Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 Squirrelpaw dropped the mouse onto the fresh- kill pile. It did little to bulk up the meager offerings of a sparrow and a vole already brought in by the dawn patrol. Sorreltail had hunted with her, but had caught nothing. "Take that straight to the elders," Firestar mewed, padding over to them. "Not Ferncloud?" Squirrelpaw queried. "Cinderpelt says she won't eat anything yet." Firestar sighed. "But Cody has been sharing food with Birchkit." "That kittypet should go back to her Twolegs and stop eating our fresh-kill," Sorreltail commented irritably. "She's no good for hunting." "Cody takes hardly anything for herself," Firestar pointed out. "And while she cares for Birchkit, the other cats have more time for hunting." Squirrelpaw glanced sympathetically at Sorreltail. She probably resented Cody more for taking up Leafpaw's time than for being a

第十三章 松鼠爪把老鼠放到了新鲜猎物堆上。 这点猎物没法让原本就稀少的猎物堆变厚实，黎明巡逻队早先只带回来一只麻雀和一只田鼠。 蕨尾和她一同狩猎，可什么都没抓到。 “直接把它送去长老那边吧，”火星边说边朝她们走过来。 “不是给蕨云送吗？” 松鼠爪问道。 “炭毛说她现在还什么都不吃。” 火星叹了口气。 “不过科迪一直在和桦崽分享食物。” “那只宠物猫早就该回她的两脚兽那儿，别吃我们的猎物了，”蕨尾烦躁地说道。 她根本不会打猎。 “科迪几乎没给自己拿过食物，”火星指出。 而且她帮忙照顾桦崽的时候，其他猫就能腾出更多时间打猎了。 松鼠爪同情地瞥了蕨尾一眼。 比起说她反感科迪吃猎物，其实更多是因为科迪占走了叶爪的时间，而非科迪是一只

kittypet. She picked up the mouse and carried it to where the elders were making the most of the frail warmth of sunhigh at the top of Sunningrocks. Frostfur and Speckletail had their eyes closed, dozing. Longtail, the blind tom who was no older than some of the warriors, sat up. "I smell mouse," he mewed. "It's not very big, I'm afraid," Squirrelpaw apologized. "It's fine," Longtail assured her. He prodded the mouse with his paw, and the tip of his tail twitched excitedly when the little body shifted, as if the desire to hunt for himself had not dimmed. Suddenly he lifted his head and opened his mouth to scent the air. "WindClan!" he exclaimed, more in surprise than alarm. "What, here?" mewed Squirrelpaw, looking around. She didn't think her father was expecting visitors. At the foot of the rock, Tallstar was leading a small, bedraggled patrol out of the woods. The ThunderClan cats watched them climb slowly up

宠物猫。 她叼起老鼠，往长老们所在的地方送去，长老们正待在太阳石顶端，享受正午微弱的暖意。 霜毛和斑尾闭着眼睛，正打着盹儿。 长尾是一只瞎眼公猫，年纪不比一些武士大，他坐起了身子。 “我闻到老鼠味了，”他说道。 “恐怕它不是很大哦，”松鼠爪抱歉地说。 “没关系的，”长尾安抚她道。 他用爪子碰了碰老鼠，小小的鼠身动了动，他的尾尖兴奋地抖了起来，就好像他想要打猎的欲望一点都没消退。 突然，他抬起头，张开嘴嗅空气里的气味。 “风族！” 他惊呼出来，语气里惊讶多过惊慌。 “什么，他们在这里？”松鼠爪一边说一边四处张望。 她可不觉得父亲料到会有访客来。 岩石脚下，高星正领着一小支衣衫褴褛的巡逻队走出树林。 雷族猫看着他们慢慢往上爬

to where Firestar waited. No cat challenged them. Tallstar's step was so faltering, his frame so emaciated, that Squirrelpaw was amazed he had made it all the way here. The two warriors that accompanied him were in no better condition; Onewhisker and Tornear were so thin they looked like they were made of twigs and leaves, and Squirrelpaw half feared the breeze might blow them away. Crowpaw was at the rear of the patrol, looking thinner than he had on the journey to the sun-drown-place, though he was not quite as scrawny as his companions. Squirrelpaw bounded down the slope to touch noses with him in greeting. When she got closer, she saw that his eyes were as dull as his Clanmates', and his fur was ungroomed. "Crowpaw!" she exclaimed. "Are you okay?" "I'm as fit as any of my Clan," Crowpaw growled. Tornear blinked at her. "Crowpaw has been hunting like a whole patrol on his own, finding prey to feed nearly all the Clan," he reported. Squirrelpaw pricked her ears.

爬到火星等候的地方。 没有猫出来阻拦他们。 高星的脚步颤颤巍巍，身子瘦得不成样子，松鼠爪很惊讶他居然能一路走到这里。 陪他来的两名武士情况也好不到哪去； 一根须和刺尾瘦得就像用树枝树叶拼出来的，松鼠爪都差点担心风会把他们吹走。 鸦爪走在巡逻队最后，他比上次去太阳沉没之地的时候更瘦了，不过还没像同伴那样皮包骨头。 松鼠爪蹦下斜坡，碰了碰他的鼻子打招呼。 她走近后才看见，他的眼睛和同族一样暗淡，毛也乱蓬蓬没打理。 “鸦爪！”她惊呼道。 “你没事吧？” “我和族里的猫一样健康，”鸦爪低吼道。 刺尾眨着眼看向她。 “鸦爪一个人打猎顶一整支巡逻队，找猎物喂了几乎整个族，”他说道。 松鼠爪一下竖起了耳朵。

"He even caught a hawk two sunrises ago," Tornear went on. Even though starvation seemed to have robbed the WindClan warrior of all emotion, Squirrelpaw thought she detected a hint of pride in Tornear's voice. Crowpaw shrugged. "I used a trick the Tribe taught us." "Crowpaw!" Brambleclaw came bounding up the rock. Squirrelpaw saw his eyes darken, and she guessed he was as shocked as she had been to find their friend so gaunt and lifeless. Tallstar's voice distracted her. "Firestar, we have come to plead for ThunderClan's help," he rasped. As if the effort of speaking were too much, his legs buckled and he collapsed onto his side. Squirrelpaw started to go over to help him, but Brambleclaw held her back with a touch of his tail. "The Twolegs have started to destroy the warrens where we have been sheltering," Tallstar panted. "We cannot stay a moment longer on the moor, but we are too weak to travel alone. I don't care that we haven't had another sign. I just know we have to leave. Take us to this sun

“两天前他还抓了一只鹰呢，”刺尾接着说。 哪怕饥饿好像已经抽走了这位风族武士所有情绪，松鼠爪还是听出他语气里藏着一丝骄傲。 鸦爪耸了耸肩。 “我用了部落教我们的技巧。” “鸦爪！” 黑莓掌蹦上了岩石。 松鼠爪看见他眼神沉了下来，她猜到，看到朋友这么瘦骨嶙峋、毫无生气，黑莓掌和她一样震惊。 高星的声音拉回了她的注意力。 “火星，我们来求雷族帮忙，”他声音沙哑地说。 好像说话已经耗尽了他所有力气，他双腿一软，侧着身子倒了下去。 松鼠爪正要过去帮忙，可黑莓掌用尾巴碰了碰她，拦住了她。 “两脚兽已经开始拆我们藏身的洞穴了，”高星喘着气说。 我们再也没法待在荒原上了，可我们太虚弱，没法独自赶路。 我不在乎我们还没拿到新的征兆。 我只知道我们必须离开。 带我们去这个太阳

drown-place, I beg you." Firestar looked down at Tallstar, and Squirrelpaw saw sorrow flash in his eyes. "We have been allies many times," he murmured. "And to watch you starve is more than I can bear." He lifted his gaze and stared into the forest, and, as he did so, the brambles under the trees rustled and a pale bracken-colored shape exploded from the bushes. Tawnypelt! The ShadowClan cat's pelt bristled, and her eyes were wild with fear. "The Twolegs are attacking our camp!" she yowled, her voice echoing over the rock. "They have surrounded us with their monsters! Please come!" Firestar bounded down the slope ahead of the others. Even Tallstar hauled himself to his paws and hurried toward the ShadowClan warrior. "Please help us," Tawnypelt cried to Firestar. "Help us for the sake of the ThunderClan blood that runs in my veins, if nothing else." Firestar brushed the tip of his tail across her mouth. "We will come for the sake of ShadowClan," he told her gently. "And for the

我求求你，别让我们葬身在这里。” 火星低头看向高星，松鼠爪看到他眼中闪过一丝悲伤。 “我们已经多次结盟了。”他轻声呢喃道。 “眼睁睁看着你们挨饿，我实在受不了。” 他抬眼望向森林，就在这时，树下的荆棘沙沙作响，一道浅蕨色的身影猛地从灌木丛冲了出来。 褐皮！ 这只影族猫毛发倒竖，眼中满是恐惧，神色狂乱。 “两脚兽正在袭击我们的营地！” 她大吼道，声音在岩石上阵阵回荡。 “他们用怪物把我们团团包围了！ 快来救我们！” 火星冲在其他猫前面，跃下山坡。 就连高星也挣扎着站起身，快步朝这只影族武士赶去。 “求求你救救我们。”褐皮对着火星哭喊。 “就算不看别的，就看我血管里流着雷族的血，求求你帮帮我们。” 火星用尾尖轻轻扫过她的嘴边，示意她安静。 “我们出手相助，是为了影族。”他温柔地对褐皮说。 也为了

sake of all the Clans in the forest." He looked at his warriors. "Thornclaw, Mousefur, Sandstorm, you will each lead a patrol. We will take all those strong enough to fight." Instantly the three warriors began weaving among the cats, issuing orders. "What about defending the camp?" Dustpelt called. "Defend it from what?" Firestar replied. "The only creatures that threaten us now are already attacking ShadowClan." "What about RiverClan?" Leafpaw's quiet mew sounded from higher up the slope. She fell silent as the ThunderClan warriors turned to stare at her. Squirrelpaw's heart lurched. Her sister was right. With the camp undefended, Hawkfrost might persuade RiverClan to claim Sunningrocks for themselves. But the warriors clearly misunderstood Leafpaw's warning. "RiverClan won't help us!" Mousefur spat. "They might," Cinderpelt argued. "The river's drying up. RiverClan are not as well-fed as they

森林里所有族群的大义。” 他望向自己的武士们。 “荆爪、鼠毛、沙风，你们各自带领一支巡逻队。 所有身强力壮能战斗的猫都跟我们走。” 这三名武士立刻在猫群中穿梭，下达命令。 “那谁来保卫营地呢？” 尘毛大声问道。 “保卫营地？防谁呢？” 火星回答道。 “现在唯一会威胁我们的敌人，已经在进攻影族了。” “那河族呢？” 叶爪轻柔的叫声从山坡上方传来。 当雷族武士全都转头看向她时，她一下子沉默了。 松鼠爪的心猛地一沉。 姐姐说的没错。 要是营地没人防守，鹰霜说不定会说服河族把太阳石占为己有。 但武士们显然误解了叶爪的警告。 “河族才不会帮我们！” 鼠毛厉声啐道。 “他们说不定愿意帮忙。”炭毛反驳道。 “河流快干涸了。 河族现在不像过去那样