Chapter 0 Prologue

WARRIORS FOREST OF SECRETS ERIN HUNTER

《猫武士：秘密森林》 艾琳·亨特

PROLOGUE Cold gripped the forest, fields, and moorland like an icy claw. Snow covered everything, glittering faintly under a new moon. Nothing broke the silence in the forest except for the occasional soft rush of snow sliding from the branches of trees and the faint rasping of dried reeds when the wind swept through them. Even the murmur of the river was stilled by the ice that stretched from bank to bank. There was a flicker of movement at the edge of the river. A large tomcat, his bracken-colored fur fluffed up against the cold, emerged from the reeds. He shook snow impatiently from his paws as he sank into the soft drifts with every step. In front of him, two tiny kits struggled forward with faint mews of distress. They floundered in the powdery snow, the fur on their legs and belly matted into icy clumps, but every time they tried to stop, the tomcat nudged them on. The three cats trudged along the river until it widened out, and they drew level with a small island not far from the bank. Thick beds of reeds surrounded it, their dry stems poking up through

序言 寒气如同冰爪攫住了森林、田野和荒原。 大雪覆盖了万物，在新月下微微闪着光。 森林里一片寂静，只有积雪偶尔从树枝滑落，风扫过枯芦苇时才会传来微弱声响。 连河水的低语都被横贯两岸的冰层封得无声无息。 河岸边缘闪过一丝动静。 一只大块头公猫钻出芦苇丛，蕨色皮毛蓬起来抵御寒冷。 每一步都陷进松软雪堆，他不耐烦地抖掉爪子上的积雪。 他面前两只小小的幼崽挣扎着往前走，发出微弱痛苦的咪呜声。 他们在细粉似的积雪里挣扎，腿和肚子上的毛结成了冰疙瘩，可每次想停下，公猫都会推着他们继续走。 三只猫沿着河岸跋涉到河面变宽处，正好来到离河岸不远的一座小岛对面。 小岛被茂密芦苇环绕，干枯的茎秆穿出

the ice. Stunted, leafless willow trees concealed the center of the island behind snow-covered boughs. "Almost there," the bracken-colored tom meowed encouragingly. "Follow me." He slid down the bank into a narrow frozen pathway through the reeds and leaped onto the dry, crisp earth of the island. The bigger of the two kits scrambled after him, but the smaller one collapsed on the ice and crouched there, mewing pitifully. After a moment's pause the tomcat jumped down beside it and tried to nudge it to its paws, but it was too exhausted to move. The tomcat gave its ears a lick, roughly comforting the helpless scrap, and then picked it up by the scruff of the neck and carried it onto the island. Beyond the willow trees was a stretch of open ground broken by bushes. Snow covered the earth here, crisscrossed by the pawmarks of many cats. The clearing seemed deserted, but bright eyes gleamed from shelter, watching the tomcat as he led the way to the largest clump of bushes and through the outer wall of tangled branches. The icy chill of the air outside gave way to the

冰面。 矮瘦无叶的柳树用覆雪的枝桠遮住了小岛中心。 "快到了，" 这只蕨色公猫鼓励地咪呜叫。 "跟我走。" 他滑下河岸，钻进芦苇丛里一条结冰的窄小径，跳上小岛干燥硬实的土地。 两只幼崽里个头大的跟在他后面爬上来，可小的那只倒在冰上，缩在那里可怜地叫唤。 公猫顿了顿，跳到它身边想把它拱起来，可它累得根本动不了。 公猫舔了舔它的耳朵，粗手粗脚安慰这个无助的小不点儿，接着叼住它后颈，把它带上了小岛。 柳树后面是一片开阔地，间杂着几丛灌木。 积雪覆盖了这里的土地，上面纵横交错留着许多猫的爪印。 空地看起来空无猫影，可暗处有亮眼睛正盯着，看着公猫走到最大的一丛灌木那里，穿过缠结枝条做成的外层屏障。 洞外刺骨的寒气，渐渐变成了

warmth of the nursery and the smell of milk. In a deep nest of moss and heather a gray she-cat was suckling a single tabby kit. She raised her head as the tomcat drew closer and gently set down the kit he was carrying. The second kit staggered into the nursery behind him and tried to scrabble its way into the nest. "Oakheart?" meowed the she-cat. "What have you got there?" "Kits, Graypool," Oakheart replied. "Will you take them? They need a mother to look after them." "But…" Graypool's amber eyes were shocked. "Whose kits are they? They're not RiverClan's. Where did you get them?" "I found them in the forest." Oakheart did not meet the she-cat's eyes as he spoke. "They're lucky a fox didn't find them first." "In the forest?" meowed the queen, her voice rasping with disbelief. "Oakheart, don't talk to me as if I'm mouse-brained. What cat would abandon her kits in the forest, especially in weather like this?" Oakheart shrugged. "Rogues, maybe, or

育婴室的暖意，还有奶香味。 在苔藓和石楠铺成的深窝里，一只灰色母猫正给一只独虎斑幼崽喂奶。 公猫走近轻轻放下叼着的幼崽时，她抬起了头。 另一只幼崽摇摇晃晃跟着他走进育婴室，努力想爬进窝里。 "橡心？" 母猫咪呜叫。 "你带回来的是什么？" "是幼崽，灰池，" 橡心回答。 "你能收留他们吗？ 他们需要一个妈妈照顾。" "可是……" 灰池琥珀色的眼睛满是震惊。 "这是谁的幼崽？ 他们不是河族的。 你从哪里找来的？" "我在森林里捡到他们的。" 橡心说话的时候，没有看向这只母猫的眼睛。 "他们没被狐狸先找到，已经够幸运了。" "在森林里？" 母猫哑着嗓子说，满是不敢相信。 "橡心，别把我当鼠脑子的傻猫骗。 哪只猫会把幼崽丢在森林里，尤其是这种天气？" 橡心耸耸肩。 "也许是泼皮猫，或是

Twolegs. How would I know? I couldn't leave them there, could I?" He nosed the smaller kit, which was lying completely still except for the rapid rise and fall of its tiny ribs as it breathed. "Graypool, please… Your other kits died, and these will die too, unless you help them." Graypool's eyes clouded with pain. She looked down at the two kits. Their tiny mouths gaped pink as they mewed pitifully. "I have plenty of milk," she murmured, half to herself. "Of course I'll take them." Oakheart puffed out his breath in a sigh of relief. He picked up first one kit and then the other and laid them next to Graypool. She nudged them gently into the curve of her belly next to her own kit, where they began to suckle eagerly. "I still don't understand," Graypool meowed when they were settled. "Why would two kits be alone in the forest in the middle of leaf-bare? Their mother must be frantic." The bracken-colored tom prodded a piece of moss with one massive front paw. "I didn't steal them, if that's what you're thinking." Graypool looked at him for a long moment.

两脚兽。 我怎么知道？ 我总不能把他们丢在那儿吧？" 他用鼻子碰了碰那只小幼崽，它一动不动躺着，只有小小的胸口随着呼吸快速起伏。 "灰池，求求你……你其他的幼崽已经死了，要是你不帮他们，这两个也活不成。" 灰池的眼睛蒙上了痛苦的阴霾。 她低下头看着这两只幼崽。 他们张着粉嘟嘟的小嘴，可怜巴巴地咪呜叫着。 "我的奶还够多，" 她喃喃自语，一半说给自己听。 "我当然会收留他们。" 橡心长出一口气，松了口气。 他先叼起一只，再叼起另一只，把他们放到灰池身边。 她轻轻把他们拱到自己肚子边，挨在自己的幼崽身旁，小家伙们马上迫不及待地吸起奶来。 "我还是不明白，" 等他们安稳下来，灰池开口说。 "为什么秃叶季的隆冬，会有两只幼崽单独待在森林里？ 他们的妈妈一定急疯了。" 这只蕨色公猫用一只宽大的前爪拨了拨一块苔藓。 "我没有偷他们，要是你这么想的话。" 灰池盯着他看了好一会儿。

"No, I don't think you did," she meowed at last. "But you're not telling me the whole truth, are you?" "I've told you all you need to know." "No, you haven't!" Graypool's eyes flashed with anger. "What about their mother? I know what it's like to lose kits, Oakheart. I wouldn't wish that kind of grief on any cat." Oakheart lifted his head and glared at her, a faint growl coming from the depths of his throat. "Their mother is probably some rogue cat. This is not the weather to go looking for her." "But Oakheart—" "Just take care of the kits, please!" The bracken-colored tom sprang to his paws and turned abruptly to push his way out of the nursery. "I'll bring you some fresh-kill," he meowed over his shoulder as he left. When he had gone, Graypool bent her head over the kits, rasping her tongue over their fur to warm them. The melting snow had washed away most of their scent, though Graypool could still make out the odors of the forest, of dead leaves and frostbitten earth. And there was something

“不，我可不觉得你说了实话，”她终于喵声道 “可你没把全部真相告诉我，对不对？” “我已经把你该知道的都说了。” “不对，你根本没说全！” 灰池的眼中闪着怒火 “那他们的妈妈呢？ 我懂失去幼崽是什么滋味，橡心。 我可不希望任何一只猫承受这种悲痛。” 橡心抬起头怒视着她，喉咙深处隐隐发出一声低吼 “他们的妈妈多半是只流浪猫。 这种天气根本不适合去找她。” “可是橡心——” “求求你，好好照顾这些幼崽就好！” 这只蕨色公猫一跃而起，猛地转身挤出了育婴室 “我去给你拿点新鲜猎物，”他离开时回头说道 他走后，灰池低下头凑近幼崽，舔着他们的毛给他们取暖 融雪冲走了他们大部分气味，不过灰池还是能分辨出森林、枯叶和冻土的气息 而且还有一丝异样