CHAPTER18
A gasp1 like the wind inthe trees rose from the cats around Jaypaw. “No! No!” Broken Shadow wailed2. “Fallen Leaves, I didn’t mean it! I want to stay with you!”
Another wail3 of distress4 rose from some other cat; Jaypaw felt a claw of guilt5 tear briefly6 at his heart, but he did his best to ignore it. I know that this is the right decision for them
He padded away from the circle, aware of the glowing look in Half Moon’s eyes. “We’re going to travel together!” she whispered.
Furled Bracken stepped forward. “The stones have been cast,” he announced. “I can no longer be your leader. Stone Song, it is only fair that you lead us into the mountains.” His gaze traveled around the assembled cats. “If any cat thinks Stone Song should not be our leader, speak now.”
Theychoose their leaders?Jaypaw wondered, astonished. Leaders can retire, and become ordinary sharpclaws again?
Silence followed Furled Bracken’s words, except for the muffled7 wails8 of Broken Shadow. Rising Moon was beside her, comforting her by licking her ear. “Everything will be all right,” she encouraged the grief-stricken she-cat. “Fallen Leaves won’t know you’ve gone.”
You’re wrong,Jaypaw thought. Fallen Leaves will live in the tunnels for moons and moons and moons, in agony that he was abandoned
Stone Song dipped his head to Furled Bracken. “I will do my best to lead our cats to safety,” he promised. Then he glanced around at the others, meeting the expectation in their eyes. “We shall rest until dusk,” he ordered. “We will leave while the Twoleg monsters are sleeping.”
Cats looked at each other, a flurry of confusion arising even among those who had wanted to leave. “So soon?” Chasing Clouds asked.
“We have waited long enough,” Stone Song replied with a grief-filled glance at Broken Shadow. “There is nothing more to keep us here. Jay’s Wing has told us of the stone hills that are ready for us. They will be our home.”
Chasing Clouds straightened up. “Then let’s hunt,” he suggested. “We’ll make sure that every cat is full fed before we set out.”
Several cats bounded out of the glade10 as soon as he had finished speaking, looking relieved to have something to do. Chasing Clouds followed them, pausing beside Rising Moon to touch her ear with his nose. “We will raise strong, healthy kits11 in the mountains,” he promised her.
Rising Moon hesitated for a heartbeat, then twined her tail with his. “I know. I’ll look for some useful herbs,” she added. “Running Horse will help me.”
Memories flooded over Jaypaw of the preparations he and his Clanmates had made before their own journey into the mountains. He wondered if there was any more advice he ought to give these cats, like watching out for the dogs in the barn that had nearly torn Hollyleaf and Lionblaze to pieces.
Mouse-brain!he told himself. The barn probably isn’t even built yet.
Standing14 alone in the midst of the flurry of activity, Jaypaw couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was something missing, something essential for the cats to find their new home and establish themselves securely in the mountains. He just couldn’t think what it was.
I’d better try to catch some prey,he decided15. I’ll need strength for the journey. At least I’ll be able to see when I leap over the gaps in the mountains!
Before he reached the edge of the glade, he was intercepted16 by Stone Song. “Jay’s Wing, I need to talk to you.”
Puzzled, Jaypaw followed him into the shadow of the trees that fringed the glade. The dark gray tabby stood over him, an earnest expression in his blue eyes. “I need your help, Jay’s Wing,” he explained. “We’ve never had a cat like you before, who sees things in their dreams. Have you done it before? Do you think it will happen again?”
Jaypaw didn’t know what to answer; certainly he couldn’t tell the truth. In the end, he nodded awkwardly.
Relief crept into the new leader’s eyes. “This is unknown for all of us. I know your dreams may be wrong, but I am willing to trust you—and wherever your dreams came from.”
Understanding blazed down on Jaypaw like a burst of sunlight. Now he understood what these cats needed more than anything else. They needed StarClan, and a medicine cat to help them listen to the cats that had walked here before.
“Your…our ancestors,” he blurted17 out. “The dreams are sent by our ancestors.”
Stone Shadow looked startled. “You mean cats who have died?”
Jaypaw nodded. “They will guide us, if we’re prepared to listen. They’ll…they’ll speak to us in dreams, and send us signs that certain cats will understand.”
Stone Song’s eyes widened and his neck fur began to rise. “Do you mean they speak to you?”
“Yes, but they’ll speak to other cats, too—if they’re willing to hear what they have to say.”
Stone Song tipped his head on one side. “We have always wondered whether our lost cats can still see us and hear us. I know Broken Shadow wishes for that more than anything.” He hesitated, then added, “You’re sure it’s not just dreams of your mother?”
“I know it isn’t.”
The new leader’s blue eyes seemed more piercing than ever. “If we find the stone hills, I will know you are right.” Turning to leave, he glanced back over one shoulder. “Thank you, Jay’s Wing.”
When he had gone, Jaypaw flopped18 to the ground, his head spinning. Have I just made myself the first-ever medicine cat?He didn’t even know if these cats had the same sort of ancestors, in some kind of StarClan or Tribe of Endless Hunting. Have I just set myself an impossible task?
The sound of approaching paw steps roused him from his thoughts. Looking up, he saw Half Moon appearing from behind the nearest tree, a vole dangling19 from her jaws20. She set it down in front of him.
“Here,” she mewed. “I know your paws are still too sore to hunt.” When Jaypaw hesitated, she pushed it closer with one paw. “Go ahead. I’ve had mine.”
“Thanks.” Jaypaw tore hungrily into the vole. “You’re a great hunter, Half Moon,” he mumbled21 around a huge mouthful.
“It looks as if we’ve a long journey ahead,” Half Moon went on. “Do you really believe there are stone hills where we can make our home?” Her green eyes were wide, shimmering22 in the half-light under the trees.
Jaypaw swallowed. “Yes. I promise, they are there.”
Half Moon gave him a long look, overwhelming him once more with the intensity23 in her gaze. “I believe you,” she murmured
Jaypaw shared the last of the vole with her and settled down to doze25 beside her, their tails curled around each other. Breathing in her sweet scent26, he began to feel a little less homesick. A little more as if this was where—when—he belonged.
A paw prodded27 him in the side. Blinking, he looked up into the face of Whispering Breeze. “It’s time,” she mewed.
Half Moon was already on her paws. Jaypaw followed her through the clearing and out onto the hillside. The sun had set, leaving only a few streaks28 of scarlet29 in the sky. Jaypaw looked up to see if any of the warriors31 of StarClan had appeared, before he remembered that his warrior30 ancestors wouldn’t be born for many seasons.
So are they just stars?he wondered, gazing up at the glittering points of light.
Cats were padding anxiously among the trees as if their paws itched32 to leave, while their hearts still drew them back to their familiar home. Jaypaw watched Owl33 Feather’s kits tumbling around her paws. “Are we really going all the way to the top of the hill?” one of them asked, his eyes huge as moons.
“That’s right,” Owl Feather replied. “And even farther than that.”
The tiny kit12 bounced with delight. “Wow!”
Running Horse and Cloudy Sun were standing together under a tree. Running Horse brushed his tail along his denmate’s side. “The stones are cast, so we have to go,” he meowed.
“We’ll get there,” Cloudy Sun replied bravely. “We’ll help each other.”
Admiring the elders’ courage, Jaypaw hoped she was right. He was already planning the route to make it as easy as possible, hoping that now that he could see he could remember the way to the cave behind the waterfall.
“Are we ready?” Stone Song padded up, casting a glance at all the cats.
A murmur24 of agreement rose around him. Jaypaw noticed that Jagged Lightning and Shy Fawn34 were both looking unhappy, but they didn’t protest. Now that the decision had been made, every cat would stand by it. This was their code of honor, their version of the warrior code.
Stone Song flicked35 his ears at Jaypaw. “Ready, Jay’s Wing?”
Jaypaw nodded. Am I really doing this? Am I about to lead the Tribe of Rushing Water to their new home?
Stone Song set off up the hill, his cats following him in straggling groups. Jaypaw took his place near the back. When they reached the top of the ridge36, the purple line of mountains had vanished in the gathering37 darkness; the land stretched flat and black in front of them as far as the horizon.
As they padded along the ridge, Half Moon hurried up, brushing against Jaypaw’s side. “Look, one of Owl Feather’s kits has fallen over,” she mewed. “I must go help her.”
She bounded on, then halted briefly and glanced over her shoulder. “Don’t look back,” she whispered. “It will only make it harder.”
Jaypaw watched her pale shape moving away from him in the dusk. Something swelled38 inside his chest as he realized how much courage she had—how much all the cats had—to set out on a journey like this on the strength of a dream. He just hoped he was right, for their sakes.
His paws slowed beneath him and he stopped to gaze down the hill at the black expanse of the lake, glittering here and there under the first stars to appear in the dark blue sky. As he watched, the moon slid out from behind a cloud, shedding its silver light over the water. The lake seemed so familiar, and yet it was not his home.
“Good-bye,” he whispered, wondering if he was saying good-bye to ThunderClan as well.
The rest of the cats had passed him, heading into what would become WindClan territory. As Jaypaw set out to catch up to them, he heard a cat calling his name.
“Jaypaw!”
His ThunderClan name.
The sightless cat stood close to a boulder40 on the hillside, his furless skin glowing in the moonlight.
“You do not belong with these cats,” he rasped. “You have done what you came here to do. It is time for you to go back to your Clan13.”
The day before, Jaypaw would have been relieved. Now his first reaction was panic. “But—but what about Stone Song?” he stammered41. “I promised him. And Half Moon…”
“Your time here is over,” Rock insisted.
Jaypaw knew he had to obey. His destiny lay here, by the lake, not in the mountains. Thanks to him, the Tribe of Rushing Water would find their new home, and the Tribe of Endless Hunting would be found.
Padding over to Rock, he cast one last glance at the plodding42 line of cats, straining his eyes to pick out Half Moon’s glimmering43 pelt44. She’ll be so hurt that I left without saying good-bye. But she was not his future. ThunderClan was, where he was a medicine cat.
He turned back to Rock. “Will the real Jay’s Wing come back now?”
Rock shook his head. “No. He disappeared at the start of their journey to the mountains.”
The cats were vanishing one by one into the darkness. None of them had noticed that Jaypaw was gone. Jaypaw stood rigid45 for a moment, then gave his pelt a shake. “Okay, let’s go,” he muttered.
Rock led the way behind the boulder, where the narrow entrance to a tunnel opened up. The old cat squeezed his way inside and beckoned46 with his tail for Jaypaw to follow.
The tunnel was utterly47 dark; Jaypaw guided himself by the sound of Rock’s paw steps as they padded through the silent blackness. Cool air told him where other tunnels branched off, but Rock led him straight down into the hill. Jaypaw pricked48 his ears, alert for any sound of Fallen Leaves, but there was no sign of the lost cat. How long before he realized that the cats aboveground had gone? Would he know at once how many moons he would have to wait in the empty darkness, until cats returned to the lake? Jaypaw shuddered49, hoping Fallen Leaves would have no idea of what lay ahead.
At last the tunnel began to slope upward again. The sound of Rock’s paw steps faded, but now Jaypaw could smell moss50 and leaves again, the damp scents51 of the forest. Soon he found himself stepping into open air with the familiar scents of ThunderClan swirling52 around him. He was blind again, but he knew exactly where he was.
Slowly he picked his way down the paths that led to the stone hollow. Had he found the answers he was looking for? Had he really been one of the cats that lived here once? And had those cats left to form the Tribe of Rushing Water? Was that where the prophecy came from?
At the last moment, when he could already taste the scent of the stone hollow, he veered53 away and headed for the lake. A soft breeze had sprung up; the broken twittering of birds overhead told him that dawn was approaching. Reaching the lakeshore, Jaypaw padded across the soft grass and found the stick hidden under tree roots on the bank. He pulled it out and ran his paws over the scratch marks, as he had done so often before.
This time the scratches spoke54 to him clearly: Names and images of the sharpclaws filled his mind, and he could remember many of them from meeting them face-to-face. Jagged Lightning, Cloudy Sun, Shy Fawn, Owl Feather…They walked beside him at the Moonpool because he was one of them, the one cat who had returned to where they had lived long, long ago. Is that what makes me more powerful than StarClan?
Jaypaw wondered if Lionblaze and Hollyleaf must have been part of the ancient Clan, too, even though he hadn’t met them in the past. He drew his paws down the stick again and a vision flashed into his mind: three cats standing together on the ridge, with the rising moon behind them and their shadows stretching out, vast and black, across the silver lake.
Three cats, kin9 of Firestar’s kin, with the power of the stars in their paws. And now Jaypaw could understand how they belonged together, even after the lapse55 of so many, many seasons.
“We have come back,” he murmured. “The three have come home.”
收听单词发音 |
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gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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wails
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| 痛哭，哭声( wail的名词复数 ) | |
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kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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glade
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| n.林间空地，一片表面有草的沼泽低地 | |
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kits
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| 衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件 | |
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kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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intercepted
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| 拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻 | |
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blurted
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| v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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flopped
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| v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅 | |
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dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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doze
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| v.打瞌睡；n.打盹，假寐 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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prodded
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| v.刺，戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳 | |
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streaks
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| n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹 | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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itched
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| v.发痒( itch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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fawn
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| n.未满周岁的小鹿；v.巴结，奉承 | |
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flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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plodding
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| a.proceeding in a slow or dull way | |
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glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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48
pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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49
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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51
scents
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| n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉 | |
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swirling
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
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veered
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| v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转 | |
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54
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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