Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17 By the time Jaypaw was full, there was still quite a lot of the blackbird left. "Do you want any more?" he asked Half Moon. The white she-cat shook her head. "We could take it to Owl Feather," she suggested. "Her kits are hungry, and growing fast." "Good idea." Jaypaw wanted to see as much of these cats and where they lived before he went back to ThunderClan. If he went back... He and Half Moon picked up the remains of the blackbird and headed farther up the hill toward the tunnel entrance. It seemed to be a popular daytime gathering place, like the clearing in the center of a camp. Several cats were scattered around it, dozing or sharing tongues; Jaypaw waved his tail at Dove's Wing and Fish Leap as he passed, hoping he looked as if he knew where he was going. He dropped back to follow Half Moon as she climbed farther up the slope until they broke clear of the trees. On the ridge, she dropped her chunk of blackbird and stood gazing out across

第十七章 杰爪吃饱了，黑鸟肉还剩下不少。 "你还要再吃点吗？" 他问半月。 这只白色母猫摇了摇头。 "我们可以把它带给猫头鹰羽，" 她提议道。 "她的幼崽正饿着呢，长得还快。" "好主意。" 杰爪想在返回雷族之前，多看看这些猫，多了解他们住的地方。 要是他能回去的话…… 他和半月叼起剩下的黑鸟肉，继续往山上走，朝着隧道入口而去。 这里白天就像营地中心的空地一样，是大家很喜欢的聚会场所。 好几只猫散在四周，要么打盹，要么互相舔毛； 杰爪经过鸽翅和跃鱼的时候晃了下尾巴打招呼，他想装出自己认得路的样子。 他跟在半月身后往更高处爬，一直走到穿出树林。 到了山脊上，她放下自己叼的那块黑鸟肉，站在那里眺望远方

the moorland. She pointed her muzzle at a faint purple line in the far distance. "Stone Song thinks we should go that way," she mewed. As he put down his fresh-kill, Jaypaw felt the hair on his pelt start to rise and his paws tremble. Those were the mountains! Could these cats possibly be the ancestors of the Tribe? Glancing sideways at Half Moon, he saw that she was compactly built, with strong haunches that looked as if they would be good for climbing trees. She didn't have the wiry build of a Tribe cat. "What do you think it would be like to travel so far?" Half Moon asked. "Hard." Jaypaw tried to choose his words carefully. "The land that way could be very, very different from the land here." "How?" "Sharp hills of stone that stretch up into the sky," Jaypaw replied, his mind filled with memories of the journey he had taken to the mountains. "Huge birds, bigger than badgers, that have to be dragged out of the sky by many cats at

那片旷野。 她把鼻子指向远方一道淡淡的紫线。 "石歌说我们该往那边走，" 她轻声说。 杰爪放下猎物，感觉背上的毛发一下子竖了起来，爪子也开始发抖。 那就是群山！ 这些猫该不会就是部落的祖先吧？ 他斜着瞥了一眼半月，发现她身形紧凑结实，臀部强健，看起来很擅长爬树。 她没有部落猫那种硬朗结实的体格。 "你觉得走那么远的路会是什么样子呢？" 半月问道。 "很辛苦。" 杰爪仔细斟酌着自己的措辞。 "那边的土地和这里会非常非常不一样。" "怎么不一样？" "是尖尖的石山，一直延伸到天上，" 杰爪回答，脑海里满是当初去群山旅行的回忆。 还有比獾更大的巨鸟，得好多猫一起才能把它们从天上拉下来

once. Tumbling water, filling the air with spray even when there aren't any clouds...." "You sound as if you've been there already," a new voice meowed. Jaypaw stiffened and turned his head to see the hefty gray figure of Stone Song standing behind them. His piercing blue eyes were fixed on Jaypaw. "I... er... I had a dream," Jaypaw stammered. Stone Song's ears flicked up, his interest intensifying. "Really? Did you dream anything else?" "No." Jaypaw could have told him a lot more, but he didn't want to get any more tangled up in the gap between what he knew and what these cats thought he should know. "But you think cats could live there?" Stone Song persisted. "It wouldn't be easy," Jaypaw warned, thinking of the harsh life of the Tribe. "But maybe." Stone Song began to pace to and fro along the ridge, the tip of his tail twitching. When he

拉下来。 还有奔腾的瀑布，就算没有云，空气中也全是水花……" "你听起来好像已经去过那儿了，" 一个陌生的声音说道。 杰爪绷紧身体转过头，看见魁梧的灰猫石歌站在他们身后。 他那双锐利的蓝眼睛正牢牢盯着杰爪。 "我……呃…… 我做了一个梦，" 杰爪结结巴巴地说。 石歌的耳朵竖了起来，兴致变得更浓。 "真的吗？ 你还梦到别的了吗？" "没有。" 杰爪其实可以告诉石歌更多，但他不想在自己已知的事情，和这些猫认为他该知道的事情之间，把事情搅得更乱。 "但你觉得猫能在那儿活下去吗？" 石歌追问道。 "那不会容易，" 想到部落的艰苦生活，杰爪出言警示， "但说不定可以。" 石歌开始在山脊上来回踱步，尾尖不停抽动着。 当他

began to speak, Jaypaw could hardly hear him above the roar of the monsters on WindClan territory, which had just begun to move their piles of earth again. He could even feel them in his paws, thrumming through the ground. "We can't stay here!" Stone Song growled. "Listen to those monsters! What if they come here and tear up this place, too?" Jaypaw wanted to say, They won't, but he remembered in time that he wasn't supposed to know that. "It's wrong," Stone Song continued, his blue eyes clouded. "Cats are being lost and prey is disappearing. There must be a better place to live." He stopped pacing and sat down facing the purple line of the distant mountains, the wind flattening his pelt against his sides. "Maybe that place is in the stone hills you speak of. When I was kitted, my mother said the wind cried over the stones like a birdcall, giving me my name. Perhaps this means I must find a place where the wind sings over stones, and that will be our home." Sorrow crept into his voice. "My son is never coming back. I cannot wait in this place

开口说话的时候，风族领地上的怪物又开始推土堆了，轰隆的响声盖过了石歌的声音，杰爪几乎听不清。 他甚至能从爪子感觉到震动，顺着地面传到身上。 "我们不能待在这儿！" 石歌吼道。 "听听那些怪物的声音！ 要是它们也过来把这里翻烂了怎么办？" 杰爪本来想说它们不会来的，但他很快想起自己不该提前知道这件事。 "这里出问题了，" 石歌继续说，蓝眼睛蒙上了一层愁云， "不断有猫失踪，猎物也越来越少。 肯定有更好的地方可以住。" 他停下踱步，坐下来面向远方紫色的山影，风吹得他的毛皮贴在了身上。 "说不定那个地方就是你说的石山。 我出生的时候，妈妈说风拂过石头的声音像鸟鸣，所以给我取了这个名字。 说不定这就意味着，我必须找到那片风在石头上歌唱的地方，那就是我们的家。" 悲伤漫进了他的声音里。 "我的儿子永远回不来了。 我没法再在这个地方等着

anymore." Half Moon glanced toward him, compassion in her eyes. Then she looked at Jaypaw with her head tipped on one side. "Did you really dream of the stone hills?" she meowed. "You seem to see them so clearly." Jaypaw shuffled his paws. "There must be lots of different places out there." Half Moon's shining green gaze was still fixed on him. "You would go, wouldn't you? To find a new home for us, with plenty of food and no Twolegs?" "Well..." Jaypaw began. "If you went, I'd come with you," Half Moon mewed. "You know that." Jaypaw felt overwhelmed by the strength of her gaze; he wasn't used to looking another cat right in the eyes. The emotion flowing from her pelt threatened to sweep him away. He had never felt it before, not like this, but he knew exactly what it was. She loves me—at least, she loves the cat she thinks I am! For some reason a picture flickered into his mind of Lionblaze and Heatherpaw. Was this

再也不会来了。” 半月看向他，眼里满是同情。 接着她歪着头看向松鸦爪。 “你真的梦到石头山了吗？”她喵呜问道。 “你好像把它们看得清清楚楚呢。” 松鸦爪蹭了蹭爪子。 “外面肯定有好多不一样的地方。” 半月亮晶晶的绿眼睛仍旧盯着他。 “你愿意去的，对不对？ 为我们找一处新家，那里有吃不完的食物，也没有两脚兽？” “呃……” 松鸦爪刚开口说道。 “如果你去，我就跟你一起走，”半月喵声说道。 “你知道的呀。” 松鸦爪被她直直的注视弄得不知所措； 他还不习惯这么直直盯着另一只猫的眼睛。 她周身涌动的情绪几乎要把他吞没了。 他以前从未有过这种感觉，从来没有，但他很清楚这是什么。 她爱上我了——至少，她爱上的是她以为的那个我！ 不知为何，他脑海里闪过了狮焰和石楠爪的身影。 这会不会就是

how they had felt? He had never understood before how much they had lost when Lionblaze decided they couldn't see each other anymore. Do I love Half Moon? he wondered. No... but maybe I could love her. I like the way she makes me feel. Half Moon took a pace toward Jaypaw, who found himself taking a step back. We can't do this! I'm a medicine cat! he wanted to wail aloud. I don't belong here. You think I'm some other cat! To his relief, whatever Half Moon wanted to say was interrupted by a big black tom who leaped up to the top of the ridge and halted beside Stone Song. "What's going on?" he demanded. Stone Song turned toward him, blinking as if he had to drag himself back from some distant place. "Oh, it's you, Dark Whiskers. Jay's Wing has had a dream about stone hills and falling water, where there are huge birds to be plucked from the sky, and where Twolegs cannot go. It sounds like a place where we could live safely, with prey and shelter and nothing to harm us."

他们当初的感受吗？ 他以前一直不明白，当狮焰决定和石楠爪不再见面时，他们失去了多少。 我爱上半月了吗？ 他暗自想道。 不…… 不过或许我会爱上她的。 我喜欢她带给我的感觉。 半月朝松鸦爪走近一步，松鸦爪不自觉后退了一步。 我们不能这样！ 我是一名巫医啊！ 他真想大声哭喊出来。 我根本不属于这里。 你们把我错当成另一只猫了！ 让他松口气的是，半月还没开口，就被一只大黑猫打断了——这只公猫跃上山脊顶，停在了石歌身边。 “出什么事了？”他质问道。 石歌转向他，眨了眨眼，好像好不容易才从遥远的思绪里回过神来。 “哦，是你啊，黑须。 杰翼梦到了石头山和瀑布，那里能从天空抓到巨鸟，两脚兽也去不了。 听起来那是个能让我们安全居住的地方，有猎物，有庇护，没有东西能伤害我们。”