Crimson Flow and the Hidden Needle- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Five stone slabs lay two arm-lengths apart, running from the shed door toward a barrel perched on a brick elevation beside the lettuce bed. Thick crimson dye, meant for coloring mulch, seeped from the barrel’s loosened tap and formed a glossy ribbon across the earth. Nell knelt near the shed; Axel waited by the first slab. The ribbon already touched the third slab, and seedlings stood only a pace farther.

A tangled hose sprawled across the path, its coils forming a low barrier that blocked the direct route to the tap. Bubbles popped where the dye met cooler puddles, and the ribbon widened. Shortly, the liquid reached the fourth slab. Nell eyed two options: crawl under a trellis that curved around the hose, slow but sure, or leap across the slabs before another surge. She nodded once, planted a boot on the first stone, and sprang. Dye splashed against her heel, and muddy water soaked her sock. On the second slab her toe struck a lump; a small brass compass flipped free of the mud. Axel scooped it up while following, but the sudden bend tore his sleeve on a rose thorn. They cleared the hose together, hands slipping on wet bark, and Nell twisted the tap. The flow thinned to a drip, though a streak of red still swirled toward the bed. A robin hopped nearby, busy with its own mission under the leaves.

Dye lapped against the stone border and kept rising. Ants climbed a dry stem, avoiding the bright stream below.

五塊石板以兩個手臂長的間距排成一直線，從工具棚的門口延伸到放在磚塊高台上的水桶。桶裡本用來染覆蓋物的深紅色染液因水龍頭鬆脫而滲出，在土壤上形成一條光亮的帶狀水流。奈兒蹲在棚旁，艾克斯則站在第一塊石板邊。染液已碰到第三塊石板，幼苗只距離一步之遙。

一條纏成亂圈的水管橫躺在小徑上，捲曲的管身成了擋在通往水龍頭正路上的矮障礙。染液與較冷的水坑交會處不斷冒泡，水帶變得更寬。不久後，液體抵達第四塊石板。奈兒注視兩條路：繞過水管、鑽過彎曲棚架——安全卻慢；或趁下一波湧流前踩石板躍過。她點了一下頭，把靴子踏上第一塊石板，隨即起跳。染液濺到她的腳跟，泥水浸濕了襪子。在第二塊石板上，她的腳趾踢到一團硬塊；一只小小的黃銅指南針從泥中翻了出來。艾克斯撿起指南針跟著躍過，但急轉時袖口被玫瑰刺扯破。他們一起越過水管，手掌在濕滑的樹皮上打滑，奈兒旋緊水龍頭。流動減為滴滴細流，然而一道紅痕仍向幼苗渦動延伸。一隻知更鳥在葉下忙著自己的小任務。

染液拍打石頭邊緣並繼續上漲。螞蟻沿著乾燥的莖往上爬，躲開下方明亮的水流。