Cold gripped the forest, fields, andmoorland like an icy claw. Snow covered everything, glittering faintly under a new moon. Nothing broke the silence in the forest except for the occasional soft rush of snow sliding from the branches of trees and the faint rasping of dried reeds when the wind swept through them. Even the murmur2 of the river was stilled by the ice that stretched from bank to bank.
There was a flicker3 of movement at the edge of the river. A large tomcat, his bracken-colored fur fluffed up against the cold, emerged from the reeds. He shook snow impatiently from his paws as he sank into the soft drifts with every step.
In front of him, two tiny kits5 struggled forward with faint mews of distress6. They floundered in the powdery snow, the fur on their legs and belly7 matted into icy clumps9, but every time they tried to stop, the tomcat nudged them on.
The three cats trudged10 along the river until it widened out, and they drew level with a small island not far from the bank. Thick beds of reeds surrounded it, their dry stems poking11 up through the ice. Stunted12, leafless willow13 trees concealed14 the center of the island behind snow-covered boughs15.
“Almost there,” the bracken-colored tom meowed encouragingly. “Follow me.”
He slid down the bank into a narrow frozen pathway through the reeds and leaped onto the dry, crisp earth of the island. The bigger of the two kits scrambled16 after him, but the smaller one collapsed17 on the ice and crouched18 there, mewing pitifully. After a moment’s pause the tomcat jumped down beside it and tried to nudge it to its paws, but it was too exhausted19 to move. The tomcat gave its ears a lick, roughly comforting the helpless scrap20, and then picked it up by the scruff of the neck and carried it onto the island.
Beyond the willow trees was a stretch of open ground broken by bushes. Snow covered the earth here, crisscrossed by the pawmarks of many cats. The clearing seemed deserted21, but bright eyes gleamed from shelter, watching the tomcat as he led the way to the largest clump8 of bushes and through the outer wall of tangled22 branches.
The icy chill of the air outside gave way to the warmth of the nursery and the smell of milk. In a deep nest of moss23 and heather a gray she-cat was suckling a single tabby kit4. She raised her head as the tomcat drew closer and gently set down the kit he was carrying. The second kit staggered into the nursery behind him and tried to scrabble its way into the nest.
“Oakheart?” meowed the she-cat. “What have you got there?”
“Kits, Graypool,” Oakheart replied. “Will you take them? They need a mother to look after them.”
“But…” Graypool’s amber24 eyes were shocked. “Whose kits are they? They’re not RiverClan’s. Where did you get them?”
“I found them in the forest.” Oakheart did not meet the she-cat’s eyes as he spoke26. “They’re lucky a fox didn’t find them first.”
“In the forest?” meowed the queen, her voice rasping with disbelief. “Oakheart, don’t talk to me as if I’m mouse-brained. What cat would abandon her kits in the forest, especially in weather like this?”
Oakheart shrugged27. “Rogues, maybe, or Twolegs. How would I know? I couldn’t leave them there, could I?” He nosed the smaller kit, which was lying completely still except for the rapid rise and fall of its tiny ribs29 as it breathed. “Graypool, please…Your other kits died, and these will die too, unless you help them.”
Graypool’s eyes clouded with pain. She looked down at the two kits. Their tiny mouths gaped30 pink as they mewed pitifully. “I have plenty of milk,” she murmured, half to herself. “Of course I’ll take them.”
Oakheart puffed31 out his breath in a sigh of relief. He picked up first one kit and then the other and laid them next to Graypool. She nudged them gently into the curve of her belly next to her own kit, where they began to suckle eagerly.
“I still don’t understand,” Graypool meowed when they were settled. “Why would two kits be alone in the forest in the middle of leaf-bare? Their mother must be frantic32.”
The bracken-colored tom prodded33 a piece of moss with one massive front paw. “I didn’t steal them, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
Graypool looked at him for a long moment. “No, I don’t think you did,” she meowed at last. “But you’re not telling me the whole truth, are you?”
“I’ve told you all you need to know.”
“No, you haven’t!” Graypool’s eyes flashed with anger. “What about their mother? I know what it’s like to lose kits, Oakheart. I wouldn’t wish that kind of grief on any cat.”
Oakheart lifted his head and glared at her, a faint growl34 coming from the depths of his throat. “Their mother is probably some rogue28 cat. This is not the weather to go looking for her.”
“But Oakheart—”
“Just take care of the kits, please!” The bracken-colored tom sprang to his paws and turned abruptly35 to push his way out of the nursery. “I’ll bring you some fresh-kill,” he meowed over his shoulder as he left.
When he had gone, Graypool bent36 her head over the kits, rasping her tongue over their fur to warm them. The melting snow had washed away most of their scent37, though Graypool could still make out the odors of the forest, of dead leaves and frostbitten earth. And there was something beneath that, fainter still….
Graypool paused in her licking. Had she really sensed that, or was she imagining things? Dipping her head again, she opened her mouth to breathe in the kits’ scents38.
Her eyes grew wider, and she stared unblinking into the dark shadows that edged the nursery. She was not wrong. The fur of these two motherless kits, whose origins Oakheart refused to explain, unmistakably carried the scent of an enemy Clan25!
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1
prologue
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| n.开场白，序言；开端，序幕 | |
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2
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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3
flicker
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| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
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kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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kits
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| 衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件 | |
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6
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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7
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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8
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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clumps
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| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
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10
trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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11
poking
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| n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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12
stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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13
willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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14
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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15
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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16
scrambled
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| 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 | |
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17
collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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20
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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22
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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23
moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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24
amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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25
clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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26
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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27
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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28
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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29
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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30
gaped
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| v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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31
puffed
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| 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 | |
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32
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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33
prodded
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| v.刺，戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳 | |
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34
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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35
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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36
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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37
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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38
scents
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| n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉 | |
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