Balancing the Barn Gutter with a Bucket Tower - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

The barn smelled of dry hay mixed with the sweet dust of ground corn. Rafe lifted a tin bucket carefully from the dim corner. He pointed at the tilted wooden gutter above the water trough. The long wooden channel leaned dangerously forward above the trough. Each sip from a calf sent water spilling onto packed dirt. Odette tipped her head back toward the high wooden rafters. Sunlight caught cobwebs under the beam a builder had fixed years earlier. A patch of purple heather brushed her boot as she stepped closer. She set the bucket upside-down, then slid a flat stone on top to gain height. The small tower wobbled, and straw slid from its rim. Odette laughed, “This pile feels like jelly under my boots.” Rafe replied, “The stone is flatter than it looks.” Rafe waited, then pressed his weight on the far end of the trough. The plank beneath leaned like a seesaw and grew level for a moment.

Odette climbed the shaky stack, her boots creaking over dented metal. She paused to listen as the gutter groaned above her. A single black ant crawled slowly across her sleeve. The tiny tickle startled her arm and shifted her center just enough. The bucket slid a finger's width and the stone began to tilt. Rafe quickly shot one hand upward and braced the gutter. His other palm pressed the bucket rim downward and stopped a topple. At last, the uneven weight between them finally settled again. Together they nudged the wooden bracket with steady pressure. They lifted its lower edge until the channel rested level against the beam. A thin stream of leftover water ran along the gutter and dropped into the trough. The stone left a round dent on the soft bucket lid. Dusty fingerprints smudged the metal where both hands had pressed. Rafe tapped the smudge with one finger, adding a second ridge beside Odette's print. He stepped back as a calf splashed its nose in the now steady trickle.

穀倉裡飄著乾草混合磨碎玉米粉的甜味。拉夫小心地從昏暗角落搬起一只錫桶。他指向水槽上方傾斜的木質排水槽。那條長木槽危險地前傾，每當小牛啜水，水就濺到壓實的泥地上。奧黛特把頭仰向高高的木椽，陽光照到一條建築工多年以前安裝的梁下蛛網。她向前邁步，一叢紫色石南擦過靴面。她把桶倒扣，再把扁石滑到桶頂來增高。小塔搖晃，稻草從邊緣滑落。奧黛特笑說：「這堆東西在我靴子下像果凍一樣。」拉夫回應：「那塊石頭比看起來還平。」拉夫等了一下，然後把身體重量壓在水槽另一端。底下的木板像翹翹板般傾斜，瞬間又恢復水平。

奧黛特攀上搖晃的堆疊，靴子在凹陷金屬上吱嘎作響。她停下來聽排水槽在頭頂呻吟。一隻黑螞蟻慢慢爬過她的袖子。微小的癢感令她手臂一抖，身體重心稍稍移動。桶滑了一指寬，石頭開始傾斜。拉夫迅速伸手托住排水槽，另一隻手掌壓住桶緣，阻止整座塔倒下。兩人身上的不平衡重量終於再次穩定。他們合力穩穩推動木質支架，把較低的邊抬起，直到排水槽重新貼平在梁上。細細的剩水沿槽流動，整齊滴入水槽。石頭在桶蓋上留下圓凹痕，兩人按過的金屬處沾滿塵土指印。拉夫用一根手指點了點指印，在奧黛特的印旁再添一道痕跡。這時，一隻小牛把鼻子探進如今穩定的細流裡激起水花。