Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 "Well?" Tigerclaw challenged. "We thought we'd hunt." Fireheart raised his head to hold the deputy's amber gaze. "The Clan needs fresh-kill." "But we couldn't find anything," Graystripe added, coming to stand beside Fireheart. "Was the prey all curled up in their nests, eh?" Tigerclaw hissed. He padded forward until he stood nose to nose with Fireheart, sniffed him, and then did the same to Graystripe. "So how is it the pair of you smell of mouse?" Fireheart exchanged a glance with Graystripe. It seemed a long time since they had hunted in the Twoleg barn, and he had forgotten that they might still be carrying the scent of the mice they ate. Graystripe looked back at him helplessly, anxiety making his eyes wide. "Bluestar should hear about this," the deputy growled. "Follow me." Fireheart and Graystripe had no choice but to obey. Tigerclaw led them across the clearing to Bluestar's den at the foot of the Highrock. Beyond

第三章“怎么样？”Tigerclaw挑战。 “我们想去打猎。”火心抬起头，直视副警长琥珀色的目光。 “氏族需要新鲜的猎物。” “但是我们什么也没找到。”灰条纹补充道，走过来站在火心身边。 “猎物都蜷缩在窝里吗？嗯？”Tigerclaw发出嘘嘘的声音。 他蹑手蹑脚地向前走，直到和火心面对面站在一起，嗅了嗅他，然后又对灰条纹做了同样的动作。 “你们俩怎么一身老鼠味？”火心和灰条纹交换了一下目光。 他们似乎已经很久没有在特沃莱格家的谷仓里打猎了，他忘记了他们可能还带着吃老鼠的气味。 灰条纹无可奈何地回头望着他，焦虑使他的眼睛睁得大大的。 “蓝星应该知道这件事，”副警长咆哮道。 “跟我来。”火心和灰条纹别无选择，只能服从。 虎爪领着他们穿过空地，来到高岩脚下蓝星的巢穴。 除了

the curtain of lichen that covered the entrance, Fireheart could see the Clan leader curled up, apparently asleep, but as Tigerclaw shouldered his way into the den she raised her head at once and sat up. "What is it, Tigerclaw?" she meowed, sounding puzzled. "These two brave warriors have been out hunting." Tigerclaw's voice was thick with contempt. "They're full-fed, but they haven't brought home a single piece of fresh-kill for the Clan." "Is this true?" Bluestar turned her ice-blue eyes on the young warriors. "We weren't on a hunting patrol," Graystripe mumbled. That was true, thought Fireheart. Strictly speaking, they hadn't broken the warrior code by not bringing back any prey, but he knew it was no real excuse. "We ate the first prey we caught, to keep our strength up," he meowed. "And then we couldn't find anything else. We meant to bring back fresh- kill, but our luck was out."

火心看见氏族首领蜷缩着身子，显然是睡着了，但当虎爪用肩膀挤进洞穴时，她立刻抬起头坐了起来。 “怎么了，虎爪？”她叫道，听起来很困惑。 “这两个勇敢的战士出去打猎了。” 虎爪的声音里充满了轻蔑。 “他们吃饱了，但他们没有为部落带回一块新鲜的猎物。” “这是真的吗？”蓝星把冰蓝色的眼睛转向年轻的战士们。 “我们不是在狩猎巡逻，”格雷斯特含糊地说。 这倒是真的，火心心想。 严格地说，他们没有带回任何猎物，并没有违反战士的准则，但他知道这不是真正的借口。 “我们吃了我们抓到的第一个猎物，以保持我们的力量，”他喵喵地说。 “然后我们就找不到别的东西了。 我们本想把新鲜的猎物带回来，但运气不好。”

Tigerclaw gave a snort of disgust, as if he didn't believe a word Fireheart had said. "Even so," Bluestar meowed, "with prey so scarce, every cat should think of the Clan before himself, and share what they have. I'm disappointed in you both." Fireheart couldn't help feeling ashamed. Bluestar had brought him into the Clan when he was a kittypet, and he wanted to show her that he deserved her trust. If he had been alone with Bluestar, he might have tried to explain his real reason for being so late back to camp. But with Tigerclaw glaring at him, it was impossible. Besides, Fireheart wasn't ready to tell Bluestar about Ravenpaw's latest version of the Sunningrocks battle. He wanted to speak to cats from RiverClan first, to confirm how Oakheart had really died. "I'm sorry, Bluestar," he murmured. "'Sorry' fills no bellies," Bluestar warned him. "You must understand that the needs of the Clan come first, especially in leaf-bare. Until next sunrise, you'll hunt for the Clan, not for yourselves. When the rest of the Clan have eaten,

虎爪厌恶地哼了一声，好像他根本不相信火心说的话。 “即便如此，”蓝星喵喵地说，“猎物如此稀少，每只猫都应该先为氏族着想，然后分享它们的食物。 我对你们俩很失望。” 火心忍不住感到羞愧。 当他还是只小猫的时候，蓝星把他带进了氏族，他想让她知道他值得她的信任。 如果他和蓝星单独在一起，他可能会试图解释他这么晚才回营地的真正原因。 但是虎爪瞪着他，这是不可能的。 此外，火心还没准备好告诉蓝星关于Ravenpaw最新版本的Sunningrocks战斗。 他想先和RiverClan的猫谈谈，确认Oakheart到底是怎么死的。 “对不起，蓝星。”他喃喃地说。 “‘对不起’是填不饱肚子的，”蓝星警告他。 “你必须明白，氏族的需要是第一位的，尤其是在光秃秃的地方。 在下次日出之前，你们要为氏族而战，而不是为自己。 氏族的其他成员吃完饭后，

then you can take food for yourself." Her gaze softened. "You both look exhausted," she observed. "Go and sleep now. But I shall expect to see you out hunting before sunhigh." "Yes, Bluestar." Fireheart dipped his head and backed out of the den. Graystripe followed him, his fur fluffed up in a mixture of fear and embarrassment. "I thought she'd have our tails off for sure!" he meowed as the two cats turned toward the warriors' den. "Then you should think yourselves lucky." The low growl came from behind them; Fireheart glanced over his shoulder to see that Tigerclaw was padding after them. "If I were Clan leader, I'd have punished you properly." Fireheart felt his fur prickle with anger. His lips drew back in the beginnings of a snarl. Then he heard a warning hiss from Graystripe, and bit back what he wanted to say, turning away from Tigerclaw again. "That's right, kittypet," Tigerclaw jeered. "Slink back to your nest. Bluestar may trust you, but I don't. I saw you at the WindClan battle, don't forget." He bounded past the two younger

然后你就可以自己吃了。” 她的目光变得柔和了。“你们俩看起来都很疲惫，”她说。 “现在去睡觉吧。但我希望在太阳出来之前看到你出去打猎。” “是的,蓝星。”火心低下头，退了出去。 灰条纹跟在他后面，由于害怕和尴尬，他的毛抖了起来。 “我还以为她肯定会把我们的尾巴咬掉呢！”他喵喵地叫着，两只猫转身向武士的洞穴走去。 “那么你们应该觉得自己很幸运。” 低沉的咆哮声从他们身后传来；火心回头瞥了一眼，发现虎爪正在紧追不舍。 “如果我是部落首领，我会好好惩罚你的。” 火心气得浑身刺痛。 他的嘴唇缩了起来，开始咆哮起来。 接着，他听到灰条发出一声警告的嘶嘶声，他把想说的话忍住了，又转身离开了虎爪。 “没错，小猫咪。”虎爪嘲笑道。 “溜回你的窝去。蓝星可能相信你，但我不相信。 别忘了，我在风氏族之战中见过你。” 他从两个弟弟身边跳过去

cats and pushed his way into the warriors' den ahead of them. Graystripe let out a long, shivering breath. "Fireheart," he meowed solemnly, "you're either the bravest cat in all the Clans, or raving mad! For StarClan's sake, don't wind Tigerclaw up any more." "I didn't ask for him to hate me," Fireheart pointed out angrily. He slid through the branches to see Tigerclaw settling himself into his place near the center. The dark tabby ignored Fireheart, turning himself around two or three times before curling up to sleep. Fireheart made for his own sleeping place. Nearby, Sandstorm and Dustpelt were stretched out together. Sandstorm sat up as Fireheart approached. "Tigerclaw has been watching for you ever since we got back from the Gathering," she whispered. "I gave him your message, but I don't think he believed me. What did you do to tweak his tail?" Fireheart felt comforted by the sympathetic look in her eyes, but he couldn't stop his jaws from gaping in a massive yawn. "I'm sorry,

他冲进了勇士们的洞穴。 灰条长长地呼了一口气，颤抖着。 “火心，”他严肃地喵喵叫道，“你要么是所有氏族中最勇敢的猫，要么就是疯了！看在《StarClan》的份上，别再缠着Tigerclaw了。” “我没有让他恨我。”火心生气地指出。 他穿过树枝，看见虎爪在靠近中央的地方坐了下来。 那只黑斑猫没有理会火心，在蜷起身子睡觉之前绕了两三圈。 火心准备自己睡觉的地方。 附近，沙暴和尘暴同时展开。 火心走近时，沙暴坐了起来。 “自从我们从聚会回来，虎爪就一直在找你。”她小声说。 “我把你的话告诉了他，但我想他不相信我。 你怎么扭了它的尾巴？”火心被她同情的眼神安慰了一下，但他还是忍不住张开了嘴巴，打了一个大大的哈欠。 “对不起,

Sandstorm," he mumbled. "I've got to get some sleep. I'll talk to you later." He half expected Sandstorm to be offended, but instead she got up and padded over to him. As he settled into the soft moss that lined the floor of the den she crouched down beside him and pressed her side against his. Dustpelt opened one eye and glared at Fireheart. He let out a snort and pointedly turned his back. But Fireheart was too tired to worry about Dustpelt's jealousy. He was already drifting into sleep. As his eyes closed, his last sensation was of Sandstorm's fur warm against his flank. Fireheart paced along the hunting trail. His body felt full of energy, and he opened his jaws to taste the scent of prey. He knew he was dreaming, but he felt his belly growl in anticipation of fresh- kill. Bracken arched over his head. A bright, pearly light poured down on him, as if the moon was full in a cloudless sky. Every fern frond, every blade of grass glowed, and the pale shapes of primroses,

沙暴。”他咕哝着。“我得睡觉了。 我待会再跟你聊。”他以为沙暴会生气，没想到她却站起来，朝他走来。 当他在窝里铺着柔软的苔藓的地板上安顿下来时，她蹲在他身边，把自己的身体贴在他的身上。 尘埃皮睁开一只眼睛，怒视着火心。 他哼了一声，故意转过身去。 可是火心太累了，根本顾不上担心达斯特尔的嫉妒。 他已经迷迷糊糊地睡着了。 当他闭上眼睛时，他最后的感觉是沙暴的皮毛温暖地贴在他的侧面。 火心沿着狩猎小径踱步。 他的身体充满了活力，他张开下巴品尝猎物的味道。 他知道自己是在做梦，但他感到自己的肚子在咆哮，期待着新鲜的杀戮。 布莱肯在他头上拱起了身子。 一道明亮的、珍珠般的光倾泻在他身上，就像万里无云的天空里的一轮圆月。 每一片蕨类植物的叶子，每一片草叶都在发光，报春花苍白的形状，