Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19 "Mousefur kept me awake half the night coughing," Longtail complained. "It's a wonder you could hear me over your snoring!" Mousefur retorted. Jaypaw sighed. He was in the elders" den, listening to the denmates bicker like kits. He didn't know why they argued so much. Even now, Longtail's complaint was only his way of telling Jaypaw that he was worried about Mousefur. "I can't feel any swelling around her throat," Jaypaw told him. "Just make sure she eats the coltsfoot I brought. Leafpool says it will ease her breathing." "I don't need herbs," Mousefur grumbled. "Take them anyway," Longtail urged. "At least it means you'll eat something. You've not had anything since sunhigh yesterday." "I don't like to take prey from the fresh-kill pile when food is so scarce," Mousefur meowed. "There are younger bellies to feed than mine." "Well, eat the coltsfoot instead," Longtail

第十九章 “鼠毛咳嗽了半宿，吵得我根本睡不着，”长尾抱怨道。 “你打呼那么响，哪还听得见我咳嗽啊！” 鼠毛反驳道。 松鸦爪叹了口气。 他正在长老巢穴里，听着同巢的长老像幼崽一样斗嘴。 他搞不懂他们干嘛总吵来吵去。 哪怕是现在，长尾的抱怨也不过是在告诉松鸦爪，他担心鼠毛。 “我没摸到她喉咙周围有肿块，”松鸦爪对他说。 “一定要让她吃下我带来的款冬。” 叶池说这能帮她顺畅呼吸。” “我才不需要药草，”鼠毛嘟囔道。 “不管怎么样都得吃，”长尾劝道。 “至少吃了就能进点食。 昨天日中过后你就什么都没吃了。” “现在食物这么少，我不想占新鲜猎物堆的份额，”鼠毛说道。 “还有比我年轻的小家伙要吃饭呢。” “那好吧，就吃款冬，”长尾

meowed. "If only to give me some peace." Muttering crossly, Mousefur used her tail to sweep the pile of shredded leaves toward her nest. Jaypaw sighed. Listening to the elders fussing, he felt as though nothing had changed since his days with Brightheart. After hardly a quarter moon he was bored to the ends of his whiskers with doling out herbs. He was meant to visit Stormfur in the warriors" den next and apply a honey-and-horsetail poultice to his shoulder wound yet again. The warrior refused to rest, and the balm seemed to rub off as quickly as Jaypaw could apply it. Leafpool appeared at the entrance of the honeysuckle bush, bringing with her the scents of the medicine den. "How's Mousefur's throat?" she asked. "It feels fine," Jaypaw answered tersely. "Although it would be easier to tell if she stopped complaining long enough for me to feel it properly." Leafpool's irritation spiked the air. "If you can't be polite to your Clanmates, you may as well come back to the medicine den and help me

说道。 “好歹也让我清静清静。” 鼠毛气鼓鼓地咕哝着，用尾巴把那堆碎叶子扫到自己窝里。 松鸦爪叹了口气。 听着长老们争执不休，他觉得自从跟亮心生活那会儿起，什么都没改变。 才过了不到半个月，他就对分发药草这件事无聊到了极点。 接下来他得去武士巢穴找暴毛，再给他肩膀的伤口敷一次蜂蜜加马尾草的药膏。 这个武士不肯休息，药膏总是刚敷好就被蹭掉了。 叶池出现在忍冬灌木丛的入口，身上带着药穴的气息。 “鼠毛的喉咙怎么样了？” 她问道。 “看着没什么事，”松鸦爪简短地回答。 “要是她能停下抱怨一会儿，让我好好摸一摸，我就能说准了。” 空气中瞬间弥漫开叶池的怒意。 “要是你对族群同胞都没礼貌，那不如回药穴帮我

tear up the tansy that Hollypaw was kind enough to fetch for you yesterday!" she snapped. Jaypaw rolled his eyes. Another moment in the medicine den and he would burst! So much for his great destiny as a medicine cat. Spottedleaf hadn't warned him that life would be one tedious chore after another. Leafpool led the way back to the den, her shoulders tense. Jaypaw padded miserably after her. He felt a lecture brewing in her like a storm, and nosed his way reluctantly through the trailing brambles and sat down. "You drift around the camp like a little dark cloud looking for someone to rain on," Leafpool snapped. "I'm bored!" Jaypaw complained. Exasperation flashed from his mentor. "Anyone would think I had forced you to become my apprentice!" "You didn't force me," Jaypaw agreed. "But it's what you wanted all along, isn't it?" He lashed his tail. "Are you happy now?" "Do I sound happy?" Leafpool hissed. Jaypaw could feel the fury seething beneath her pelt. Why

撕碎昨天冬青爪好心帮你采来的艾菊！” 她厉声呵斥道。 松鸦爪翻了个白眼。 再在药穴待一会儿，他就要爆发了！ 他那当巫医的伟大命运，原来也就这么回事。 斑叶根本没提醒过他，生活会变成一件接一件的无聊琐事。 叶池率先走回药穴，肩膀绷得紧紧的。 松鸦爪闷闷不乐地跟在她身后。 他感觉到叶池心里已经攒了一顿说教，就像要来了暴风雨，他不情愿地挤过垂着的荆棘，坐了下来。 “你整天在营地里晃悠，像朵小乌云就想往别人身上下雨，”叶池厉声说。 “我好无聊！” 松鸦爪抱怨道。 导师脸上闪过一丝恼怒。 “谁都会觉得是我硬逼你当我学徒的！” “你没逼我，”松鸦爪应声说。 “但这本来就是你一直想要的，对不对？” 他猛地甩了甩尾巴。 “你现在满意了？” “我看起来像是满意吗？” 叶池嘶声说道。 松鸦爪能感觉到她皮毛下翻涌着怒火。 为什么

did she have to be so mad at him? Couldn't she understand that he had expected more from his life than this? "It's okay for you," he snapped. "You always wanted to be a medicine cat!" "And you don't?" "It's my destiny," he muttered. "Wanting doesn't seem to come into it." "Then deal with it!" Leafpool growled unsympathetically. Unhappily, Jaypaw padded to the heap of tansy Hollypaw had left and began to strip the leaves from the stems. He ripped at them carelessly, leaving long strings of stalk attached. Leafpool sighed and sat down beside him. Wordlessly, she began to nip off the trailing strips he had left. Her disappointment showed in every small, silent movement she made. Guilt pricked at Jaypaw like a bellyful of thorns. He wished he could find the words to explain his frustration, but he knew that whatever he said would only make it worse. What would she say if she knew just how miserable he was at giving up his dream of being a warrior? And for this! A life of sorting herbs and

她非要对我发这么大脾气呢？ 难道她就不明白，我本来对生活的期待远不止这些吗？ “你当然无所谓，”他怒冲冲地说。 “你本来就一直想当巫医！” “那你不想吗？” “这是我的命运，”他咕哝道。 “喜不喜欢好像根本不重要。” “那你就接受它！” 叶池冷冰冰地低吼道。 松鸦爪闷闷不乐地走到冬青爪留下的那堆艾菊旁，开始把叶子从茎上摘下来。 他随便乱扯，把长长的茎梗留在了叶子上。 叶池叹了口气，在他身边坐下。 她一言不发，开始咬掉他留下的那些长长的茎梗。 她每一个小小的、无声的动作，都透着失望。 愧疚像一堆刺扎得松鸦爪肚子发疼。 他想找话解释自己的烦躁，可他知道不管说什么都只会让情况更糟。 要是她知道，放弃当武士的梦想我有多难受，她会说什么呢？ 就为了这些破事！ 天天整理药草，还要

worrying about scratches and bellyaches. "Leafpool?" Stormfur pushed his way into the den. Jaypaw could smell the sour odor of the scratches festering on his shoulder. He had forgotten to apply the new poultice. He jerked his head around, feeling guiltier than ever. "Didn't you treat Stormfur's scratch?" Leafpool demanded. "You told me to come back here," he pointed out. "You're right." She sighed. "Never mind. I'll do it. You get some rest. It's half-moon tonight. We'll be traveling to the Moonpool with the other medicine cats." Brightheart was lying next to Cloudtail by the halfrock, washing herself. Jaypaw felt her hurt like thorns in his pads as he waited for Leafpool by the camp entrance. Firestar had promised Brightheart that she could mentor Icekit or Foxkit when their turn came, but the warrior hadn't gotten over the pain of losing Jaypaw as her apprentice yet. "Staring at her isn't going to make her forgive you." Leafpool's meow surprised Jaypaw; he had

一直担心着抓痕和肚子痛。 “叶池？”石风挤进了巢穴。 松鸦爪闻到了他肩膀上溃烂抓痕散发的酸臭味。 他忘了敷新药膏。 他猛地转过头，心里比任何时候都愧疚。 “你没给石风处理抓伤吗？” 叶池追问道。 “是你让我回这儿来的”，他说道。 “你说得没错。” 她叹了口气。 “算了，没关系。 我来处理吧。 你去休息会儿。 今晚是半月了。 我们要和其他巫医一起去月亮池。” 亮心躺在半石旁挨着云尾，打理着自己的毛发。 松鸦爪在营地入口等叶池的时候，能感觉到她的痛苦像刺扎在自己爪垫上。 火星已经答应亮心，等冰崽和狐崽到了学徒年纪就让她带，可这位武士还没接受松鸦爪不再是她学徒这件事。 “一直盯着她也没法让她原谅你。” 叶池的话吓了松鸦爪一跳，他刚才一直

been too busy worrying about Brightheart to hear his mentor approach. "But she won't listen to me when I try to talk to her," Jaypaw mewed. "She just changes the subject or finds an excuse to go somewhere else." "She'll listen when she's ready to hear," Leafpool advised. "She's had to fight hard to prove to her Clanmates that she's as good as them, and this must feel like a battle she has lost." "I never meant to hurt her," Jaypaw mewed. "It takes some cats longer to see past their weaknesses clearly enough to appreciate their strengths," Leafpool meowed. "And until they do, they feel every hurt like a tongue on raw flesh." Jaypaw felt that Leafpool was urging him to understand more than Brightheart's anger, but he didn't want to think about it now. He was eager to leave camp. He hadn't been farther than the Sky Oak in days, and his paws were itching to be on their way to the Moonpool. Leafpool must have sensed his impatience. "Come on," she meowed, leading him through the thorn barrier. The night felt brittle with cold. Frost had

忙着担心亮心，都没察觉到导师走过来。 “可我想跟她说话的时候，她根本不听我说”，松鸦爪小声说道。 “她要么转移话题，要么找借口走开。” “等她准备好愿意听了，自然会听的”，叶池劝他。 “她一直努力打拼，向族猫证明自己不比别人差，这件事对她来说肯定就像输了一场硬仗。” “我从来没想过要伤害她”，松鸦爪说。 “有些猫需要更长时间才能放下对弱点的成见，看到对方的长处”，叶池说道。 “在那之前，每一点伤害都会让他们痛彻心扉。” 松鸦爪明白叶池是想让他懂得不止亮心的愤怒，可他现在不想想这些。 他巴不得赶紧离开营地。 他好多天都没去过比天橡树更远的地方了，爪子早就痒得想去月亮池了。 叶池肯定察觉到了他的不耐烦。 “走吧”，她说着，带头穿过了荆刺屏障。 寒夜冰冷，万物都冻得发脆。 霜已经