CHAPTER20
Jayfeather wriggled1 around and sniffed2 wheresome scraps3 of the herb still clung to his pelt4. The scent5 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 ointment6 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 den7, ignoring Purdy’s plaintive8 cry of “What was all that about?”
Racing9 back to his own den, he found Leafpool curled up in her nest. “Leafpool, what—?” he began, skidding10 to a halt beside her. Then he broke off. He remembered how defensive11 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 that?” Leafpool mewed; she sounded bone-weary. “I want to have a quick nap before sunset. The Clan12 is sitting vigil for Honeyfern tonight.”
“Sorry,” Jayfeather mumbled13. 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 kit14. Without Leafpool, surely he could find out something about the mystery herb from the other medicine cats?
A brisk evening breeze rattled15 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 ridge16, he found Barkface and Kestrelpaw waiting for him beside the stream. Just as he reached them, Littlecloud came bounding up from the direction of ShadowClan. Jayfeather’s ears pricked17 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 kin18,” he added proudly.
No, we’re not. A pang19 of regret shook Jayfeather. He liked the three eager young apprentices21.
“Flamepaw is my apprentice20 now,” Littlecloud announced. “Tonight I’ll introduce him to StarClan.”
“Congratulations,” Jayfeather meowed, touching22 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 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 decided23. “We’ve a lot to get through tonight.”
“Maybe they’ll catch up,” Littlecloud meowed.
And maybe Mothwing doesn’t feel like trekking24 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 scramble25 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.”
“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 trickle26 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 rim28 of the hollow where the Moonpool lay. He could hear the gentle plash of the waterfall, and pictured the surface of the water dappled with the light of countless29 stars.
“I’ve something to say,” Barkface announced as the cats settled down beside the pool. “Jayfeather, I know our leaders visited your Clan to talk about Sol.”
Jayfeather’s belly30 clenched31; he braced32 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 twitched33; 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 stammered34.
“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 warrior35 ancestors. Flamepaw, are you ready?”
“Yes.” The word came out as a squeak36; Jayfeather felt Flamepaw’s embarrassment37 mingled38 with his awe27.
“Flamepaw,” Littlecloud went on, slipping into the words of the age-old ritual, “is it your wish to enter into the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?”
“It is.” Now the young cat had control of his voice, though excitement still vibrated through it.
“Then come forward.”
Flamepaw padded past Jayfeather until he stood in front of his mentor39.
“Warriors40 of StarClan,” Littlecloud meowed, “I present to you this apprentice. He has chosen the path of a medicine cat. Grant him your wisdom and insight so that he may understand your ways and heal his Clan in accordance with your will.” He paused, then added in a whisper, “Crouch down and drink from the pool.”
As Flamepaw obeyed, Jayfeather and the rest of the medicine cats stretched out their necks, too, and lapped a few drops of water from the Moonpool. As the icy liquid trickled41 down his throat, Jayfeather curled up and tried to relax. Please, StarClan,he begged, show me something useful. My Clan is tearing itself apart.
His eyes opened and he found himself on a narrow forest path, with lush ferns arching over his head on either side. Sunlight warmed his fur and dappled the grass around his paws. But he couldn’t see any other cats, and when he tasted the air all he could pick up was the scent of green, growing things.
“Where are they all?” he muttered to himself, beginning to pad forward.
Suddenly he heard a rustling42 from the undergrowth ahead of him, and the fern fronds43 dipped and swayed. Jayfeather sniffed eagerly, but the scent he picked up wasn’t any of the ones he had hoped for.
“Flamepaw!” he exclaimed, as the young apprentice burst into the open and stood gazing around with wide eyes, his fur fluffed up in a mixture of excitement and fear.
“Jayfeather, it’s you!” he exclaimed. “Where are we? Is this what’s supposed to happen?”
“Calm down,” Jayfeather responded. “Everything’s fine.”
Mouse dung!he added inwardly. I’m inhis dream! What good willthat do?
“I was hoping to meet Tigerstar,” Flamepaw confessed, gazing up and down the path with bright, curious eyes. “He’s my kin, and I’ve heard so much about him!”
“I’m not sure where Tigerstar is,” Jayfeather replied, careful not to tell the new apprentice about the dark forest. “You should be glad to meet any warriors of StarClan.”
“I know, but…will they be glad to meet me?” Flamepaw crouched44 down, looking very small and scared. “I don’t know what to say to them!”
Jayfeather touched the apprentice’s shoulder with the tip of his tail. “When you see them, you’ll be fine,” he promised. “You just have to listen.”
Flamepaw gave him a doubtful look, but he rose determinedly45 to his paws and set off down the path. “See you later, then,” he mewed.
Right now, I’d be happy to see any of the StarClan warriors,Jayfeather thought. Are they deliberately46 hiding from me?
He padded down the path in the opposite direction from Flamepaw until he reached a clearing where sweet-smelling herbs grew around a small pool. He remembered finding this place before, when he had spoken with Spottedleaf, but there was no sign of the tortoiseshell she-cat now.
Bounding over to the pool and looking down into the water, Jayfeather froze with shock. Though the sun still shone, the green depths glittered with countless stars.
“What are you doing down there?” he yowled, clawing at the grass. “Come talk to me!”
The only answer was a thick, stifling47 pelt of darkness falling over him; disoriented, he staggered and found his claws scraping on stone instead of grass. He was awake again, back beside the Moonpool. The other medicine cats around him were beginning to rise to their paws.
Still frustrated48 and troubled by his dream, Jayfeather stood up with the other cats and climbed back up the spiral path. When they had scrambled49 down the rocky slope to the moorland, he found himself padding next to Littlecloud.
“I think Flamepaw managed very well for his first time,” the ShadowClan cat meowed. “He met Nightstar, who was our leader back in the old forest.”
“That’s good,” Jayfeather murmured, not mentioning that he had seen the young apprentice in his dream.
“I think he’ll be a great medicine cat,” Littlecloud went on. “He already knows a good number of herbs.”
Herbs!In his desperation to meet with StarClan, Jayfeather had forgotten about the question he had meant to ask.
“I came across this herb,” he began, “and I don’t know what it is.” Please, StarClan, don’t let him wonder why I haven’t asked Leafpool!
“What sort of herb?” Littlecloud queried50.
“It has a sharp scent, and the leaves feel crinkly,” Jayfeather meowed, wishing he could have told the ShadowClan medicine cat what it looked like; even if he had been able to see it, the shriveled stalk wouldn’t have given him much of a clue to the fresh herb. “It tastes cold, like frost on fur, and even the dried leaves taste fresh like grass,” he added, remembering what Mousefur had told him.
“Hmm…” Littlecloud padded on thoughtfully for a few heartbeats. “It sounds like parsley to me. Its leaves have a very distinctive51 shape, like tiny shallow claws around the edge, and it tastes the same fresh or dried.”
“And what’s that used for?” Jayfeather struggled to keep the excitement out of his voice.
“Not much,” Littlecloud replied. “But it’s good for stopping milk in nursing queens if their kits52 die.”
Jayfeather stopped dead.
Or if their kits didn’t die, but were given to a different cat!
His heart was pounding so hard that he thought it would burst out of his chest. All the separate scraps of knowledge that he had gathered about his birth suddenly tumbled together into a terrifying pattern.
“Are you okay?” Littlecloud asked anxiously.
“What? Oh—yes, fine.”
Jayfeather forced his paws forward again. His mind was spinning and filling with flashes of light, and he hardly remembered to say good-bye to the other medicine cats when they reached the border of their territories.
He had always been told that Squirrelflight had no milk, so Ferncloud and Daisy had nursed him and his littermates. Which meant Squirrelflight wouldn’t have needed to take parsley. So maybe our real mother had to eat it to hide that she’d just given birth!
Jayfeather’s memory carried him back to when he was a tiny kit, struggling through the snow. He had to remember! Think about the scents,he told himself. That’s where the answers lie. His sense of smell had never before let him down when it was important. It couldn’t fail him now.
There was a cat close to him, walking slowly through the snow with the scent of milk clinging to her fur. It wasn’t Squirrelflight—it couldn’tbe Squirrelflight. Suddenly, Jayfeather took a deep breath. He knew exactly which cat’s scent it was.
Everything added up. Which cat could depend on Squirrelflight’s loyalty53, knowing she would carry out the deception54 for moons and moons, even if it meant lying to her own mate? Which cat had always poured out love and concern around him and his littermates? Which cat could never admit that she had borne kits?
Leafpool! Leafpool is our mother!
收听单词发音 |
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wriggled
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等） | |
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sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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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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ointment
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| n.药膏，油膏，软膏 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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skidding
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| n.曳出，集材v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的现在分词 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区 | |
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defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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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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kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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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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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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pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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apprentice
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| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
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apprentices
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| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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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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trekking
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| v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的现在分词 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水 | |
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scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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trickle
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| vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散 | |
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awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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braced
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| adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
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twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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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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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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squeak
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| n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密 | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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38
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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mentor
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| n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导 | |
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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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41
trickled
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| v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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42
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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43
fronds
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| n.蕨类或棕榈类植物的叶子( frond的名词复数 ) | |
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44
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
determinedly
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| adv.决意地；坚决地，坚定地 | |
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46
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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47
stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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48
frustrated
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| adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧 | |
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49
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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50
queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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51
distinctive
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| adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的 | |
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52
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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53
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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54
deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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