Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 Jaypaw stretched, feeling the sun beat down on his fur. A warm breeze whispered around him, full of the scents of green, growing things. Somewhere above his head a bird was trilling, and he could hear the muffled slap of lake water on the shore. "Jaypaw!" Light paw steps ruffled the sound of the waves. Jaypaw pictured his mentor, Leafpool, splashing through the shallow water at the edge of the lake. "Jaypaw!" she repeated, her voice sounding closer. "Come join me. The cool water feels wonderful." "No, thanks," Jaypaw muttered. For him, water was more than the gentle lapping of the lake against his paws. Instead, the sound of the waves brought back memories of cold water surging around him, the weight of soaked fur dragging him down, water filling his mouth and nose and choking the life out of him.

第一章 松鸦爪伸了个懒腰，感受着阳光晒在自己的皮毛上。 暖风吹拂在他身旁，满是嫩绿植物生长的气息。 头顶上空的某处有只小鸟在鸣唱，他还能听到湖水拍打岸边的沉闷声响。 “松鸦爪！” 轻盈的脚步声打破了波浪的声音。 松鸦爪想象出他的导师叶池，正踩着湖边浅水溅着水花走来。 “松鸦爪！” 她又喊了一声，声音听起来更近了。 “过来陪我吧， 凉凉的湖水舒服极啦。” “不了，谢谢，”松鸦爪嘟囔着。 对他来说，水可不只是湖水轻拍爪子的温柔触感。 相反，浪声会勾起他的回忆：冰冷的潮水将他包围，湿透的皮毛拖着他下沉，水灌满他的嘴和鼻子，差点把他憋死。

He had drowned once in his dreams, lost in the underground tunnels with the ancient warrior Fallen Leaves, and had almost drowned for real when he and his Clanmates rescued the missing WindClan kits. I've had enough water to last for the rest of my life. "Okay." Leafpool's paw steps retreated, faster now as if she was bounding through the shallows, carefree as a kit. Jaypaw padded on along the shoreline. He was supposed to be looking for mallow, but when he tasted the breeze he couldn't pick up any of the familiar pungent scent. As soon as the sound of Leafpool's paw steps faded, he veered away from the water and scrambled up the bank. He had something more important than herbs to find. He prowled forward, nose close to the ground as he sniffed his way through clumps of grass and around shrubs until he came to the gnarled roots of a tree. Here it is! He dug his teeth into one end of the stick and pulled it out from behind the root that held it fast

他曾经在梦里溺过水，那时他和古代武士落叶困在地下隧道；后来他和族猫营救失踪的风族幼崽时，他也差点真的淹死。 我这一辈子见过的水已经够多了。 “好吧。” 叶池的脚步声渐渐远去，步子越走越快，像只无忧无虑的幼崽，在浅滩上蹦跳奔跑。 松鸦爪沿着岸边继续往前走。 他本来是来找锦葵的，可他嗅了半天风，也没闻到那熟悉的刺鼻气味。 一等到叶池的脚步声完全消失，他就立刻离开湖边，爬上岸坡。 他有比找药草更重要的事情要找。 他往前摸索着，鼻子贴紧地面，嗅着气味穿过草丛、绕开灌木，最后走到一棵树根盘错的大树前。 找到了！ 他叼住木棍的一头，把它从牢牢卡住它的树根后面拽了出来。

to the bank, away from the hungry waves. Crouching beside it, he ran his paw over the scratches, finding the group of five long and three short that stood for the five apprentices and three kits who had been trapped in the tunnels as the waters rose. All of them were scored through: Every cat had made it out alive. Jaypaw remembered making the scratches with Rock's scent wreathing around him; he had almost felt as though the hairless paw of the ancient spirit was guiding his claws. But Jaypaw could also feel the single unscored scratch. Fallen Leaves, the ancient cat who had guided them, still walked the tunnels alone. He closed his eyes and listened for the voices that used to whisper to him, but he could hear nothing except the wind in the trees and the ripple of the lake. "Fallen Leaves? Rock?" he murmured. "Where are you? Why won't you talk to me anymore?" There was no reply. Jaypaw dragged the stick farther into the open, rolling it down the bank until the lake water could wash over it. He sniffed along its length, but all echoes of the past had

拽到岸上，远离了汹涌的湖水。 他蹲在木棍旁，爪子抚过上面的刻痕，认出五道长痕加三道短痕，代表涨水时困在隧道里的五名学徒和三只幼崽。 所有刻痕都打了叉：每只猫都活着逃了出来。 松鸦爪还记得当初刻这些痕迹时，四周环绕着岩石的气味； 他几乎觉得，那只古代幽灵的光裸爪子正在指引着他的爪子。 但松鸦爪也能摸到那道没有打叉的刻痕。 曾经指引过他们的落叶，那只古代猫咪，至今还独自在隧道里徘徊。 他闭上眼睛，聆听那些曾经对他低语的声音，可除了林间风声和湖水涟漪，他什么都听不到。 “落叶？ 岩石？”他轻声呢喃。 “你在哪里？ 为什么你们都不再和我说话了？” 没有任何回应。 松鸦爪把木棍拖到更开阔的地方，推着它滚下坡，直到湖水漫过它。 他顺着木棍整段闻过去，可所有关于过去的回声都已经

vanished. Jaypaw swallowed hard, almost ready to start wailing like a kit that had lost its mother. He wanted to speak to Rock, to find out more about the cats who had lived around the lake so long ago. He wanted to know why Fallen Leaves had been left to walk the caves when all the other ancient cats, even the others who had died down there, had passed on somewhere else. He was convinced these were the same cats he had felt around him at the Moonpool, whose paw prints dimpled the spiral path that led down to the water. They were far older than the Clans, older even than StarClan. What wisdom they would be able to share with him! They might even be able to explain the prophecy to him, the mysterious words he had heard in Firestar's dream. There will be three, kin of your kin, who will hold the power of the stars in their paws. "Jaypaw, what do you think you're doing?" Jaypaw started. He had been so intent on the stick and his thoughts of the ancient cats that he hadn't heard Leafpool approaching. Now he could

消失了。 松鸦爪用力咽了口口水，差点就像丢了妈妈的幼崽一样放声大哭。 他想和岩石说话，想多了解很久很久以前住在湖边的那些猫的事。 他想知道为什么落叶会留在洞穴里徘徊，其他所有古猫，甚至死在那里的猫，都已经去往别处了。 他确信这些就是他在月亮池身旁感受到的猫，他们的爪印印在通往水边的螺旋小径上。 他们比族群古老得多，甚至比星族还要古老。 他们一定能分享好多智慧给他呀！ 他们说不定还能帮他解开那个预言，就是他在火星梦里听到的神秘话语。 将有三个，你血脉的后裔，将把群星之力握在爪中。 “松鸦爪，你知道你在做什么吗？” 松鸦爪吓了一跳。 他一直全神贯注盯着木棍，满脑子想着古猫的事，根本没听到叶池走过来。 现在他能

scent her close to him and pick up the irritation that flowed off her. "Sorry," he mumbled. "We need more mallow, Jaypaw. Just because we aren't on the brink of battle now doesn't mean that cats won't get sick or injured. Medicine cats have to be ready." "I know, okay?" Jaypaw retorted. And who stopped the battle? he demanded silently. WindClan and ThunderClan would have ripped each other apart if it wasn't for me and the others finding those lost kits. He didn't want to explain himself to his mentor. He could sense her looking on severely while he rolled the stick back up the bank and hid it again under the tree root. Then he padded away from her, along the top of the bank, jaws parted to pick up the scents of growing things. Before he had covered many fox-lengths he paused, staring sightlessly out across the lake. Wind buffeted his fur, pressing it close to his body. Where are you? His mind called out to those long-ago cats. Speak to me, please!

嗅出她就在自己身旁，感受到她身上涌出的怒意。 “对不起，”他咕哝道。 “我们需要更多锦葵，爪爪。 就算我们现在没到开战边缘，也不代表不会有猫生病受伤。 巫医必须随时做好准备。” “我知道，行了吧？” 爪爪反驳道。 上次是谁阻止了战斗？ 他在心里质问。 要不是我和伙伴们找到那些走丢的幼崽，风族和雷族早就打得两败俱伤了。 他不想向自己的导师解释。 他把木棍推回河岸、重新藏进树根下时，能感觉到她正严厉地盯着自己。 接着他离开她，沿着河岸往前走，张开嘴捕捉植物的气味。 没走几步他就停下了，茫然地望着湖面。 风吹动他的毛发，紧紧贴在他身上。 你在哪儿？ 他在心里呼唤那些远古的猫。 求求你，和我说说话吧！

"Jaypaw! Hey, Jaypaw!" That wasn't the voice he wanted to hear. Biting back a hiss of irritation, Jaypaw turned to face Hazelpaw; he could pick up her scent and hear her paw steps as she bounded up to him. Blundering through the bracken like a fox in a fit! "Look what I've got!" Hazelpaw's voice sounded gleeful and also half stifled, as if she was speaking around a piece of prey gripped in her jaws. Jaypaw didn't bother to point out that he couldn't look at anything. Besides, the strong scent of vole told him what Hazelpaw was carrying. "This is my last hunting assessment." The apprentice's voice was clearer now; she must have put down her prey. "If we do well, Berrypaw, Mousepaw, and I will be made warriors today." "Great." Jaypaw tried to sound enthusiastic, but he was still annoyed at her for distracting him from ancient cats. "I'm sure Dustpelt will be pleased with me," Hazelpaw went on. "This vole is huge! It's enough to feed both of Daisy's new kits."

“爪爪！ 喂，爪爪！” 这不是他想听的声音。 强忍下不耐烦的嘶叫，爪爪转身面向榛爪； 她蹦跳到他身边，他能闻到她的气味，听到她的脚步声。 简直就像一头发疯的狐狸横冲直撞撞进蕨丛！ “看我捉到了什么！” 榛爪的声音兴高采烈又有点闷，好像她叼着猎物在说话。 爪爪懒得点明他什么都看不见。 再说，浓烈的田鼠气味已经告诉他榛爪带了什么。 “这是我最后一次狩猎考核。” 这只学徒的声音清晰多了，她肯定把猎物放下了。 “如果考得好，今天我和莓爪、鼠爪就能成为武士了。” “挺好。” 爪爪努力装得热情一点，可他还是不高兴，榛爪打断了他和远古猫的交流。 “我肯定尘毛会对我满意的，”榛爪继续说。 “这只田鼠超大只！ 足够喂黛西新出生的两只幼崽了。”