Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 Brightheart? Jaykit felt a rush of anger so strong it almost knocked him off his paws. Why had Firestar chosen one-eyed Brightheart when there were so many other warriors to choose from? As if he couldn't guess! He dug his claws into the earth, refusing to step forward to greet his mentor. He ignored her embarrassment, although he could sense it like holly leaves pricking his pelt. He ignored the encouraging murmurs of the other apprentices. He ignored Spiderleg's angry, "Sshh!" which quieted them. And then he felt a muzzle gently but firmly pushing him forward. Leafpool's voice murmured in his ear. "Go on." Gritting his teeth, he padded toward Brightheart and Firestar. "I know it must be hard for you," Brightheart greeted him sympathetically. "But I promise I will teach you how to protect your Clan even without sight."

第八章 亮心？ 小松鸦心中涌起一阵极强的怒火，差点晃得他站不稳爪子。 明明有那么多其他武士能选，火星为什么偏偏挑了独眼的亮心？ 这还用问，他当然猜得到原因！ 他把爪子抠进泥土里，不肯上前迎接自己的导师。 他故意无视亮心的窘迫，尽管那窘迫像冬青刺一样扎得他皮毛发紧。 他不理会其他学徒的鼓励低语。 他也不理会蜘蛛腿怒喝的“嘘！”，那声喝止住了众人的议论。 紧接着，他感觉到一个口鼻温柔却有力地把他往前推。 叶池的声音轻轻在他耳边响起。 "去吧。" 他咬紧牙关，一步步走向亮心和火星。 "我知道这对你来说肯定很难，"亮心同情地招呼他。 "但我保证，就算看不见，我也会教你怎么保护族群。"

She pitied him! He could hear it in her voice. His anger swelled up again, sending blood pounding through his ears. "Why bother if you think I'm so useless? Why don't you just send me off to the elders" den with Longtail?" he hissed. Brightheart stiffened. "No cat has said that you're useless. And Longtail won't thank you for being rude about him!" She stepped back from Jaykit and lifted her chin. "I've asked him to help with some of your training." Jaykit lashed his tail. Oh, great, he thought. Let's lump all the useless cats together and hope a tree falls on them! Firestar stepped between Jaykit and Brightheart. "From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be Jaypaw." "Jaypaw! Jaypaw! Jaypaw!" Mousepaw's and Berrypaw's call rang around the hollow, and the other apprentices joined in loudly. Jaypaw clawed the ground. You don't have to try so hard! You're only doing it because you feel sorry for me! "Brightheart," Firestar meowed, "you have never let what happened to you prevent you from

她居然可怜我！ 他从她的声音里听得清清楚楚。 怒火再次翻涌，血液在他耳朵里砰砰直跳。 "既然你觉得我这么没用，又何必费这个劲？ 你干嘛不直接把我送去长老窝，跟长尾作伴？" 他嘶声吼道。 亮心一下子僵住了。 "没有猫说过你没用。 而且你这么说长尾，他可不会喜欢你的失礼！" 她往后退开一步，抬起了下巴。 "我已经请他来帮忙指导你的训练了。" 小松鸦猛地甩了甩尾巴。 呵，可真不错啊，他暗想。 干脆把所有没用的猫堆一块，盼着一棵树砸死我们算了！ 火星走到小松鸦和亮心中间。 "从今天起到你获得武士名号为止，你的名字是松鸦爪。" "松鸦爪！松鸦爪！松鸦爪！" 鼠爪和莓爪的呼喊在山谷里回荡，其他学徒也跟着大声欢呼。 松鸦爪用爪子刨着地面。 你们根本没必要这么卖力！ 你们这么做，不过是可怜我罢了！ "亮心，"火星说道，"你从来没有让你遭遇的不幸阻止你"

being a fine warrior. I can think of no one better than you to teach Jaypaw how best to serve his Clan." "I will share with him all I have learned," Brightheart vowed. Big deal, Jaypaw thought. Reluctantly, he forced himself to touch muzzles with Brightheart, accepting her as his mentor. His whiskers brushed the side of her face that had been ravaged when she had been attacked by the dog pack. It felt strange to sense space where other cats had fur and flesh, and he had to suppress a shudder. The whole Clan raised their voices to cheer the new apprentices. Not me, Jaypaw thought bitterly. There's not a cat here that thinks I'll become a great warrior. When the calls died away Firestar spoke again. "ThunderClan is lucky to have so many apprentices. I hope they will train hard and serve their Clan well." "We will!" Lionpaw mewed. "When can we start training?" Hollypaw asked. "That's up to your mentors," Firestar told her.

成为一名合格的优秀武士。 我找不到比你更合适的猫，来教松鸦爪如何为族群效力了。" "我会把我学到的一切都教给他，"亮心郑重承诺。 有什么了不起的，松鸦爪暗想。 他不情愿地强迫自己和亮心碰了口鼻，认可她做自己的导师。 他的胡须扫过她当年被狗群袭击后留下伤痕的侧脸。 本该长着皮毛和肌肉的地方却是空的，这种感觉很怪异，他好不容易才忍住没发抖。 整个族群都放声欢呼，祝贺这批新学徒。 才不是祝贺我，松鸦爪苦涩地想。 这里没有一只猫觉得我能成为伟大的武士。 欢呼声平息后，火星再次开口。 "雷族很幸运，能拥有这么多年轻学徒。 我希望你们好好训练，好好为族群效力。" "我们一定会的！" 狮爪大声说道。 "我们什么时候能开始训练？" 冬青爪问道。 "这得听你们导师的安排，"火星告诉她。

"Come on, Lionpaw," Ashfur meowed. "Let's find you a nest in the apprentices" den; then I'll show you the forest." "Right now?" Lionpaw mewed excitedly. "Why not?" Hollypaw's paws pattered on the ground around Leafpool. "Can we go with Lionpaw when Ashfur shows him our territory?" "It's a nice idea, Hollypaw," Leafpool meowed. "But I need to show you the best herb-gathering places, and I'm sure Ashfur will want to show Lionpaw the boundary markers and the best places for hunting." "Oh." Hollypaw sounded disappointed. "But first, let's look at the herb store," Leafpool suggested, "so you get to know some of the leaves we'll be looking at in the forest." "Okay," Hollypaw mewed, sounding more cheerful. As Lionpaw and Hollypaw padded after their mentors, Jaypaw sat down crossly. How come they get real mentors? He felt Brightheart's tail touch his shoulder. "Come with me," she meowed.

"走吧，狮爪，"灰毛说道。 "我们先去学徒巢穴给你找个窝，然后我带你去熟悉森林。" "现在就去吗？" 狮爪兴奋地问道。 "为什么不呢？" 冬青爪的爪子在叶池身边的地上啪嗒啪嗒走。 "灰毛带狮爪看领地的时候，我们能一起去吗？" "这想法不错，冬青爪，"叶池说道。 "但我得先带你认识最好的药草采集点，而且我肯定灰毛想带狮爪去看边界标记和最好的捕猎点。" "哦。" 冬青爪听起来很失望。 "不过我们可以先去看看药草库，"叶池提议，"这样你就能先认识一些我们之后要在森林找的叶子了。" "好呀，"冬青爪应声，语气一下子明快多了。 狮爪和冬青爪跟着各自的导师离开后，松鸦爪气鼓鼓地坐了下来。 凭什么他们就能得到正经的导师？ 他感觉到亮心的尾巴搭在了自己的肩膀上。 "跟我来，"她说道。

Sullenly he followed her to a clump of wilting grass that overflowed from a quiet alcove in the rocky camp wall. "I think it's best if we start..." Brightheart began. Jaypaw did not listen to the rest. Instead he let his attention slip until her voice had blended with the sound of the wind swishing through the branches above the hollow. He could hear Lionpaw hurrying after Ashfur, eagerly following his mentor out of the camp and into the forest. Hollypaw's scent was clear beyond the bramble- draped entrance to the medicine den; Jaypaw could taste the tang of the comfrey she was tearing and laying out to dry. At least I'm not a medicine cat apprentice. He felt a flicker of gratitude that Hollypaw had taken that role. He went on scanning the camp. With the sureness he had possessed since his first memory, he knew that Daisy was circling in her nest, preparing for a nap. Mousefur was guiding Longtail back to the elders" den. He sensed the old she-cat's longing to be out in the forest; she was in

他闷闷不乐地跟着她，走到营地石墙那处僻静凹龛边生长的一丛蔫草旁 “我想我们最好还是从……开始吧” 亮心开口说道。 松鸦爪根本没听接下来的内容。 他只顾着走神，直到她的声音完全混进了凹地上方风吹树枝的沙沙声里。 他能听见狮爪急匆匆跟在灰毛身后，迫不及待跟着导师出了营地，走进森林。 冬青爪的气味清晰地留在巫医巢穴那覆满荆棘的入口处； 松鸦爪能尝到她撕碎铺开晾晒的聚合草的刺鼻气味。 至少我不是巫医学徒。 想到冬青爪接下了这份差事，他心里掠过一丝感激。 他继续感知营地里的动静。 凭着从记事起就拥有的敏锐直觉，他知道黛西正在窝里打转，准备打盹。 鼠毛正领着长尾走回长老巢穴。 他感受到这只年长母猫渴望去森林；她此刻正

a hunting mood, though her movements were stiff with age. Longtail padded quietly beside her, his limbs still as supple as a warrior's. It's not fair he should live in the elders" den, Jaypaw thought. He's not old yet. Then, like a storm cloud shadowing the hollow, he sensed a darkness sweep over the camp. He pricked his ears, and heard claws scraping the rocky ledge outside Firestar's den. He knew by the scent that it was not Firestar who sat up there, flexing his paws. It was Brambleclaw. Jaypaw knew his father sat up there often, a good deputy keeping watch over his Clan. But now he could sense something cold and uncomfortable, like a murky fog, in Brambleclaw's mind. He struggled to understand it, groping for the right word. Suspicion! Brambleclaw was suspicious of his Clanmates! He was not watching over them, but searching for a cat he feared might betray him. Jaypaw shivered, the fur on his spine lifting. Why would any cat betray Brambleclaw? He was a great deputy.

狩猎的心情，尽管她的动作已经因为年老而僵硬。 长尾安静地走在她身边，四肢还像武士一样柔韧灵活。 真不公平，他竟然要住在长老巢穴里，松鸦爪想。 他还没老呢。 接着，就像乌云遮蔽了凹地，他感觉到一股黑暗席卷了营地。 他竖起耳朵，听见火星巢穴外的岩石台上传来爪子刮擦的声音。 他凭着气味就知道，蹲在那里舒展爪子的不是火星。 是黑莓掌。 松鸦爪知道，他父亲经常待在那儿，尽责的副族长看护着整个族群。 可现在，他能感觉到黑莓掌的心里萦绕着冰冷不安的感觉，就像一团浑浊的浓雾。 他努力想弄明白，拼命想要找到合适的词形容。 是怀疑！ 黑莓掌竟然怀疑自己的族猫！ 他不是在看护他们，而是在寻找那只可能背叛他的猫。 松鸦爪打了个寒颤，背上的毛都竖了起来。 怎么会有猫背叛黑莓掌呢？ 他可是个出色的副族长。