Water poured over the lip ofthe rock in a smooth curve and roared down into a chasm2. Far below, it tumbled and foamed3 into a pool. The rays of the setting sun set a myriad5 of trapped rainbows dancing in the spray.
Three cats sat on the edge of the river just upstream of the waterfall. They watched as a fourth cat approached, stalking delicately across the shaggy moss6 that covered the riverbank. Starlight sparkled at her paws and misted on her gray-blue fur.
The newcomer halted and raked the waiting cats with an icy blue stare. “In the name of all Clans8, why did you choose to meet here?” she demanded, irritably9 shaking one forepaw. “It’s far too wet, and I can’t hear myself think.”
Another she-cat, with ragged10 gray fur, rose to face her. “Stop complaining, Bluestar. I chose this place becauseit’s damp and noisy. I have things to say that I don’t want any other cat to overhear.”
Bluestar padded across to him and sat down with a contemptuous sniff12. “If this is dry, Lionheart, then I’m a mouse.” Turning to the gray she-cat, she added, “Well, Yellowfang? What is it?”
“The prophecy has not been fulfilled,” Yellowfang meowed. “The Three have come together at last, but two of the cats might not recognize the third.”
“Are you sure we’ve got the right Three this time?” Bluestar asked sharply.
“You know we have.” The speaker, a beautiful tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat, dipped her head gently toward the cat who had been her Clan7 leader. “Didn’t we all have the same dream on the night the One was born?”
Bluestar flicked13 the tip of her tail. “You could be right, Spottedleaf. But so much has gone wrong that it’s hard to trust anything now.”
“Of course she’s right.” Yellowfang twitched14 her ears. “But if Jayfeather and Lionblaze don’t recognize the One, there could be more trouble. I want to send them a sign.”
“What?” Bluestar rose to her paws again, waving her tail commandingly as if she still held authority over the old medicine cat. “Yellowfang, have you forgotten that this prophecy isn’t even ours? It could be dangerous to interfere15 with it. I think we should leave it alone.”
Spottedleaf blinked, puzzled. “Dangerous?”
“Do you think it’s a good idea to have cats in the Clans who are more powerful than the stars?” Bluestar challenged, facing each cat in turn. “More powerful than us, their warrior16 ancestors?” She swept her tail in a gesture to include her unseen Clanmates, who were elsewhere in the beautiful, prey-filled forest. “What will become of ThunderClan if—”
“Have faith, Bluestar,” Lionheart interrupted gently. “These are good and loyal cats.”
“We thought that about Hollyleaf!” Bluestar retorted.
“We won’t be wrong again,” Yellowfang mewed. “Wherever the prophecy came from, we have to trust it. And we have to trust our Clanmates beside the lake.”
Spottedleaf opened her jaws17 to speak, only to turn sharply at the sound of another cat brushing through the undergrowth a few fox-lengths farther upstream. A silver-furred she-cat burst out into the open and raced toward them, starlight swirling18 around her.
“Feathertail!” Bluestar exclaimed. “What are you doing here? Are you spying on us?”
“We’re all Clanmates now,” the former RiverClan warrior reminded her. “I guessed why you were meeting, and—”
“This is ThunderClan business, Feathertail,” Yellowfang pointed19 out, with just a hint of her sharp yellow teeth.
“No, it’s not!” Feathertail flashed back at her. “Jayfeather and Lionblaze are half WindClan—Crowfeather’s sons.” Her blue eyes filled with distress20. “I care about what happens to them. I haveto watch over them. And I grieve for Hollyleaf just as much as you do.”
Spottedleaf stretched out her tail to touch the silver she-cat on the shoulder. “She’s right. Let her stay.”
Yellowfang shrugged21. “They aren’t your sons, Feathertail,” she cautioned with unexpected gentleness. “We can warn themand guide them, but in the end they will go their own way.”
“All sons and daughters do that, Yellowfang,” Bluestar commented.
For a few heartbeats Yellowfang’s expression darkened, and her amber22 gaze was fixed23 on the distance, as if she saw a lifetime of painful memories sketched24 in the sky. The sun was slipping down below the horizon, the red-streaked clouds fading to indigo25. In the pool below the waterfall, the whirling foam4 shone pale in the shadows.
“So what do we do now?” Lionheart prompted. “Yellowfang, you mentioned sending a sign.”
“I still think we shouldn’t get involved,” Bluestar insisted before Yellowfang could reply. “The third cat is already strong and clever, even if we don’t know what her special power will be. If she’s the right one, won’t she figure everything out by herself?”
“We can’t sit by and do nothing!” Feathertail protested, sinking her claws into the damp ground. “These young cats need our help.”
“I think so, too,” Lionheart agreed with a nod toward the silver she-cat. “If we had meddled26 more”—he glanced at Bluestar—“Hollyleaf might not have been lost.”
Bluestar’s neck fur bristled27. “Hollyleaf made her own choices. These cats have to live their own lives. No cat can do it for them.”
“No, but we can guide them,” Spottedleaf meowed. “I agree with Yellowfang. I think we should send a sign.”
“I can see you’ve all made up your minds.” Bluestar sighed, letting her neck fur lie flat again. “Very well, do what you wish.”
“I will send an Omen28.” Yellowfang bowed her head; briefly29 the other cats saw beyond her matted fur and brusque manner to the deep wisdom of the medicine cat she had once been. “An Omen of the Stars.”
“Which cat will you send it to?” Bluestar asked. “Lionblaze or Jayfeather?”
Yellowfang’s amber gaze glowed in the last of the light as she turned toward her former Clan leader. “Neither,” she meowed. “I will send it to the third cat.”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
prologue
|
|
| n.开场白，序言；开端，序幕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
chasm
|
|
| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
foamed
|
|
| 泡沫的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
foam
|
|
| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
myriad
|
|
| adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
moss
|
|
| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
clan
|
|
| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
clans
|
|
| 宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
irritably
|
|
| ad.易生气地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
ragged
|
|
| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
beckoned
|
|
| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
sniff
|
|
| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
flicked
|
|
| （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） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
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： |
|
|
|
|
15
interfere
|
|
| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
warrior
|
|
| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
jaws
|
|
| n.口部；嘴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
swirling
|
|
| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
distress
|
|
| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
shrugged
|
|
| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
amber
|
|
| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
sketched
|
|
| v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
indigo
|
|
| n.靛青，靛蓝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
meddled
|
|
| v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
bristled
|
|
| adj. 直立的，多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
omen
|
|
| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
briefly
|
|
| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |