Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20 Jayfeather wriggled around and sniffed where some scraps of the herb still clung to his pelt. The scent was sharp, and as he pushed his nose against the dried leaves, he felt a crinkled edge. He had no idea what the herb was. Leafpool must hardly ever use it; she certainly had never told him about it. Rapidly he finished spreading yarrow ointment on Purdy's pads. "That should be fine," he meowed. "I'll fetch you some more tomorrow." He whirled around and slipped out of the den, ignoring Purdy's plaintive cry of "What was all that about?" Racing back to his own den, he found Leafpool curled up in her nest. "Leafpool, what—?" he began, skidding to a halt beside her. Then he broke off. He remembered how defensive Leafpool had been the first time he had questioned her about the mysterious herb. Better keep quiet, and find out what I can by myself. "Jayfeather, why are you rushing around like

第20章 松鸦羽扭了扭身子，嗅着自己皮毛上还粘着药草碎渣的地方。 这股气味十分刺鼻，他把鼻子贴到干叶片上，摸到了一片皱巴巴的边缘。 他完全不知道这是什么药草。 叶池肯定很少用到它，也从来没跟他提起过这种药草。 他很快就给珀迪的肉垫敷完了蓍草药膏。 "这样应该就好了。"他喵声道。 "我明天再给你拿些过来。" 他转身冲出巢穴，没理会珀迪哀怨的喊声："这到底是怎么回事呀？" 他跑回自己的巢穴，发现叶池正蜷缩在窝里。 "叶池，你为什么——？"他开口问道，在她身旁刹住了脚。 接着他就停住不说了。 他还记得第一次问起这种神秘药草时，叶池有多防备。 还是闭嘴吧，我自己去找答案就好。 "松鸦羽，你为什么急急忙忙的

that?" Leafpool mewed; she sounded bone-weary. "I want to have a quick nap before sunset. The Clan is sitting vigil for Honeyfern tonight." "Sorry," Jayfeather mumbled. To his relief, Leafpool didn't ask him what he had been about to say. "This is the night we should travel to the Moonpool," she went on. "You'll have to go by yourself. I can't leave the vigil." Jayfeather nodded. "Okay." He made himself sound calm, but he wanted to bounce up and down like an excited kit. Without Leafpool, surely he could find out something about the mystery herb from the other medicine cats? A brisk evening breeze rattled the bare branches as Jayfeather padded through the forest. His earlier excitement had faded; he set his paws down confidently, but inwardly he was full of doubt. What would the other medicine cats say about Sol? When he reached the top of the ridge, he found Barkface and Kestrelpaw waiting for him beside the stream. Just as he reached them,

呀？"叶池轻声说道，听起来疲惫极了。 "我想在日落前小睡一会儿。 今晚族群要为蜜蕨守夜。" "抱歉。"松鸦羽咕哝道。 让他松了口气的是，叶池没问他刚才想说什么。 "今晚我们该动身去月亮池了，"她接着说道。 "你得自己去了。 我不能离开守夜仪式。" 松鸦羽点了点头。 "好。" 他故意让语气听起来很平静，可他其实兴奋得像只幼崽，都忍不住想要蹦蹦跳跳了。 没有叶池在，他肯定能从其他巫医那里打听出这种神秘药草的消息吧？ 松鸦羽穿过森林时，轻快的晚风吹得光秃秃的树枝沙沙作响。 他刚才的兴奋已经渐渐退去； 他表面上走得从容自信，可心里却充满了疑惑。 其他巫医会怎么评价日神呢？ 他爬上山脊顶端，发现斑皮和红隼爪已经在小溪边等他了。 他刚走到他们身边，

Littlecloud came bounding up from the direction of ShadowClan. Jayfeather's ears pricked with surprise as he picked up another cat's scent along with him. "Flamepaw!" he exclaimed. "You remember me!" Flamepaw was bubbling over with excitement, like a pool in a rainstorm. "I saw you when Tawnypelt brought me to your camp with Tigerpaw and Dawnpaw. We're kin," he added proudly. No, we're not. A pang of regret shook Jayfeather. He liked the three eager young apprentices. "Flamepaw is my apprentice now," Littlecloud announced. "Tonight I'll introduce him to StarClan." "Congratulations," Jayfeather meowed, touching the young cat on the shoulder with his tail. He remembered how disappointed Flamepaw had been when he and his littermates came to the ThunderClan camp, because Sol had convinced Blackstar that ShadowClan didn't need a medicine cat. It was great to hear that he was happy now, following the path StarClan had laid out for him. This wasn't the right time to tell him that they

小云从影族方向蹦蹦跳跳地跑了过来。 松鸦羽惊讶地竖起耳朵，他闻到除了小云还有另一只猫的气味。 "焰爪！"他惊呼道。 "你居然还记得我！" 焰爪兴奋得不得了，就像暴雨里涨满的水潭一样。 "褐皮带我和虎爪、曙爪去你们营地的时候，我见过你。 我们还是亲戚呢。"他骄傲地补充道。 不，我们不是。 一阵愧疚涌上松鸦羽的心头。 他很喜欢这三个充满热情的年轻学徒。 "焰爪现在是我的学徒了。"小云宣布道。 "今晚我要把他介绍给星族。" "恭喜你。"松鸦羽说着，用尾巴碰了碰年轻猫咪的肩膀。 他还记得，焰爪和同窝手足来到雷族营地时有多失望，因为日神说服黑星，让他觉得影族不需要巫医。 听到他现在走在星族为他指引的道路上，过得很开心，真是太好了。 现在还不是告诉他，他们

weren't kin after all. There won't ever be a right time, Jayfeather thought. By the time the other cats had exchanged greetings, there was still no sign of Mothwing and Willowshine from RiverClan. "We won't wait," Barkface decided. "We've a lot to get through tonight." "Maybe they'll catch up," Littlecloud meowed. And maybe Mothwing doesn't feel like trekking all the way to the Moonpool just to catch up on her sleep, Jayfeather thought. She usually sends Willowshine, though. The medicine cats were beginning the last scramble up the steep slope toward the bushes that surrounded the Moonpool, when they heard a breathless yowl from behind them. "Wait! Wait for us!" Jayfeather turned and caught the scent of Mothwing and her apprentice, growing rapidly stronger as the two cats raced to catch up. "Sorry," Mothwing panted as they reached the bottom of the rocks. "We got held up. Petalkit got a thorn in her eye."

终究不是亲戚这件事。 永远都不会有合适的时机的，松鸦羽想道。 其他猫都打完招呼了，还是没见到河族的蛾翅和柳光的身影。 "我们别等了。"斑皮决定道。 "我们今晚有好多事要处理。" "说不定他们会追上来的。"小云喵道。 说不定蛾翅根本不想长途跋涉走到月亮池，只是去那里补觉，松鸦羽想道。 不过她通常都会让柳光来。 巫医们开始攀爬最后一段陡坡，往月亮池周边的灌木丛走去，这时他们听到身后传来一声气喘吁吁的呼喊。 "等等！ 等等我们！" 松鸦羽转过身，闻到了蛾翅和她学徒的气味，两只猫赶过来的时候，气味变得越来越浓。 "抱歉。"蛾翅跑到岩石脚下时，喘着气说道。 "我们耽误了一会儿。 小花瓣眼睛里扎了根刺。"

"Poor little thing," Barkface murmured. "I hope you got it out." "Yes, it just took a good lick," Mothwing replied. "I left her asleep in the nursery." "I don't know if you've tried this," Littlecloud meowed, "but I've always found celandine good for damaged eyes. Just trickle a bit of the juice into her eye to ease the pain." "Oh, thank you!" Mothwing exclaimed. "I didn't know that. I'll try it as soon as we get back. Willowshine, do we have any celandine in the store?" "I think so," the younger cat replied. "There's not much left, but it should be enough." "Let's keep going," Barkface mewed. "We're wasting moonlight." Jayfeather clawed his way up the rocky hillside and pushed through the bushes to the rim of the hollow where the Moonpool lay. He could hear the gentle splash of the waterfall, and pictured the surface of the water dappled with the light of countless stars. "I've something to say," Barkface announced as the cats settled down beside the pool. "Jayfeather,

“可怜的小家伙。”树皮脸低声说道。 “我希望你已经把异物取出来了。” “嗯，只是好好舔了一通，”飞蛾翼回答。 “我把她留在育婴室睡着了。” “我不知道你试过这个方法没有，”小云喵声道，“我一直觉得白屈菜对眼睛损伤很有效果。” 只要挤一点汁液滴进她眼睛里，就能缓解疼痛了。” “哦，谢谢你！” 飞蛾翼大声说道。 “我之前不知道这个法子， 我们一回去我就试试。 柳光，我们储药室里还有白屈菜吗？” “我记得有的，”年轻猫回答道。 “剩下的不多了，但应该够用。” “我们继续走吧，”树皮脸喵道。 “我们在浪费月光呢。” 松鸦羽扒着岩石坡往上爬，拨开灌木丛，来到了月池所在空谷的边缘。 他能听见瀑布轻柔的水声，脑海中浮现出水面缀着无数星光的斑驳模样。 “我有话要说。”众猫在池边安定下来后，树皮脸宣布道。 “松鸦羽，

I know our leaders visited your Clan to talk about Sol." Jayfeather's belly clenched; he braced himself for what he thought was coming. "I want to say that it must have been a very hard decision for Firestar to make," the old medicine cat went on. "I don't think any of us should say that it was the right or the wrong thing to do." The other medicine cats murmured their agreement. Jayfeather's ears twitched; that was the last thing he had expected to hear, and he was surprised and touched by his companions" sympathy. "It—it's in the paws of StarClan," he stammered. "And it's time for us to share tongues with StarClan." Jayfeather heard Littlecloud rise and pad to the very edge of the water. "But first, I must present Flamepaw to the spirits of his warrior ancestors. Flamepaw, are you ready?" "Yes." The word came out as a squeak; Jayfeather felt Flamepaw's embarrassment mingled with his awe.

我知道我们的族长去过你们族群谈论日神的事。” 松鸦羽的肚子一紧，他做好了准备，应对接下来的话。 “我想说，火星当时做这个决定一定非常艰难，”这位老巫医继续说道。 “我觉得我们谁都不该评判这件事做得对还是不对。” 其他巫医都低声表示赞同。 松鸦羽的耳朵动了动； 这是他完全没想到的话，伙伴们的同情让他既惊讶又感动。 “这——这件事已经交给星族定夺了，”他结结巴巴地说。 “现在我们该和星族交流了。” 松鸦羽听见小云站起身，缓步走到水边。 “不过首先，我必须把焰爪引荐给他武士祖先的灵魂。 焰爪，你准备好了吗？” “准备好了。” 这一声细得像蚊子叫，松鸦羽能感觉到焰爪的窘迫，还有他满心的敬畏。