Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 All night Leafpaw's sleep had been disturbed by strange, vivid dreams. At first she thought she was following a scent trail toward Fourtrees, running through the forest along the invisible path. Then the dream changed and she felt the fur on her neck and shoulders rise as if she confronted an enemy, with battle only a heartbeat away. The threat of danger faded, but now she grew colder and colder, until she jerked awake to find the clump of ferns where she slept heavy with raindrops, and rain drumming softly on the forest all around her. Scrambling to her paws, she dashed across the small, fern-enclosed clearing and took shelter just inside Cinderpelt's den. The medicine cat was sleeping soundly in her mossy nest beside the back wall and did not move when Leafpaw came in, shaking water from her pelt. The young apprentice blinked and yawned as she gazed out into the clearing. Above her head she could just make out the black outlines of trees against a sky that was growing gray with the

第六章 一整夜，叶爪的睡眠都被奇怪又清晰的梦境搅得不得安宁。 一开始，她以为自己正循着气味踪迹往四棵树去，沿着看不见的小路跑过森林。 接着梦境变了，她感觉脖子和肩膀的毛都竖了起来，仿佛直面敌人，战斗一触即发。 危险的威胁慢慢退去，可她却越来越冷，猛地惊醒后才发现，自己睡的那丛蕨叶沾满了雨滴，雨声正轻柔地敲打着四周的森林。 她赶忙爬起来，冲过被蕨类围住的小空地，躲进了炭毛巢穴的入口处。 这位巫医正靠着后墙，在她铺着苔藓的窝里酣睡，叶爪进去抖落皮毛上的水时，她一动都没动。 这名年轻学徒眨了眨眼，打了个哈欠，望向外面的空地。 在她头顶，天色正渐渐变灰，她刚好能看清树木黑色的轮廓映衬在

first light of dawn. Part of her rejoiced that the long dry spell was coming to an end with this downpour that the forest needed so badly. The rest of her could not help feeling troubled about what her dreams might mean. Was StarClan sending her a sign? Or had she somehow picked up thoughts from Squirrelpaw? This would not be the first time she had known what her sister was doing without being told. Leafpaw let out a long sigh. Little as she liked the idea, she was almost convinced that Squirrelpaw must have slipped out of camp to hunt by night, sending Leafpaw the images of running through the forest. There was no way she had been on an official patrol. What sort of trouble would Squirrelpaw be in if Firestar found out? As Leafpaw crouched there, she realized that the rain was easing off and the clouds were turning pale yellow and thinning out. With a last glance at the sleeping Cinderpelt she slipped outside again, ignoring the water that soaked her fur as she pushed through the fern tunnel into the main clearing. Perhaps if she could find

黎明的第一道曙光里。 一部分的她为这场大雨感到开心，持续很久的旱季终于结束了，森林太需要这场雨了。 可另一部分的她忍不住为这个梦的含义忐忑不安。 这是星族给她的征兆吗？ 还是她无意中感应到了松鼠爪的想法？ 这可不是她第一次没被告诉，就知道姐姐在做什么了。 叶爪长长地叹了一口气。 尽管她不愿意这么想，但她几乎确定，松鼠爪一定是夜里溜出营地偷偷捕猎去了，把穿过森林的画面传给了自己。 她绝对不可能是出正式巡逻任务。 要是火星发现了，松鼠爪得惹多大的麻烦啊？ 叶爪蹲在这儿的时候，发觉雨渐渐变小了，云朵变成淡黄色，也慢慢散开了。 她最后看了一眼熟睡的炭毛，又溜了出去，穿过蕨类地道往主空地走的时候，任凭雨水打湿自己的皮毛，毫不在意。 也许如果她能找到

Squirrelpaw quickly, she could help her hide whatever she had been up to. But when she reached the clearing there was no sign of her sister. The other three apprentices had emerged from their den and were lapping eagerly at a shallow puddle that had pooled on the sun-scorched earth. Ferncloud's three kits crept out of the nursery, their eyes huge as they examined this strange new water that had fallen from the sky. Ferncloud looked on with pride in her eyes as they dabbed at it, squealing with excitement as shining drops spun away from their paws. Leafpaw watched them for a moment, then whirled around when she saw movement at the mouth of the gorse tunnel. An early hunting patrol, she wondered, caught out by the rain? Or could it be Squirrelpaw, returning after her illicit outing? Then she realized that the newcomer did not have ThunderClan scent. She drew breath to yowl a warning to the Clan before she recognized the sleek black pelt: it was Ravenpaw, who had once been a ThunderClan apprentice but now

松鼠爪，就能赶紧帮她把偷偷做的事藏起来。 可等她走到空地上，完全找不到姐姐的影子。 另外三个学徒已经从窝里出来了，正迫不及待地舔着晒焦地面上积出的浅水坑。 蕨云的三只幼崽从育婴室爬出来，眼睛睁得大大的，打量着这从天而降的新奇水流。 蕨云骄傲地看着他们，他们拨弄水时，兴奋地叫着，亮晶晶的水珠从爪边飞溅开。 叶爪看了他们一会儿，忽然看到金雀花隧道口有动静，猛地转过身。 是早起的巡逻队吗，她暗忖，被这场雨困住了？ 还是偷溜出去的松鼠爪回来了？ 接着她反应过来，这个新来的家伙没有雷族的气味。 她倒吸一口凉气，正要冲着族群号叫发出警告，就认出了那身光滑的黑毛：是鸦爪，他曾经也是雷族的学徒，如今却

lived as a loner in a Twoleg barn on the edge of WindClan territory. Leafpaw had met him once before, on her journey to Highstones with Cinderpelt. Living so close to Twolegs, Ravenpaw hunted mainly by night and was perfectly comfortable with traveling through the forest in pitch dark. He might be just the cat to tell Leafpaw if there had been a ThunderClan apprentice hunting in the forest before dawn. The visitor crossed the clearing slowly, skirting the deepest puddles and delicately picking up his paws to shake off the water. "Hi— it's Leafpaw, isn't it?" Ravenpaw meowed, pricking his ears toward her. "That was some storm! I'd have been soaked through if I hadn't managed to shelter in a hollow tree. Still, the forest needs the rain." Leafpaw returned his greeting politely. She was trying to find the right words to ask him if he had seen Squirrelpaw on his way to the camp, when a cheerful yowl interrupted her. "Hey, Ravenpaw!" Whitepaw and Shrewpaw were bounding across the clearing toward them. Ferncloud's kits

在风族领地边缘的两脚兽谷仓里独自生活。 叶爪之前跟着炭毛去高石山的路上见过他一次。 因为住得离两脚兽很近，鸦爪大多时候在夜里捕猎，在漆黑的森林里穿行对他来说完全没问题。 要是黎明前真的有雷族学徒在森林里捕猎，他说不定会知情。 这位访客慢慢穿过空地，绕开最深的水坑，小心抬起爪子抖掉水珠。 “嗨——你是叶爪，对不对？” 鸦爪轻声说，耳朵朝着她竖了起来。 “这雨可真大啊！” “要是我没躲进空心树，早就浑身湿透了。” “不过话说回来，森林确实需要这场雨。” 叶爪礼貌地回应了他的问候。 她正琢磨着该怎么问他，来营地的路上有没有见过松鼠爪，一声欢快的号叫打断了她。 “嘿，鸦爪！” 白爪和锐爪正蹦跳着穿过空地朝他们跑来。 蕨云的幼崽们

abandoned their raindrop games and scuttled after them. The biggest of the three kits skidded to a halt in front of Ravenpaw and took an enormous sniff. "New cat," she growled. "New scent." The loner dipped his head in greeting, the tip of his tail flicking back and forth in amusement. "Hollykit, this is Ravenpaw," Shrewpaw told her. "He lives on a Twoleg farm, and feasts on more mice than you three have seen in your life." Hollykit's amber eyes grew huge. "Every day?" "That's right," Whitepaw put in solemnly. "Every day." "I want to go there," the little gray kit mewed. "Can we? Now?" "When you're bigger, Birchkit," Ferncloud promised, coming up to join them. "Welcome, Ravenpaw. It's good to— Hollykit! Larchkit! Stop that at once!" The two brown tabby kits had pounced on Ravenpaw's twitching tail, and were batting at it with outstretched paws. Ravenpaw winced. "Don't do that, little kits," he scolded gently. "It's my tail, not a mouse."

放弃了玩雨滴游戏，急匆匆追了上去。 三只幼崽里个头最大的，猛地在鸦爪跟前停住脚，狠狠嗅了一大下。 “新来的猫，”她低吼道。 “新气味。” 这只独行猫低头打招呼，尾巴尖兴味盎然地晃来晃去。 “冬青崽，这是鸦爪，”鼩爪告诉她。 “他住在两脚兽的农场里，吃的老鼠比你们三个这辈子见过的都多。” 冬青崽琥珀色的眼睛一下子瞪得圆圆的。 “每天都有吗？” “没错，”白爪郑重地补充道。 “每天都有。” “我想去那里，”小灰崽喵喵叫道。 “我们能去吗， 现在去吗？” “等你长大些，桦崽，”蕨毛承诺道，一边走过来和他们会合。 “欢迎你，鸦爪。 真高兴你——冬青崽！落叶崽！ 快停下！” 那两只棕虎斑幼崽已经扑到鸦爪抽动的尾巴上，伸着爪子不停地拍打着。 鸦爪疼得缩了一下。 “别这么玩哦，小家伙们，”他温柔地劝道。 “这是我的尾巴，不是老鼠呀。”

"Ravenpaw, I'm sorry," meowed Ferncloud. "They haven't learned how to behave properly yet." "Don't worry, Ferncloud," Ravenpaw replied, though he drew his tail closely against his side, out of harm's way. "Kits will be kits." "And these particular kits have been out for long enough." Ferncloud swished her tail around to gather the three kits together and herded them back toward the nursery. "Say good-bye to Ravenpaw now." The kits mewed good-bye and scampered off. "Can we do anything for you, Ravenpaw?" Whitepaw asked politely. "Would you like some fresh-kill?" "No, I ate before I left home, thank you," the black cat replied. "I've come to see Firestar. Is he around?" "I think he's in his den," Shrewpaw told him. "Shall I take you there?" "No, I will," meowed Leafpaw. She was getting increasingly anxious to ask the loner if he had seen Squirrelpaw on his journey through the forest. Just then Thornclaw, Shrewpaw's mentor,

“鸦爪，真对不起，”蕨毛喵喵说道。 它们还没学会懂规矩呢。” “没关系，蕨毛，”鸦爪回答，不过他还是把尾巴紧紧贴在身侧，免得再被折腾。 “幼崽嘛，总是这样的。” “再说这几个小家伙也出来玩够久了。” 蕨毛晃了晃尾巴把三只幼崽拢到一起，赶着它们回育婴室去。 “快跟鸦爪说再见呀。” 幼崽们喵喵道别后，蹦蹦跳跳跑走了。 “我们能帮你做什么吗，鸦爪？” 白爪有礼貌地问道。 “你要不要来点新鲜猎物？” “不用啦，我出门前吃过了，谢谢你，”这只黑猫回答道。 “我来找火星， 他在这儿吗？” “我觉得他在自己窝里呢，”鼩爪告诉他。 “要我带你过去吗？” “不用，我带他去，”叶爪喵喵说道。 她越来越着急，想问问这只独行猫，穿越森林的时候有没有见过松鼠爪。 就在这时，鼩爪的导师棘爪