Warrior cat sneak peeks

Code of the clans

Contents 

The Dawn of the Clans

 The Warrior Code

 Welcome to the Warrior Code

 Code One

 The Beginning of the Warrior Code 

Code Two 

Finders Keepers 

Hunting Fish! 

Code Three 

A Mystical Battle

 A Dark Path Chosen

 Code Four

 Mouse Games 

Code Five

 The Queens Unite

 The Smallest Warrior

 Code Six

 A Night of Listening 

Squirrelflight's Words of Wisdom 

Code Seven

 Second in Command 

Code Eight 

Follow My Leader

 Too Late for Regrets: Tallstar Explains 

Code Nine 

A Sign from StarClan

 Code Ten 

The Vanishing Moon 

Code Eleven

 Poppycloud's Rule 

Who Goes There? Whitestorm Teaches Border Tactics 

Code Twelve 

A Loss for All Clans 

A Kit in Trouble

 Code Thirteen 

Darkstar's Law 

An Empty Prayer: Cloudstar Speaks 

Code Fourteen 

The Medicine Cats Decide 

Code Fifteen

 Pinestar's Secret 

A Change of Heart: Sandstorm Speaks 

Rules That Did Not Become Part of the Code: Leafpool Speaks

 Epilogue

 Acknowledgments 

About the Author 

Other Books by Erin Hunter 

Credits

THE DAWN OF THE CLANS 

Many moons ago, a community of cats settled in dense woodland close to the edge of a moor. Some were kittypets intrigued by the idea of exploring beyond their housefolk's backyard; others had been born and raised in the wild, by cats who knew how to catch their own prey and find shelter in the cold nights of leaf-bare. The woodland, with the river running fast and deep at the edge of the trees, proved to be good territory for the cats. There was enough shelter for every cat, enough prey to feed them all, and the freedom to hunt among the trees, on the open moor, and along the fish-filled river. The cats began to settle according to their preferences for hunting and prey. The fish-eaters kept mostly to the banks of the river, making their dens among the reeds and twisted willow roots; the mouse-pouncers stayed under the densest trees, perfecting their leaps among the tangled undergrowth; the rabbit-chasers, faster and leaner than the other cats, kept to the open moor; the squirrel-stalkers settled in the sparser woodland, where they learned to climb trees and hunt among the branches; and the cats who had a taste for snakes and lizards, and the cunning to catch them on marshy ground, settled among brittle grass stalks and rattling pine trees on the farthest edge of the territory. There were no borders at first, and within each hunting ground the cats lived separately, meeting only as they went in pursuit of the same prey. Occasionally cats clashed over a piece of fresh-kill or a good place for a den, but battles between large numbers of cats were unheard of. Then a time came when prey was scarce, and there were too many mouths to feed and bodies to shelter in each hunting ground. Battles broke out, just a few cats at first, but more and more until hunting ground took on hunting ground, fighting for survival, not just for themselves, but for the cats who lived alongside them. After one dreadful battle, when the ground beneath the four great oak trees turned red with blood, the spirits of the dead cats came back to plead for peace with the strongest cats from each hunting ground: Wind, River, Thunder, Shadow, and Sky. The five vowed to their fallen companions that they would find a way to put an end to the fighting, to live in their separate hunting grounds in communities that would preserve each territory for generations of cats to come.