Chapter 27

CHAPTER 28 The first faint streaks of dawn were showing as Firestar approached Fourtrees. Pausing on the bank of the stream, he glanced back at the warriors who followed him. His heart swelled with pride as his gaze traveled over each one. Sandstorm, his beloved; Graystripe, the truest friend any cat ever had; Brackenfur, sensible and loyal; Whitestorm, his wise deputy; Thornclaw, the newest warrior of ThunderClan, looking tense and eager at the prospect of his first battle; Longtail, who had discovered at last where his heart lay; Frostfur and Mousefur, a formidable pair of she-cats; Dustpelt, reserved but true- hearted, and his apprentice, Ashpaw; Firestar's own apprentice, Bramblepaw, a glow in his amber eyes and his fur bristling; and Cloudtail, wayward but committed to his C l an, with Brightheart, the cat he had brought back from the brink of death. Pain like claws tore at Firestar's heart as he realized how much they meant to him, and what fearful danger they were facing now. He raised his voice so that they could all hear him. "You know what lies ahead of us," he

第二十八章当“火星”接近四树树时，黎明的第一缕曙光已经出现了。 他在河边停了下来，回头看了一眼跟随他的战士们。 他的目光掠过每一个人，心中充满了自豪。 风沙，他的爱人；灰条，猫最忠实的朋友；Brackenfur，明智而忠诚；他聪明的副手怀特斯托姆；桑克劳，雷霆氏族的新战士，对即将到来的第一场战斗显得紧张而急切；长尾终于找到了自己的心所在；霜毛和鼠毛，一对可怕的母猫；尘土尘，沉默寡言，但心地真诚，还有他的徒弟阿什帕；火星自己的徒弟，蓝爪，琥珀色的眼睛里闪烁着光芒，毛发竖起；还有桀骜不驯却忠于他的上司的云尾巴，还有他从死亡边缘救回来的猫“亮心”。 当他意识到他们对他来说是多么重要，以及他们现在面临着多么可怕的危险时，痛苦像爪子一样撕扯着火星的心。 他提高了声音，好让他们都能听见。 “你知道摆在我们面前的是什么，”他说

meowed. "I only want to say one thing. Ever since StarClan placed the four Clans in the forest, no leader ever had a band of warriors like you. Whatever happens, I want you to remember that." "There was never a leader like you, Firestar," meowed Graystripe. Firestar shook his head, his throat too choked for words. It was just like Graystripe to compare him to the truly great leaders like Bluestar, but he knew how far short of that he fell. He could only resolve to do his best to live up to his friends' trust in him. Crossing the stream, he heard a whisper of movement from the direction of the river and glanced down the slope to see the cats of RiverClan and ShadowClan slipping quietly toward the meeting place. Firestar signaled a greeting with his tail as the warriors thronged around him, swelling the ranks of his own forces. He was relieved to see that they had kept their promise, though the look of hostility from Blackfoot told him that even though ShadowClan might be fighting on their side this time, they would never be ThunderClan's friends.

呜呜呜。“我只想说一件事。 自从StarClan把四个部落安置在森林里，就没有一个首领有像你这样的战士。 无论发生什么，我希望你记住这一点。” “从来没有像你这样的领袖，火星。” 火星摇了摇头，他的喉咙哽得说不出话来。 就像Graystripe将他与蓝星这样真正伟大的领导者进行比较一样，但他知道自己离蓝星还有多远。 他只能下定决心尽自己最大的努力，不辜负朋友们对他的信任。 渡河时，他听见河那边有动静，便顺着山坡往下看，只见河族和影族的猫悄悄地朝集合地点溜去。 火星用尾巴表示欢迎，战士们围了过来，壮大了自己的队伍。 看到他们遵守了诺言，他松了一口气，不过黑脚敌意的表情告诉他，即使这次影子氏族可能站在他们一边，他们也永远不会成为雷霆氏族的朋友。

Firestar spotted Boulder among the ShadowClan warriors. Tawnypaw was there too, looking nervous but determined. Mistyfoot went forward hesitantly to greet her friends among the River Clan cats, touching noses with Shadepelt. Runningnose and Mudfur, the two medicine cats, arrived together, each with an apprentice carrying their supplies, and pushed their way through the throng until they found Cinderpelt. The three united Clans went on to Fourtrees together, with Firestar and Leopardstar in the lead. When they came to the top of the hollow, everything was silent. The breeze was blowing away from them, toward ShadowClan territory, and Firestar felt his pelt prickle with dread. Their scent would be carried to the waiting BloodClan, while they themselves had no idea where their enemies might be. "Graystripe, Mousefur," he whispered. "Scout around the hollow. Don't show yourselves. If you see any cats, come back and tell me." The two cats slid off in opposite directions, barely visible shadows in the gray light. Firestar waited, trying to appear calm and confident,

火星在暗影族战士中发现了巨石。 汤爷爷也在那里，看上去很紧张，但很坚决。 雾蒙蒙的走上前，迟疑地向河族猫群里的朋友们打招呼，她和沙德佩特碰了碰鼻子。 两只药猫“流鼻”和“泥毛”一起来了，每只猫都带着一个学徒，他们挤过人群，直到找到了“灰姑娘”。 三个联合氏族一起前往Fourtrees， Firestar和Leopardstar领先。 当他们来到山谷的顶端时，四周一片寂静。 微风正从他们身边吹向暗影家族的领地，火星感到他的皮毛因恐惧而刺痛。 他们的气味会被带到等待的血族那里，而他们自己却不知道敌人会在哪里。 “灰条，鼠毛。”他低声说。 “在山谷周围侦察一下。不要露面。 如果你看到猫，回来告诉我。” 两只猫朝相反的方向溜走了，在灰色的灯光下几乎看不见影子。 火星等待着，努力表现出冷静和自信，

thankful for the presence of Whitestorm and Sandstorm close beside him. He had barely time to think about what might happen next when Graystripe returned with another cat close behind him. It was Tallstar. "Greetings, Firestar," he murmured. "WindClan are here. All our warriors—and your friends, Barley and Ravenpaw." The loners came up as the WindClan leader spoke their names. "We came to help as we promised," Ravenpaw meowed, twining his tail with Firestar's in greeting. "We'll fight alongside you, if you'll have us." "If we'll have you?" Firestar echoed, a purr of gratitude swelling up inside him. "You're welcome; you know that." "We're proud to fight with you," Barley mewed. Sandstorm came up to greet her former Clan mate, and the two loners took positions beside her. "Do you know where BloodClan is?" Firestar asked Tallstar. Tallstar's eyes were bleak as he gazed across the hollow to the ShadowClan territory.

感谢白风暴和沙风暴在他身边。 他还没来得及考虑接下来会发生什么，格雷斯特里克就带着另一只猫紧跟在他后面回来了。 是Tallstar。“你好，火星。”他低声说。 “风氏族来了。我们所有的勇士，还有你的朋友，巴利和拉文爪。” 当风氏族首领说出他们的名字时，那些孤独的人走了上来。 “我们是按照承诺来帮忙的。”拉文爪喵喵地叫道，用火星的尾巴缠绕在一起表示欢迎。 “如果你愿意，我们会和你并肩作战。” “如果我们要你的话？”火星回应道，一声感激的咕噜声在他心中涌起。 “欢迎你;你知道的。” “我们很自豪能和你们一起战斗，”巴利叫道。 沙暴走过来迎接她以前的部落伙伴，两个孤独的人在她身边就位。 “你知道BloodClan在哪里吗？”火星问高星。 高星凝视着山谷对面暗影部落的领地，眼神暗淡。

"Somewhere out there, watching us, I'd guess." His voice was steady, and Firestar began to envy his calm, unshaking courage, until he caught the WindClan leader's fear-scent and heard him mutter under his breath, "StarClan help us! Show us an enemy we can fight!" Somehow the knowledge that Tallstar was as afraid as he was himself only increased Firestar's respect for the older and more experienced leader. Tallstar would never show fear in front of his Clan. He would put aside his own feelings to do his duty as leader; Firestar only hoped that he could do the same. He peered into the shadows, looking for a sign that Mousefur was on her way back. Almost at once he caught sight of her bounding toward him, and in the same heartbeat there was movement in the clearing below. Dark shapes appeared from the bushes at the foot of the opposite slope as BloodClan advanced in a single menacing line. Firestar's belly clenched in fear when the small figure of Scourge stepped out. "I know you're there!" the BloodClan leader called. "Come and give me your answer."

“我猜就在某处，看着我们。” 他的声音很稳定，火星开始羡慕他冷静、坚定的勇气，直到他嗅到风氏族首领的恐惧气息，听到他低声咕哝道：“星氏族救救我们！给我们看看我们能打败的敌人！”不知何故，得知塔尔斯特和他自己一样害怕，只会增加火星对这位更年长、更有经验的领袖的尊重。 高星绝不会在他的族人面前表现出恐惧。 他会抛开个人感情，履行自己作为领袖的职责；火星只希望他也能做到这一点。 他凝视着阴影，寻找鼠毛回来的迹象。 他几乎立刻看见她向他跳来，在同样的心跳中，下面的空地上也有动静。 对面山坡脚下的灌木丛中出现了黑影，血族排成了一条威胁的队伍。 当天灾的小身影走出来时，火星的肚子吓得紧绷着。 “我知道你在那儿！”血族首领喊道。 “来，告诉我你的答案。”

Firestar paused for a heartbeat, and glanced at the cats behind him. Though he knew how terrified they must be, he could see nothing but fierce determination in their faces. LionClan was ready for battle. "Go on, Firestar," Leopardstar mewed quietly. Her fur was bristling and her ears lay flat against her head in a mixture of fear and defiance. "Lead us." Firestar looked at Tallstar, who nodded. "You spoke for us before," he meowed. "You're the one who should lead us now. We all trust you." Firestar led the united Clans down into the clearing. Scourge was waiting for him near the base of the Great Rock. His black pelt was neatly groomed and he sat with his paws tucked under him. His eyes were chips of ice, and the rising sun glinted on the teeth that studded his kittypet collar. "Greetings," he meowed. He swiped his tongue around his jaws as if he were tasting a succulent piece of prey. "Have you decided to leave? Or do you presume you can fight against BloodClan?" "We don't have to fight," Firestar replied

火星停了一下，瞥了一眼身后的猫。 虽然他知道他们一定很害怕，但他在他们的脸上只看到了强烈的决心。 LionClan已经做好了战斗的准备。 “走吧，火星。”豹星轻声叫道。 她的毛竖起来了，耳朵贴在头上，带着一种恐惧和蔑视的神情。 “领导我们。”火星看了看高星，后者点了点头。 “你之前替我们说话了，”他叫道。 “现在应该由你来领导我们。 我们都信任你。”火星带领联合氏族来到空地上。 天灾在大岩石的底部等着他。 它的黑皮毛梳得整整齐齐，爪子夹在身下坐着。 他的眼睛像冰屑，初升的太阳在他的小猫项圈上的牙齿上闪闪发光。 “你好。”他喵喵叫道。他的舌头在下颚上滑动，好像在品尝一块多汁的猎物。 “你决定离开了吗？” 或者你认为你可以对抗血族？”“我们不需要战斗，”Firestar回答