Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23 Lionpaw watched as the Tribe cats broke up into small, quarrelsome groups. They might as well save their breath, he thought. Stoneteller has made up his mind, and now Brambleclaw's in charge. Even so, he was impressed by Crag's courage in speaking up and glad of the respect he could see between the cave-guard and his father. Crag was a strong, brave cat, and with the right training he would make a great warrior. "At least we haven't come all this way for nothing," Breezepaw remarked, strolling over. "We'll soon lick this lot into shape. We might as well start calling them MountainClan right now." "Say that in the hearing of a Tribe cat, and you'll be looking for your ears," Hollypaw hissed. "Ignore him," Lionpaw told her. "If he wants to be stupid—" He broke off as he saw Brambleclaw padding toward them. "I've got a job for you," the dark tabby meowed.

第23章 狮爪看着部落猫分成好几小群，吵吵嚷嚷的。 他心想，他们还不如省点力气。 石歌已经拿定主意，现在大权在黑莓掌手里了。 即便如此，他还是佩服峭岩敢仗义执言，也很高兴看到这位洞穴守卫和自己父亲互相尊重。 峭岩是强壮勇敢的猫，只要好好训练，一定会成为出色的武士。 “至少我们这一趟没有白来，”风爪溜达着走过来开口道。 “我们很快就能把这群家伙训练好。 我们不如现在就叫他们山地族好了。” “你要是让部落猫听见这话，小心耳朵保不住！”冬青爪低声呵斥。 “别理他，”狮爪对她说。 “要是他想犯傻——”话没说完，他就看见黑莓掌朝他们走来。 “我有任务交给你，”这只暗斑猫开口说道。

Lionpaw sprang to his paws, his tail straight up in the air. Action at last! "Do you think you three could train the to-bes in some fighting moves?" Brambleclaw asked. Lionpaw started a little as he realized that "you three" included Breezepaw and not Jaypaw. The three apprentices glanced at one another, the argument with Breezepaw forgotten. "Sure." Lionpaw nodded. "We'll be glad to help." He touched his tail-tip to Jaypaw's shoulder in farewell as he followed his father across to the tobes" part of the cave. Jaypaw didn't seem to notice; he was staring at the wall of the cave, lost in thought. "Every cat, even the prey-hunters, will be trained in basic fighting," Brambleclaw explained. "But we'll give the cave-guards the responsibility of border patrols. They're the strongest cats, and they have some fighting techniques, though they still need battle training." "There aren't any borders yet," Hollypaw pointed out. Brambleclaw gave her a friendly flick on the

狮爪一下子蹦起来，尾巴笔直翘在空中。 终于有行动了！ “你们三个能不能教这些准武士一些格斗招式？” 黑莓掌问道。 狮爪愣了一下，才反应过来“你们三个”包括风爪，不包括松鸦爪。 三个学徒对视一眼，早就忘了和风爪的争执。 “没问题。” 狮爪点点头。 “我们很乐意帮忙。” 他用尾尖碰了碰松鸦爪的肩膀道别，跟着父亲走到洞穴里准武士的区域。 松鸦爪好像没察觉到，他正盯着洞壁出神。 “每只猫，哪怕是猎手，都要训练基础格斗，”黑莓掌解释道。 “不过我们让洞穴守卫负责边界巡逻。 他们是部落最强壮的猫，也懂一些格斗技巧，不过还是需要正规作战训练。” “可现在连边界都还没有呢，”冬青爪提醒道。 黑莓掌友好地轻拍了她的

ear with his tail. "There will be soon." The to-bes were gathered in a tight cluster in their own part of the cave. They all turned to look at Brambleclaw and the apprentices as they approached. "Greetings," Pebble meowed, dipping her head to Brambleclaw and extending a paw. "Greetings," Brambleclaw replied. "I think you've met Lionpaw, Hollypaw, and Breezepaw. They're going to give you some training in fighting techniques." To Lionpaw's dismay, none of the to-bes looked pleased at the prospect. They muttered together; Lionpaw caught the words "...only tobes like us." "Splash and I are prey-hunters." Screech spoke up boldly, flicking his tail at the light brown tabby she-cat beside him. "We don't do that stuff." "The whole Tribe will be doing "that stuff,'" Brambleclaw told him. "It's for your own good," Lionpaw added. Screech glared at him. "Come on," Hollypaw mewed persuasively. "It'll be fun. And if the intruders attack you, you'll

耳朵，用尾巴扫了一下。 “很快就会有边界了。” 准武士们挤成一团，待在洞穴里属于他们的区域。 看到黑莓掌和学徒们走近，他们全都转过来看过来。 “你们好，”卵石对黑莓掌低头问好，还伸出了一只爪子。 “你们好，”黑莓掌回应道。 “我想你们已经认识狮爪、冬青爪和风爪了。 他们来给你们做格斗技巧训练。” 让狮爪没想到的是，没有一个准武士对这件事显得高兴。 他们凑在一起嘀咕，狮爪只听清一句“……只有我们这些准武士而已。” “我和水花都是猎手。” 啸鸣大胆开口，尾巴甩向他身边那只浅棕斑母猫。 “我们不做这种事。” “整个部落都得做‘这种事’，”黑莓掌对他说。 “这都是为你们好，”狮爪补充道。 啸鸣瞪了他一眼。 “来吧，”冬青爪柔声劝说。 “训练会很好玩的。 要是入侵者打过来，你们也能

need to defend yourselves." To Lionpaw's relief, he saw that Pebble and one or two others were looking interested. His paws tingled with anticipation. This would be good practice for when he was a mentor with an apprentice of his own. Brambleclaw gave an approving nod. "I'll leave you to it, then. Tawnypelt, Crowfeather, and I are going to explore the territory and see if we can set the borders." He turned away, then glanced over his shoulder. "Lionpaw, would you like to come with us? Hollypaw and Breezepaw can handle the training for now." For a heartbeat Lionpaw felt disappointed. Then he reminded himself that he had wanted to explore the world beyond the lake, and here was a chance to see more of it. "Okay," he mewed, waving his tail in farewell to the others and following Brambleclaw to the cavern entrance. Tawnypelt and Crowfeather were waiting there, with Talon, Bird, and Gray. "We'll come with you," Talon meowed. "You might need backup if the trespassers are around." "Thank you." Brambleclaw gestured with his

保护好你们自己。” 让狮爪松了口气的是，他看到卵石和另外一两只猫已经来了兴致。 他的爪子因为期待微微发颤。 等以后自己当上导师带学徒，这可是很不错的练习。 黑莓掌赞许地点了点头。 “那我就把这里交给你们了。 我、褐皮和鸦羽要去勘察领地，看看能不能划定边界。” 他转身走开，又回头瞥了一眼。 “狮爪，你要不要跟我们一起去？ 冬青爪和风爪现在就能搞定训练。” 有那么一瞬间，狮爪觉得有些失望。 可他转念一想，他本来就想探索湖外的世界，现在正好有机会。 “好呀，”他应道，和其他猫摆尾道别，跟着黑莓掌往洞穴入口走去。 褐皮和鸦羽已经在那儿等着了，一起的还有利爪、飞鸟和灰。 “我们跟你们一起去，”利爪说。 “要是入侵者就在附近，你们可能需要帮手。” “谢谢你们。” 黑莓掌摆了摆他的

tail to let the big cave-guard take the lead. Lionpaw fell in behind his father to walk the Path of Rushing Water behind the waterfall. With sunlight dazzling through the sheet of foaming water, it didn't seem as frightening as in twilight the night before. When he emerged into the open he leaped down onto the ground beside the pool and shook drops of water from his pelt. The sky was blue, with a few white clouds scudding across it, driven by a stiff breeze. The sun was just grazing the topmost peaks, bathing the mountain slopes in light. High up, a single bird flew in lazy circles. "Eagle," Bird murmured. "We'll need to keep an eye on it." "This way," Talon mewed. He bounded over to the rocks opposite the pool and clawed his way up until he stood on a flat overhang of stone. Lionpaw and the other cats followed. Lionpaw stood panting on the edge and looked out across an empty forest of jutting rock. Only a few clumps of green foliage here and there interrupted the vast gray-brown landscape. There was no sign of movement.

跟在尾巴后面，让高大的洞窟卫士领头开路。 狮爪跟在父亲身后，踏上瀑布后方的奔水小径。 阳光透过翻涌的水幕照进来，这里不像昨夜暮色里那么吓人了。 他走到开阔处后，纵身跃到水潭边的地上，抖掉皮毛上的水珠。 天空蓝蓝的，劲风吹着几朵白云匆匆飘过。 太阳刚擦过最高的峰顶，把整面山坡都浸在阳光里。 高高的天上，一只鸟正慢悠悠地打着圈飞。 “是鹰。”鸟儿低声说。 “我们得盯着它点儿。” “这边走。”利爪喵声道。 他跃到水潭对面的岩石上，一路往上爬，直到站在一块平坦的悬岩上。 狮爪和其他猫跟了上去。 狮爪喘着气站在崖边，望向那片满是突兀岩石的空旷石野。 广阔的灰褐山野里，只有零零星星几簇绿叶点缀其间。 这里看不到一点儿动静。

"It's empty." He crouched to peer down at the rocks below the overhang. "It feels like there's no cat here but us." "Don't you believe it," Talon growled, padding up behind him. "The trespassers aren't as good at hiding as we are, but they're getting better at it all the time." "So you'll have to get better still," Brambleclaw mewed briskly. "Then you can fight back." Talon gave a doubtful snort and began climbing a steep slope of scree that led to a ridge. When Lionpaw set paw on the shifting stones he thought he would never be able to climb it. For every paw step he took, he felt as if he was slipping back two. He watched the Tribe cats setting their paws sideways on the slope and gradually began to make better progress. At last he was able to haul himself up the last tail-length and stand on the top. Wind buffeted his pelt and made his eyes water. Blinking, he made out an even wider landscape of jutting crags and narrow valleys, with streams that looked narrow as grass stems weaving

“这里空空的。” 他伏下身，低头望向悬岩下方的岩石。 “感觉除了我们，这里没有别的猫了。” “别不信。”利爪低吼着，快步走到他身后。 “入侵者不像我们这么会躲藏，但他们越来越在行了。” “所以你们得变得更厉害才行。”黑莓掌轻快地说。 “这样你们才能反击。” 利爪怀疑地哼了一声，开始攀爬通往山脊的陡峭碎石坡。 狮爪把爪子踩在滑动的碎石上时，觉得自己根本爬不上去。 他每往上爬一步，感觉都要往下滑两步。 他跟着部落猫学侧放爪子爬坡，渐渐就越爬越顺了。 最后他终于撑着爬上最后一截路，站在了山脊顶上。 风拍打着他的皮毛，吹得他眼睛直发酸。 他眨眨眼睛，看清了更广阔的景致：遍布突兀峭壁与狭窄山谷，细如草茎的溪流蜿蜒