The Pearl After the Splash- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

Lucas balanced a wooden crate on his shoulder and stepped onto the weekday pier. Salt air prickled his cheeks, and sunlight flickered between slow waves. The morning catch waited inside the crate. Bright oyster shells lay beside two restless lobster claws tied with twine, and a net of mussels still dripping. A grey pelican perched on a nearby railing, its throat pouch shifting with constant appetite. Farther out, the smooth back of a dolphin rose, then slipped beneath the glittering surface. Lucas had polished an old brass scale the night before; today he needed an exact figure before walking toward the market.

Wind pressed against his coat as he set the scale on a plank beside a yellow rope. The platform rocked with every small wave, and the pointer trembled even before any weighing began. Lucas carefully lowered the crate; one corner caught a splinter and tilted. Oysters rattled out, scattering like marbles, and the pelican hopped closer, beak snapping at the nearest shell. Lucas crouched, gathered the runaway seafood, and wedged a flat board under the scale to steady it. The plank below him groaned, and the needle on the dial finally steadied. Then another gust lifted the rope and slapped it across the tray, knocking the balance off again.

While he untangled the swinging rope, a sudden splash echoed under the pier. The dolphin surfaced once more, its tail beating a bright arc that sent ripples against the posts. One sudden ripple struck the plank, and the old scale shifted sideways. An oyster slipped free, cracked open, and revealed a round pearl gleaming like misted glass. Lucas paused, breath caught in his throat, then touched the pearl with wet fingertips. He gently tucked it into his pocket and reset the remaining load on the tray. After that, he piled a handful of smooth stones opposite the seafood until the pointer finally aligned with the centre mark. The cracked shell now rested beside the steady needle on the brass scale.

盧卡斯把一個木箱扛在肩上，走上平日顯得安靜的碼頭。鹹味的空氣刺刺地撫過臉頰，陽光在緩緩波面間閃動。早晨的漁獲就在箱裡靜待秤重。亮澤的牡蠣殼依著兩隻被麻繩綁住、仍不停揮動的龍蝦鉗，一袋還在滴水的淡菜靠在旁邊。一隻灰色鵜鶘站在欄杆上，喉囊隨著永不止息的食慾微微起伏。遠處，海豚光滑的背脊浮現又滑入閃閃水面。昨晚盧卡斯才把那台黃銅老秤擦亮；今天他要先得出精確數字，再去市場。

他把秤放在一塊木板上，風貼著外套用力推。每一道小浪都讓平台晃動，指針在任何秤量開始之前就顫抖。盧卡斯小心放下木箱，一角勾到木刺而傾斜。牡蠣像彈珠般滾出，鵜鶘跳近，喙朝最近的殼猛啄。盧卡斯蹲下，把散落海鮮撿回，並在秤腳下塞進平板穩住。腳下木板發出嘎聲，刻度盤上的指針終於平穩。接著又一陣風揚起繩子，猛地拍向托盤，再度破壞平衡。

他解開搖晃的繩子時，突如其來的水花在橋下迴響。那隻海豚再度浮出，尾巴劃出亮弧，波紋撞向樁腳。突然的一道漣漪擊中木板，老秤整個側偏。 一顆牡蠣脫殼滑落，啪地張開，露出一顆像霧玻璃般閃亮的珍珠。盧卡斯屏住呼吸，用濕漉手指輕碰珍珠，再把它小心放入口袋，重新把剩餘漁獲擺上托盤。之後，他抓起幾顆光滑石頭放到對面，直到指針終於停在中心刻度。破開的貝殼此刻靜靜躺在黃銅秤上已平穩的指針旁。