Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 Jaypaw let out a sneeze as dust from the dried herbs got up his nose. Squeezing himself even farther into the storage cleft in the medicine cats" den, he stretched out a paw and scrabbled at a few brittle stems that lay right at the back. The faint scent that lingered told him they were coltsfoot, collected the previous newleaf. "Jaypaw!" The apprentice started at the sound of Leafpool's voice and bumped his head on the roof of the cleft. "Mouse dung!" he muttered, wriggling out backward with the dried coltsfoot leaves in his claws. "What have you managed to find?" Leafpool asked. "Coltsfoot, and a few juniper berries," Jaypaw reported, dropping the stems at Leafpool's paws. "So little...." Leafpool murmured. Jaypaw could hear her sorting through the pitiful collection. "Better than nothing," he mewed, trying to sound optimistic. "But it's not enough. Jaypaw, we're losing the

第十一章 干药草的灰尘钻进松鸦爪的鼻子，他打了个喷嚏。 他把身子挤得更紧，钻进巫医巢穴的储藏石缝，伸出一只爪子扒拉着石缝最深处那几根干枯的茎秆。 残留的淡香味告诉他，这是去年新叶季收集的款冬。 “松鸦爪！” 这位学徒听到叶池的声音吓了一跳，脑袋撞到了石缝顶。 “老鼠粪！” 他小声嘟囔着，爪子攥着干款冬叶，扭着身子退了出来。 “你找到什么了？” 叶池问道。 “款冬，还有几颗杜松果，”松鸦爪汇报着，把茎秆放到叶池的爪子边。 “这么少……” 叶池轻声呢喃。 松鸦爪能听到她整理这少得可怜的药材的声音。 “总比没有好，”他喵呜着说，努力让语气听起来乐观些。 “可这还是不够。 松鸦爪，我们快守不住

battle." Every hair on Jaypaw's pelt prickled and he dug his claws into the packed earthen floor. "We can't be!" "We are." Leafpool let out a despairing sigh. "There isn't enough room to separate the sick cats from the rest of the Clan, and we can't treat greencough without catmint." "I've been looking after the catmint plants at the old Twoleg nest," Jaypaw meowed. "Shall I go and see if there are any new shoots?" "No, there can't possibly be enough." Jaypaw felt his mentor's hopelessness as if it were his own. "Besides, we need to let that supply grow for next season." "Then what are we going to do?" "I don't know. Things will only get worse as the weather gets colder. Cats will get weaker as prey runs short. And if more cats get sick, there won't be enough warriors left to hunt for the Clan." Jaypaw lifted his chin. "Then we need to find more catmint." "There is no more," Leafpool insisted. "I know

这场战斗了。” 松鸦爪每根毛发都绷了起来，爪子深深扎进压实的泥土地板。 “怎么可能！” “就是这样。” 叶池绝望地叹了口气。 “我们没有足够的地方把病猫和其他族猫分开，没有猫薄荷就治不了绿咳症。” “我一直照看着旧两脚兽巢穴的猫薄荷植株，”松鸦爪说。 “我要不要去看看有没有新长的嫩枝？” “不行，就算有也肯定不够。” 松鸦爪感受到了导师的绝望，就像那是自己的绝望一样。 “而且，我们得让那批植株长到下个季节。” 那我们该怎么办啊？” “我不知道。 天气越来越冷，情况只会越来越糟。 猎物越来越少，大家都会变得越来越弱。 要是更多猫病倒，就剩不下足够的武士给整个族群打猎了。” 松鸦爪抬起了下巴。 “那我们就得去找更多猫薄荷。” “根本找不到更多了，”叶池坚持说。 “我知道

of one patch, just outside the RiverClan border, by a Twoleg nest, but I can't leave the Clan long enough to fetch it, and—" She broke off, but Jaypaw knew well enough what she had meant to say. You can't go because you're blind. He sensed Leafpool watching him in despair, and felt the strength of her desire that he could see. Briefly he struggled with a surge of bitterness. Because then I'd be more useful, right? "No, Jaypaw." Leafpool answered his unspoken resentment. "It's not because you're blind that you can't go. If that was the problem, I could send you with a warrior." "Then why don't you?" Leafpool sighed. "Because you would need to cross ShadowClan territory, and go along the RiverClan border to get to the place. There has been too much fighting recently. We can't risk you and a warrior when so many cats are sick. What if another Clan attacked us? We need all the paws we've got, here in our own territory." "Then what about asking the other medicine cats?" Jaypaw suggested. "If they've got catmint, they'd give us some."

有一块长在地就在河族边界外，挨着一个两脚兽巢穴，但我没法离开族群太久去采摘，而且——”她停住不说了，可松鸦爪清楚她想说什么。 你不能去，因为你看不见。 他感觉到叶池绝望地看着他，也感受到她有多希望自己能看见东西。 一瞬间，苦涩的情绪涌上了他的心头。 因为那样我就更有用了，对不对？ “不是的，松鸦爪。” 叶池读懂了他没说出口的怨怼，开口回答。 “你不能去不是因为你看不见。 如果这是唯一的问题，我早就可以让一位武士陪你去了。” “那你为什么不让我去？” 叶池叹了口气。 “因为你得穿过影族领地，再沿着河族边界才能到那个地方。 最近的战斗太多了。 现在这么多猫都病倒了，我们不能让你和一位武士去冒险。 要是其他族群发动攻击怎么办？ 我们需要所有能出力的猫留在咱们自己的领地里。” “那问问其他巫医行不行？” 松鸦爪提议道。 “如果他们有猫薄荷，肯定会分给我们一些的。”

"Yes, they would." Leafpool's voice grew sharper, as if she was annoyed by his insistence. "But I can't ask without the other Clans finding out how weak we are. Firestar would have my pelt if he found out I'd done that." Reluctantly Jaypaw had to admit she was right. "So what can I do to help?" he asked. "I've sent Millie and Briarkit out for some fresh air and sun." Leafpool sounded relieved to turn to something more practical. "They're in that space between here and the warriors" den. It's sheltered there, and they should be far enough away from the other cats to stop the cough from spreading. Could you take out their old bedding, and bring in some fresh?" "Sure." Jaypaw padded to the side of the den and started scraping up the used moss and bracken, collecting it into a ball. "Make sure you take it a long way from camp," Leafpool reminded him. "And when you've finished, you can fetch Millie and Briarkit back in, before they get too tired and cold." Jaypaw rolled the ball of soiled bedding out through the thorn barrier, and dumped it several

“没错，他们会的。” 叶池的声音变得更尖锐，好像被松鸦爪的坚持惹恼了。 “但我不能开口求助，不然其他族群就会知道我们现在有多弱。 火星要是知道我这么做，肯定饶不了我。” 松鸦爪不情愿地承认她说得对。 “那我能做些什么来帮忙呢？”他问道。 “我已经让米莉和荆芥幼崽出去呼吸新鲜空气晒太阳了。” 一说到实际的事，叶池的语气放松了不少。 “她们待在这儿和武士巢穴之间的那块空地上。 那里能遮风挡雨，离其他猫也足够远，可以防止咳嗽传染。 你能不能把她们的旧垫料搬出去，再拿些新鲜的回来？” “没问题。” 松鸦爪走到巢穴边，开始扒拉用过的苔藓和蕨菜，把它们堆成一团。 “一定要把这些扔到离营地很远的地方，”叶池提醒他。 “等你干完了，就把米莉和荆芥幼崽接回来，别让她们累着冻着。” 松鸦爪推着这团脏垫料穿过荆棘栅栏，把它扔在了好几

fox-lengths away from the hollow. Nearby he found more moss growing thickly around the roots of a tree. To his relief, it had dried out since the heavy rain of a few days before. Tearing off some fronds of bracken, he bundled the whole lot together and staggered with it back into camp. When he went to fetch the sick cats, he found Millie lying stretched out in a sunny spot beside the wall of the stone hollow. Her breath rasped in her throat and when he rested a paw on her chest, Jaypaw could feel it heaving rapidly up and down. Briarkit pushed up beside him, nudging at her mother. "I want to play," she whimpered. She had to catch her breath as she spoke, and Jaypaw could feel her legs wobbling. "Be a mouse, and I'll catch you!" Millie let out a weary sigh, and Briarkit's pleading ended in a cough. "Come on," Jaypaw meowed, trying to sound cheerful. "I've put down some fresh bedding for you. You'll be able to have a really good sleep." "Don't want to sleep!" Briarkit protested. "Yes, you do," Jaypaw informed her. "Sleeping will make you feel better."

离石凹有一个狐狸身长的距离。 他在附近一棵树的树根周围，找到了一丛长得茂密的苔藓。 让他安心的是，前几天大雨过后，这些苔藓已经彻底干透了。 他扯下几片蕨叶，把这些东西捆成一堆，踉踉跄跄驮着它回了营地。 他去找生病的猫时，发现米莉正舒展身子躺在石凹墙边的向阳处。 她喉咙里呼吸粗粝刺耳，松鸦爪把爪子搭在她胸口，能感觉到胸口正剧烈地上下起伏。 小荆棘挤到他身旁，轻轻推了推自己的妈妈。 "我想要玩，"她抽抽搭搭地说。 她说话的时候不停喘气，松鸦爪都能感觉到她的腿在打晃。 "你当老鼠，我来抓你！" 米莉疲惫地叹了口气，小荆棘的恳求没说完就变成了一阵咳嗽。 "走吧，"松鸦爪喵道，努力让语气听起来轻快些。 "我已经给你们铺好干净的新窝了。 你能好好睡一觉啦。" "我才不要睡觉！" 小荆棘抗议道。 "你就是要睡觉的，"松鸦爪告诉她。 "睡一觉你就会舒服多啦。"

He slipped his shoulder under Millie's as she struggled to her paws; her chest wheezed with the effort and her coughs were weak, as if her strength was ebbing fast. Jaypaw's belly twisted with frustration. The prophecy said he had the power of the stars in his paws, but what good was that if he had to witness the cats in his care die? He helped Millie back into her nest, with Briarkit getting under his paws until he shooed her into the moss beside her mother. He straightened up and headed back to the cleft, wondering if he could have possibly missed any stores of herbs. Suddenly his eyes filled with dazzling sunlight, so bright that he flinched and bent his head, trying to shut out the rays. When his vision cleared, he looked up again, blinking. He was standing in a glade, thick with rustling leaves. The warm air was heavy with the scent of growing herbs. Is there catmint here? That was the first thought that jumped into his head. As he tasted the air, the smell of cats flooded over him, drowning the scents of the herbs.

米莉挣扎着站起来时，松鸦爪把肩膀顶在了她的身下； 这番动作让她胸口喘得厉害，咳嗽也有气无力，仿佛力气正飞快地流失。 松鸦爪满心沮丧，肚子都揪了起来。 预言说他爪中握有群星的力量，可如果他只能眼睁睁看着自己照顾的猫死去，这力量又有什么用呢？ 他扶着米莉回到窝里，小荆棘一直缠在他脚边，直到他把小家伙赶去妈妈身旁的苔藓窝上。 他直起身子往裂缝走，心里琢磨着自己会不会漏掉了什么储存的药草。 突然耀眼的阳光填满了他的眼睛，亮得他一缩脖子低下头，想要躲开这些光线。 等视线变清晰，他眨了眨眼，再次抬起头。 他正站在一片林中空地，四周长满了沙沙作响的树木。 暖空气中满是生长着的药草的香气。 这儿有猫薄荷吗？ 这是他脑子里冒出来的第一个念头。 他辨嗅空气的时候，一股猫的气味扑面而来，盖过了所有药草的香气。