CHAPTER9
Fireheart woke to find Graystripe sittingbeside him, hunched1 on his belly2 like a rabbit, his shoulders stiff and his fur fluffed out. “Graystripe?” he meowed quietly.
Graystripe jumped.
“Are you okay?”
Graystripe sat up straight. “I’m fine.” Fireheart suspected that his friend’s cheery mew wasn’t heartfelt, but at least he was trying to be more positive.
“It looks cold,” Fireheart meowed. Graystripe’s words had billowed out in clouds. Fireheart was still snuggled down among the warm bodies of the other warriors3.
Fireheart sat up and shook his head. The air tasted of frost. “What are you going to do with Brackenpaw today?” he asked.
“Show him the forest,” answered Graystripe.
“I could bring Cinderpaw, and we could travel together.”
“It might be better if we travel alone today,” answered Graystripe.
Fireheart felt a bit hurt. They had been shown ThunderClan’s hunting grounds together as apprentices7. He would have liked to do it together again as mentors9. But if Graystripe wanted to be by himself, then Fireheart could hardly blame him. “Fine,” he mewed. “I’ll see you later. We can share a mouse and compare apprentices.”
“That’d be good,” Graystripe meowed.
Fireheart crept out of the den10. The air outside was even colder. His breath swirled11 from his muzzle12 like smoke. He shivered, ruffling13 out his fur, and stretched one leg at a time. The ground under his paws felt like stone as he trotted14 over to the apprentices’ den. Cinderpaw was fast asleep inside, a fluffy15 gray heap that rose and fell as she breathed.
“Cinderpaw,” Fireheart called quietly, and the little gray cat lifted her head at once. Fireheart backed out, and in a moment Cinderpaw bounded from the den, wide-awake and enthusiastic.
“I thought I’d take you on a tour of ThunderClan territory.”
“Will we see the Thunderpath?” asked Cinderpaw eagerly.
“Er, yes, we will,” Fireheart replied. He couldn’t help thinking Cinderpaw would be disappointed when she saw what a dirty, stinking18 place it was. “Are you hungry?” he asked, wondering if he should tell her to eat first.
“No!” Cinderpaw shook her head.
“Oh, okay. We’ll eat later,” Fireheart meowed. “Well, follow me.”
“Yes, Fireheart.” The young cat looked up at him, her eyes sparkling. The pang19 of sadness that had been lingering in Fireheart’s stomach since talking with Graystripe was swept away by a warm feeling of pride. He turned and padded toward the camp entrance.
Cinderpaw raced past him and charged through the gorse tunnel. Fireheart had to break into a run to catch up. “I thought I said follow me!” he called as she scrambled20 up the side of the ravine.
“But I want to see the view from the top,” Cinderpaw protested.
Fireheart leaped after her. He overtook her easily, climbed to the top, and sat washing a forepaw, keeping an eye on her as she scrambled from rock to rock. By the time she reached the top of the camp ravine she was panting, but no less enthusiastic. “Look at the trees! They look like they’re made from moonstone,” she mewed breathlessly.
She was right. The trees below them sparkled white in the sunshine. Fireheart took a deep breath of cold air. “You should try to save your energy,” he warned. “We have a long way to go today.”
“Oh, yes. Okay. Which way now?” She kneaded the ground with impatient paws, ready to dart21 away into the woods.
“Follow me,” meowed Fireheart. He narrowed his eyes playfully. “And this time I do mean follow!” He led the way to a trail along the edge of the ravine, into the sandy hollow where he had learned to hunt and fight.
“This is where most of our training sessions will be held,” he explained. During greenleaf, the trees that circled the clearing filtered the sunshine into a warm dappled light. Now cold daylight streamed down onto the frozen red earth.
“A river ran here many moons ago. A stream still flows beyond that rise there,” meowed Fireheart, pointing with his muzzle. “It’s dry most of the summer. That’s where I caught my first prey22.”
“What did you catch?” Cinderpaw didn’t wait for an answer. “Will the stream be frozen? Let’s look and see if there’s ice!” She charged down into the hollow and headed toward the rise.
“You’ll see it another time!” Fireheart called. But Cinderpaw kept running, and Fireheart had to race after her. He stopped beside her at the top of the rise and together they looked down at the stream. Ice had formed at the edges, but the speed of the water as it slid over its sandy bed had stopped it from freezing over completely.
“You wouldn’t catch much there now,” mewed Cinderpaw. “Except fish maybe.”
The sight of the spot where he had caught his first prey filled Fireheart with happy memories. He watched Cinderpaw stand at the edge of the stream and crane her neck to peer into the black water. “If I were you, I’d leave fishing to RiverClan,” Fireheart warned her. “If they like getting their fur wet, then let them. I prefer dry paws.”
Cinderpaw padded restlessly around in a circle. “What now?”
Her excitement, and his own apprentice6 memories, filled Fireheart with energy. He bounded away, calling over his shoulder, “The Owl23 Tree!” Cinderpaw charged after him, her short fluffy tail sticking out behind her.
They crossed the stream over a fallen tree Fireheart had used many times before. “There are stepping-stones farther down, but this is a quicker route. Be careful though!” The pale white trunk was stripped of its bark. “It gets slippery when it’s wet or icy.”
He let Cinderpaw cross first, keeping close behind in case she lost her pawhold. The stream wasn’t particularly deep, but it would be cold as ice, and Cinderpaw was still too small to cope with a soaking.
She crossed the log easily, and Fireheart felt a glow of pride as he watched his apprentice jump down onto the forest floor at the far end. “Well done,” he purred.
Cinderpaw’s eyes shone. “Thanks,” she mewed. “Now, where’s this Owl Tree?”
“This way!” Fireheart bounded away through the undergrowth. The ferns had turned brown since greenleaf. By the end of leaf-fall, they would be flattened24 by rain and wind, but now they still stood tall and crisp. Fireheart and Cinderpaw wove their way beneath the arching fronds25.
Ahead, a massive oak towered above the surrounding trees. Cinderpaw tipped her head back, looking for the top. “Does an owl really live here?” she mewed.
“Yes,” replied Fireheart. “Can you see the hole in the trunk up there?”
Cinderpaw narrowed her eyes to peer through the branches. “How do you know it’s not a squirrel hole?”
“Smell!” Fireheart told her.
“I’ll show you what squirrels smell like another time,” Fireheart meowed. “You won’t smell any around here. No squirrel would dare make its nest so near an owl hole. Look at the ground; what do you see?”
Cinderpaw looked down, puzzled. “Leaves?”
The forest floor was carpeted with brown oak leaves, crisp with frost. Cinderpaw began snuffling among them and then shoved her nose in right up to her ears. When she sat up there was something the size and shape of a pinecone in her mouth. “Yuck, smells like crow-food!” she spat29. Fireheart purred with amusement.
“You knew it was there, didn’t you?”
“Bluestar played the same trick on me when I was an apprentice. You’ll never forget the stench.”
“What is it?”
“An owl pod,” Fireheart explained. He remembered what Bluestar had told him. “Owls30 eat the same prey as us, but they can’t digest the bones and fur, so their bellies31 roll the leftovers32 into pods and they spit them out. If you find one of those under a tree, it means you’ve found an owl.”
“Why would you want to find an owl?” squeaked33 Cinderpaw in alarm. Fireheart’s whiskers twitched34 as he looked into her wide eyes, as blue as her mother’s. Frostfur must have told her the elders’ tale of how owls carried off young kits36 who strayed from their mother’s side.
“Owls get a better view of the forest than we do. On windy nights, when scents37 are hard to follow, you can look out for owls and follow where they hunt.” Cinderpaw’s eyes were still wide, but the fear had left them, and she nodded. She does listen sometimes!Fireheart thought with relief.
“Where next?” mewed Cinderpaw.
“The Great Sycamore,” Fireheart decided39. They traveled through the woods as the sun rose into the pale blue sky, crossing a Twoleg path and another tiny stream. Eventually they arrived at the sycamore tree.
“Smallear says he climbed to the top branch when he was an apprentice,” Fireheart meowed.
“No way!” mewed Cinderpaw.
“Mind you, when Smallear was an apprentice, this tree was probably only a sapling!” Fireheart joked. He was still gazing up when a rustling41 sound behind him told him Cinderpaw had dashed off again. He sighed and chased after her through the bracken. His nose detected a familiar scent38 that made him nervous. Cinderpaw was heading toward Snakerocks. Adders42!Fireheart picked up his pace.
He emerged from the trees and looked around anxiously. Cinderpaw was standing43 on a boulder44 at the bottom of the steep, rocky slope. “Come on; I’ll race you to the top!” she mewed.
Fireheart froze, horror-struck, as she crouched45, ready to spring onto the next boulder. “Cinderpaw! Get down from there!” he yowled.
He held his breath as Cinderpaw turned and scrambled down again. She stood trembling, her fur on end, as Fireheart rushed over to her. “This place is called Snakerocks,” he puffed46.
Cinderpaw looked up at him, her eyes huge. “Snakerocks?”
“Adders live up there. A bite from one of those would kill a cat as small as you!” Fireheart gave Cinderpaw a quick lick on top of her head. “Come on. Let’s have a look at the Thunderpath.”
Cinderpaw stopped shaking at once. “The Thunderpath?”
“Yep,” meowed Fireheart. “Follow me!” He led Cinderpaw through the ferns, along a trail that skirted Snakerocks and took them to the part of the forest where the Thunderpath cut through like a hard, gray river of stone.
Fireheart kept one eye on Cinderpaw as they peered out from the edge of the forest. He could see from her twitching47 tail that Cinderpaw was desperate to creep forward and sniff27 the Thunderpath ahead of them. A familiar roar was beginning to ruffle48 his ear fur, and he could feel the ground trembling beneath his paws. “Stay where you are!” he warned. “There’s a monster coming.”
Cinderpaw opened her mouth a little. “Yuck!” she mewed, screwing up her nose and flattening49 her ears. The rumbling50 noise was coming closer, and a shape appeared on the horizon. “Is that a monster?” she mewed. Fireheart nodded.
Cinderpaw unsheathed her claws to grip the earth as the monster roared closer. She shut her eyes tight as it charged past, stirring the air around them into a storm of wind and thunder. She kept her eyes shut until the noise had faded into the distance.
Fireheart shook his head to clear his scent glands51. “Sniff the air,” he meowed. “Can you smell anything apart from the Thunderpath stench?” He waited while Cinderpaw lifted her head and took several deep breaths.
After a few moments she mewed, “I remember that scent from when Brokenstar attacked our camp. And it was on the kits he took, when you brought them home. It’s ShadowClan! Is that their territory, beyond the Thunderpath?”
“Yes,” Fireheart answered, feeling his fur tingle52 at the thought of being so close to hostile Clan5 territory. “We’d better get out of here.”
He decided to take Cinderpaw the long way home past Twolegplace, so she could see Tallpines and the Treecut place.
As they padded beneath the thin pine trees, the scents of Twolegplace made Fireheart uneasy, even though he’d lived in a place not far from there as a kit35. “Stay alert,” he warned Cinderpaw as she crept along behind him. “Twolegs sometimes walk here with dogs.”
The two cats crouched under the trees to look at the fences that bordered the Twoleg territory. The crisp air carried a scent to Fireheart’s nose that stirred an odd feeling of warmth inside him, although he didn’t know why.
“Look!” Cinderpaw pointed17 with her nose at a she-cat padding across the forest floor. The light brown tabby had a distinctive53 white chest and white front paws. Her belly was swollen54, heavy with unborn kits.
Fireheart expected to feel the familiar rush of aggression56 at the sight of a stranger on ThunderClan territory, but his hackles stayed flat. For some reason he couldn’t understand, he knew this cat wasn’t a threat. Before Cinderpaw could attack, Fireheart deliberately57 brushed against a stalk of crunchy bracken.
The she-cat looked up, disturbed by the crackling noise. Her eyes widened with alarm; then she whipped around and set off at a lumbering58 pace, out of the trees. Within moments she was heaving herself over one of the Twoleg fences.
“Rats!” complained Cinderpaw. “I wanted to chase her! I bet Brackenpaw will have chased hundreds of things today.”
“Yeah, but he probably didn’t nearly get bitten by an adder,” replied Fireheart, twitching his tail at her. “Now come on; I’m getting hungry.”
Cinderpaw followed him through Tallpines, grumbling59 about the pine needles pricking60 her paws. Fireheart warned her to keep quiet, since there was no undergrowth here to hide in and he felt every Clan cat’s discomfort61 at being in the open. They followed one of the stinking tracks gouged62 out by the Treecut monster and stopped at the edge of the Treecut place. It was silent, as Fireheart knew it would be until next greenleaf. Until then, only the track marks—deep and wide and frozen into the soil—would remind ThunderClan of the monster that lived in their forest.
By the time they arrived back at camp, Fireheart was exhausted63; his muscles were still weary from the long journey with WindClan. Cinderpaw looked tired too. She stifled64 a yawn and padded away to find Brackenpaw.
“Here, I’ve got you some fresh-kill,” Graystripe meowed. He hooked a dead mouse with his claw and flung it toward Fireheart.
Fireheart caught it in his teeth and lay down next to Graystripe. “Good day?” he mumbled69 with his mouth full.
“Better than yesterday,” answered Graystripe. Fireheart glanced up at him, worried, but Graystripe went on: “I enjoyed it, actually. Brackenpaw’s keen to learn, that’s for sure!”
“So is Cinderpaw.” Fireheart went back to chewing.
“Mind you,” Graystripe went on with a sparkle in his eye, “I kept forgetting I was the mentor8 and not the apprentice!”
“Me too,” Fireheart admitted.
They shared tongues until the moon rose and the coldness of the night drove them into their den. Graystripe was snoring within moments, but Fireheart felt strangely awake. The image of the pregnant she-cat kept returning to his mind, and even though he was surrounded by the familiar smells of ThunderClan, her soft kittypet scent lingered in his nostrils70.
He fell asleep at last, but his dreams all carried the same scent, until finally he dreamed of his days as a kit. He remembered lying beside his mother’s belly, curled in a bed softer than any forest moss71 with his brothers and sisters. And still the scent of the she-cat lingered.
Fireheart opened his eyes, suddenly jolted72 out of his sleep. Of course! The she-cat he had seen in the woods . . . was his sister!
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
hunched
|
|
| （常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
belly
|
|
| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
warriors
|
|
| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
clan
|
|
| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
apprentice
|
|
| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
apprentices
|
|
| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
mentor
|
|
| n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
mentors
|
|
| n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
den
|
|
| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
swirled
|
|
| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
muzzle
|
|
| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
ruffling
|
|
| 弄皱( ruffle的现在分词 )； 弄乱； 激怒； 扰乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
trotted
|
|
| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
fluffy
|
|
| adj.有绒毛的，空洞的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
pricked
|
|
| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
stinking
|
|
| adj.臭的，烂醉的，讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
pang
|
|
| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
scrambled
|
|
| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
dart
|
|
| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
prey
|
|
| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
owl
|
|
| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
flattened
|
|
| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
fronds
|
|
| n.蕨类或棕榈类植物的叶子( frond的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
sniffed
|
|
| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
sniff
|
|
| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
burrowing
|
|
| v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的现在分词 )；翻寻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
spat
|
|
| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
owls
|
|
| n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
bellies
|
|
| n.肚子( belly的名词复数 )；腹部；（物体的）圆形或凸起部份；腹部…形的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
leftovers
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物，剩菜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
squeaked
|
|
| v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
twitched
|
|
| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
kit
|
|
| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
kits
|
|
| 衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
scents
|
|
| n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
scent
|
|
| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
gasped
|
|
| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
rustling
|
|
| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
adders
|
|
| n.加法器，（欧洲产）蝰蛇（小毒蛇），（北美产无毒的）猪鼻蛇( adder的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
boulder
|
|
| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
crouched
|
|
| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
puffed
|
|
| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
twitching
|
|
| n.颤搐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
ruffle
|
|
| v.弄皱，弄乱；激怒，扰乱；n.褶裥饰边 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
flattening
|
|
| n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
rumbling
|
|
| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
glands
|
|
| n.腺( gland的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
tingle
|
|
| vi.感到刺痛，感到激动；n.刺痛，激动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
distinctive
|
|
| adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
swollen
|
|
| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
sneered
|
|
| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
aggression
|
|
| n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
deliberately
|
|
| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
lumbering
|
|
| n.采伐林木 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
grumbling
|
|
| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
pricking
|
|
| 刺，刺痕，刺痛感 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
discomfort
|
|
| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
gouged
|
|
| v.凿( gouge的过去式和过去分词 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出… | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
exhausted
|
|
| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
stifled
|
|
| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
spotted
|
|
| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
beckoning
|
|
| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
nettle
|
|
| n.荨麻；v.烦忧，激恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
clump
|
|
| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
mumbled
|
|
| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
nostrils
|
|
| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
moss
|
|
| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
jolted
|
|
| （使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |