Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21 Lionpaw stared in disbelief. Stoneteller didn't want them here? Was he completely mouse- brained? The Tribe's leader whipped around to face Talon and Night. "What have you done?" he spat. Lionpaw saw Talon swallow. "We... we went to find the Clans," he stammered, one paw raking nervously at the cave floor. "We've brought help...." "We thought it was best," Night added. "You thought wrong!" Stoneteller's voice was soft, vibrating with fury. "You abandoned your Tribemates when we needed you to hunt for food. You told the Clans of our weakness. And you have brought all these extra mouths to feed. How dare you set paw in our cave? None of you is welcome here." Stormfur and Brook, who had followed Lionpaw and the other apprentices into the cave, padded forward until they stood in front of Stoneteller. The old cat's eyes narrowed. "You are

第二十一章 狮爪不敢相信地看呆了。 石歌不想要他们留在这里？ 他是不是完全长了个鼠脑袋？ 部落首领猛地转身，面向爪脸和夜。 “你都干了什么好事？”他厉声啐道。 狮爪看见爪脸咽了口唾沫。 “我……我们去找族群了，”他结结巴巴地说，一只爪子不安地扒着洞穴的地面。 “我们带救兵来了……” “我们觉得这样做才对，”夜补充道。 “你们大错特错！” 石歌的声音很轻，却因满腔怒火微微发颤。 “我们需要你们捕猎的时候，你们竟然抛下部落同伴不管。 你们还把我们的弱点告诉了族群。 还带了这么多额外的嘴来吃饭。 你们竟敢踏进我们的洞穴？ 这里不欢迎你们任何人。” 跟着狮爪和其他学徒进洞的暴毛和溪儿，缓步走到石歌面前站定。 老猫眯起了眼睛。 “你们

dead!" Stormfur didn't flinch. "No, we are not. And we are still loyal to the Tribe of Rushing Water, whatever you might think." "We have to help you," Brook pleaded. But Stoneteller's eyes were cold as the stone around him. "I banished you from the mountains with good reason. Do you think I did it lightly? No. But our ancestors willed it so." "Then our ancestors were wrong." Brook's amber eyes glowed. "The Tribe is suffering even more than when we left. The trespassers are even more arrogant. We met a group of them on our way here. They behaved as if the mountains were their territory and they could drive us off if they wanted." "We have come to help," Stormfur insisted. "You need us." "Need you!" Stoneteller echoed scornfully. "What do you think you can do? Too many lives have been lost already, too much blood spilled— and that was your doing. You told us we needed a show of strength to defend our territory, but it didn't work."

早就死了！” 暴毛连抖都没抖一下。 “不，我们没有死。 不管你怎么想，我们依然对急水部落忠心耿耿。” “我们一定要帮你们，”溪儿恳求道。 可石歌的眼神冷得和他身边的石头一样。 “我当初把你们逐出山区是有充分理由的。 你以为我是随便做的这个决定吗？ 不是的。 但这是我们祖先的意愿。” “那就是祖先错了。” 溪儿琥珀色的眼睛亮闪闪的。 “现在部落比我们离开的时候还要惨。 入侵者变得越来越嚣张了。 我们来这儿路上碰到了一群入侵者。 他们表现得好像这座山本来就是他们的领地，想赶我们走就能赶我们走。” “我们就是来帮忙的，”暴毛坚持道。 “你需要我们。” “需要你们！” 石歌轻蔑地重复道。 “你觉得你们能做什么？ 已经死了太多猫，流了太多血——这全都是你们造成的。 你当初说我们要展示力量保卫领地，可根本没用。”

"But there was no territory," Brambleclaw pointed out, taking a pace forward to stand beside Stormfur. "You need to mark your borders." "We have never done that!" Stoneteller snapped. "That is not the way of the Tribe, and Stormfur knows it." Stormfur bowed his head. Lionpaw exchanged a glance with Hollypaw, seeing his own anger reflected in his sister's eyes. How stupid could this old cat be, not only to banish Stormfur from the Tribe but then to refuse the help he offered when he came back? "Stormfur did what he thought was best," Squirrelflight broke in, her green gaze sparkling with annoyance. "So did Talon and Night. There's nothing to be ashamed of in asking for help. Or would you rather let the Tribe die because you were too proud?" Stoneteller took a pace toward the ginger she- cat, his neck fur bristling. Lionpaw tensed his muscles to spring if the Tribe's leader tried to attack his mother. Then the old cat's tail drooped and the fur on his shoulders began to lie flat again. "The Tribe of

“可这里本来就没有明确的领地，”黑莓掌边说边往前迈一步，站到暴毛身边。 “你们需要标记自己的边界。” “我们从来都不这么做！” 石歌厉声呵斥道。 “这不是部落的行事方式，暴毛明明清楚这一点。” 暴毛低下了头。 狮爪和冬青爪对视一眼，他在妹妹眼里看到了和自己一样的怒火。 这只老猫怎么能这么蠢，不仅把暴毛逐出部落，人家回来帮忙他居然还要拒绝？ “暴毛只是做了他觉得对的事，”松鼠飞插口说道，她绿色的眼睛闪着恼怒的光。 “爪脸和夜也是一样。 求助根本没什么好羞耻的。 难道你要因为骄傲，眼睁睁看着部落灭亡吗？” 石歌朝这只姜黄色母猫迈了一步，颈毛全都炸了起来。 狮爪绷紧了肌肉，要是部落首领敢攻击他母亲，他就立刻扑上去。 接着，老猫的尾巴垂了下去，肩膀上的毛也重新平顺下来。 “急水部落

Endless Hunting has sent me no signs about accepting help from the Clans." Turning to Brambleclaw, he added, "I mean no disrespect to you or your Clanmates. I know how much we owed you in the past, and I believe you mean well now." Brambleclaw opened his jaws to speak, but Stoneteller raised his tail for silence. "You should not have come," he continued. "This is not your battle. You may stay here for tonight, but in the morning you will be escorted to the edge of the mountains, and you must not return." "And how do you mean to stop us?" Breezepaw growled from just behind Lionpaw. For once, Lionpaw agreed with the WindClan apprentice. The Tribe didn't have the strength to back up Stoneteller's orders. But he guessed that Brambleclaw wouldn't stay where the Clans weren't wanted. "And what about us?" Brook demanded. Stoneteller turned his blue gaze on her. "We cannot feed two more hungry bellies." Is that it? Shock froze Lionpaw's paws in place and shivered through every hair on his pelt. Do

无尽狩猎没有给我任何启示，说可以接受族群的帮助。” 他转过头对黑莓掌说：“我对你和你的族猫没有任何不敬。 我知道过去我们欠你们很多，也相信你们现在是出于好意。” 黑莓掌张开嘴刚要说话，可石歌抬起尾巴示意安静。 “你们不该来这里，”他继续说道。 “这不是你们的战斗。 你们可以在这里住一晚，但明天早上我们会送你们到山边，以后不许再回来。” “那你打算怎么拦住我们？” 风爪在狮爪身后低吼道。 这一次，狮爪居然同意这个风族学徒的说法。 部落根本没有力气执行石歌的命令。 但他猜，既然不被欢迎，黑莓掌不会强留族群在这里。 “那我们呢？” 溪儿质问道。 石歌把蓝色的目光投向了她。 “我们养不起多两张饥饿的嘴。” 就这么简单？ 震惊让狮爪僵在原地，浑身每一根毛都忍不住发颤。 难道

we just turn around and go home without lifting a claw to help? He opened his jaws to protest, only to close them again when he caught Brambleclaw's warning glance. "We're guests of the Tribe." Brambleclaw padded over and fixed all four apprentices with a stern gaze. "We mustn't cause trouble." "Not even when that stupid—" "No." Brambleclaw sighed. "I'm as disappointed as you are, but we mustn't make things worse. Do you all understand that?" "If you say so..." Lionpaw mewed reluctantly. Hollypaw and Jaypaw nodded agreement, and even Breezepaw growled, "Suppose so." A gray-brown Tribe she-cat trotted across the cave toward them. "Hi, Brambleclaw," she greeted him. "Remember me?" Brambleclaw put his head on one side. "Bird That Rides the Wind. You were with Talon when we first met." "That's right," Bird purred. "It's good to see you again. Stoneteller asked me to find you somewhere to sleep for the night. You and your

我们竟然不伸爪子帮忙，转身就回家吗？ 他张开嘴要抗议，瞥见黑莓掌警告的眼神，又闭上了嘴。 “我们是部落的客人。” 黑莓掌走过来，严肃地盯着四个学徒。 “我们不能惹麻烦。” “就算那只蠢……” “不行。” 黑莓掌叹了口气。 “我和你们一样失望，但我们不能把事情弄得更糟。 你们都明白吗？” “既然你这么说……” 狮爪不情愿地喵了一声。 冬青爪和松鸦爪点头同意，连微风爪都低吼道：“行吧。” 一只棕灰色的部落母猫小跑着穿过洞穴，朝他们走来。 “你好呀，黑莓掌，”她向他打招呼。 “还记得我吗？” 黑莓掌歪了歪头。 “乘风鸟， 我们第一次见面时，你和利爪在一起。” “没错，”乘风鸟轻声呼噜道。 “很高兴再见到你。 翻石者派我来给你们找今晚过夜的地方。 你和你的

warriors can come with me to the cave-guards" place"—she flicked her tail toward one side of the cave—"and your apprentices can sleep with our to-bes." Lionpaw stiffened, wondering if Stoneteller wanted to split up the Clan cats so they could be attacked more easily. But Brambleclaw agreed calmly, and common sense told Lionpaw that the Clans would have done exactly the same if a large group of cats had arrived to stay in their camps. As Bird led the apprentices farther into the cave, Lionpaw craned his neck to look around. By now night had fallen and the moon had risen, turning the waterfall to a sheet of tumbling silver and shedding a soft, wavering light throughout the cave. He could see scattered rocks around the edges of the cave, and here and there cracks in the walls that led up to narrow ledges. From the roof, high above his head, talons of stone pointed down to the cave floor. His belly rumbled as the scent of fresh-kill tickled his nostrils. At one side of the cave, Gray and his hunting party had brought in their eagle and were tearing it apart. I hope they give us

武士跟我去洞穴守卫的住处——她甩了甩尾巴指向洞穴一侧——你的学徒可以和我们的预备生睡一起。” 狮爪浑身一僵，暗忖翻石者是不是想把族群猫分开，好更容易攻击他们。 可黑莓掌平静地答应了，狮爪也明白，要是一大群猫来营地暂住，族群也会这么做。 乘风鸟领着学徒往洞穴深处走，狮爪伸长脖子四处张望。 此时夜幕降临，月亮升起，瀑布化作一片流动的银辉，柔和晃动的光洒遍了整个洞穴。 他看见洞穴边缘散落着石块，洞壁上到处都是裂缝，裂缝通向上方狭窄的岩台。 头顶高高的洞顶上，爪形尖石直直指向洞穴地面。 新鲜猎物的香气飘进鼻孔，他的肚子咕咕叫了起来。 洞穴的一侧，格雷和他的狩猎队带回了一只鹰，正把它撕开分食。 希望他们会给我们