Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23 Fireheart padded warily through Tallpines toward the Twolegplace. Heavy rain had fallen the night before, so that wet ash and burned debris clung to his paws. All his senses were alert, not for prey, but for any sign that the dark threat in the forest would emerge to attack his small group of cats as it had attacked Swiftpaw and Lostface. The injured she-cat was following Fireheart now, with Cloudtail at her side, while Graystripe brought up the rear, watchful for anything that might come upon them from behind. They were on their way to visit Cloudtail's mother, Princess. The young warrior had insisted on bringing Lostface with them. "You have to leave camp sooner or later," he had meowed. "We're not going anywhere near Snakerocks. I'll make sure you're safe." Fireheart was amazed at how much Lostface trusted Cloudtail. She was obviously terrified by the thought of venturing outside the shelter of the camp. She jumped at every sound, every crackle of leaves under her paws, yet she kept going, and

第二十三章火心小心翼翼地穿过高林岛，向巴黎广场走去。 前一天晚上下了一场大雨，所以湿漉漉的灰烬和烧焦的碎片粘在他的爪子上。 他所有的感官都很警觉，不是为了寻找猎物，而是为了寻找森林里黑暗的威胁会出现的任何迹象，就像它袭击了Swiftpaw和Lostface一样。 受伤的母猫现在跟在火心后面，云尾巴跟在她身边，灰条带在后面，警惕着任何可能从后面袭击他们的东西。 他们正要去拜访云尾巴的母亲公主。 这个年轻的战士坚持要把丢脸也带来。 “你迟早得离开营地，”他曾喵喵地说。 “我们不会去蛇岩城附近。 我会确保你的安全。” 火心惊讶于失脸如此信任云尾巴。 显然，她一想到要到营地外面去冒险，就感到害怕。 每一种声音，每一声树叶在她爪子下的噼啪声，她都会跳起来，但她还是继续往前走

Fireheart thought he saw in her a return of the courage she had shown when she was Brightpaw. When they came in sight of the fence at the end of the Twoleg gardens, Fireheart signaled with his tail for his companions to stop. He could not see Princess, but when he opened his mouth to taste the air, he caught her scent. "Wait here," he told the others. "Keep a lookout and call me if there's trouble." Checking again to make sure there were no fresh scents of dogs or Twolegs, he raced across the stretch of open ground and leaped up to the top of Princess's fence. A flash of white among the bushes in her garden alerted him, and a moment later his sister appeared, picking her way fastidiously across the wet grass. "Princess!" he called softly. Princess halted and looked up. As soon as she saw Fireheart she bounded over to the fence and scrambled up to sit beside him. "Fireheart!" she purred, pressing herself against him. "It's so good to see you! How are you?" "I'm fine," Fireheart replied. "I've brought you some visitors—look."

火心觉得，他在她身上看到了她作为亮爪时所表现出的勇气的回归。 当他们看到特沃莱格花园尽头的栅栏时，火心用尾巴示意同伴们停下来。 他看不见公主，但当他张开嘴呼吸空气时，他闻到了她的气味。 “在这儿等着。”他对其他人说。 “小心点，有麻烦就打电话给我。” 他又检查了一遍，确保没有狗或特立格的新鲜气味，然后跑过那片空地，跳到公主家的篱笆顶上。 她花园里的灌木丛中闪过一道白色的光，这使他警觉起来。过了一会儿，他的妹妹出现了，小心翼翼地穿过潮湿的草地。 “公主！”他轻声叫道。 公主停住脚步，抬起头来。 她一看见火心，就跳到篱笆旁，爬上去坐在他旁边。 “火心魔！”她呜呜地叫着，紧紧抱住他。 “见到你太好了！”你好吗？”“我很好。”火心回答。 “我给你带来了一些客人——看。”

He pointed with his tail to where the other three cats were crouching on the edge of the trees. "There's Cloudpaw!" Princess exclaimed delightedly. "But who are the others?" "That big gray tom is my friend Graystripe," Fireheart told her. "You don't need to worry—he's much gentler than he looks. And the other cat"— he flinched—"is called Lostface." "Lostface!" Princess echoed, opening her eyes wide. "What a horrible name! Why did they call her that?" "You'll see," Fireheart mewed grimly. "She's been badly hurt, so be kind to her." He jumped down from the fence, and after a moment's hesitation Princess followed him and padded across to where the three cats waited. Cloudtail ran out to meet his mother, leaving Graystripe with Lostface, and touched noses with her. "Cloudpaw, it's ages since I've seen you," Princess purred. "You're looking wonderful, and haven't you grown?" "You've got to call me Cloudtail now," her son announced. "I'm a warrior."

他用尾巴指了指其他三只猫蹲在树边的地方。 “有Cloudpaw !”公主高兴地叫道。 “但是其他人是谁呢？”“那只灰色的大汤姆是我的朋友格雷条纹。”火心告诉她。 “你不用担心——他比看上去温和多了。 另一只猫，”他畏缩了一下，“叫‘失脸’。” “Lostface !”公主应声说，眼睛睁得大大的。 “多可怕的名字！”他们为什么那样叫她？”“你等着瞧吧。”火心冷酷地叫道。 “她伤得很重，所以对她好一点。” 他从篱笆上跳下来，公主犹豫了一会儿，跟着他，蹑手蹑脚地走到三只猫等候的地方。 云尾巴跑出去迎接他的母亲，留下灰条纹和丧脸，他们互相抚摸着她的鼻子。 “云爪，好久没见到你了。”公主咕噜着。 “你看起来很漂亮，难道你没有长高吗？”“你现在得叫我云尾巴了。”她儿子宣布。 “我是个战士。”

Princess let out a little trill of joy. "A warrior already? Cloudtail, I'm so proud of you!" While the tabby queen eagerly questioned her son about his life in the Clan, Fireheart did not forget that danger might be near. "We can't stay long," he meowed. "Princess, have you heard anything about a dog loose in the forest?" Princess turned to him, her eyes wide and scared. "A dog? No, I don't know anything about that." "I think that might have been what the Twolegs were looking for that day Sandstorm and I met you in Tallpines," Fireheart went on. "I don't think you should come into the forest alone anymore, not for the time being, anyway. It's too dangerous." "Then you're in danger all the time," mewed Princess. Her voice rose in distress. "Oh, Fireheart…!" "There's nothing for you to worry about." Fireheart tried to sound confident. "Just stay in your garden. The dog won't bother you there." "But I worry about you, Fireheart, and Cloudtail. You haven't got a nest to—Oh!"

公主高兴得微微颤抖了一下。 “已经是战士了？”云尾巴，我真为你骄傲！”当虎斑猫女王急切地询问儿子在氏族的生活时，火心并没有忘记危险可能就在附近。 “我们不能待太久，”他叫道。 “公主，你听说过森林里有只狗跑出来了吗？”公主转向他，眼睛睁得大大的，充满了恐惧。 “一只狗?不，我什么都不知道。” “我想这可能就是那天特弗利格人要找的东西。沙暴和我在高pines遇见了你。” “我认为你不应该再单独到森林里来了，至少目前是这样。 这太危险了。”“那你就一直处于危险之中。”公主叫道。 她的声音因痛苦而提高了。 “哦,Fireheart…!”“你没什么好担心的。” 火心试图装出自信的样子。 “待在你的花园里。 狗在那儿不会打扰你的。” “但我担心你，火心，还有云尾巴。 你连个窝都没有啊！”

Princess had just caught sight of Lostface's damaged side and could not restrain a squeak of horror. Lostface heard her and crouched closer to the ground, uneasiness showing in her bristling fur. "Come and meet Lostface," Cloudtail meowed, giving his mother a hard stare. Nervously Princess took the few paces that brought her to where Graystripe and Lostface waited. Graystripe nodded to her in greeting, and Lostface gazed up at her with her one good eye. "Oh, my goodness, whatever happened to you?" Princess blurted out, her paws working on the ground. "Lostface went out to tackle the dog," Cloudtail answered. "She was very brave." "And it did that to you? Oh, you poor thing!" Princess's eyes were huger still as she took in the full horror of Lostface's injuries—the ravaged face, the lost eye, and the shredded ear. "And the same thing could happen to any of you…." Fireheart gritted his teeth. His sister was saying all the wrong things, and Lostface was gazing at her with deep sadness in her remaining eye.

公主刚刚看到了失脸受伤的那一面，不禁惊恐地尖叫起来。 “丢脸”听到了她的话，蜷缩得更靠近地面，从她那竖起的毛上可以看出她的不安。 “来见见失脸吧。”云尾巴叫道，狠狠地瞪了他妈妈一眼。 公主忐忑不安地走了几步，来到了灰条纹和丢脸等着她的地方。 灰条向她点头致意，而失脸则用她那只完好的眼睛抬头望着她。 “哦，我的天哪，你发生了什么事？”公主脱口而出，她的爪子踩在地上。 “丢脸出去抓狗了。”云尾巴回答。 “她非常勇敢。”“它把你变成那样了吗？” 啊，可怜的人儿！”公主的眼睛瞪得更大了，因为她看到了失去的脸所受的伤害——被蹂躏的脸，失去的眼睛，被撕碎的耳朵。 “同样的事情也可能发生在你们任何人身上....” 火心咬紧牙关。 他妹妹说的全是错的话，而失脸用剩下的那只眼睛盯着她，带着深深的悲伤。

Cloudtail pressed his flank against her and nosed her comfortingly. "It's time we were going," Fireheart decided. "Cloudtail just wanted to give you his news. You'd better get back into your garden." "Yes—yes, I will." Princess backed away, her eyes still fixed on Lostface. "You'll come and see me again, Fireheart?" "As soon as I can," he promised, and added silently, alone. Princess retreated another pace or two, then turned and dashed for her fence, swarming up it and pausing briefly on the top to meow, "Good- bye!" before vanishing into the safety of her garden. Cloudtail let out a long breath. "That went well," he meowed bitterly. "You can't blame Princess," Fireheart told him. "She doesn't really understand what Clan life is all about. She's just seen some of the worst of it, and she doesn't like it." Graystripe grunted. "What can you expect from a kittypet? Let's get home." Cloudtail gently nosed Lostface. As she got to

云尾巴把身子贴在她身上，安慰地用鼻子嗅着她。 “我们该走了。”火心决定。 “云尾巴只是想告诉你他的消息。 你最好回到你的花园里去。” “是的，是的，我会的。”公主往后退，她的眼睛仍然盯着丢脸。 “你还会来看我吗，火心？”“我尽可能快。”他答应了，然后又独自默默地加了一句。 公主又后退了一两步，然后转身向她的篱笆冲去，爬上篱笆，在篱笆顶上停了一会儿，喵喵地叫了一声：“再见！”然后消失在她安全的花园里。 云尾巴长长地呼了一口气。 “很顺利。”他痛苦地叫道。 “这不能怪公主。”火心告诉他。 “她并不真正了解部落的生活是什么。 她只是看到了一些最糟糕的情况，她不喜欢这样。” Graystripe哼了一声。“你能从小猫身上期待什么？” 我们回家吧。”云尾巴轻轻地嗅了嗅失脸。 当她走到