Chapter 0 Prologue

ECLIPSE ERIN HUNTER NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

《日食》 艾琳·亨特 《纽约时报》畅销书作家

PROLOGUE The forest shimmered in bright sunshine, the undergrowth rustling with prey. Beneath an ash tree, a black tom stretched and let the sun slanting through the branches bathe his belly. With a purr, he lapped at his chest, paws curling in contentment. Suddenly a tortoiseshell darted out of a bush and hurtled past him. The tom rolled onto his flank and called after her: "Mouse?" "About to be fresh-kill!" the tortoiseshell answered. She plunged through a wall of ferns and disappeared into the greenery, her white-tipped tail whisking behind her. Beyond the ferns, the forest floor sloped down into a grassy glade. At the bottom, a dark gray she-cat gnawed at a tick lodged at the base of her tail. She grumbled to herself as she tugged at the fat bug, then stopped and looked up the slope. The ferns at the top were shivering. "Got you!" A triumphant mew rang out; then the ferns shivered again, harder than before, and

序言 森林在灿烂的阳光下微微发亮，灌木丛里猎物弄出沙沙声响。 一棵白蜡树下，一只黑色公猫伸着懒腰，让透过树枝的阳光晒暖他的肚子。 他呼噜噜舔着胸口，爪子满足地蜷了起来。 突然一只玳瑁猫从灌木丛里窜出，飞快从他身边奔过。 公猫翻到侧面，朝着她喊道：“是老鼠吗？” “马上就要变成新鲜猎物啦！” 玳瑁猫回答说。 她冲进一大片蕨丛，消失在绿意里，带白尖的尾巴在身后甩动着。 蕨丛另一边，林地向下倾斜，延伸出一片长满青草的空地。 空地底端，一只深灰色母猫正啃咬着叮在尾巴根的蜱虫。 她一边扯着这只肥虫子一边嘟囔，接着停下来望向坡上。 坡顶的蕨叶晃动起来。 “抓到你啦！” 一声得意的喵叫响起，接着蕨叶又晃动起来，比之前更剧烈，然后

the tortoiseshell popped out with a mouse hanging from her jaws. She blinked at the gray she-cat. "Hi, Yellowfang!" "Good morning, Spottedleaf," Yellowfang called back. "A good day for hunting." "The hunting's always good here." With a flick of her head, Spottedleaf tossed the fresh-kill down to Yellowfang before bounding after it. Yellowfang sniffed at the fresh-kill and jerked backward. She rubbed her paw against her broad, flat muzzle as the dark shadow of a flea scuttled across her nose. "I thought these hunting grounds would be safe from fleas!" "You probably brought them with you." Spottedleaf narrowed her eyes at Yellowfang's matted pelt. "When will you learn to groom yourself?" She leaned forward and began to lap at a large knot of fur on her Clanmate's shoulder. "When you stop trying to take care of every cat," Yellowfang muttered. A voice sounded at the top of the slope. "I can't imagine that ever happening." Spottedleaf glanced up. A white tom was trotting down the slope toward them.

玳瑁猫跳了出来，嘴里叼着一只老鼠。 她眨了眨眼，看向这只灰母猫。 “嗨，黄牙！” “早上好，斑叶，”黄牙回应道。 “今天真适合打猎。” “这儿打猎向来都很顺利。” 斑叶甩了甩头，把猎物抛给坡下的黄牙，接着跟着蹦了下去。 黄牙嗅了嗅猎物，猛地往后一缩。 一只跳蚤的黑影爬过她的鼻子，她抬起爪子蹭了蹭宽扁的嘴巴。 “我还以为这片猎场不会有跳蚤呢！” “说不定是你自己带过来的。” 斑叶眯起眼睛，看着黄牙乱蓬蓬的皮毛。 “你什么时候才会学学打理自己呀？” 她凑上前，开始舔族友肩膀上打了结的一大团毛。 “等你不再操心每一只猫的时候，”黄牙嘟囔道。 坡顶传来了一个声音。 “我看这永远都不可能发生。” 斑叶抬眼望去。 一只白色公猫正顺着山坡朝她们跑来。

"Whitestorm!" she purred. "Is Bluestar with you?" "She was a moment ago." "I still am!" Bluestar burst from the trees and raced after Whitestorm. "I would have kept up with you if Tallstar hadn't stopped me." "What did he want?" Spottedleaf asked. "He was fretting, as usual." Bluestar glanced at Yellowfang's flea-bitten nose and curled her lip. "Bad luck," she sympathized. "I didn't think there were any fleas here." Spottedleaf let out a soft mrrow and flicked the tip of her tail against Yellowfang's shoulder. "Tallstar?" Yellowfang prompted, shrugging Spottedleaf away. "He's worried about the kits," Bluestar explained. Yellowfang's tail twitched. "Hollypaw, Lionpaw, and Jaypaw?" "Who else?" Bluestar sighed. "The prophecy has gotten under his pelt like a tick." "But their training is going well," Spottedleaf pointed out. "They each seem to be figuring out their path at last." "That's true." Yellowfang stared at her paws

“白风！” 她开心地呼噜起来。 “蓝星和你一起来了吗？” “她刚刚还在这儿。” “我现在还在呀！” 蓝星从树林里冲出来，跟在白风身后跑过来。 “要不是高星拦住我，我早就跟上你了。” “他找你有什么事？” 斑叶问道。 “他跟往常一样，在发愁。” 蓝星扫了一眼黄牙被跳蚤咬过的鼻子，撇了撇嘴。 “真倒霉，”她同情地说。 “我没想到这儿居然会有跳蚤。” 斑叶轻轻喵了一声，把尾巴尖搭在黄牙肩膀扫了扫。 “高星怎么了？” 黄牙追问道，一边把斑叶耸开。 “他担心那几只幼崽，”蓝星解释说。 黄牙的尾巴抽动了一下。 “是冬青爪、狮爪和松鸦爪吗？” “除了他们还有谁？” 蓝星叹了口气。 “那个预言像蜱虫一样，搅得他坐立不安。” “可是他们的训练进展得很顺利呀，”斑叶指出。 “他们终于好像都找到属于自己的路了。” “没错。” 黄牙盯着自己的爪子

and added quietly, "But there's so much they don't know." "They're still very young," Bluestar warned. Yellowfang looked up. "That doesn't mean we have to deceive them." "Do you think it would help if they knew everything?" Bluestar countered. Yellowfang's shoulders stiffened. "Lives begun in deception are always lived in shadow." Bluestar sat down. "They cannot know the truth. We have kept this secret for a reason—one that we all agreed upon, Yellowfang. We have to do what is right for the Clan." Yellowfang tipped her head to one side. "It's a lie. How can that be right?" "It wasn't us who lied to them in the first place," Whitestorm reminded her. "But we go on hiding the truth," Yellowfang argued. "I still think there's too much secrecy in their lives." "They know about the prophecy," Spottedleaf put in. Yellowfang shifted her paws. "The prophecy! I wish they'd never heard about it. I wish I'd never

接着轻声补充道：“可还有太多事他们根本不知道。” “他们还太年轻，”蓝星提醒道。 黄牙抬起了头。 “那也不代表我们就得欺骗他们。” “你觉得他们知道一切就会更好吗？” 蓝星反驳道。 黄牙的肩膀绷紧了。 “带着欺骗开始的人生，永远都活在阴影里。” 蓝星坐了下来。 “他们不能知道真相， 我们保守这个秘密是有原因的——这是我们所有人都同意的，黄牙。 我们得做对族群最有利的事。” 黄牙歪了歪头。 “这就是谎言， 这怎么可能是对的？” “最一开始骗他们的不是我们，”白风提醒她。 “可我们一直在隐瞒真相，”黄牙争辩道。 “我还是觉得他们的生活里秘密太多了。” “他们知道那个预言呀，”斑叶插嘴说。 黄牙动了动爪子。 “那个预言！ 我真希望他们从来都没听过它。 我真希望， 我从来都没

heard about it! Sometimes I think it would have been better if they hadn't been given their powers at all." Spottedleaf brushed her tail along Yellowfang's flank. "You know we had nothing to do with that," she soothed. "We just have to hope they use their powers wisely, for the good of ThunderClan." "Just ThunderClan?" Whitestorm looked thoughtful. "If their powers are so great, shouldn't they be used to help all the Clans?" Bluestar widened her eyes. "These kits were born into ThunderClan! They have been raised as loyal ThunderClan warriors. Why should they feel responsibility toward any other Clan?" Yellowfang narrowed her eyes at the old ThunderClan leader, but said nothing. "Some things we must agree to differ on," Whitestorm meowed peaceably. "The most important thing is that the kits respect and listen to their warrior ancestors." "Yes," Spottedleaf agreed. "We must make sure they take notice of what we tell them." Whitestorm twitched his ear where it was

早就听说了！ 有时候我觉得，当初根本不该给他们这些力量。” 斑叶用尾巴扫过黄牙的侧腹。 “你知道这事和我们没关系，”她安抚道。 “我们只能希望他们为雷族好，明智地使用力量。” “就只为雷族吗？” 白风若有所思。 “既然他们力量这么强大，不该用来帮助所有族群吗？” 蓝星睁圆了眼睛。 “这些幼崽生在雷族！ 他们是被当成忠诚雷族武士养大的。 他们为什么要对其他族群负责呢？” 黄牙眯眼盯着这位雷族老族长，却什么也没说。 “有些事我们不妨保留不同意见，”白风平和地说道。 “最重要的是，这些幼崽要尊重听从武士祖先的话。” “没错，”斑叶赞同道。 “我们必须确保他们听进去我们的话。” 白风抽动了他那只正被