Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 Warm shafts of sun shine streamed through the canopy of leaves and flickered over Fireheart's pelt. He crouched lower, aware that his coat would be glowing amber among the lush green undergrowth. Paw by paw, he crept beneath a fern. He could smell a pigeon. He moved slowly toward the mouthwatering scent until he could see the plump bird pecking among the ferns. Fireheart flexed his claws, his paws itching with anticipation. He was hungry after leading the dawn patrol and hunting all morning. This was the high season for prey, a time for the Clan to grow fat on the forest's bounty. And although there had been little rain since the newleaf floods, the woods were rich with food. After stocking the fresh-kill pile back at camp, it was time for Fireheart to hunt for himself. He tensed his muscles, ready to leap. Suddenly a second scent wafted toward him on the dry breeze. Fireheart opened his mouth, tipping his head to one side. The pigeon must have smelled it too, for its head shot up and it

第一章温暖的阳光穿过树叶的树冠，在火心的皮毛上闪烁。 他蹲得更低，意识到他的外套在茂密的绿色灌木丛中会发出琥珀色的光。 他蹑手蹑脚地爬到一棵蕨类植物下面。 他能闻到鸽子的气味。他慢慢地朝那令人垂涎欲滴的香味走去，直到他看到那只胖乎乎的鸟在蕨类植物中啄食。 火心伸出爪子，爪子因期待而发痒。 他带着黎明巡逻队，打猎了一上午，肚子饿了。 这是捕猎的旺季，是氏族靠森林的恩赐发福的时候。 虽然新叶洪水之后很少下雨，但树林里却有丰富的食物。 把新鲜的猎物放回营地后，是火心自己去打猎的时候了。 他绷紧肌肉，准备跳跃。 突然，第二股气味顺着干燥的微风向他飘来。 火心张开嘴，把头歪向一边。 鸽子一定也闻到了，因为它抬起头来

began to unfold its wings, but it was too late. A rush of white fur shot out from under some brambles. Fireheart stared in surprise as the cat pounced on the startled bird, pinning it to the ground with his front paws before finishing it off with a swift bite to the neck. The delicious smell of fresh-kill filled Fireheart's nostrils. He stood up and padded out of the undergrowth toward the fluffy white tom. "Well caught, Cloudpaw," he meowed. "I didn't see you coming until it was too late." "Nor did this stupid bird," crowed Cloudpaw, flicking his tail smugly. Fireheart felt his shoulders tense. Cloudpaw was his apprentice as well as his sister's son. It was Fireheart's responsibility to teach him the skills of a Clan warrior and how to respect the warrior code. The young tom was undeniably a good hunter, but Fireheart couldn't help wishing that he would learn a little humility. Deep down, he sometimes wondered if Cloudpaw would ever understand the importance of the warrior code, the moons-old traditions of loyalty and ritual that had been passed down through generations of cats

开始展开翅膀，但已经太晚了。 一绺白色的毛从荆棘下面窜了出来。 火心惊讶地看着这只猫扑向受惊的小鸟，用前爪把它按倒在地，然后迅速咬住了它的脖子。 火心的鼻孔里充满了新鲜猎物的香味。 他站起来，蹑手蹑脚地走出矮树丛，朝那只毛茸茸的白汤姆走去。 “抓得好，云爪。”他叫道。 “当我看到你来的时候，已经太晚了。” “这只笨鸟也没有。”云爪得意地甩着尾巴，叫道。 火心感到他的肩膀很紧张。 云爪既是他妹妹的儿子，又是他的徒弟。 火心有责任教他氏族战士的技能以及如何尊重战士的准则。 年轻的汤姆无疑是个好猎手，但火心忍不住希望他能学会谦逊一点。 在内心深处，他有时会怀疑云爪是否会理解战士守则的重要性，这些忠诚和仪式的古老传统是代代相传的

in the forest. But Cloudpaw had been born in Twolegplace to Fireheart's kittypet sister, Princess, and brought to ThunderClan by Fireheart as a tiny kit. Fireheart knew from his own bitter experience that Clan cats had no respect for kittypets. Fireheart had spent his first six moons living with Twolegs, and there were cats in his Clan that would never let him forget the fact that he was not forest-born. He twitched his ears impatiently. He knew he did everything he could to prove his loyalty to the Clan, but his stubborn apprentice was a different matter. If Cloudpaw was going to win any sympathy from his Clanmates, he was going to have to lose some of his arrogance. "It's just as well you're so quick," Fireheart pointed out. "You were upwind. I could smell you, even if I couldn't see you. And so could the bird." Cloudpaw's long snowy fur bristled and he snapped back, "I know I was upwind! But I could tell this dumb dove wasn't going to be hard to catch whether he smelled me or not." The young cat stared defiantly into Fireheart's

在森林里。但云爪出生在Twolegplace，是火心的小猫妹妹公主的孩子，火心把它作为一个小工具包带到了ThunderClan。 火心从他自己的痛苦经历中知道，氏族猫不尊重小猫。 火心最初的六个月都和特立格住在一起，他氏族里的猫永远不会让他忘记自己不是森林里出生的这个事实。 他不耐烦地扭动着耳朵。 他知道自己已经尽了一切努力来证明自己对氏族的忠诚，但他那固执的徒弟就是另一回事了。 如果云爪想要赢得部族成员的同情，他就必须丢掉一些傲慢。 “幸好你反应这么快。”火心指出。 “你在逆风。即使看不见你，我也能闻到你的味道。 鸟儿也会。”云爪雪白的长毛竖了起来，厉声回答道：“我知道我是在逆风！但我看得出来，不管这只笨鸽子有没有闻到我的味道，它都不难抓住。” 小猫挑衅地盯着火心的眼睛

eyes, and Fireheart felt his annoyance turning to anger. "It's a pigeon, not a dove!" he spat. "And a true warrior shows more respect for the prey that feeds his Clan." "Yeah, right!" retorted Cloudpaw. "I didn't see Thornpaw show much respect for that squirrel he dragged back to camp yesterday. He said it was so dopey, a kit could have caught it." "Thornpaw is just an apprentice," Fireheart growled. "Like you, he still has a lot to learn." "Well, I caught it, didn't I?" grumbled Cloudpaw, prodding the pigeon with a sullen paw. "There's more to being a warrior than catching pigeons!" "I'm faster than Brightpaw and stronger than Thornpaw," Cloudpaw spat back. "What more do you want?" "Your denmates would know that a warrior never attacks with the wind behind him!" Fireheart knew he shouldn't let himself be drawn into an argument, but his apprentice's stubbornness infuriated him like a tick on his ear. "Big deal. You might have been downwind like

火心感到他的烦恼变成了愤怒。 “那是鸽子，不是鸽子！”他啐了一口。 “而真正的战士会更尊重那些供养他氏族的猎物。” “是啊，没错！”云爪反驳道。 “我没有看到桑爪对昨天他拖回营地的那只松鼠表现出多少尊重。 他说它太笨了，一个工具就能抓住它。” “刺爪只是个学徒。”火心咆哮道。 “和你一样，他还有很多东西要学。” “嗯，我抓住了，不是吗？”云爪抱怨着，用一只阴沉的爪子戳着鸽子。 “做一名战士比抓鸽子更重要！”“我比亮爪快，比刺爪强。”云爪反驳道。 “你还想要什么？”“你的同伴们应该知道，勇士永远不会逆风进攻！”火心知道他不应该让自己卷入一场争论，但他徒弟的固执激怒了他。 “大交易。你可能在顺风处

a good warrior, but I got to the pigeon first!" Cloudpaw raised his voice in an angry yowl. "Be quiet," Fireheart hissed, suddenly distracted. He lifted his head and sniffed the air. The forest seemed strangely silent, and Cloudpaw's loud meows were echoing too loudly through the trees. "What's the matter?" Cloudpaw glanced around. "I can't smell anything." "Neither can I," Fireheart admitted. "So what are you worried about?" "Tigerclaw," Fireheart answered bluntly. The dark warrior had been prowling through his dreams since Bluestar had banished him from the Clan a quarter moon ago. Tigerclaw had tried to kill the ThunderClan leader, but Fireheart had stopped him and exposed his long-hidden treachery to the whole Clan. There had been no sign of Tigerclaw since, but Fireheart felt icy claws of fear pricking at his heart now as he listened to the stillness of the forest. It seemed to be listening too, holding its breath, and Tigerclaw's parting words echoed in Fireheart's mind: Keep your eyes open, Fireheart. Keep your ears pricked. Keep

是个好战士，但我先打中了鸽子！”云爪提高了嗓门，愤怒地嚎叫着。 “安静。”火心嘶嘶地说，突然心烦意乱。 他抬起头，嗅了嗅空气。 森林里出奇地寂静，云爪的叫声在树林里回响得太响了。 “怎么啦？”云爪环顾四周。 “我什么也闻不到。”“我也不会。”火心承认。 “那你在担心什么呢？”“虎爪。”火心直截了当地回答。 自从蓝星在四分之一个月前将他驱逐出氏族以来，这位黑暗战士就一直在他的梦中徘徊。 虎爪曾试图杀死雷霆氏族的首领，但火心阻止了他，并向整个氏族暴露了他隐藏已久的背叛。 从那以后，虎爪再也没有出现过，但火心听着森林里的寂静，感到冰冷的恐惧之爪刺痛了他的心。 它似乎也在听着，屏住了呼吸，虎爪临别的那句话在火心的脑海里回响：把眼睛睁大，火心。 保持警惕。保持

looking behind you. Because one day I'll find you, and then you'll be crowfood. Cloudpaw's mew broke the silence. "What would Tigerclaw be doing around here?" he scoffed. "Bluestar exiled him!" "I know," Fireheart agreed. "And only StarClan knows where he went. But Tigerclaw made it clear that we'd not seen the last of him!" "I'm not scared of that traitor." "Well, you should be!" hissed Fireheart. "Tigerclaw knows these woods as well as any cat in ThunderClan. He'd tear you to shreds if he got the chance." Cloudpaw snorted and circled his catch impatiently. "You've been no fun since Bluestar made you deputy. I'm not hanging around if you're just going to waste the morning trying to scare me with nursery tales. I'm meant to be hunting for the Clan elders." And he dashed away into the brambles, leaving the lifeless pigeon lying on the earth. "Cloudpaw, come back!" Fireheart yowled furiously. Then he shook his head. "Let Tigerclaw have the young mouse-brained idiot!" he muttered

回头看看。因为总有一天我会找到你，然后你就会变成乌鸦的食物。 云爪的叫声打破了沉默。 “虎爪会在这儿干什么？”他嘲笑道。 “蓝星放逐了他！”“我知道。”火心同意道。 只有StarClan知道他去了哪里。 但是虎爪说得很清楚，我们不会再见他的！”“我不怕那个叛徒。” “嗯，你应该害怕！” “虎爪对这片树林的了解，比雷电族里任何一只猫都清楚。 如果有机会，他会把你撕成碎片的。” 云爪哼了一声，不耐烦地绕着他的猎物转了一圈。 “自从蓝星任命你为副警长后，你就一点都不有趣。 如果你要浪费一早上的时间用童话故事吓唬我，我才不要在这儿闲着。 我是来为部落长老打猎的。” 说完，他冲进了荆棘丛，留下那只死鸽子躺在地上。 “云爪，回来！”火心愤怒地嚎叫着。 然后他摇了摇头。“让虎爪抓住那个小白痴！”他嘟囔着