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C H A P T E R   1 6 
;
Brambleclaw raced back to the hedge with Feathertail right behind him. All his instincts told him to dash into the garden and rescue the other cats, but the memory of what happened when they had first crossed the Thunderpath warned him to be more careful. Instead, he pushed his way through the branches until he could peer out while still remaining hidden.
What he saw made his belly¹ flip² over. Near the Twoleg nest, two huge kittypets had cornered Stormfur and Crowpaw. The WindClan apprentice⁴ was crouched⁵ close to the ground, his ears flattened⁶ and his lips drawn⁷ back in a snarl⁸. Stormfur had one paw stretched out in front of him, threatening the kittypets with unsheathed claws. Brambleclaw could see that they wouldn’t get away without a fight, and there was nowhere for them to retreat except through the half-open door of the Twoleg nest.
“Great StarClan!” Feathertail gasped⁹ in his ear. “Those kittypets are bigger than most warriors¹¹!”
Brambleclaw wasn’t sure that mattered. Size and a glossy¹² pelt¹³ didn’t make a warrior¹⁰. He didn’t have any doubts that he and his friends would win the battle, but the two kittypets 1 9 0 
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were defending their territory, and they looked capable of inflicting¹⁴ nasty wounds—wounds the Clan³ cats could not afford if they were to keep on with their journey.
He tensed his muscles, preparing to leap on the kittypets from behind, but before he could move, a flame-colored streak¹⁵ flashed down from the fence and across the garden.
“Squirrelpaw, no!” Brambleclaw yowled.
The apprentice took no notice; he was not even sure she had heard. Hurling¹⁷ herself into the midst of the bristling¹⁸ cats, she clawed at the nearest kittypet. Both of them swung around, snarling²⁰.
At once Brambleclaw called out, “Stormfur, Crowpaw!
Over here!”
Crowpaw shot across the grass and crashed into Feathertail’s flank as he charged under the hedge, but Stormfur stayed where he was, screeching²¹ at the advancing kittypets with Squirrelpaw beside him. At the same moment Tawnypelt appeared on top of the fence from the next garden and leaped down to join them.
“Back off, fox dung!” Squirrelpaw spat²² as the two kittypets closed in.
The nearest of them lashed¹⁶ at her with one paw, missing her by a whisker. Then the door to the Twoleg nest was flung open and a female Twoleg appeared, shouting and waving her arms. The kittypets fled around the side of the nest, while the Clan cats dashed for the refuge of the hedge. The Twoleg glared after them for a moment and then retreated into her nest, banging the door behind her.
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“Squirrelpaw!” Brambleclaw hissed²³ as the apprentice skidded²⁴ to a halt. “What were you thinking of out there? Those two could have clawed your fur off.”
Squirrelpaw shrugged²⁵, quite unrepentant. “No, they couldn’t. All kittypets are soft,” she meowed. “Anyway, Stormfur and Crowpaw were there.”
“Brambleclaw, don’t scold her.” Stormfur’s amber²⁶ eyes glowed as he gazed at Squirrelpaw. “That was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Feathertail murmured agreement, and Brambleclaw began to feel uncomfortable. Tawnypelt gave the young cat a nod of approval, too; only Crowpaw looked cross, perhaps aware that Squirrelpaw had come off better than him, perhaps regretting that in the moment of crisis he had obeyed an order from Brambleclaw
“I never said she wasn’t brave,” Brambleclaw defended himself hotly. “Just that she needs to think first. We’ve still got a long way to go, and if any of us is injured it’s going to hold us back.”
“Well, we’re all here now,” Tawnypelt pointed²⁷ out. “Let’s get going.”
Brambleclaw led the way back to the patch of rough ground where he had waited with Feathertail. By now the sun had gone, but red streaks²⁸ stained the sky, showing them the path they must follow.
“We could spend the night here,” Feathertail suggested.
“There’s shelter, and prey²⁹.”
“It’s too close to the Twoleg nests,” Stormfur argued. “If W A R R I O R S :   T H E   N E W   P R O P H E C Y :   M I D N I G H T 
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we cross the Thunderpath into those fields, we’ll be able to find a safer place.”
No cat disagreed with that. StarClan sent them an easy crossing of the second Thunderpath, and as twilight³⁰ gathered they began the trek³¹ across the fields. The surface was rough, with boggy³² patches and heaps of stone, as if once there had been Twoleg nests here that had been allowed to fall into ruin.
It was almost dark when they came to a stretch of broken-down wall. Ferns and grasses had rooted in the cracks, giving some shelter, and moss³³ covered the fallen stones.
“This doesn’t look too bad,” Stormfur meowed. “We could stop here.”
“Oh, yes, please!” Squirrelpaw agreed. “I’m so tired I think my paws will drop off!”
“Well,  I  think we should go on a bit farther,”  Crowpaw objected stubbornly. Brambleclaw suspected he was just trying to be difficult. “There’s no prey-scent here.”
“We’ve traveled a long way today,” Brambleclaw meowed.
“If we go any farther we could run into more trouble, or have to spend the night in the open. Let’s look around first, though, and make sure there aren’t any nasty surprises. No badgers³⁴ or foxes holed up nearby.”
The rest of the cats agreed, all except Crowpaw, who grunted³⁵ disagreeably. Squirrelpaw went to investigate on the other side of the wall. When she had been gone for a while, Brambleclaw set off after her, bracing³⁶ himself to find that she had run into trouble again, only to meet her bouncing back W A R R I O R S :   T H E   N E W   P R O P H E C Y :   M I D N I G H T 
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around the line of stones.
“This is a great place!” she announced, shaking droplets³⁷ of water from her whiskers, while Brambleclaw wondered where all her energy came from. “There’s a puddle³⁸ on the other side, with plenty of water.”
“Water? Lead me to it,” Tawnypelt mewed, trotting³⁹ in the direction Squirrelpaw indicated. “My mouth’s as dry as last season’s leaves.”
A moment later she came back, and stalked threateningly across to Squirrelpaw with her tail bristling. “That was a dirty trick,” she growled⁴⁰.
Squirrelpaw looked bewildered. “Trick? I don’t know what you mean.”
Tawnypelt spat. “The water tastes disgusting. Full of salt or something.”
“No, it doesn’t!” Squirrelpaw protested. “I had a good long drink, and it was as fresh as anything.”
Tawnypelt turned away and snatched angrily at some juicy stalks of grass. Stormfur shot Squirrelpaw a worried glance.
“Wait there,” he ordered. A moment later he reappeared with drops gleaming on his whiskers. “No, it’s fine,” he reported.
“Then why did I get a mouthful of salt?” Tawnypelt mewed.
A shiver ran down Brambleclaw’s spine⁴¹. “What if . . .” he began, his gaze darting⁴² from one cat to another. He swallowed. “What if it’s a sign from StarClan that we’re doing the right thing, trying to find the sun-drown place? My dream was about salt water, remember.”
The four chosen cats looked at each other, eyes stretched wide with awe¹⁹ and, Brambleclaw thought, apprehension⁴³.
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“If you’re right,” Feathertail murmured, “it would mean that StarClan are watching us, all the time.” She glanced around as if she expected to see starry⁴⁴ shapes stalking toward them across the darkening field.
Brambleclaw dug his claws into the earth, feeling the need to anchor himself in something real and solid. “Then that’s a good thing,” he meowed.
“So why haven’t we all had a sign?” Crowpaw asked challengingly. “Why just the two of you?”
“Perhaps we’ll have one later,” Feathertail suggested, brushing her tail against Crowpaw’s flank. “Maybe they’re spread out to let us know we’re staying on the right path.”
“Perhaps.” Crowpaw shrugged angrily and went off to curl up by himself at one end of the wall.
The rest of the party settled down too. Brambleclaw thought longingly⁴⁵ of the mice in Ravenpaw’s barn; there was no prey-scent here, and they would have to go to sleep hungry. The next day they would have to spend some time hunting before they went much farther.
The first stars of Silverpelt were beginning to appear above his head.  Warriors of StarClan, Brambleclaw thought drowsily,  watching us and guiding us on our journey.
If only I could speak to you right now, he thought.  I wish I could askyou if we’re really doing the right thing, and why we have to travel so far. Iwish I could ask you what trouble you have foreseen for the forest.
The stars glittered more brightly still, but no answers came.

1 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

2 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

3 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

4 apprentice   

n.学徒，徒弟

参考例句：

• My son is an apprentice in a furniture maker's workshop.我的儿子在一家家具厂做学徒。
• The apprentice is not yet out of his time.这徒工还没有出徒。

5 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

6 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

7 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

8 snarl   

v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮

参考例句：

• At the seaside we could hear the snarl of the waves.在海边我们可以听见波涛的咆哮。
• The traffic was all in a snarl near the accident.事故发生处附近交通一片混乱。

9 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：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

11 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

12 glossy   

adj.平滑的；有光泽的

参考例句：

• I like these glossy spots.我喜欢这些闪闪发光的花点。
• She had glossy black hair.她长着乌黑发亮的头发。

13 pelt   

v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火

参考例句：

• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。
• Crowds started to pelt police cars with stones.人群开始向警车扔石块。

14 inflicting   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意严重伤害他人身体。
• It's impossible to do research without inflicting some pain on animals. 搞研究不让动物遭点罪是不可能的。

15 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

16 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 hurling   

n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• The boat rocked wildly, hurling him into the water. 这艘船剧烈地晃动，把他甩到水中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Fancy hurling away a good chance like that, the silly girl! 想想她竟然把这样一个好机会白白丢掉了，真是个傻姑娘！ 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 bristling   

a.竖立的

参考例句：

• "Don't you question Miz Wilkes' word,'said Archie, his beard bristling. "威尔克斯太太的话，你就不必怀疑了。 "阿尔奇说。他的胡子也翘了起来。
• You were bristling just now. 你刚才在发毛。

19 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

20 snarling   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• "I didn't marry you," he said, in a snarling tone. “我没有娶你，"他咆哮着说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• So he got into the shoes snarling. 于是，汤姆一边大喊大叫，一边穿上了那双鞋。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

21 screeching   

v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫

参考例句：

• Monkeys were screeching in the trees. 猴子在树上吱吱地叫着。
• the unedifying sight of the two party leaders screeching at each other 两党党魁狺狺对吠的讨厌情景

22 spat   

n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声

参考例句：

• Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
• There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。

23 hissed   

发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对

参考例句：

• Have you ever been hissed at in the middle of a speech? 你在演讲中有没有被嘘过？
• The iron hissed as it pressed the wet cloth. 熨斗压在湿布上时发出了嘶嘶声。

24 skidded   

v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的过去式和过去分词 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区

参考例句：

• The car skidded and hit a lamp post. 那辆汽车打滑撞上了路灯杆。
• The car skidded and overturned. 汽车打滑翻倒了。

25 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

27 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

28 streaks   

n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹

参考例句：

• streaks of grey in her hair 她头上的绺绺白发
• Bacon has streaks of fat and streaks of lean. 咸肉中有几层肥的和几层瘦的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

29 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

30 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

31 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

32 boggy   

adj.沼泽多的

参考例句：

• Of, resembling, or characterized by a marsh or marshes; boggy. 沼泽般的，湿软的：类似沼泽地的，沼泽地所特有的；多沼泽的。 来自互联网
• The boggy is out of order, would be instead another one! 球车坏了，需要更换一部。 来自互联网

33 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

34 badgers   

n.獾( badger的名词复数 )；獾皮；（大写）獾州人（美国威斯康星州人的别称）；毛鼻袋熊

参考例句：

• Badgers had undermined the foundations of the church. 獾在这座教堂的地基处打了洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• And rams ' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood. 5染红的公羊皮，海狗皮，皂荚木。 来自互联网

35 grunted   

（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

参考例句：

• She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。
• She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。

36 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

37 droplets   

n.小滴( droplet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Droplets of sweat were welling up on his forehead. 他额头上冒出了滴滴汗珠。 来自辞典例句
• In constrast, exhaled smoke contains relatively large water droplets and appears white. 相反，从人嘴里呼出的烟则包含相当大的水滴，所以呈白色。 来自辞典例句

38 puddle   

n.(雨)水坑，泥潭

参考例句：

• The boy hopped the mud puddle and ran down the walk.这个男孩跳过泥坑，沿着人行道跑了。
• She tripped over and landed in a puddle.她绊了一下，跌在水坑里。

39 trotting   

小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• The riders came trotting down the lane. 这骑手骑着马在小路上慢跑。
• Alan took the reins and the small horse started trotting. 艾伦抓住缰绳，小马开始慢跑起来。

40 growled   

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

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

41 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

42 darting   

v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• Swallows were darting through the clouds. 燕子穿云急飞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Swallows were darting through the air. 燕子在空中掠过。 来自辞典例句

43 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

44 starry   

adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的

参考例句：

• He looked at the starry heavens.他瞧着布满星星的天空。
• I like the starry winter sky.我喜欢这满天星斗的冬夜。

45 longingly   

adv. 渴望地 热望地

参考例句：

• He looked longingly at the food on the table. 他眼巴巴地盯着桌上的食物。
• Over drinks,he speaks longingly of his trip to Latin America. 他带着留恋的心情，一边喝酒一边叙述他的拉丁美洲之行。