Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 The squall was soon over. Firestar led his cats home through a forest where every twig and fern dripped water under a clearing sky. Silverpelt glittered brightly, and Firestar raised his eyes to utter a silent prayer: Great StarClan, show me what to do. He began to worry about whether Tigerstar had sent warriors to attack the camp while Firestar and the others were away. It would be one way to weaken ThunderClan so that Firestar had no choice but to ally his surviving cats with TigerClan. Relief flooded over him as he emerged from the gorse tunnel to see that everything was peaceful. Whitestorm got up from sentry duty outside the warriors' den and padded over. "You're back early. I wondered if those stormclouds would cover the moon." "Yes, but it was worse than that," Firestar replied. "Worse?" Whitestorm's eyes widened in astonishment as Firestar told him what had happened at the Gathering just before thunder

第十三章暴风雨很快就过去了。 火星带着他的猫穿过一片森林，在晴朗的天空下，每根树枝和蕨类植物都在滴水。 Silverpelt闪闪发光，Firestar抬起眼睛默默祈祷：伟大的星际氏族，告诉我该怎么做。 他开始担心，是不是虎星趁火星等人不在的时候，派了战士来攻击营地。 这将是削弱ThunderClan的一种方法，这样Firestar就别无选择，只能将幸存的猫与TigerClan结盟。 当他从金雀花隧道出来，看到一切都很平静时，他如释重负。 白风暴在战士洞穴外放哨，站起身来，蹑手蹑脚地走了过来。 “你回来得真早。我想知道那些风暴云会不会把月亮遮住。” “是的，但情况比这更糟，”Firestar回答。 “更糟?”当火星告诉白风暴在打雷之前的聚会上发生的事情时，他惊讶地睁大了眼睛

and lightning prevented his revealing words. More cats joined them, and Firestar was aware of shocked mews as his Clan learned what Tigerstar was planning. "When the storm broke," Firestar finished, "Tigerstar said it was a sign from StarClan that he had their favor. He and Leopardstar left, so the Gathering broke up." "It might well have been a sign," mewed Whitestorm thoughtfully. "But one that shows StarClan are angry with Tigerstar." "Cinderpelt, what do you think?" Firestar asked the medicine cat, who had listened to the story with deep foreboding in her blue eyes. "I don't know," she admitted. "If it was a sign, it would mean StarClan stopped you from telling the truth about Tigerstar, and I find that hard to believe." She shrugged. "There are times when a storm is just a storm." "It was an unlucky one for ThunderClan, then," muttered Longtail. "I wish I'd been there," Cloudtail growled. "I'd have torn Tigerstar's throat out. No more problem."

闪电阻止了他吐露心声。 更多的猫加入了他们，当他的部落得知虎星的计划时，火星意识到了震惊的消息。 “当风暴爆发的时候，”Firestar说，“Tigerstar说这是来自StarClan的信号，表明他得到了他们的青睐。 他和豹星离开了，所以聚会解散了。” “这很可能是个预兆。”白风暴若有所思地叫道。 “但这表明StarClan对Tigerstar很生气。” “灰姑娘，你觉得怎么样？”火星问药猫，她听了这个故事，蓝色的眼睛里充满了不祥的预感。 “我不知道，”她承认。 “如果这是一个征兆，那就意味着StarClan阻止你说出关于虎星的真相，我觉得这很难相信。” 她耸耸肩。“有时候暴风雨就是暴风雨。” “这么说，这对雷族来说是不幸的。”长尾巴喃喃地说。 “我真希望我也在场。”云尾巴咆哮道。 “我早就把虎星的喉咙撕开了。 没有问题了。”

"In that case, it's a good thing you weren't there," Firestar retorted. "Attacking a Clan leader at a Gathering? That would have made StarClan angry." Cloudtail narrowed his eyes at Firestar, the challenge clear in his blue gaze. "Why don't StarClan do something to help us, then, if they're so powerful?" "Maybe they will," Brightheart suggested gently. "So what are we going to do?" asked Mousefur. She was shifting from paw to paw as if she wanted to race out of camp and confront her enemies right away. "You're not thinking of joining this… TigerClan, are you?" "Never," Firestar assured her. "But we need time to think, and rest." He yawned and stretched. "For now, we'll need extra patrols. Any volunteers to go out at dawn?" "I will," Mousefur offered instantly. "Thanks," meowed Firestar. "Keep a lookout along the border with ShadowClan. And if you come across any of Tigerstar's warriors, you know what to do."

“如果是那样的话，你不在那儿倒是件好事，”Firestar反驳道。 “在聚会中攻击部落首领？” 这会让《StarClan》感到愤怒。” 云尾巴眯起眼睛看着火星，蓝色的目光清楚地显示出挑战。 “既然StarClan这么强大，他们为什么不帮帮我们呢？”“也许他们会的。” “那我们该怎么办呢？”老鼠问。 她从一只爪子换到另一只爪子，好像她想冲出营地，马上面对她的敌人。 “你不会想加入这个……虎帮吧？”“永远不会。”火星向她保证。 “但我们需要时间思考和休息。” 他打了个哈欠，伸了个懒腰。“现在，我们需要额外的巡逻。 有人愿意在黎明时分出去吗？”“我会的。”老鼠立刻说。 “谢谢。”火星喵喵地说。 “和影子氏族一起在边界上把风。 如果你遇到虎星的战士，你知道该怎么做。”

"Oh, yes." Cloudtail lashed his tail eagerly. "I'll come with you, Mousefur. I could do with some ShadowClan fur to line my nest." Firestar didn't try to check the young warrior's hostility. No cat could doubt Cloudtail's loyalty to ThunderClan, however scornful he was about StarClan and the warrior code. Whitestorm named Brackenfur and Thornclaw to join the patrol as well, and all four cats padded off to get some rest before dawn. One by one, the other Clan cats headed for their dens. Firestar was aware of their shock, and the fear they did not quite succeed in hiding. Eventually he was left alone with only Cinderpelt by his side. He let out a long sigh. "Will there ever be any end to this?" he murmured. Cinderpelt pressed her muzzle comfortingly against his. "I don't know. It's in the paws of StarClan." She narrowed her eyes. "But sometimes I don't believe there'll be any peace in the forest until Tigerstar is dead." "Right," Firestar meowed. "Attack me."

“哦,是的。”云尾巴急切地摇着尾巴。 “我和你一起去，小老鼠。 我需要一些影子氏族的皮毛来装饰我的巢。” 火星并没有试图抑制这个年轻战士的敌意。 没有猫会怀疑云尾巴对雷霆氏族的忠诚，不管他对星际氏族和战士准则有多鄙视。 白风暴叫布莱肯弗和桑克劳也加入巡逻队，四只猫都在黎明前离开去休息了。 其他家族的猫一只接一只地朝它们的巢穴走去。 火星意识到了他们的震惊和恐惧，他们并没有完全成功地躲藏起来。 最后只剩下他一个人，只有灰姑娘在他身边。 他长叹一声。“这件事会有什么结局吗？”他喃喃地说。 灰姑娘把她的嘴安慰地贴在他的嘴上。 “我不知道。它在StarClan的爪下。” 她眯起眼睛。“但有时我不相信老虎星死前森林里会有安宁。” “对，”火星喵喵地说。“攻击我。”

A few foxlengths away, Bramblepaw crouched on the floor of the hollow. Firestar waited as the apprentice began to creep toward him, his amber eyes darting from side to side as if he was choosing the best place to strike. A heartbeat later Bramblepaw launched himself into the air. But Firestar was ready for him. Slipping rapidly to one side, he butted Bramblepaw in the flank as he came down, and the young cat lost his balance and rolled over, his paws scuffing up dust. "You'll have to be quicker than that," Firestar told him. "Don't give your enemy time to think." Bramblepaw scrambled up, spitting out sand, and immediately sprang again. His outstretched paws caught Firestar on the side of the head, thrusting the older cat sideways so that his paws slid out from under him. Bramblepaw held him down, his nose almost touching Firestar's. "Like that?" he asked. Firestar pushed him off. "Let me up, you great lump!" Shaking sand out of his pelt, he added, "Yes, just like that. You're shaping up well, Bramblepaw."

几个狐狸身之外，蓝爪蹲在洼地的地板上。 火星等待着学徒慢慢向他走来，琥珀色的眼睛左顾右看，好像在选择最好的攻击地点。 一个心跳之后，蓝爪腾空而起。 但Firestar已经为他做好了准备。 他飞快地滑到一边，摔下来的时候撞到了荆棘爪子的侧翼，小猫失去了平衡，翻了个身，爪子刮起了灰尘。 “你得快点，”火星对他说。 “别给你的敌人时间思考。” 荆棘爪爬了起来，吐出沙子，又立刻跳了起来。 它伸出的爪子抓住了火星头的一侧，把那只老猫推到一边，爪子从它身下滑了出来。 蓝爪按住他，他的鼻子几乎碰到了火星的鼻子。 “像那样？”他问。火星把他推开了。 “让我上去，你这个大笨蛋！”他抖了抖毛皮里的沙子，补充道：“是的，就像那样。 你长得不错，蓝爪。”

The apprentice's eyes glowed and Firestar suddenly felt as if he were looking at a young Tigerstar—but this was Tigerstar as he should have been: strong, skillful, brave and, yes, ambitious, but in Bramblepaw all the ambition seemed to be focused on becoming the best warrior that he could be in the service of his Clan. Firestar couldn't resist letting out a purr of satisfaction. Amid all the troubles that beset ThunderClan, it was a relief to escape for a short time for a training session with his apprentice. But Bramblepaw's next words reminded him of his weightier responsibilities. "Firestar, I wanted to ask you…why does every cat think it would be so bad to be part of TigerClan?" "What?" Firestar felt a surge of anger; he could hardly believe his apprentice had asked the question. Bramblepaw flinched, but he went on, steadily meeting his mentor's eyes. "Ashpaw told me what Tigerstar said. It's true that times are hard. Every cat's always complaining about the shortage of prey, and how there are more Twolegs in the forest than ever before. Besides, TigerClan will be

学徒的眼睛闪着光，火星突然觉得自己看到的是一只年轻的虎星——这才是虎星应有的样子：强壮、灵巧、勇敢，而且，是的，还有雄心壮志，但在蓝爪身上，所有的雄心似乎都集中在成为最优秀的战士，为他的氏族服务。 火星忍不住发出一声满意的咕噜声。 在所有困扰着雷霆氏族的麻烦中，逃离一段时间和他的学徒一起训练是一种解脱。 但蓝爪接下来的话让他想起了自己更重要的责任。 “火星，我想问你……为什么每只猫都认为加入虎族有多糟糕？”“什么?”火星感到一阵愤怒；他简直不敢相信他的学徒会问这个问题。 蓝爪畏缩了一下，但他继续说下去，坚定地直视着他导师的眼睛。 阿什帕把虎星说的话告诉了我。 的确，时局艰难。 每只猫都在抱怨猎物太少，抱怨森林里的两条腿比以前多。 此外，TigerClan也会