The Blue River Shape- 適合初級的英語短篇故事

Warm air rose from the quiet lagoon.

Ruby placed a small table on the sandy island. She wanted to paint a colorful picture of seashells. She set jars of paint in a neat, precise row. A blank page waited flat against a smooth board. The beach stayed silent except for distant gull cries.

An emu wandered from the palm trees behind Ruby. Its long beak tapped the table and shook the jars. One jar tipped over and bright blue paint spilled out. The paint raced across the board and down to the sand. It met a puddle, mixed, and drew a hopeful shape. Ruby blinked; the shape looked like a winding river. She moved quickly and lifted the page away from danger. Blue drops still splashed her toes, but the picture stayed clean. The emu stepped back, causing small shells to slide and clink. Ruby followed the blue trail toward the palms with interest. The last drop settled near a hidden pool between roots. She knelt and dipped her brush into the clean water. A new splash of color blossomed across her waiting page. She closed the jar and packed her box.

暖暖的空氣從靜靜的潟湖升起。

Ruby 在沙洲上放下一張小桌子。她想畫一幅多彩的貝殼圖。她把顏料罐按整齊又精準的直線排好。一張空白的紙平放在光滑的畫板上。海灘沒有聲音，只聽見遠處海鷗的叫聲。

一隻鴯鶓從 Ruby 身後的棕櫚樹間走出。它長長的喙碰到桌子，搖動了那些罐子。一個罐子翻倒，鮮亮的藍色顏料流了出來。顏料越過畫板，流向沙地。它遇到一灘水，混合後畫出一條充滿希望的形狀。Ruby 眨眨眼；那形狀像蜿蜒的河流。她迅速舉起畫紙，遠離濺灑的顏料。藍色滴點依舊濺到她的腳趾，但畫面保持乾淨。鴯鶓退後一步，小貝殼隨之滑動並叮噹作響。Ruby 順著藍色痕跡走向棕櫚樹。最後一滴顏料停在樹根間一個隱藏的小池旁。她跪下，把畫筆伸進清水。新的色彩濺開，綻放在等待的畫紙上。她蓋好顏料罐，收拾起她的箱子。