Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 "This isn't the quickest way to Fourtrees," Squirrelpaw protested when Brambleclaw paused on the edge of a bramble thicket. She flicked her tail. "We should be going that way." "Fine." Brambleclaw sighed. Squirrelpaw had been unusually quiet after saying good-bye to her sister, but unfortunately the silence hadn't lasted. "Go that way, if you feel like a swim. This way the stream is narrower, and there's a rock we can use to jump across." "Oh—okay." Squirrelpaw seemed disconcerted for a moment, but then she shrugged and raced through the trees at Brambleclaw's side; they crossed the stream in a couple of bounds and headed up the last slope that led to Fourtrees. Brambleclaw realized that the whole disk of the sun had risen above the horizon by the time they reached the edge of the hollow. He paused, sweeping his tail to hold back Squirrelpaw so that she wouldn't go dashing into the clearing before they knew what they would

第十三章 “这去四树不是最快的路呀，” 棘爪在荆棘灌木丛边停下脚步时，松鼠爪抗议道。 她甩了甩尾巴。 “我们应该走那边才对。” “行吧。” 棘爪叹了口气。 松鼠爪和妹妹告别后，本来反常地安静，可惜这份安静没维持多久。 “走那边的话，你可想好了要游泳哦。 走这条路河道更窄，还有一块石头能踩着跳过去。” “哦——好吧。” 松鼠爪愣了一下，很快就耸耸肩，跟着棘爪一路跑过树林； 他们三两下就跳过了小河，爬上通往四树的最后一道斜坡。 等他们走到山谷边缘的时候，棘爪发现太阳已经整个升出地平线了。 他停下脚步，甩尾巴拦住松鼠爪，不让她贸然冲进空地，他们还不知道

find there. Drinking in the air, he could taste the mingled scents of the three other Clans, and when he looked down the slope he saw Tawnypelt, Feathertail, and Stormfur sitting at the base of the Great Rock, while Crowpaw paced restlessly up and down in front of them. "At last!" Tawnypelt sprang to her paws as Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw burst out of the bushes at the foot of the slope. "We thought you weren't coming." "What's she doing here?" Crowpaw demanded, glaring at Squirrelpaw. Squirrelpaw returned the glare, her neck fur bristling angrily. "I can speak for myself, thanks. I'm coming with you." "What?" Tawnypelt padded up to her brother's side. "Brambleclaw, have you lost your mind? You can't bring an apprentice. This is going to be dangerous." Before Brambleclaw could reply, Squirrelpaw hissed, "He's an apprentice!" and flicked her tail at Crowpaw. "I was chosen by StarClan," Crowpaw pointed out immediately. "You weren't." Seeming to

那边究竟有什么。 他吸了口气，闻得到另外三个族群混合在一起的气味，往斜坡下一看，看到褐皮、羽尾和暴毛坐在大岩石脚下，鸦爪在他们面前不安地踱来踱去。 “可算来了！” 棘爪和松鼠爪从坡脚的灌木丛里冲出来的时候，褐皮一下子站起身。 “我们还以为你不来了呢。” “她怎么会在这里？” 鸦爪怒瞪着松鼠爪，质问道。 松鼠爪也回瞪他，颈后的毛气得炸了起来。 “我自己能说话，谢谢。 我要跟你们一起走。” “什么？” 褐皮走到她哥哥身边。 “棘爪，你疯了吗？ 你不能带一个学徒来。 这趟路可危险了。” 棘爪还没开口，松鼠爪就嘶声说：“他不也是学徒！”还冲鸦爪甩了甩尾巴。 “我是星族选中的，”鸦爪立刻抢话。 “你不是。” 仿佛觉得

think that settled it, he sat down and started to wash his ears. "He's not chosen either," Squirrelpaw protested, transferring the glare to Stormfur. "Don't tell me he's here just to say good-bye to his sister!" The two RiverClan cats said nothing, just exchanged a worried glance. "She's coming, and that's that." Brambleclaw's patience was rapidly running out. At this rate the mission would fall apart in bickering and bad temper before it had even started. "Now let's get going." "Don't order me around!" Crowpaw snapped. "No, he's right," Tawnypelt sighed. "If we can't stop Squirrelpaw coming—" "You can't," Squirrelpaw put in. "—then we might as well get moving and make the best of it." To Brambleclaw's relief, even Crowpaw seemed to see the sense in that. He got to his paws, turning his back on Squirrelpaw as if she didn't exist. "Pity you can't leave your Clan without dragging along a burr in your pelt," he

这么说就搞定了，他坐下来开始舔洗耳朵。 “他也不是被选中的呀，”松鼠爪不服气，又把怒瞪的目光转去暴毛那边。 “别告诉我他来这儿只是送妹妹啊！” 两个河族猫没说话，只是担忧地对视了一眼。 “她要走就走，就这样定了。” 棘爪的耐心快耗光了。 照这个吵法，任务还没开始就要在斗嘴发脾气里搞砸了。 “现在我们出发吧。” “别对我指手画脚！” 鸦爪厉声反驳。 “不对，他说得对，”褐皮叹口气。 “要是我们拦不住松鼠爪要跟来——” “你们本来就拦不住，”松鼠爪插嘴。 “——那我们不如出发，将就着走啦。” 让棘爪松口气的是，连鸦爪都觉得这话有道理。 他站起身，背对着松鼠爪，就当她不存在似的。 “真可怜，离开族群还要带个甩不掉的讨厌鬼，”他

jeered at Brambleclaw. The two RiverClan cats rose too, and padded up to join the group. "Don't worry," Feathertail murmured, touching Squirrelpaw's shoulder briefly with her muzzle. "We're all feeling a bit nervous. It'll be better once we're on our way." Squirrelpaw's eyes flashed as if she were about to make a sharp reply, but meeting Feathertail's gentle gaze she clearly thought better of it, and dipped her head, her neck fur beginning to lie flat again. As if obeying an unspoken command, all six cats padded through the bushes to the top of the slope, emerging at the edge of WindClan territory. When Brambleclaw looked out on the moorland slopes, the tough, springy grass ruffled by the wind like the fur of a huge animal, his heart pounded until he thought it would burst right out of his chest. This was the moment he had been waiting for, ever since Bluestar had spoken to him in his dream. The time of the new prophecy was here. The journey had begun! But as he took his first steps across the moor, he was pierced by a sharp pang of regret for

嘲讽棘爪道。 两只河族猫也站起身，走过来加入了队伍。 “别担心，”羽尾轻声说，用鼻尖轻轻碰了碰松鼠爪的肩膀。 “我们现在都有点紧张呀。 上路之后就会好起来的。” 松鼠爪眼睛一亮，本来还想顶一句难听的，但是对上羽尾温柔的目光，她改口了，低下头，颈后的炸毛也慢慢平复下去。 好像收到了无声的指令，六只猫一起穿过灌木丛走到坡顶，出来就到了风族领土的边界。 当棘爪望向荒原的山坡，坚韧有弹性的草被风吹得起伏，像一头巨兽的皮毛，他的心砰砰狂跳，快要跳出胸口了。 自从蓝星在他梦里对他说过那番话，他就一直在等这一刻。 新预言的时刻到了。 旅程已经开启！ 可当他跨出第一步踏上荒原的时候，心头突然涌上一阵强烈的懊悔，他舍不得

everything he was leaving behind—the familiar forest, his place in the Clan, his friends. From now on, everything would be different. Can we really live by the warrior code outside the forest? Brambleclaw wondered. Glancing back to the dark line of the trees, he added silently, Will any of us ever see our Clans again? Brambleclaw crouched in the shelter of a hedge and looked down at the clustered buildings of a Twoleg farm. Behind him, the other cats shifted restlessly. "What are we waiting for?" Crowpaw demanded. "That's the barn where Ravenpaw and Barley live," Brambleclaw replied, indicating it with his tail. "Yes, I know," meowed the WindClan apprentice. "Mudclaw took me there when I made my apprentice journey to Highstones. We're not stopping there now, are we?" "I think perhaps we should." Brambleclaw was careful not to sound as if he were giving the touchy apprentice an order. "Ravenpaw knows about the sun-drown-place. He might be able to

他抛下的一切——熟悉的森林、他在族群中的位置，还有他的朋友们。 从今往后，一切都不一样了。 离开森林之后，我们真的还能遵守武士守则活下去吗？ 黑莓掌暗暗想道。 他望向身后漆黑的林线，又在心中默默追问：我们当中还有人能再见到自己的族群吗？ 黑莓掌缩在树篱的遮挡下，低头看向两脚兽农场错落的屋舍。 他身后，其他猫咪不安地挪着身子。 "我们还在等什么？" 鸦爪问道。 "那就是乌鸦毛和巴利住的谷仓，" 黑莓掌甩了甩尾巴指向那里，回答道。 "嗯，我知道，" 这名风族学徒开口说。 "我当学徒去高石那次，泥爪带我来过这儿。" 我们该不会现在就要在这儿停下吧？ "我觉得我们或许应该留下来。" 黑莓掌小心措辞，免得听上去像是给这个敏感的学徒下命令。 "乌鸦毛知道太阳沉没之地的事。 说不定他能

tell us something useful." "And his barn is crawling with mice." Tawnypelt swiped her tongue around her whiskers. "We could do worse than spend the night there," Brambleclaw agreed. "A couple of good meals will help to build up our strength." "But we could easily make Highstones before dark if we keep going," Crowpaw pointed out. Brambleclaw suspected uncharitably that the WindClan apprentice was arguing just for the sake of it. "I still think it might be best if we stay here for tonight," he meowed. "This way we'll get to Highstones early next morning, with most of the day to get a good start in unknown territory." "Would you rather sleep on bare stone with no prey," Stormfur murmured, "or warm and comfortable with a full stomach? I vote for Barley's barn." "Me too!" Squirrelpaw mewed. "You don't get a vote," Crowpaw retorted. Squirrelpaw refused to be crushed. Green eyes gleaming with anticipation, she sprang to her paws. "Let's go!"

告诉我们一些有用的信息。" "而且他的谷仓里全是老鼠。" 褐皮舔了舔自己的胡须。 "我们在这儿过夜再好不过了，" 黑莓掌赞同道。 "饱餐几顿能帮我们恢复体力。" "可我们要是继续走，天黑前就能到高石了，" 鸦爪反驳道。 黑莓掌忍不住暗自觉得，这个风族学徒纯粹就是为了抬杠而抬杠。 "我还是觉得我们今晚留在这儿最好，" 他说道。 "这样我们明天一早就能出发去高石，剩下一整白天可以在陌生领地开好头。" "你宁愿睡在光秃秃的石头上，还没有猎物，" 暴毛轻声说， "or warm and comfortable with a full stomach? 我投票去巴利的谷仓。" "我也去！" 松鼠爪叫道。 "你没有投票权，" 鸦爪回嘴道。 松鼠爪才不吃他这一套。 她的绿眼睛闪着期待的光，一下子站起身。 "我们走吧！"