想解释，可她喘得太厉害，心跳得像啄木鸟啄空心树一样咚咚直响。 蜘蛛腿追了上来。 "幼崽们发现了狐狸幼崽，" 这只黑色武士对黑莓掌说。 "看样子他们打算自己组织一支巡逻队。" 小冬青不敢对上爸爸的目光。 "小狮和小松鸦在哪里？" 黑莓掌低吼着问道。 "小狮和罂粟爪在一起，" 蜘蛛腿汇报道。 "他没事。 我们还没找到小松鸦，不过狐狸幼崽已经四散跑开了。 要把他们全找出来得花点时间。" 黑莓掌抬眼望向天空，低声咕哝了一句，接着带着小冬青

and Lionkit unceremoniously back to the ThunderClan camp. But that had not been the worst part. When they'd reached the camp, Whitewing and Leafpool were crouching at the edge of the clearing, their fur spiked in horror. Ferncloud trembled beside them, moaning a low, mournful yowl. Between them, Jaykit lay on the ground like a scrap of gray fur. Brambleclaw darted forward and crouched beside his son. He nudged Jaykit gently, as though he was trying to wake him from sleep, but his eyes were frantic with fear. "He's still breathing, and his heartbeat is steady," Leafpool told him. Brambleclaw stared desperately at Leafpool, then sat up. "Fetch Firestar and Squirrelflight," he ordered Whitewing. After that he had told Lionkit and Hollykit to wait in the clearing and carried Jaykit to the medicine den. Firestar had returned with Squirrelflight, and the three warriors had disappeared, faces grim, into Firestar's den, not even glancing at Hollykit and Lionkit.

和小狮一道，被毫不客气地赶回了雷族营地。 可那还不是最糟糕的事。 他们回到营地时，白翅和叶池蹲在空地边缘，吓得浑身的毛都炸了起来。 蕨飞抖着身子站在她们旁边，发出低沉哀伤的号叫。 小松鸦躺在他们中间的地上，就像一小团灰色的毛。 黑莓掌猛地冲上前，蹲在他儿子身边。 他轻轻推了推小松鸦，好像想把他从睡梦中叫醒，可他的眼睛里满是恐惧。 "他还在呼吸，心跳也很平稳，" 叶池告诉他。 黑莓掌绝望地看着叶池，然后坐直了身子。 "去把火星和松鼠飞叫来，" 他命令白翅。 之后他让小狮和小冬青在空地等候，自己把小松鸦抱去了巫医巢穴。 火星跟着松鼠飞赶来后，三个武士脸色阴沉地走进火星的洞穴，连看都没看小狮和小冬青一眼。