In Yellowfang’s den1, Fireheart explained whathad happened while Cinderpaw inspected the gash2 on Brackenpaw’s leg and brought him a poultice to put on it.
“You’d better rest here tonight,” the gray she-cat told the apprentice3. “But I’m pretty sure your leg will be good as new in a day or two.” She spoke4 cheerfully, without any bitterness that her own leg would never recover so well. Turning to Fireheart, she added, “I just had Cloudkit in here. He told me he had to go over the elders’ coats for ticks, so I gave him some mouse bile.”
“What’s that for?” asked Brackenpaw.
“If you put some on the ticks, they soon drop off,” Cinderpaw told him. Her blue eyes glimmered6 with amusement. “But don’t lick your paws afterward7. It’s foul8 stuff.”
“I’m sure Cloudkit will enjoy doing that.” Fireheart grimaced9. “It’s a pity that Tigerclaw had to punish him, though, because I don’t think it was his fault that the badger10 attacked him.”
Cinderpaw shrugged11. “There’s no arguing with Tigerclaw.”
“That’s true,” Fireheart agreed. “Anyway, I think I’ll go and make sure that Cloudkit’s okay.”
As soon as he set paw in the elders’ den, his nose wrinkled against the reek12 of the mouse bile. Smallear was lying on one side while Cloudkit searched his gray fur for ticks. The elder twitched13 as Cloudkit dabbed14 some of the bile inside his hind15 leg. “Watch it, young kit5! Keep your claws sheathed16.”
“They are sheathed,” muttered Cloudkit, his face screwed up with disgust. “There, that’s got it. You’re done, Smallear.”
Dappletail, who had been watching intently, glanced around at Fireheart. “Your kin17 is very efficient, Fireheart,” she rasped. “No, Cloudkit,” she added as the kit started toward her, carrying the bile-soaked moss18. “I’m sure I’ve no ticks. And I wouldn’t wake One-eye if I were you.” She nodded to where the old cat was sleeping, curled up beside the trunk of the fallen tree. “She won’t thank you for disturbing her.”
Cloudkit looked around hopefully. None of the other elders was there. “Can I go then?” he asked.
“You can see to One-eye later,” Fireheart meowed. “Meanwhile, you’d better get the dirty bedding out of here. Come on; I’ll help you.”
“And make sure the new lot’s dry!” growled19 Smallear.
Together Fireheart and Cloudkit raked out the old moss and heather and made several trips to carry it out of the camp. Fireheart showed Cloudkit how to clean the mouse bile from his paws by rubbing them in the snow. “Now we’ll go and fetch some fresh moss,” he meowed. “Come on. I know a good place.”
“I’m tired,” Cloudkit complained as he trailed after Fireheart. “I don’t want to do this.”
“Well, too bad, you have to,” Fireheart retorted. “Cheer up; it could be worse. Did I tell you that when I was an apprentice I had to look after Yellowfang all on my own?”
“Yellowfang!” Cloudkit’s eyes widened. “Phew, I bet she was a grump! Did she claw you?”
“Only with her tongue,” Fireheart replied. “And that’s sharp enough!”
Cloudkit let out a short purr of laughter. To Fireheart’s relief, he stopped complaining, and when they came to the patch of deep moss he did his share of digging it out of the snow, and copied Fireheart as he showed him how to shake the worst of the moisture off
They were returning to the camp, their jaws20 laden21 with moss, when Fireheart saw a cat slip out of the gorse tunnel and bound up the side of the ravine. The massive body and striped pelt22 were unmistakable. It was Tigerclaw.
Fireheart narrowed his eyes. The deputy had looked almost furtive23, peering around before he left the tunnel and disappearing over the lip of the ravine as fast as possible. Fireheart felt uneasy. Something wasn’t quite right.
“Cloudkit,” he meowed, dropping his wad of moss on the ground, “take your load of bedding in to the elders, and then come back for mine. There’s something I’ve got to do.”
Cloudkit mewed in agreement through his mouthful of moss and carried on toward the tunnel. Fireheart turned and raced back up the slope to the place where Tigerclaw had disappeared.
The Clan24 deputy was out of sight, but between his scent25 trail and the massive pawprints in the snow, Fireheart had no difficulty following him. He took care not to catch up, in case Tigerclaw saw or smelled him.
The trail led unwaveringly through Tallpines, past Treecutplace. Fireheart realized with a jolt26 that Tigerclaw had to be heading for Twolegplace. His heart lurched with fear. Was the deputy on his way to find Princess, Fireheart’s sister? Maybe he was so angry with Cloudkit that he wanted to hurt the kit’s mother. Fireheart had never told the Clan exactly where Princess lived, but it wouldn’t be impossible for Tigerclaw to pick up her scent from his knowledge of Cloudkit’s. He kept low, careful to move silently. As the trail wound through a clump27 of gorse, movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. It was a mouse, scuffling under one of the bushes.
Fireheart did not want to stop and hunt, but this mouse was practically begging to be caught. Instinctively28 his body dropped into a hunting crouch29 as he crept up on the prey30. His pounce31 landed him squarely on top of it, and he took a moment longer to bury it in the snow before he began to follow Tigerclaw again. Fireheart moved more quickly now, afraid of what the deputy might have done in the time he had delayed.
As he rounded the stump32 of a fallen tree, he practically collided with Tigerclaw himself, loping along in the opposite direction.
The deputy reared back in surprise. “Mouse-brain!” he hissed33. “What are you doing here?”
Fireheart’s first reaction was one of relief. Tigerclaw hadn’t possibly had time to reach Twolegplace and harm Princess already. Then he realized that the deputy was glaring at him with a look of deep suspicion in his amber34 eyes. He mustn’t know I was following him, Fireheart thought desperately35.
“I…I came out to show Cloudkit a good place to find bedding,” he stammered36. “And then I thought I might as well hunt for a bit.”
“I don’t see any prey,” growled Tigerclaw.
“It’s buried just back there.” Fireheart jerked his head in the direction he had come.
The warrior37 narrowed his eyes. “Show me.”
Furious that Tigerclaw didn’t believe him, but also deeply relieved at the luck that had led him to catch prey, Fireheart led the way back along the trail and scraped the snow away from the mouse he had just buried. “Satisfied?”
The Clan deputy frowned at him. Fireheart could almost read his thoughts; he was dying to blame Fireheart for something, but couldn’t manage it this time.
At last he grunted38, “Get on with it, then.” He dipped his head to pick up Fireheart’s mouse and marched off in the direction of the camp.
Fireheart watched him go, and then started running along the trail again, toward Twolegplace. He could at least find out where Tigerclaw had been. He swiveled his ears backward from time to time; he wouldn’t put it past Tigerclaw to turn back and follow him, but he heard nothing, and gradually he began to relax.
Tigerclaw’s scent trail came to an end near the fences that enclosed the Twoleg territory. Fireheart walked back and forth39 under the trees, studying the ground. The snow was churned up by the marks of many paws—too many for him to read. There were many strange scents40, too. Several cats had been here, and recently.
Fireheart wrinkled his nose in disgust. The cat scents were muddled41 up with those of long-dead prey and the stink42 of Twoleg rubbish. Except for Tigerclaw’s own scent, it was impossible to identify any of them. Thinking deeply, Fireheart sat washing his paws. There was no way of telling whether Tigerclaw had met these unknown cats, or whether he had just crossed their trail. He was about to set off for camp again when he heard a meow from behind him.
“Fireheart! Fireheart!”
Springing to his paws, he whirled around. Sitting on the fence at the end of her Twoleg garden was his sister, Princess. Instantly Fireheart raced across to the fence and leaped up beside her.
Princess broke into a deep, throaty purr and rubbed the side of her face against his. “Fireheart, you’re so thin!” she exclaimed, pulling away from him. “Are you getting enough to eat?”
“No, nor is any cat in the Clan,” Fireheart admitted. “Prey is scarce in this weather.”
“Are you hungry now?” his sister asked. “There’s a bowl of food in my Twolegs’ nest. You can have it if you like.”
For a couple of heartbeats Fireheart was tempted43. His mouth watered at the thought of filling his belly44 with food he hadn’t had to catch first. But common sense won. He couldn’t possibly return to camp with Twoleg scents all over him, and the warrior code forbade him to eat before feeding the rest of the Clan. “Thanks, Princess, but I can’t,” he meowed.
“I hope you’re feeding Cloudkit,” Princess mewed anxiously. “I’ve been watching for you for days, so you can tell me how he is.”
“He’s doing well,” Fireheart replied. “He’ll be made an apprentice soon.”
Princess’s eyes shone with pride, and Fireheart felt a prickle of uncertainty45 in his fur. He knew how much it meant to his sister to have given her firstborn to the Clan. There was no way he could let her have any doubts about how the kit was settling into Clan life. “Cloudkit’s strong and brave,” he told her. “And intelligent.” And nosey, spoiled, disrespectful, he added to himself. But surely Cloudkit would learn soon enough, when he grew used to Clan ways. “I’m sure he’ll make a fine warrior,” he meowed.
Princess purred. “Of course he will, with you to teach him.”
Fireheart’s ears twitched with embarrassment46. Princess thought he found it easy being a warrior. She didn’t know the problems he had inside the Clan, or how difficult it was to decide what was the right thing to do when he discovered things that affected47 the Clan.
“I’d better go,” he mewed. “I’ll come to visit you again soon. And when newleaf comes, I’ll bring Cloudkit with me.” He gave Princess an affectionate lick in farewell and left her purring even harder at the thought of seeing her beloved kit again.
Fireheart padded back along Tigerclaw’s scent trail, keeping a lookout48 for prey as he went. After telling Tigerclaw he was hunting, he knew he had better return to camp with a respectable catch. Gradually he became aware of an unfamiliar49 sound. He had to pause and think before he realized what it was. Somewhere, water was dripping. Glancing around, he saw a silver globule bulging50 at the end of a thorn twig51. The droplet52 swelled53 and glittered in the sunlight before falling to melt a tiny hole in the snow.
Fireheart raised his head. The patter of water was all around him now, and a warm breeze ruffled54 his fur. With a surge of joy he realized that the harsh season of leaf-bare was drawing to an end. Soon newleaf would come, and prey would be plentiful55 again. The thaw56 had begun!
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1
den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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gash
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| v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝 | |
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apprentice
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| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
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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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kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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glimmered
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| v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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9
grimaced
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| v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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badger
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| v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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reek
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| v.发出臭气；n.恶臭 | |
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twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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14
dabbed
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| （用某物）轻触( dab的过去式和过去分词 )； 轻而快地擦掉（或抹掉）； 快速擦拭； （用某物）轻而快地涂上（或点上）… | |
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hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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sheathed
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| adj.雕塑像下半身包在鞘中的；覆盖的；铠装的；装鞘了的v.将（刀、剑等）插入鞘( sheathe的过去式和过去分词 )；包，覆盖 | |
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kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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furtive
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| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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26
jolt
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| v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸 | |
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clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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29
crouch
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| v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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31
pounce
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| n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意 | |
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stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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33
hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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36
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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38
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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39
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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40
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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41
muddled
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| adj.混乱的；糊涂的；头脑昏昏然的v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的过去式)；使糊涂；对付，混日子 | |
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42
stink
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| vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭 | |
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43
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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44
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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45
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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46
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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47
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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48
lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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49
unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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50
bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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51
twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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52
droplet
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| n.小滴，飞沫 | |
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53
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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54
ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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55
plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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56
thaw
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| v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和 | |
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