Under the Rotating Beacon- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Warm air from the savanna brushed the cliff while cool sea mist pricked every stone. A gull’s cry cut across the steady hum of distant waves.

An antelope steps from tall grass toward a narrow path that twists around a lighthouse. Salt spray has coated the stones, so its hooves slide once and its ears flatten. Ahead, a tour group drifts out of the small observatory that shares the point; bright jackets fill the path like moving bushes. The rotating beacon on the tower throws white stripes over ground and crowd. A metal fence that guards the highest ledge has been bent by wind, leaving a lower gap beside a support post.

The antelope pauses, then turns away from the people and circles under a raised walkway. Pebbles roll, rattling against its legs, yet the crowd’s chatter covers the sound. When the walkway ends, a shallow pool waits in shadow. The first hoof touches water, sending ripples that startle resting birds; wings beat upward, and the group looks up instead of down. The opening beside the bent post stands clear. The animal slips through, climbs a final rocky step, and reaches a pocket of fresh grass hidden behind the tower. The beacon continues to sweep the darkening sky as the antelope lowers its muzzle and tears a long blade of grass.

來自稀樹草原的暖空氣掠過懸崖，涼涼的海霧刺在石頭上。海鷗的叫聲劃破遠方浪聲的低嗡。

一隻羚羊從高草間踏上纏繞燈塔的狹窄小徑。鹽霧覆在石面上，蹄子滑了一下，牠的耳朵緊貼頭側。前方，一隊遊客從同一岬角上的小型天文台走出，鮮亮的外套像移動的灌木擋住道路。塔頂旋轉的燈光在地面和人群上畫出白色條紋。保護最高邊緣的鐵欄因風而彎曲，在支柱旁留下較低的縫隙。

羚羊停了一下，轉向遠離人群的方向，繞到一段高架步道下方。礫石滾落，敲在牠腿上，但人群的談話聲掩住了動靜。步道盡頭，一汪淺水躲在陰影裡。第一隻蹄子落水，漣漪驚起休息的鳥群；翅膀拍動，遊客抬頭而非低頭。那個支柱旁的開口空了出來。牠鑽過去，爬上一塊最後的岩石，來到藏在塔後的一小片新鮮草地。旋光繼續掃過漸暗的天空，羚羊低頭咬下一根長草。