Rolling Tin and Wandering Water- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

Kira’s measuring stick bobbed in the irrigation channel. The tiny ripples proved she had arrived at the sluice gate before Griffon splashed up in rubber boots. On a bench near the garden patch, Gareth leafed through a paperback, keeping a casual eye on both children. Griffon aimed for faster wheel rotation, yet enough water still needed to reach Kira’s garden seedlings. The relative width of the two wooden gaps mattered. He pressed the rake handle against a board for leverage and lifted it one notch. Water shot toward the wheel, slapping the paddles with amber spray, yet the stick beside the axle hardly wobbled faster. Only a fraction of the extra flow became rotation, and Griffon scratched the back of his neck under his dripping sleeves.

He scanned the stream bed. An outcast cluster of leaves spun over a darker patch between the gate and the wheel. A swirl stole energy from the current, so he dragged the rake through the water, trying to smooth the dip by stirring gravel around it. The rake blade snagged the leaf mat and jerked forward. Its handle bumped a spare board leaning against the post; the board toppled and struck the grease tin. The round tin rolled along the wet stones and tapped the axle support. Its loose lid popped free before skittering toward the irrigation side. Griffon had been mending a cracked paddle last week. He knew the tin still held useful grease he did not want to lose. Without thinking, he slid the second spare board diagonally into the channel. The flowing water pressed it tight, halting the runaway lid. The barricade also diverted a thin sheet of water toward the wheel. The indicator stick finally trembled in a brighter arc. Downstream, the freed lid kept spinning against the board, sending a faint metallic rattle through the warm afternoon air.

奇拉的測量棒在灌溉水道裡輕輕上下漂動。細小的漣漪證明她已經先一步抵達閘口，而格里芬則穿著橡膠靴踩著水花趕來。菜園旁的長椅上，加勒斯翻著平裝書，同時隨意地注意兩個孩子。格里芬想讓水輪轉得更快，又必須保留足夠的水給奇拉的幼苗。兩道木板開口的相對寬度成了關鍵。他把耙柄抵在木板上當槓桿，往上一格用力頂起。水流衝向水輪，在槳葉上濺出金黃水花，然而軸旁的指示棒幾乎沒有加速晃動。額外的水量只有一小部分轉成動力，格里芬在濕袖下抓了抓後頸。

他掃視水道底部。一團被孤立的落葉在閘口與水輪之間的暗色凹陷上打轉。那股漩渦奪走水力，他便用耙子攪動礫石，想把凹陷填平。耙頭勾住葉團猛地一帶，手柄撞倒靠在柱子上的備用木板，木板又撞上裝油的鐵罐。圓罐沿著濕石滾動，碰到輪軸支架，鬆動的蓋子彈出，朝灌溉支流滑去。上週格里芬才修補破槳，知道罐裡的油還有用，不能流走。他立刻把另一塊備板斜插入水道，流水將它緊緊壓住，擋住逃竄的蓋子。這道臨時堤也把一片薄水重新導向水輪，指示棒終於畫出更亮的弧線。下游處，那只蓋子仍貼著木板旋轉，微弱的金屬嘎啦聲在溫暖的午後空氣中飄送。