The Jar That Fell Between Branches- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Olive shoved a two-wheeled cart along the narrow orchard path; the load of wicker baskets lurched forward each time the ground dipped. Wheels skidded over dry leaves, then dragged in a patch of soft earth, tugging her arms in opposite directions. Warm gold patches flashed through the canopy and flickered across the grass while a faint, sour scent rose from crushed plums nearby.

She stopped beside a low pear tree where a wooden ladder leaned against the trunk. Fallen fruit lay under it, some already dark with decay. Olive lifted one heavy basket, set it on a rung, and climbed. A red squirrel clung to a higher branch, its head turning at every creak. The branch holding the ripest pears bent outward and swung back each time she reached, so she braced one knee, twisted her torso, and grabbed it. The sudden pull jolted loose an old metal jar wedged in the crotch; the jar clanged against a rung, spiraled down, and rolled across the grass. Dust coated its dented lid, yet a faded swirl pattern matched a bowl her ancestor had carved generations earlier, making it likely the jar was once a family heirloom that carried pear preserve for winter cooking.

She steadied herself, but the ladder slid half a handspan when the cart at its base shifted. Pears swayed overhead, still just beyond her grasp. The squirrel darted off, leaves spinning behind it, and the jar stopped beside a bruised apple. A fresh scrape gleamed along the ladder's side. The pears stayed high above, untouched.

奧莉芙把兩輪小推車推過狹窄的果園小徑；每遇到地面下陷，裝滿柳條籃子的載重就向前衝，她的雙臂同時被拉扯。車輪先在乾葉上打滑，又陷進一片鬆軟泥土，力度一推一拉。溫暖的金色光斑透過枝葉在草地上跳動，壓碎李子的微酸氣味隨風飄散。

她在一棵低矮的梨樹旁停下，木梯靠著樹幹。落果散在梯下，有些已經發黑腐爛。奧莉芙抬起一只沉籃，放到梯腳，開始往上爬。一隻赤松鼠抓著高枝，每聽到吱呀聲就轉頭張望。掛滿熟梨的枝條向外彎，又在她伸手時彈回去，她只好單膝抵住梯面，扭身抓住枝條。猛力一拽，樹杈間卡著的舊金屬罐被震落，撞到梯橫後旋轉落地，在草上滾遠。罐蓋布滿灰塵，凹陷處的褪色旋紋和她祖先雕刻在碗上的花樣一致，很可能這罐子曾用來盛冬季煮梨醬，是家傳之物。

她努力穩住身體，但推車在梯腳晃動，梯子又滑開半個手掌寬。顫動的梨仍高掛枝頭，碰不到。松鼠跑遠，葉片在身後旋落，那只舊罐停在一顆受傷的蘋果旁。梯邊多了一道新亮痕。梨子依舊高高掛著，仍未被採下。