Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 Fireheart bounded up the ravine, the snow crisp under his paws. The sun shone in a pale blue sky, and though there was little warmth in its rays the sight of it cheered Fireheart and made him hopeful that newleaf was not far away. Just behind him, Graystripe echoed Fireheart's thoughts. "With any luck, the sun will bring some prey out." "Not if they hear you stomping along!" Sandstorm teased as she scrambled past him. Brackenpaw, Graystripe's apprentice, protested loyally, "He doesn't stomp!" but Graystripe only responded with a good-natured growl. Fireheart felt new energy flow into his limbs. Even though their duties today were meant as punishment, no cat had told them they had to hunt alone, and it was good to be with friends. Fireheart winced at the memory of Bluestar's ice-cold gaze when she had rebuked him and Graystripe for apparently hunting for themselves. He would make up for lying to her by bringing back as much fresh-kill as he could. The Clan needed it badly. By the time he and Graystripe

第四章火心蹦蹦跳跳地爬上峡谷，雪在他的脚掌下脆脆的。 太阳在淡蓝色的天空中照耀着，虽然阳光里没有一点温暖，但火心看到它还是很高兴，并希望纽利夫离他不远了。 就在他身后，灰条纹呼应了火心的想法。 “运气好的话，太阳会把猎物带出来。” “要是他们听见你咚咚地走就不会了！”沙暴从他身边爬过，揶揄道。 灰条纹的徒弟爪子忠实地抗议道：“他从不跺脚！”但灰条纹只是温和地咆哮了一声。 火心感到新的能量流进了他的四肢。 尽管他们今天的职责是为了惩罚他们，但没有猫告诉他们必须独自狩猎，和朋友在一起真好。 当蓝星责备他和灰条纹显然是在为自己寻找猎物时，蓝星冰冷的目光令火心畏缩。 为了弥补对她的欺骗，他会尽可能多地带回新鲜的猎物。 氏族非常需要它。到他和格雷斯特的时候

left the den that morning, the store of prey in the camp had almost gone, and most of the cats had already left to hunt. Fireheart had spotted Tigerclaw on his way back down the ravine with the morning patrol. A squirrel was clamped in his jaws, its long tail brushing the snow. The deputy's eyes narrowed menacingly as he passed Fireheart, but he did not put his prey down to speak. At the top of the slope, Sandstorm ran on ahead, while Graystripe began showing Brackenpaw where to search for mice among the tree roots. Watching them, Fireheart couldn't suppress a pang of loss as he thought of Cinderpaw, who had been his own apprentice. She would be with them now if it hadn't been for her accident. Instead, her crippled leg, the result of an accident on the Thunderpath, kept her in the den with Yellowfang, the ThunderClan medicine cat. Pushing away these heavy thoughts, he crept forward, his jaws parted as he examined the forest smells. A faint breeze stirred the surface of the snow and brought a familiar scent. Rabbit! Lifting his head, Fireheart could see the

那天早上离开洞穴时，营地里储存的猎物几乎吃光了，大多数猫都已经离开去捕猎了。 火心发现了虎爪，他正跟着早晨的巡逻队沿着峡谷往回走。 一只松鼠夹在他的嘴里，它的长尾巴擦着雪。 警官从火心身边走过时，威胁地眯起眼睛，但他没有放下猎物说话。 到了坡顶，沙暴跑在前面，灰条开始给爪子指在树根里找老鼠的地方。 看着他们，火心无法抑制失去的痛苦，因为他想起了曾经是他徒弟的灰姑娘爪子。 如果不是因为那次事故，她现在就和他们在一起了。 相反，她的腿瘸了，这是雷电之路上的一次事故的结果，把她和雷电族的药猫黄牙关在了洞穴里。 他把这些沉重的想法抛在脑后，蹑步向前，张着嘴仔细观察着森林里的气味。 一阵微风吹拂着雪地，带来了一种熟悉的气味。 兔子!火心抬起头，看见了

brown-furred creature snuffling under a clump of bracken, where a few green spikes of grass poked through the snow. He dropped into a hunting crouch, and delicately, pawstep by pawstep, drew closer. At the last moment the rabbit sensed him and sprang up, but it was too late. Before it could even squeal, Fireheart pounced. Triumphantly, Fireheart headed back to the camp, dragging the rabbit along with him. As soon as he entered the clearing, he saw with relief that the pile of fresh-kill was swelling again after the morning patrols. Bluestar was standing beside it. "Well done, Fireheart," she meowed as he brought the rabbit to the pile. "Will you take that straight to Yellowfang in her den?" Warmed by his leader's approval, Fireheart hauled the rabbit across the clearing. A tunnel of ferns, brown and brittle now, led to the secluded corner of the camp where the ThunderClan medicine cat had her den inside a split rock. Ducking under the ferns, Fireheart saw Yellowfang lying in the mouth of her den with her paws tucked under her chest. Cinderpaw sat in front of her, her smoky gray fur fluffed up and her

棕色皮毛的生物在一丛蕨菜下嗅来嗅去，那里有几根绿色的草刺穿了雪。 他摆出狩猎的姿态，一步一步地小心翼翼地靠近。 最后一刻，兔子察觉到了他，跳了起来，但为时已晚。 它还没来得及尖叫，火心就扑了上来。 火心得意洋洋地拖着兔子回到了营地。 他一走进那块空地，就松了一口气，看到在上午巡逻之后，那堆新鲜的猎物又在膨胀起来。 蓝星站在它旁边。 “干得好，火心。”他把兔子抱到堆边时，她叫道。 “你能把它直接送到黄牙窝里去吗？”火心在首领的赞许下感到温暖，他拖着兔子穿过空地。 一条长满蕨类植物的隧道，如今已是褐色而易碎，通往营地隐蔽的角落，那里是雷霆家族药猫的洞穴，藏在一块裂开的岩石里。 火心钻到蕨类植物下面，看见黄牙躺在她的窝口，爪子夹在胸前。 灰姑娘坐在她的面前，她的烟灰色的皮毛蓬松起来，她

blue eyes focused on the medicine cat's broad face. "Now, Cinderpaw," came the old cat's rasping mew. "One-eye's paw pads are cracked because of the cold. What are we going to do for her?" "Marigold leaves in case of infection," Cinderpaw replied promptly. "Ointment of yarrow to soften the pads and help them heal. Poppy seed if she's in pain." "Well done," purred Yellowfang. Cinderpaw sat up even straighter, and her eyes shone with pride. As Fireheart knew only too well, the medicine cat didn't give praise lightly. "Right, you can take her the leaves and the ointment," meowed Yellowfang. "She won't need the poppy seed unless the cuts get worse." Cinderpaw stood up and was on her way into the den when she caught sight of Fireheart standing by the tunnel. Mewing in delight, she hurried over to him with an awkward, lurching gait. Regret stabbed at Fireheart, sharp as a claw. Cinderpaw had been a ceaseless bundle of energy before the Thunderpath accident that crushed her

蓝眼睛盯着药猫的宽脸。 “好了，灰姑娘，”老猫嘶哑地叫道。 “一只眼睛的脚垫因为寒冷而开裂。 我们要为她做些什么呢？”“万寿菊叶子，以防感染。” “用蓍草软膏软化脚垫，帮助愈合。 如果她痛的话就给她罂粟籽。” “干得好。”黄牙得意地说。 灰姑娘的爪子坐得更直了，她的眼睛里闪烁着骄傲的光芒。 火心深知这一点，药猫也没有轻易表扬。 “好吧，你可以把叶子和药膏给她。”黄牙喵喵地说。 “除非伤口更严重，否则她不需要罂粟籽。” Cinderpaw站起来，正往洞里走的时候，她看见了火心站在隧道旁边。 她高兴地叫了一声，蹒跚着笨拙地快步走到他跟前。 悔恨刺向火心，如利爪般锋利。 在霹雳之路的事故把她压垮之前，Cinderpaw一直是一束源源不断的能量

leg. Now she would never run properly again, and had had to give up her dreams of becoming a ThunderClan warrior. But the Thunderpath monster had not crushed her bright spirit. Her eyes were dancing as she reached Fireheart. "Fresh-kill!" she exclaimed. "Is that for us? Great!" "About time too!" grumbled Yellowfang, still sitting inside her den. "Mind you, the rabbit's very welcome," she added. "We've had half the Clan in here since sunrise, complaining about some ache or other." Fireheart carried the rabbit across the clearing and dropped it in front of the medicine cat. Yellowfang poked it with one paw. "It might have a bit of flesh on its bones for once," she remarked grudgingly. "All right, Cinderpaw, take the marigold leaves and the yarrow to One-eye, and hurry back. If you're quick there might be some rabbit left." Cinderpaw purred and brushed Yellowfang's shoulder with the tip of her tail as she went past her into the den. Softly, Fireheart mewed, "How's she doing? Is

的腿。现在她再也不能正常奔跑了，她不得不放弃成为雷霆族战士的梦想。 但是雷道的怪物并没有摧毁她开朗的精神。 当她走到火心时，她的眼睛在跳舞。 “新鲜的！”她叫道。 “那是给我们的吗？”太好了!”“也是时候了！”黄牙嘟囔着，仍然坐在她的窝里。 “注意，兔子是非常受欢迎的，”她补充说。 “从日出起，我们家一半的人都在这儿，抱怨着什么病痛。” 火心抱着兔子穿过空地，把它丢在药猫面前。 黄牙用一只爪子戳它。 “也许它的骨头上也会有一点肉，”她不情愿地说。 “好吧，灰姑娘，把金盏花的叶子和蓍草带到独眼去，赶快回来。 如果你动作快，可能还会有兔子。” 灰爪呜呜地叫着，用尾巴尖拂过黄牙的肩膀，从她身边走过，走进了洞穴。 火心轻声叫道：“她怎么样了？ 是

she settling down?" "She's fine," snapped Yellowfang. "Stop worrying about her." Fireheart wished he could. Cinderpaw had been his apprentice. He could not help feeling that he had been partly responsible for her accident. He should have stopped her from going to the Thunderpath alone. Then he brought himself up short, remembering exactly how the accident had happened. Tigerclaw had asked Bluestar to meet him by the Thunderpath, but Bluestar had been too ill to go. Few warriors were in the camp; Fireheart himself had been about to leave on an urgent mission for catnip to treat Bluestar's greencough. He had told Cinderpaw not to go meet Tigerclaw instead of him, but Cinderpaw had ignored his order. The accident had happened because Tigerclaw had placed his scent marker too close to the edge of the Thunderpath. Fireheart suspected that it was meant as a trap for Bluestar, and Tigerclaw was responsible. As Fireheart said good-bye to Yellowfang and went back to hunting, he felt a new surge of

她安定下来了吗？”“她很好。”黄牙厉声说。 “别再为她担心了。” 火心真希望他能。 Cinderpaw曾是他的徒弟。 他不禁感到他对她的事故负有部分责任。 他应该阻止她一个人去雷霆之路。 然后他突然想起事故是怎么发生的。 虎爪邀请蓝星到雷道去接他，但蓝星病得太重，不能去。 营里几乎没有战士；火心自己本来要去执行一项紧急任务，让猫薄荷给蓝星治疗足够的绿色。 他告诉过Cinderpaw不要代替他去见虎爪，但是Cinderpaw无视他的命令。 事故的发生是因为虎爪把他的气味标记放得离雷暴路的边缘太近了。 火心怀疑这是用来陷害蓝星的陷阱，虎爪对此负有责任。 当火心告别黄牙，继续打猎时，他感到一股新的