Lionpaw swallowed his last mouthful.He had hardly tasted the mouse, but it had quieted his rumbling1 belly2. He glanced up at the sun shining high in the clear blue sky. Would it disappear again?
What’s happening?Heatherpaw’s terrified mew echoed in his mind.
He could not trust her.
He could not trust the sun.
He could only trust himself and his Clan3.
The clearing was slowly emptying as Firestar moved from cat to cat, sending them to their dens4 to rest.
Squirrelflight lay in her makeshift nest with Hollypaw and Jaypaw curled beside her. Leafpool was checking her again.
“You must rest,” Firestar urged the medicine cat.
Leafpool was swaying on her paws. “What about the other injuries?”
“Brightheart will see to them and fetch you if you’re needed.” Firestar looked at the one-eyed she-cat who was prowling from den5 to den, peering in to check on the cats inside.
“She’ll need rest too,” Leafpool argued.
“And she’ll get it, once you’ve had some sleep.”
Leafpool blinked, her whiskers trembling as she stifled6 a yawn. “Okay,” she agreed. “But wake me if there’s anyproblem.” She was looking at Squirrelflight.
Hollypaw nuzzled closer to her mother, pressing her nose against Squirrelflight’s ear as though she could make her better by wishing it so. Lionpaw’s shoulders tensed, and he dug his claws into the soft earth. If he could fight Squirrelflight’s battle for her, he knew he would win. Frustration7 stung his paws. This was a battle she must fight alone.
Firestar’s muzzle8 brushed his ear. “Shouldn’t you be resting too?”
“I’m not tired.” He stared into Firestar’s clear green gaze.
Firestar blinked first. “Come on, then. We need to decide what happens now.”
Lionpaw followed him to where Dustpelt, Ashfur, and Brambleclaw were sharing a rabbit with Cloudtail and Sandstorm.
Sandstorm looked up as they approached, and nudged a mouthful of the prey10 toward Firestar. “You must be hungry.”
“I’ll eat once the fresh-kill pile’s been restocked,” Firestar replied.
Sandstorm stared at him, then glanced down at the morsel11 she’d offered. “You need your strength as much as any cat.”
Firestar sat down, his shoulders sagging12, and took the piece of rabbit. “Thank you.”
Brambleclaw was sitting uncomfortably, the thorn stab in his side clearly hurting. Lionpaw swallowed the growl13 rising in his throat. No other cat was going to suffer because of Heatherpaw’s betrayal! He sat down. Now they would plan revenge on WindClan and RiverClan. The cowards! Their sneaky attack wasn’t worthy14 of true warriors15. ThunderClan would make them pay for what they’d done.
“Do you think it’ll disappear again?” Dustpelt’s tail was bushed17 out.
Ashfur hadn’t washed the blood from his paws yet. He scored a line in the dust with one red-stained claw. “This might just be the start.”
“We mustn’t panic,” Firestar meowed, swallowing. “We have to believe this was simply a message, nothing more.”
Is that all they’re going to talk about? The vanishing sun?Lionpaw could hardly believe his ears.
“But what if it wasn’t a message?” Dustpelt argued. “What if the sun is starting to fail?”
“It’s never failed before,” Sandstorm argued. “Why should it fail now?”
“It’s never disappeared before,” Ashfur pointed18 out. “But it just did.”
“Surely it must just have been StarClan’s way of warning us to stop fighting?” Brambleclaw meowed.
“Why warn us?” Dustpelt growled19. “We didn’t start the battle!”
“Perhaps it was just a strange cloud that hid it,” Cloudtail reasoned. Lionpaw knew the warrior16 had been born in a Twoleg nest and had never really believed in StarClan.
“Where did the cloud come from?” Ashfur challenged. “Where did it disappear to? The sky was clear.”
Cloudtail shrugged20. “There must be some explanation.”
Dustpelt flicked21 his tail. “StarClan,” he insisted. “Who else could it be?”
What does it matter?Lionpaw’s belly churned with fury. The battle with WindClan hadn’t been won. It had to be finished once and for all if they were ever to sleep soundly in their dens. The sun didn’t matter. Enemies had to be dealt with. He scraped the ground with his claws.
“Have you got something to say?”
Lionpaw realized that Brambleclaw was staring at him.
I’ve got plenty to say!He got to his paws. “We need to teach WindClan a lesson!” he declared. “They can’t invade us without suffering the consequences.”
Brambleclaw shook his head. “Enough blood has been spilled, Lionpaw.”
“The battle’s finished,” Firestar agreed. “We need to find out what the vanishing sun means.”
“Will Leafpool go to the Moonpool and share tongues with StarClan?” Sandstorm asked.
Firestar glanced at Squirrelflight on the far side of the clearing. “Once our wounded cats are well enough to manage without her.”
“I hope that’s soon,” Dustpelt muttered.
Ashfur’s pelt9 smoothed. “The sooner the better.”
Lionpaw pawed the ground. Why wait to find out if their ancestors knew the answer? This wasn’t the time for questions. This was the time for action! There was a battle to be fought. A betrayal to avenge22. “Why can’t we just—”
He stopped.
He’d interrupted Sandstorm. She was staring at him with her mouth open.
“Sorry.” Lionpaw backed away, suddenly conscious that he was only an apprentice23.
“Perhaps you should rest,” Firestar suggested gently.
Lionpaw nodded and turned away, leaving the circle of warriors to fret24 and worry without his interruptions. He kicked sand out behind him with every paw step. One day they’d listen to him.
Hollypaw and Squirrelflight were sleeping. He stopped beside them, watching their flanks rise and fall together as though they shared a single breath. Jaypaw had gone. The ferns beside Squirrelflight were crumpled25 where he’d slept.
As though summoned by Lionpaw’s thoughts, Jaypaw emerged from the medicine cat’s den. He was carrying dripping moss26. Lionpaw watched him pick his way from the den to his mother’s side and press the wet moss to Squirrelflight’s lips.
“Will she live?” Lionpaw whispered.
“I think so.” Jaypaw didn’t look up. “There’s no sign of infection.”
“Did StarClan warn you she’d be injured?” Did they warn you about any of this?Lionpaw’s heart quickened as he waited for an answer.
Jaypaw put down the moss. “No.” He smoothed down a frond27 of fern curling near Squirrelflight’s nose. “And before you ask, they said nothing about the vanishing sun or the battle, either.”
Lionpaw narrowed his eyes. He knew when his brother had something on his mind. “You don’t think this has anything to do with StarClan, do you?”
Jaypaw sat down. “No.”
Well?Why did Jaypaw have to be so mysterious about everything?
“I think…” Jaypaw began tentatively.
“What?”
He looked up. “I think I know someone who can give us answers.”
The fur along Lionpaw’s spine28 lifted. Jaypaw’s pale blue eyes seemed to be watching him, as though he could actually see
“We need to find Sol,” Jaypaw meowed. “He predicted that the sun would vanish. He told Leafpool a great darkness was coming, and the sun would disappear. I think he would have told us more, but Firestar sent him away.”
Disappointment flooded Lionpaw. Jaypaw was no better than the warriors. “Why are you all obsessing29 over the sun?” He lashed30 his tail. “It doesn’t matter. It’s back now, and we’re okay. But we still have to deal with WindClan. They’re going to come back if we don’t show them they can’t—”
Jaypaw cut him off. “It doesmatter,” he growled. “WindClan are nothing more than a thorn in our flesh. We can pull it out anytime we want. But the sun disappeared, and Solknew it would happen. StarClan didn’t! Don’t you realize what that means?”
Lionpaw didn’t, but he wasn’t going to admit that. “What can we do about it?”
“We have to find Sol.”
Lionpaw leaned back in surprise. “Don’t be silly! He left yesterday. He could be anywhere by now. And Firestar’s not going to let us wander off to look for him. There’s been a battle. Half the warriors are injured, and who knows when there’ll be another invasion.”
Jaypaw flattened31 his ears. “Remember the prophecy!” he snapped. “We have the power of the stars in our paws! That makes us more powerful than Firestar, more powerful than StarClan! If Sol knows why the sun vanished, we have to find him!”
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收听单词发音
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1
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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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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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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dens
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| n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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frustration
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| n.挫折，失败，失效，落空 | |
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muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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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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morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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sagging
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| 下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度 | |
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13
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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14
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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15
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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bushed
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| adj.疲倦的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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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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20
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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21
flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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22
avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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apprentice
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| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
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fret
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| v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损 | |
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25
crumpled
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| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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26
moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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frond
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| n.棕榈类植物的叶子 | |
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28
spine
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| n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊 | |
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29
obsessing
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| v.时刻困扰( obsess的现在分词 )；缠住；使痴迷；使迷恋 | |
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30
lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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31
flattened
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| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
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