Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 The sun was rising over the trees as Fireheart emerged from the warriors' den. Shaking a scrap of dead leaf from his fur, he took a deep breath of the crisp air and extended his forelegs in a long stretch. After the previous night's Gathering, he was almost surprised to see life in the camp going on as usual: Ashpaw and Cloudpaw were busily patching the outer wall with twigs; Goldenflower and Willowpelt were watching their kits just outside the nursery, where Brightpaw had stopped to play with them; and Whitestorm was padding into the clearing with his jaws full of fresh-kill. Fireheart could sense tension in the air, but so far none of his fears of attack seemed to have come to anything. He looked around for Sandstorm, who had led the dawn patrol, but she didn't seem to be back yet. She had not been among the cats who had gone to the Gathering, and Fireheart desperately wanted to talk to her about what had happened. "Fireheart!" The voice was Bluestar's. Fireheart swung

当火心从战士的洞穴里出来时，太阳正从树上升起。 他抖了抖皮毛上的一片枯叶，在清新的空气中深深地吸了一口气，把前腿伸了很长一段。 在前一天晚上的聚会之后，他几乎惊讶地看到营地里的生活和往常一样：阿什爪和云爪正忙着用小树枝修补外墙；“金花”和“柳树皮”在育儿室外面照看着它们的孩子，亮爪子停下来和它们玩了一会儿；“白风暴”嘴里叼着新鲜的猎物，慢慢地冲进空地。 火心可以感觉到空气中的紧张气氛，但到目前为止，他对攻击的恐惧似乎没有任何进展。 他四处寻找沙暴，她是黎明巡逻队的领队，但她似乎还没有回来。 她不在参加聚会的猫群里，火心急切地想跟她谈谈刚才发生的事。 “Fireheart !”那声音是蓝星的。 Fireheart摇摆

around to see his leader trotting across the clearing from her den. "Yes, Bluestar, what is it?" Bluestar jerked her head. "Come to my den. We need to talk." As Fireheart followed her he noticed her jerky steps and twitching tail. She looked like a cat about to launch herself into battle, yet there was no enemy in sight. Reaching her den, the blue-gray she-cat padded across to her bedding and sat there facing Fireheart. "You heard that hypocrite Tallstar last night," she hissed. "He refused to admit that his cats have been stealing our prey. So there's only one thing for ThunderClan to do. We must attack!" Fireheart stared at her, jaws gaping. "But, Bluestar," he stammered, "we can't do that! Our Clan isn't strong enough." He couldn't help remembering that they would have had four extra warriors by now if Bluestar had agreed to promote the apprentices, but he didn't dare mention that to her. "We can't afford to have warriors injured or maybe killed."

转过身来，看到他的首领从她的巢穴小跑着穿过空地。 “是的，蓝星，这是什么？”蓝星摇了摇头。 “到我的窝里来。我们需要谈谈。” 火心跟着她的时候，他注意到她的脚步急促，尾巴在抽动。 她看起来就像一只准备投入战斗的猫，但眼前却没有敌人。 那只蓝灰色的母猫走到她的窝里，蹑手蹑脚地走到她的床上，面对着火心坐在那里。 “你昨晚听到那个伪君子塔尔的声音了，”她嘶嘶地说。 “他拒绝承认他的猫偷了我们的猎物。 所以雷霆战队只有一件事要做。 我们必须进攻！”火心目瞪口呆地盯着她。 “但是，蓝星，”他结结巴巴地说，“我们不能那样做！我们的氏族不够强大。” 他不由想起，如果蓝星同意提拔徒弟的话，他们现在会多出四名战士，但他不敢对她提起。 “我们不能让战士受伤或死亡。”

Bluestar fixed her eyes on him in a look of fierce hostility. "Are you saying that ThunderClan is too weak to defend itself?" "Defending ourselves is very different from launching an attack," Fireheart meowed desperately. "Besides, there's no real proof that WindClan stole—" Bluestar bared her teeth. Her fur bristled as she rose to her paws and took a threatening step toward Fireheart. "Are you questioning me?" she snarled. With an effort, Fireheart stood his ground. "I don't want needless bloodshed," he told her quietly. "All the signs tell us that there's a dog loose in the forest, and that's what has been taking the rabbits." "And I tell you that dogs don't wander alone! They come and go with their Twolegs." "Then where did the dog scent come from?" "Silence!" Bluestar lashed out with one paw, barely missing Fireheart's nose. He forced himself to stand still. "We will travel tonight and attack WindClan at dawn." Fireheart's heart lurched. It was an honor for a

蓝星带着强烈的敌意盯着他。 “你是说雷霆族太弱，无法自卫吗？”“自卫和发动攻击是两码事。”火心绝望地叫道。 “再说，也没有真正的证据证明风氏族偷了——”蓝星露出了牙齿。 当她站起来向火心迈出威胁的一步时，她的毛竖起了。 “你在问我吗？”她咆哮道。 火心好不容易才站稳了脚跟。 “我不想要无谓的流血，”他平静地对她说。 “所有的迹象都告诉我们，森林里有一只狗，它把兔子带走了。” “我告诉你，狗是不会独自游荡的！”他们带着两条腿来来去去。” “那么狗的气味是从哪里来的呢？”“安静!”蓝星用一只爪子猛击，差点击中火心的鼻子。 他强迫自己站着不动。 “我们今晚出发，在黎明时分攻击风氏族。” 火心的心猛地一跳。 这是我的荣誉

warrior to fight for his Clan, but never before had he been faced with such an unjust battle. He did not want to shed ThunderClan or WindClan blood for no good reason. "Did you hear me, Fireheart?" Bluestar demanded. "You will choose the warriors and give them their orders. They must be ready by moonset." Her eyes were blue flames; Fireheart almost felt they could sear him to ash, just as the fire had destroyed the forest. "Yes, Bluestar, but—" he began. "Are you afraid of WindClan?" the old leader spat. "Or are you so used to cringing before StarClan that you won't defy them and fight for the rights of your Clan?" She paced to one side of her den, spun around, and paced back again, thrusting out her muzzle toward her deputy. "You disappoint me, you, out of all my warriors. How can I believe you will fight with all your strength when you question my order like this?" she hissed. "You leave me no choice, Fireheart. I will lead this attack myself." Objections raced through Fireheart's mind. Bluestar was growing old and losing strength; she

但他从未面对过如此不公正的战斗。 他不想无缘无故地让雷霆氏族或风氏族流血。 “你听到了吗，火心？”蓝星问道。 你必拣选勇士，吩咐他们。 他们必须在月落之前准备好。” 她的眼睛是蓝色的火焰；火心几乎觉得他们可以把他烧成灰烬，就像大火烧毁了森林一样。 “是的，蓝星，但是——”他开始说。 “你怕风氏族吗？”老首领啐道。 “或者你已经习惯了在StarClan面前卑躬屈膝，以至于你不会反抗他们，为你的Clan争取权利？”她踱到窝的一边，转过身来，又踱回来，向她的副手伸着嘴。 “你让我失望了，你，在我所有的战士中。 你这样质疑我的命令，我怎么能相信你会全力战斗？”她嘶嘶地说。 “你让我别无选择，火心。 我将亲自领导这次进攻。” 火心脑子里闪过反对的声音。 蓝星公司年事渐高，力量渐弱；她

was on her last life; she wasn't thinking clearly. But in the face of her fury he could voice none of them. Instead he dipped his head respectfully. "If you wish, Bluestar." "Then go and do as I ordered." She kept that fiery gaze trained on him as he backed out of the den. "You will come with us, but remember that I will be watching you," she growled after him. In the clearing outside, Fireheart shivered as if he had just dragged himself out of icy water. His duty was to choose the warriors for the attack on WindClan, and tell them what Bluestar had ordered so that they would be ready to leave after moonset. Yet every hair on his pelt protested against this. A dog had stolen the rabbits, not WindClan. It could not be the will of StarClan to attack an innocent Clan! Bluestar was simply wrong. Fireheart found that his paws were taking him to Cinderpelt's den. Perhaps she could advise him. The medicine cat's wisdom and her special bond with StarClan might help her to see the way forward more clearly than he could. But when he reached Cinderpelt's clearing and called out to

是在她的最后一生；她没有想清楚。 但面对她的愤怒，他什么也说不出来。 相反，他恭恭敬敬地低下了头。 “如果你愿意，蓝星。”“那就照我说的去做吧。” 当他从洞穴里退出来时，她一直用愤怒的目光盯着他。 “你跟我们一起去，但别忘了我会看着你的。”她在他身后咆哮道。 在外面的空地上，火心颤抖着，好像刚把自己从冰冷的水中拖出来。 他的职责是挑选进攻风氏族的战士，并告诉他们蓝星的命令，以便他们准备在月落后离开。 然而他身上的每一根毛都反对这一点。 偷兔子的是狗，不是风氏族。 攻击一个无辜的部落不可能是星族的意志！蓝星完全错了。 火心发现他的爪子正带他去灰姑娘的巢穴。 也许她能给他出主意。 药猫的智慧和她与StarClan的特殊关系可能会帮助她比他更清楚地看到前进的道路。 但是当他走到灰姑娘的空地时，他大声叫道

her, there was no reply. Fireheart stuck his head a little way into the cleft in the rock and saw that the den was empty, except for the neat piles of herbs stacked along one side. As he pushed his way out of the fern tunnel, not sure what to do now, he caught sight of Thornpaw padding past with a load of moss for the elders' bedding. The apprentice dropped his burden when he saw the deputy and meowed, "Cinderpelt's out collecting herbs, Fireheart." "Where?" Fireheart asked. If she was near the camp, he could go and find her. But Thornpaw shrugged. "Dunno, sorry." He picked up the moss and went on. Fireheart stood motionless for a few moments, his head spinning with fear and confusion. He could not ask any of the other cats for advice, because a deputy should never question his leader's orders. He could not even talk to Sandstorm, much as he wanted to, because she was bound by the warrior code to obey her leader. There was only one hope left. Slowly he padded back to the warriors' den, meeting Brindleface on her way out. "I'm going to

她，没有回答。火心把脑袋探进岩石的裂缝里，发现洞穴里空荡荡的，只有一边整齐地堆放着一堆堆草药。 当他从蕨类植物的隧道里挤出来时，他不知道现在该怎么办。这时，他看见桑爪抱着一大堆苔藓从他身边走过，准备给长老们铺床褥。 学徒看到副手，放下担子，喵喵叫道：“火心，灰姑娘出去采草去了。” “在哪里?”Fireheart问道。如果她在营地附近，他可以去找她。 但桑爪耸了耸肩。“不知道,对不起。” 他拾起苔藓继续往前走。 火心一动不动地站了一会儿，他的脑袋因恐惧和困惑而旋转。 他不能向其他猫征求意见，因为一个副手不应该质疑他的领导的命令。 他甚至不能和沙暴说话，尽管他很想，因为她受到战士守则的约束，必须服从她的领袖。 只剩下一个希望了。 慢慢地，他蹑手蹑脚地回到了战士们的洞穴，在Brindleface出来的路上遇到了她。 “我要去