Эрин Хантер - Secrets Оf Тhe Clans

Cats from all Clans were forbidden to go to Snakerocks. The leaders were afraid to lose any more warriors to Mouthclaw. But Sunpelt wanted to prove what a great warrior he was. He thought that by killing Mouthclaw, he would earn the respect of the forest.

One morning he left the camp before sunup and journeyed to Snakerocks. He stood outside Mouthclaw’s cave and called, “Come out and fight!” Then he angered her further by kicking stones into her cave with his back legs.

Mouthclaw slithered out of her cave, her tongue flickering like lightning. She was ten fox-lengths long and as thick as a badger with a bellyful of cubs. Her eyes were evil red slits, and her scales glittered in the dawn light.

She bared her fangs with pleasure, for LionClan warriors were one of her favorite meals. And then she lunged. But the young warrior was too quick. He leaped from rock to rock, while Mouthclaw spat poison and threw up clouds of dust with her lashing tail. The fight went on all day, but she could never get close enough for the kill.

Finally Mouthclaw could fight no more.

“I have been living in these rocks for a thousand moons,” she hissed. “Spare my life, and I shall grant you one wish.”

The brave warrior thought for a moment. Then he roared, “I wish that you would shrink to the length of a cat’s tail. If you were that small, then I would allow you to remain living at Snakerocks.”

“And that is all you ask of me?” hissed Mouthclaw with an evil glint in her eyes.

“That is all,” said Sunpelt. He knew a tiny snake would be no danger to the giant cats of the forest. He would be a hero.

Mouthclaw began to writhe and slither, back and forth. A great cloud of dust rose up, and when it settled, Sunpelt leaped back-ward in horror.

A thousand snakes, each the length of a cat’s tail, covered the ground, spitting poison. Now instead of one giant snake at Snakerocks, there were many, each of them deadly and fierce.

Sunpelt could not believe what he had done. Horrified and guilt-stricken, he raced back to camp and confessed all to his leader.

At first Goldenstar was angry. “This was a dangerous thing you did,” he growled. “You should know better than to bargain with snakes. They are cunning and will outwit us every time.”

“I know,” Sunpelt admitted, hanging his head.

“However,” Goldenstar meowed, “you have done a great service for the forest. These smaller snakes may be dangerous, but none can be as dangerous as Mouthclaw. Now no warrior has to fear being swallowed or bitten by her deadly fangs.”

“That is true,” Sunpelt meowed, his spirit rising.

Goldenstar forgave his brave warrior. After all, Sunpelt was not the first cat—or the last—to be tricked by a snake in the grass.

When the big cats first walked the forest, TigerClan and LionClan both had pure gold coats, but only LionClan cats had a mane of long hair like the rays of the sun. The TigerClan cats were jealous of these golden manes, and they were jealous of LeopardClan’s ability to run faster than any other cats. Jealousy made them bitter, and they started hunting at night and keeping to the shadows during the daytime.

One TigerClan warrior, Thorntooth, was more bitter than the rest. He started attacking the other Clans at night, stealing their kits and raiding their fresh-kill pile. Shadestar, the TigerClan leader, knew what Thorntooth was doing, but she did nothing to stop him, because her own heart was black with envy.

Then a day came when Thorntooth sneaked back to camp with a small lion cub dangling from his jaws and mewling sadly.

Shadestar took one look at the kit and flew into a rage.

“That’s Petalkit!” she roared. “You’ve stolen Goldenstar’s only daughter!”

“Yes, I have,” Thorntooth replied smugly, dropping the she-cat on the ground. Petalkit let out a wail and buried her nose in her paws.

“What have you done?” Shadestar snarled. “This will mean war. LionClan will not rest until they rescue this kit. They will slaughter us all if they have to.”

“We can fight them,” Thorntooth growled angrily.

“And let TigerClan warriors die? For what?” Shadestar hissed.

“For nothing. We are giving Goldenstar’s daughter back immediately.”

Shadestar called a Gathering that night and gave Petalkit back to Goldenstar before LionClan could attack. Here was proof that Thorntooth was behind the night raids. Goldenstar and Swiftstar demanded that Shadestar put a stop to her warrior’s dishonorable behavior.

“But it’s not fair!” Thorntooth protested. “TigerClan has nothing special. We are plain orange cats with no great skills. We should have something to set us apart like LionClan and LeopardClan have!”

“Enough!” Goldenstar snarled. “Shadestar, your Clan must be punished. For the next moon, TigerClan shall not be seen in day-light. The light of the sun shall not touch your pelts. You may not speak to cats of other Clans. For one whole moon, you forfeit your Clan’s honor. If you stop your raids, you may rejoin the Clans at the next Gathering.”

So TigerClan walked only by night for a moon and stayed away from the other Clans. When the full moon came around again, they stepped into the Gathering under the moonlight. All the other cats gasped.

“Your pelts!” Swiftstar meowed.

TigerClan had spent so long walking in the shadows that their brightly colored pelts were sliced through with jet-black stripes.

Thorntooth was pleased, because now TigerClan was marked out like the other Clans.

From that day on, all TigerClan cats were born with stripes.

Catspeak:Humanspeak

Crow-food:rotting food

Fox dung:an insult; stronger offense than mouse-brain

Fresh-kill:recently killed prey

Gathering:a meeting that the Clans hold in peace at every full moon

Greencough:severe chest infection, which can be fatal in elders and young kits

Greenleaf:summer

Greenleaf Twolegplace:a place where humans visit only in the summer (a campsite, resort, etc.)

Halfbridge:a dock

Horseplace:fields and stables near the lake where half-tamed cats live

Housefolk:a house cat’s word for its humans

Kittypet:a house cat

Leaf-bare:winter

Leaf-fall:fall/autumn Loner:cat that lives peacefully on its own in one place but doesn’t defend its territory

Monster:usually refers to human machines such as cars and bulldozers

Moonhigh:the time of night when the moon is at its highest—often midnight

Mouse-brained:not very smart

Mouse dung:an insult; stronger than mouse-brain, but less offensive than fox dung

Newleaf:spring

Nofurs:another word for humans

One moon:one month (half-moon = two weeks, quarter-moon = one week)

Rogue:a potentially hostile cat who lives outside the Clans and never spends too long in one place

Sharing tongues:term used to describe cats grooming each other

Silverpelt:the Milky Way

Sun-drown-place:the sea to the west, where the sun sets

Sunhigh:noon

Thunderpath:a road