Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 Fireheart held his breath as the Twoleg door opened. He longed for Cloudpaw to turn and run away, but part of him knew that the apprentice had no intention of leaving. He leaned forward on his branch, willing the Twoleg to shout and chase Cloudpaw away. Forest cats were not usually welcomed in Twolegplace. But this Twoleg bent down and stroked Cloudpaw, who stretched up to press his head against its hand as the Twoleg murmured something to him. By the Twoleg's tone, it was clear they had greeted each other like this before. Disappointment as bitter as mouse bile pulsed through Fireheart's body as Cloudpaw trotted happily through the door and vanished into the Twoleg nest. Fireheart stayed clinging to the slender branch of the birch long after the Twoleg door had shut. His apprentice was being tempted back into the life that Fireheart had turned his back on. Perhaps Fireheart had been completely wrong about him after all. Lost in thought, he stirred only when the sun began to dip behind the trees and sent a chill through his fur. He slid lightly down to the fence

第十章火心屏住了呼吸，特沃莱格的门打开了。 他渴望云爪转身逃跑，但他内心深处知道，这个学徒并没有离开的打算。 他靠在树枝上，想让特列格大叫一声，把云爪赶走。 森林里的猫在巴黎通常不受欢迎。 但是这个特沃莱格弯下腰来，抚摸着云爪，云爪伸出手来，把他的头按在它的手上，特沃莱格喃喃地对他说了些什么。 从特沃莱格人的语气可以看出，他们以前也曾这样打招呼过。 当云爪欢快地小跑着穿过门，消失在特沃莱格的窝里时，火心的身体里涌起了像老鼠胆汁一样苦涩的失望。 在特沃莱格门关上很久以后，火心仍然紧紧地抓住那棵桦树的细枝不放。 他的徒弟被诱惑回到了火心拒绝的生活。 也许火心对他的看法完全错了。 他陷入了沉思，只有当太阳开始落在树后，他才动了起来，浑身发冷。 他轻轻地滑到篱笆旁

and dropped onto the ground outside. Fireheart padded back through the forest, blindly following his own scent trail back the way he had come. Cloudpaw's actions felt like a terrible betrayal, yet it was hard to be angry with him. Fireheart had been so eager to prove to the Clan that kittypets were as good as forestborn cats, he hadn't even considered that Cloudpaw might prefer life with the Twolegs. Fireheart loved his life in the forest, but he had chosen it for himself. Only now did it occur to him that Cloudpaw had been given to the Clan by his mother, passed along as a kit before he was old enough to make his own decision. Fireheart trekked onward, numb to the sights and scents of the forest, until he suddenly realized he had come to his sister's fence. He stared at it in surprise. Had his paws brought him here on purpose? He turned away, not yet ready to share his discovery with Princess. He didn't want to tell her what a mistake she'd made in giving Cloudpaw to the Clan. With paws as heavy as stone, he started padding toward Tallpines and the camp.

然后掉到外面的地上。 火心蹑手蹑脚地穿过森林，盲目地循着自己的气味循着来时的路往回走。 云爪的行为让人感觉像是一次可怕的背叛，但我很难对他生气。 火心一直急于向氏族证明小猫和森林里的猫一样好，他甚至没有考虑到云爪可能更喜欢和特立格人生活在一起。 火心喜欢森林里的生活，但这是他自己的选择。 现在他才想起来，云爪是他母亲送给氏族的，在他还没有长大到能自己做决定的时候，就作为一个工具传给了他。 火心继续跋涉，对森林的景象和气味都麻木了，直到他突然意识到自己来到了妹妹的篱笆前。 他惊讶地盯着它。 他的爪子是故意把他带到这里来的吗？ 他转过身去，还没有准备好与公主分享他的发现。 他不想告诉她，把云爪交给氏族是一个多么大的错误。 他的爪子像石头一样沉重，开始向高林尼斯和营地走去。

"Fireheart!" the soft voice of a she-cat cried out behind him. Princess! Fireheart froze, his heart sinking, but he couldn't walk away from his sister, not now that she had seen him. He turned back as Princess leaped down from her fence. Her tabby-and-white pelt rippled softly as she bounded toward him. "I haven't seen you for ages!" she mewed, skidding to a halt. Her tone was sharp with worry. "Even Cloudpaw hasn't visited for a while. Is everything okay?" "E-everything's fine," Fireheart stammered. He felt his voice tighten and his shoulders tense with the effort of lying. Princess blinked gratefully, instantly trusting his words, and touched her nose to Fireheart's in greeting. He nuzzled her, breathing in the familiar smell that reminded him of his kithood. "I'm glad," she purred. "I was beginning to worry. Why hasn't Cloudpaw been to visit? I keep smelling his scent, but I haven't seen him for days." Fireheart couldn't think of what to say, and felt relieved when Princess carried on chattering. "I suppose you're keeping him busy with his training," she

“火心！”一只母猫在他身后轻声喊道。 公主!火心僵住了，心往下沉，但他无法离开妹妹，因为她已经看到了他。 当公主从栅栏上跳下来时，他转过身来。 当她向他跳过去时，她斑纹和白色的皮毛轻轻地荡漾。 “我好长时间没见到你了！”她叫了一声，猛地停住了脚步。 她的语气因担心而尖锐。 “就连云爪也有段时间没来了。 一切都还好吗？”“一切都很好。”火心结结巴巴地说。 他觉得自己的声音绷紧了，他的肩膀也因为努力撒谎而绷紧了。 公主感激地眨着眼睛，立刻相信了他的话，用鼻子碰了碰火心的鼻子，表示欢迎。 他用鼻子蹭着她，呼吸着熟悉的气味，让他想起了自己的童年。 “我很高兴，”她咕噜着。我开始担心了。 云爪为什么不去拜访呢？ 我一直闻到他的气味，但我已经好几天没见到他了。” 火心不知道该说什么，公主继续喋喋不休时，他感到如释重负。 “我想你是在让他忙于训练吧，”她说

mewed. "Last time he visited he told me you were really impressed with his progress. He said he was way ahead of the other apprentices!" Princess sounded delighted and her eyes shone with pride. She wants Cloudpaw to become a great warrior as much as I do, thought Fireheart. Guiltily he mumbled, "He shows great promise, Princess." "He was my firstborn," purred Princess. "I knew he'd be special. I still miss him, even though I know how happy he is." "I'm sure all your kits are special in their own way." Fireheart longed to tell his sister the truth, but he didn't have the heart to tell her that her sacrifice had been wasted. "I must go," he meowed instead. "Already?" Princess exclaimed. "Well, come back and see me soon. And bring Cloudpaw next time!" Fireheart nodded. He didn't want to return to the camp just yet, but this conversation was making him way too uncomfortable, as if he were confronting the impossible chasm between the forest and kittypet life.

只能。“上次他来看我的时候，他告诉我你对他的进步印象深刻。 他说他比其他学徒强多了！”公主听起来很高兴，她的眼睛里闪烁着骄傲的光芒。 她和我一样希望云爪成为一名伟大的战士，火心心想。 他内疚地咕哝道：“他大有前途，公主。” “他是我的长子，”公主咕噜着。 “我知道他会很特别。我仍然想念他，尽管我知道他有多快乐。” “我相信你所有的装备都有自己的特别之处。” 火心很想告诉妹妹真相，但他不忍心告诉她，她的牺牲白费了。 “我得走了。”他叫道。 “已经?”公主惊叫。 “好吧，赶快回来看我吧。 下次把云爪带来！”Fireheart点点头。 他现在还不想回到营地，但这次谈话让他太不舒服了，好像他面对的是森林和小猫生活之间难以逾越的鸿沟。

Fireheart traveled the long way back to camp, letting the familiar greenness of the forest calm him. As he emerged from the trees at the top of the ravine, he found himself thinking yet again how much he missed having Graystripe around to confide in. "Hi!" Sandstorm's voice surprised him. She was climbing out of the ravine and must have smelled his scent. "How was training? Where's Cloudpaw?" Fireheart looked at the she-cat's sharp orange face. Her green eyes shone, and suddenly he knew that he could confide in her. He glanced anxiously around. "Are you alone?" Sandstorm stared back at him curiously. "Yes. I thought I'd do a bit of hunting before mealtime." Fireheart padded to the edge of the slope and stared down at the treetops that sheltered the camp below. Sandstorm sat beside him. She didn't speak, but pressed her flank to his sympathetically. Fireheart knew that he could even walk away now and she wouldn't ask any more questions.

火心走了很长一段路回到营地，让熟悉的绿色森林让他平静下来。 当他从峡谷顶上的树丛中走出来时，他发现自己又一次在想，他是多么怀念有格雷斯特在身边倾诉的时光。 “嗨!”沙暴的声音让他大吃一惊。 她正在爬出峡谷，一定是闻到了他的气味。 “训练怎么样？”Cloudpaw在哪里?”火心看着母猫那张桔黄色的脸。 她那双绿色的眼睛闪闪发光，他突然知道他可以向她倾诉了。 他焦急地环顾四周。 “你一个人吗？”沙暴好奇地盯着他。 “是的。我想在吃饭前先去打猎。” 火心蹑手蹑脚地走到斜坡边上，盯着下面那些遮蔽着营地的树梢。 沙暴坐在他旁边。她没有说话，但同情地把她的侧身贴在他身上。 火心知道他现在可以走开了，她也不会再问了。

"Sandstorm," he began hesitantly. "Yes?" "Do you think I made the wrong decision bringing Cloudpaw into the Clan?" Sandstorm was silent for a few moments, and when she spoke, her words were careful and honest. "When I looked at him today, lying outside his den, I thought he looked more like a kittypet than a warrior. And then I remembered the day he caught his first prey. He was just a tiny kit, but he went out into a blizzard to catch that vole. He looked so unafraid, so proud of what he had done. He seemed like a Clan cat then, born and bred." "So I made the right decision?" Fireheart meowed hopefully. There was another heavy pause. "I think only time will tell," Sandstorm replied at last. Fireheart didn't say anything. This wasn't the reassurance he'd been hoping for, but he knew she was right. "Has something happened to him?" asked Sandstorm, her eyes narrowed with concern. "I saw him go into a Twoleg nest this

“沙暴。”他迟疑地说。 “是吗?”“你认为我把云爪带进氏族是错误的决定吗？”沙暴沉默了一会儿，她说话的时候，用词谨慎而诚实。 “今天我看着他躺在窝外，我觉得他更像一只小猫，而不是一个战士。 然后我想起了他抓到第一个猎物的那天。 他只是个小家伙，但他冒着暴风雪去抓那只田鼠。 他看上去那么无所畏惧，对自己所做的事那么自豪。 那时候，他就像一只土生土长的家族猫。” “所以我的决定是正确的？”火心满怀希望地喵喵叫着。 又是一阵沉重的沉默。 “我想只有时间才能证明。”沙暴最后回答。 火心什么也没说。 这并不是他一直希望得到的安慰，但他知道她是对的。 “他出什么事了吗？”沙暴问道，她眯起眼睛担心地看着他。 “今天我看见他进了一只特格莱格的窝