Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19 Like cloud shadows drifting over the ground, the Clans trekked in silence across a meadow. Squirrelpaw was grateful that Brambleclaw walked close beside her, shielding her from the icy wind. The rain was easing now, but the clouds had been raked into tatters by a thorn-sharp breeze that promised colder weather. Shivering, she looked up and saw a Twoleg nest looming ahead, even bigger than the Great Rock. Her paws were sore from the prickly stubble that seemed to cover all the fields they had passed through, and she longed for the softness of leaves underpaw. The air was filled with unfamiliar scents—Twolegs, the monsters that prowled the crisscrossing Thunderpaths, the fresh scent of dog drifting from a Twoleg nest, and the recent scent of rogues. Squirrelpaw felt the instinctive tension of any cat that strayed from its territory, even though she was surrounded by more Clan cats than she had seen before in her life. She scanned the hedgerow, and her heart seemed to stop beating altogether when she saw

第19章 如云影缓缓扫过地面，族群们沉默地跋涉过草原。 松鼠爪很感激黑莓掌走在她身边，替她挡住刺骨的寒风。 雨现在渐渐小了，荆棘般锋利的大风把云朵撕成了碎片，预示着天气会变得更冷。 她冻得浑身发抖，抬头看见一座两脚兽巢穴赫然出现在前方，比大岩石还要高大。 他们走过的田野全是扎脚的残茬，她的爪子又酸又痛，多么怀念爪下踩着柔软树叶的感觉。 空气中满是陌生的气味：两脚兽、在纵横交错的雷路上游荡的怪兽、从两脚兽巢穴飘来的新鲜狗味，还有刚留下不久的泼皮猫气味。 哪怕这辈子从没一下子见过这么多族群猫围在身边，离开领地的松鼠爪还是本能地绷紧了神经。 她扫视着树篱，看清眼前的景象时，心脏几乎停止了跳动

the brown beech leaves rustle madly, shaken by more than just the wind. Ravenpaw stepped out from his hiding place like a shadow coming to life, and stared at the Clans in surprise. A second cat slipped out of the hedge behind him. Squirrelpaw recognized the black-and-white pelt of Barley, the cat who had allowed Ravenpaw to share his home in a Twoleg barn for many moons. "Firestar! Is that you?" Ravenpaw's ears twitched as he called out for his old friend. The Clan cats halted and stared at him. Every cat knew about the black-pelted ThunderClan apprentice who had been driven out by his mentor, Tigerstar. Even if they hadn't known him during his short time in the forest, many had met him on the journey to Highstones. "Hello, Ravenpaw." Tallstar dipped his head in greeting. "Ravenpaw!" Firestar pushed through the other cats to greet his old friend. "Firestar!" Ravenpaw touched noses with the ThunderClan leader. He looked around. "Where's Graystripe?"

棕色的山毛榉叶子疯狂晃动沙沙作响，吹动它的可不只是风。 鸦爪从藏身之处走出来，就像一道活过来的影子，惊讶地盯着族群们。 另一只猫跟着从他身后的树篱里溜了出来。 松鼠爪认出了那身黑白皮毛，是巴利，许多个月以来，他都让鸦爪和自己一起住在两脚兽的谷仓里。 “火星！是你吗？” 鸦爪呼唤老朋友的时候，耳朵轻轻抽动着。 族群猫们停下脚步，盯着他看。 所有猫都知道这个故事：这只被导师虎星赶走的雷族黑毛学徒。 哪怕不少猫在他留在森林的那段时间没见过他，也大都在去高石山的路上遇过他。 “你好，鸦爪。” 高星低下头向他致意。 “鸦爪！” 火星从其他猫中间挤出来，迎接他的老朋友。 “火星！” 鸦爪和这位雷族族长碰了碰鼻子。 他环顾四周。 “灰条在哪里？”

Firestar blinked. "Graystripe's not with us." "Is he dead?" Ravenpaw's pelt bristled in shock. Firestar shook his head. "Twolegs captured him." "Twolegs?" Ravenpaw echoed. "Why?" "They started trapping us." Firestar's mew was raw with grief. "We've been forced to leave the forest." "What?" Ravenpaw lifted his nose to scent the air. "Is that WindClan and RiverClan with you? And ShadowClan?" "The Twolegs are destroying all our homes," Firestar explained. "We would have been crushed by their monsters if we'd stayed, if we didn't starve first." "You look half-starved already," Barley remarked, coming forward. "Hello, Barley," Firestar greeted him. "How's the hunting?" "Better for me than for you, by the looks of it," came the blunt reply. "Where are you heading?" Ravenpaw asked. "Highstones first, and then..." Firestar

火星眨了眨眼。 “灰条没和我们在一起。” “他死了吗？” 鸦爪震惊得浑身毛发都炸了起来。 火星摇了摇头。 “他被两脚兽抓走了。” “两脚兽？” 鸦爪重复道。 “为什么？” “他们开始抓捕我们了。” 火星的声音因为悲伤变得沙哑。 “我们被迫离开森林了。” “什么？” 鸦爪抬起鼻子嗅了嗅空气。 “风族和河族也跟你在一起吗？ 还有影族？” “两脚兽在摧毁我们所有的家园。”火星解释道。 “如果我们留下来，就算没饿死，也会被他们的怪兽压扁。” “你们现在看起来都快饿坏了。”巴利一边说，一边走上前来。 “你好，巴利。”火星向他打招呼。 “打猎还好吗？” “我这边比你们好太多，看你们的样子就知道。”巴利直率地回答。 “你们要去哪里？” 鸦爪问道。 “先去高石山，然后……”火星

turned to look questioningly at Brambleclaw, but Brambleclaw just gazed back in silence. "You'll stay with us tonight, won't you?" Ravenpaw asked. "The hunting is good this moon. The barn is full of rats sheltering from the cold." "Wait, Ravenpaw," warned Barley. "This many cats will never fit into the barn. The Twolegs would have a fit when they came to get straw for the cows." "That's true," Ravenpaw said. "But there must be a way to help." "I suppose they could stay at the broken nest," Barley suggested. "Of course!" Ravenpaw turned to Firestar. "You know the place—where you sheltered with Bluestar after the rat attack?" Firestar glanced up at the reddening clouds. "I was hoping we'd make it to Highstones by tonight." "We can't turn down the offer of food," Blackstar argued. Firestar dipped his head. "You're right." He turned back to Ravenpaw. "Thank you."

转过头，疑惑地看向黑莓掌，可黑莓掌只是静静地回望着他，一言不发。 “你们今晚留下来住，好不好？” 鸦爪问道。 “这个月猎物很丰足。 谷仓里满是躲寒的老鼠。” “等等，鸦爪。”巴利提醒道。 “这么多猫根本挤不下整个谷仓。 等两脚兽来给牛取稻草的时候，他们会大发雷霆的。” “你说的没错。”鸦爪说。 “但我们一定有办法帮你们。” “我觉得他们可以住在那间破巢穴里。”巴利提议道。 “对啊！” 鸦爪转向火星。 “你还记得那个地方吗？就是上次鼠患后你和蓝星一起躲难的地方？” 火星抬头望了望渐渐染红的云层。 “我本来希望我们今晚能赶到高石山的。” “我们不能拒绝别人提供食物的好意啊。”黑星说道。 火星点了点头。 “你说的对。” 他转回头看向鸦爪。 “谢谢你。”

"Let's get you settled; then we can show the warriors the best places to hunt," Ravenpaw mewed. "There'll be plenty for every cat." Squirrelpaw heard murmurs of excitement ripple through the Clans, and the kits began to mewl their hunger out loud now that it seemed there was a chance they would be fed. "We need a rest and a meal more than you can imagine," Firestar meowed. Ravenpaw gazed at his friend's mud-stained pelt. "Oh, Firestar," he murmured, "I think I can imagine." The broken Twoleg place had no roof, but now the rain had stopped, its stone walls were enough to shelter the cats from the wind. "I recognize this," whispered Ashfoot, a WindClan queen. "We slept here when Firestar led us back home, after Brokenstar drove us out." "I didn't think we'd ever see this place again," Webfoot growled. The kits and elders streamed gratefully into the nest, glad of the chance to lie down. Ravenpaw and Barley led the warriors away to hunt, while the apprentices, Squirrelpaw and

“先安顿好你们，之后我们带武士们去找最好的捕猎地点，”鸦爪轻声喵道。 “每只猫都能吃得饱饱的。” 松鼠爪听见各个族群响起兴奋的低语，幼崽们眼看有东西吃，都开始大声嚷嚷着饿了。 “你想象不到我们有多需要休息和一顿饭，”火星说。 鸦爪望着老朋友沾满泥污的皮毛。 “噢，火星，”他低喃道，“我想我能体会。” 这座废弃的两脚兽地盘没有屋顶，不过雨已经停了，石墙足够帮猫咪们挡住风了。 “我认得这里，”风族的猫后灰足轻声说。 “断星把我们赶走后，火星带我们回家的时候，我们就在这儿睡过。” “我从没想过还能再见到这个地方，”蹼足低吼道。 幼崽和长老们满心感激地涌进窝，终于能躺下休息，都开心极了。 鸦爪和巴利带着武士们去打猎了，而学徒们——松鼠爪和

Crowpaw among them, stayed to guard the others. Cinderpelt and Leafpaw padded among the cats to check that none had been hurt in the desperate scramble across the moor. "Squirrelpaw?" Leafpaw called. "Can you fetch some of that rain-soaked moss from outside? Some of the queens and elders are too tired to walk that far." Squirrelpaw nodded and hurried away to pull pawfuls of sodden moss from the ancient stones that formed the walls of the shelter. The cats took it from her eagerly, lapping at the water that they squeezed out with their forepaws. When the last WindClan elder had drunk her fill, Squirrelpaw decided she could settle down and rest her aching paws. As she made herself comfortable in a corner, the warriors returned, carrying fresh-kill. Warm, delicious scents filled the shelter, and Squirrelpaw felt a quiver of joy as Brambleclaw dropped a plump rat in front of her. "Do you want to share?" she offered. "No," Brambleclaw mewed. "It's all yours." Squirrelpaw's belly ached by the time she had

还有鸦爪，留下保护其他猫。 炭毛和叶爪在猫群里走动，检查有没有谁在跨越荒原的急行中受伤。 “松鼠爪？”叶爪喊道。 “你能去外面拿些泡了雨的苔藓回来吗？ 有些猫后和长老太累了，走不了那么远。” 松鼠爪点点头，连忙跑出去，从构成围墙的古老石头上扒下好多爪湿苔藓。 猫咪们急切地接过苔藓，用前爪挤出水来舔着喝。 等最后一位风族长老喝饱，松鼠爪终于可以安顿下来，放松酸疼的爪子了。 她刚在角落舒舒服服躺好，武士们就带着新鲜猎物回来了。 温暖诱人的香气填满了整个避难所，当黑莓掌把一只肥老鼠放到她面前时，松鼠爪开心得身子一颤。 “你要分一块吗？”她问道。 “不了，”黑莓掌喵声道。 “全都是你的。” 吃到一半的时候，松鼠爪的肚子就已经