Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 Jaypaw pulled the sticky parcel of honeycomb onto the wide, flat leaf he had laid on the floor of the den. Already wrapped in dock leaves, the comb was still oozing honey. Fearing it would seep onto the other herbs stored in the rock cleft at the side of the den, Leafpool had found a wild rhubarb leaf and left Jaypaw to rewrap the honeycomb while she was out collecting catmint. He folded over the sides of the leaf, hoping the gooey honey would hold them in place while he tied strips of bark around the wrap. A squeal made him freeze. A kit was in pain. Pricking his ears, he recognized Toadkit's wailing mew. He turned and dashed toward the den entrance just as Daisy raced in. He smelled fear on her pelt and felt the lash of a flailing paw as she hurried past him. She must be carrying Toadkit by the scruff. "Put him by the pool," he ordered. "He was chasing a bee and jumped straight into the nettle patch," Daisy panted after setting

第四章 松鸦爪把黏糊糊的蜂巢拖到他铺在巢穴地面的宽大树叶上。 哪怕已经用酸模叶裹住，蜂巢还是在往外渗蜂蜜。 叶池怕蜂蜜渗到藏在巢穴侧边石缝里的其他药草，找来一片野大黄叶，出门去采猫薄荷了，留松鸦爪在这里重新裹蜂巢。 他把大黄叶的边缘折好，盼着黏糊糊的蜂蜜能固定住叶片，好方便他把树皮条绑在外面。 一声尖叫让他瞬间僵住。 有只幼崽正疼得直叫。 他竖起耳朵，认出这是蟾蜍崽的叫声。 他转身冲向巢穴入口，刚好撞见黛西也冲了进来。 他闻到黛西毛发上的恐惧气息，她匆忙冲过身边时，乱挥的爪子扫到了他。 黛西肯定是叼着蟾蜍崽的后颈。 “把他放到水洼边，”松鸦爪命令道。 “他追着蜜蜂跑，一下子跳进了荨麻丛里，”黛西放下后，喘着气

down Toadkit. "Dumb bee!" Toadkit yowled. Jaypaw felt a wave of relief. Nettle stings! From the fuss he was making Jaypaw thought Toadkit had been savaged by a fox. "Firestar should get those nettles pulled up," Daisy complained. "I knew they'd be trouble one day." "Nettles aren't deadly." Jaypaw began sniffing Toadkit. A small paw swiped him across the muzzle. The young kit was twisting and fidgeting, trying to lick at his stings at the same time as he rubbed his nose with his paw. "Sit still!" "But it hurts!" Toadkit complained. His kit-soft pelt would have been no defense against the nettles" stinging barbs, and Jaypaw could feel heat pulsing from Toadkit's nose and ears, where the exposed skin had already swollen. "I'll fetch some dock leaves," Jaypaw told him. Daisy was anxiously circling her kit, and, as he dashed toward the medicine store, Jaypaw tripped over her tail. He stumbled to a clumsy halt at the store entrance and reached into the crack in the rock. Grabbing a pawful of dock leaves from

蟾蜍崽。 “笨蜜蜂！” 蟾蜍崽号叫着。 松鸦爪一下子松了口气。 不过是荨麻蛰了几下！ 看蟾蜍崽闹成这样，松鸦爪还以为他被狐狸扑伤了呢。 “火星真该让人把这些荨麻拔掉，”黛西抱怨道。 “我早就知道它们早晚要惹出事。” “荨麻蛰了不会死人的。” 松鸦爪开始嗅闻蟾蜍崽。 一只小爪子挥过来，扫在了他的嘴巴上。 这只小幼崽扭来扭去动不停，一边想舔伤口，一边还用爪子揉鼻子。 “坐好别动！” “可是好痛呀！” 蟾蜍崽抱怨道。 幼崽柔软的毛发根本挡不住荨麻带刺的蛰毛，松鸦爪能感觉到蟾蜍崽的鼻子和耳朵在发烫，裸露的皮肤已经肿起来了。 “我去拿点酸模叶来，”松鸦爪说。 黛西正焦急地绕着幼崽转圈，松鸦爪往药草存放处跑的时候，被她的尾巴绊倒了。 他踉踉跄跄停在存放处门口，伸手往石缝里摸去。 抓了满满一爪子酸模叶，从

where he knew they were stored beside the mallow, he gave them a quick sniff to make sure he had the right herb before chewing them into a pulp. The dock juice would work quickly on Toadkit's injuries as long as it got a chance to sink into his fur. Still chewing, he returned to the wriggling kit and spat the ointment onto his paw, ready to rub it onto the kit's ears. Instinctively, Toadkit shied away. "Don't touch me!" He swiped at the pulp, sending it flying into the pool. Jaypaw heard it drop into the water with a plop. Seething with frustration, he turned back to the pile of dock leaves. "The quicker I treat it, the sooner it'll stop hurting." He collided with Daisy, still pacing around her kit. For StarClan's sake! "Go check on Rosekit!" he snapped. "You don't want her ending up in the nettles too. I'll take care of Toadkit." He flicked his tail. "If he can sit still!" "Are you sure he'll be okay?" Daisy fretted. Jaypaw took a deep breath. Staying calm is good for you and better for the patient. Leafpool's words rang in his ears. "No cat has died of nettle

他记着酸模叶就放在锦葵旁边，快速嗅了嗅确认拿对了草药，就把叶子嚼成了浆。 只要酸模汁渗进毛发里，很快就能缓解蟾蜍崽的疼痛。 他一边嚼一边走回扭个不停的幼崽身边，把药浆吐在爪子上，准备抹到蟾蜍崽的耳朵上。 蟾蜍崽本能地往后躲。 “别碰我！” 他挥爪子扫开药浆，药浆一下子飞进了水洼里。 松鸦爪听见药浆“扑通”一声掉进水里。 他压着一肚子火，转身回去拿酸模叶。 “我处理得越快，疼停得就越早。” 他撞到了还在幼崽身边绕圈的黛西。 看在星族的份上！ “去看看玫瑰崽！” 他厉声说道。 “你总不想她也掉进荨麻丛里， 我会照顾好蟾蜍崽的。” 他甩了甩尾巴。 “只要他能坐得住！” “你确定他会没事吗？” 黛西担忧地问道。 松鸦爪深吸了一口气。 保持冷静对自己好，对病患更好。 叶池说过的这句话在他耳边响了起来。 “还从来没有猫被荨麻

stings yet," he mewed through gritted teeth. "Try to sit still, dear," Daisy begged Toadkit as she padded out of the den. "I'll be back to check on you as soon as I know Rosekit's okay." "Don't hurry!" Jaypaw muttered under his breath. He crouched to chew another mouthful of dock, then hurried back to Toadkit and began to lick the pulp onto his ears. Toadkit tried to duck away, but Jaypaw pressed his shoulders to the ground with his forepaws. "Hold still," he mumbled between licks. Toadkit yowled, but Jaypaw continued until they were coated with bitter juice. "I know it hurts," he mewed, releasing the kit. "But you're not in any danger. Stay there while I fetch some more for your nose." As Jaypaw turned away, he sensed anger flash in Toadkit's mind. Fur brushed the medicine cat den floor. Toadkit was lunging for his tail! Jaypaw spun around quickly. "Don't you dare!" Toadkit yelped in alarm as Jaypaw faced him, so close their whiskers were touching. "H-how did you know what I was doing?"

蛰死过呢，”他咬着牙说道。 “乖，尽量坐好别动，”黛西一边走出巢穴一边恳求蟾蜍崽。 “我确认玫瑰崽没事了就马上回来陪你。” “不用急！” 松鸦爪低声嘀咕道。 他蹲下来又嚼了一口酸模叶，接着赶紧走回蟾蜍崽身边，把药浆舔到他的耳朵上。 蟾蜍崽想躲开，可松鸦爪用前爪把他的肩膀按在了地上。 “别动，”他舔着药浆，含糊地说道。 蟾蜍崽疼得号叫，可松鸦爪直到所有伤口都抹满苦汁才停下。 “我知道很疼，”他松开蟾蜍崽，说道。 “可是你没有生命危险， 在这儿待着，我再去拿点药抹你的鼻子。” 松鸦爪转身的时候，感觉到蟾蜍崽心里窜起一股火气。 有皮毛蹭过巫医巢穴的地面。 蟾蜍崽正扑过来咬他的尾巴！ 松鸦爪飞快地转过身。 “你敢！” 松鸦爪转过来的时候离得极近，胡须都快碰到一起了，蟾蜍崽吓得惊叫起来。 “你、你怎么知道我要做什么？”

Toadkit squeaked. Jaypaw narrowed his eyes. "I'm not as blind as you think." Toadkit backed away. "I'm sorry." "Now are you going to sit still?" Jaypaw demanded. "Yes," Toadkit murmured. Feeling a pang of guilt for frightening the kit, Jaypaw fetched another mouthful of pulp. This time he dropped it in front of Toadkit. "Spread this on your pads, then rub it into your nose and over your mouth," he ordered. Jerkily, Toadkit smeared the pulp onto his stings. Jaypaw sensed his pain ease. The dock juice was working. Relieved, he fetched more pulp and helped Toadkit to rub it over his pelt until, between them, they had coated every sting. I'll give Daisy a poppy seed when she gets back. She can give it to Toadkit before bedtime so he'll sleep through the itching. Brambles rustled. Jaypaw scented the air. Leafpool had returned, and she was carrying catmint. "Daisy told me you've been stung." Leafpool

蟾蜍崽尖叫了一声。 松鸦爪眯起了眼睛。 “我可不像你想的那么瞎。” 蟾蜍崽往后退了退。 “对不起。” “你现在能不能好好坐着别动？” 松鸦爪厉声问道。 “好。”蟾蜍崽小声嘟囔。 吓着了小幼崽，松鸦爪感到一阵内疚，他又叼了一口药浆过来。 这次他把药浆放在了蟾蜍崽面前。 “把这个涂在你爪子上，然后揉抹在鼻子和嘴巴上。”他吩咐道。 蟾蜍崽僵硬地把药浆抹在蛰伤的地方。 松鸦爪感觉到他的疼痛减轻了。 酸模汁起效了。 松鸦爪放下心来，他又叼来更多药浆，帮蟾蜍崽把药浆抹遍全身，直到所有蛰伤都涂好了药。 等黛西回来我会给她一颗罂粟籽。 她可以在睡前给蟾蜍崽吃下，这样他睡着就不会感觉到痒了。 荆棘丛沙沙作响。 松鸦爪嗅了嗅空气中的气味。 叶池回来了，她叼着猫薄荷。 “黛西告诉我你被蛰了。” 叶池

dropped her bundle and padded over to Toadkit. Jaypaw heard her sniffing as she checked him over. "Good job, Jaypaw," she pronounced. "Just the right amount of dock." Jaypaw wondered whether to tell her what a difficult patient Toadkit had been. "You should give him a small poppy seed," Leafpool advised, "just to make sure the stings don't keep him awake tonight. They'll be sore and itchy for a while." Thanks for the advice! Jaypaw bit back his reply. He was going to have to get used to listening to lessons he didn't need; unlike Hollypaw and Lionpaw, he would be treated as an apprentice for many moons yet. As a medicine cat, he would still be expected to learn from his mentor and follow her orders even after he was given his Clan name. He might as well get used to it. "Thanks, Jaypaw." Toadkit's grateful mew took him by surprise. "Sorry I was such a mouse-brain." Jaypaw felt a flood of sympathy for the young kit. "You were scared and hurt." "I'm fine now, thanks to you." Toadkit began

放下她叼的东西，缓步走向蟾蜍崽。 松鸦爪听到她一边检查蟾蜍崽，一边嗅着气味。 “干得好，松鸦爪。”她评价道。 “酸模的量刚刚好。” 松鸦爪在犹豫要不要告诉她，蟾蜍崽刚才有多不配合。 “你应该给他一小颗罂粟籽，”叶池建议道，“这样就能保证蛰伤不会让他今晚睡不着。 接下来一阵子还是会又痛又痒的。” 谢谢你的建议！ 松鸦爪把到嘴边的话咽了回去。 他总得习惯去听那些他本来不需要的课程； 和冬青爪、狮爪不一样，接下来好多个月他都还是学徒身份。 作为一名巫医，哪怕在获得族群名号之后，他依旧得跟着导师学习，听从她的命令。 他不如就早点习惯这点。 “谢谢你，松鸦爪。” 蟾蜍崽感激的声音让松鸦爪吃了一惊。 “对不起，我刚才太蠢了。” 松鸦爪对这个小幼崽涌起了一阵同情。 “你那时候又怕又疼嘛。” “托你的福，我现在没事了。” 蟾蜍崽动身