The Acorn That Shattered a Fountain Reflection - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

Four paving stones lay between Noel's shoes and the fountain's wide stone rim. Water leapt in thin arcs, and morning light slipped through each rope of spray, throwing small rainbows over the wet marble. Cool mist touched the stone and left tiny beads that caught color like soft glass. Noel opened his sketchbook on his knee and angled a flat tin lid beside it. The lid caught a glare from the rising sun near the horizon and bounced a narrow beam onto the page.

A striped squirrel clung to a bench leg several steps away, nose twitching at scattered crumbs. It held a glossy acorn as long as Noel’s thumb and tapped it against the wood. The animal circled the basin, tail flicking. Behind Noel, reflections drifted, shadows of pigeons crossed, and refraction split every drop into shifting green and gold. Noel kept adjusting the lid, his arm extended, fingers tight around the metal edge. “Stay still, water,” he said, leaning closer.

The squirrel halted; the acorn slipped, bounced once, and plopped into the center pool. Concentric ripples swept outward, folding the tower’s reflection into broken glass. The beam from the lid scattered, spraying brightness over Noel’s drawing and bleaching half the pencil lines. “Oh!” he barked, sliding backward; cold mist dotted his sleeves. He tried a quick compromise, tilting the lid lower, but the shattered image refused to lie flat. A bronze coin, likely the belonging of a tourist, glimmered beside the drifting acorn, both spinning in the glare. Graphite dust marked his palm, yet the tower’s outline still warped. Noel lowered the pencil beside the damp page, and the bright patch on the water kept shifting.

諾爾的鞋子與噴泉寬大的石邊之間隔著四塊鋪路石。水柱像細繩般拋射，晨光穿過每一道水線，在濕潤的大理石上丟下小彩虹。涼霧撫過石面，留下像軟玻璃般帶色的小珠。諾爾把素描本放在膝上，將一片扁平錫蓋斜靠在旁。錫蓋接住接近地平線的初升陽光，把一道窄光打到紙上。

幾步外，一隻條紋松鼠抱著長椅腳，鼻子在散落的麵包屑間抽動。牠抓著一顆與諾爾拇指一樣長的光亮橡實，輕敲木面。松鼠沿著水池邊繞圈，尾巴一甩一甩。諾爾身後，倒影漂移，鴿子的影子劃過，折射把每一滴水拆成變動的綠與金。諾爾不斷調整錫蓋，手臂伸直，手指緊扣金屬邊。「水面，別動，」他俯身說。

松鼠一停，橡實滑落，彈跳一下後掉進水池中央。同心波紋向外擴散，把鐘樓的倒影折成碎玻璃。錫蓋射出的光被打散，強光刷白了諾爾半幅鉛筆線。「唉呀！」他退後，袖子點滿冷霧。他試著折衷，將錫蓋再壓低，但破碎影像始終不平。一枚銅幣——大概是哪位遊客的物品——在漂浮的橡實旁閃光，兩者都在耀眼反射中旋轉。石墨粉沾在他的手掌上，鐘樓輪廓仍然扭曲。諾爾把鉛筆放在潮濕的頁邊，而水面上的亮斑仍不停變動。