Rainbow Shadow and the Spinning Windmill in the Treehouse - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

A hollow clink rang each time Orion tipped the glass jar onto the wooden floor.

Cleo knelt beside him, the boards under her knees giving a soft groan.

They spent many afternoons in the low treehouse, sorting candies for their small trading game.

Their method was simple.

They lined every red jellybean on the left rail and every yellow on the right.

Filtered light slipped through narrow roof gaps and painted bright dots over the rows.

Warm sap scented the air, mixing with faint sugar coming from the pile.

The sun climbed higher and the bright dots crawled across the floorboards.

One beam struck the jar’s curved side and broke into a rainbow fan.

Colors splashed over Cleo’s hands, and she blinked at the sudden glare.

The thin plastic windmill beside the rail spun, its spokes throwing quick shadows over the candy lines.

Shifting shade hid and revealed the colors, and rows mixed whenever the shadow touched them.

Orion slid the jar backward to slow the pattern, yet the shade kept racing across the lid.

He narrowed his eyes; counting grew harder under the flicker.

Then an odd glint bounced from the jar and landed on a single green piece.

Cleo picked it up; the surface felt dry, not sticky like the others.

A thin line of wood showed where paint had chipped.

The quiet surprise rested on Cleo’s palm like a dry seed.

The piece was not candy at all but a bead that someone had painted.

Laughter burst out; the earlier funny story from breakfast echoed while their shoulders shook.

Orion said, "That bead almost tricked my teeth."

They tossed the bead aside and went back to the rows, now watching each color twice.

Light keeps sliding over the floorboards.

The windmill’s spinning shadow climbs steadily up the rough trunk.

玻璃罐每次碰到木地板都叮噹作響。克莉奧跪在旁邊，腳下的木板發出輕柔的呻吟。

他們常常在這座低矮的樹屋裡度過下午，為自己的小交換遊戲分類糖豆。

方法很簡單。

他們把每顆紅色彩豆排在左邊欄杆，把黃色放在右邊。

過濾後的陽光穿過屋頂窄縫，在排好的豆子上印出明亮斑點。

溫暖的樹脂香混著淡淡的糖味飄在空氣中。

太陽升得更高，光斑在地板上慢慢移動。

一束光打在罐子弧面上，折成一道彩虹扇面，顏色潑灑到克莉奧的手上，她因突然的刺眼而眨眼。

欄杆邊的塑膠小風車旋轉，葉片把快速的影子投在糖豆行列上。

變化的陰影遮住又露出顏色，影子一碰到排隊的豆子行列就亂了。

奧里恩把罐子往後推想減慢光紋，但陰影仍在蓋子上飛奔。

他眯起眼；閃爍的光線讓計數變得更難。

忽然，一道奇異的反光從罐子跳到一顆綠豆上。

克莉奧撿起它；表面乾乾的，沒有其他豆子那種黏滑。

一條細細的木紋顯示出剝落的油漆。

這份安靜的驚喜像乾種子一樣躺在她的手心。

原來那不是糖果，而是一顆被人上色的珠子。

笑聲爆發；早餐時那段有趣的故事再次在空中回盪，他們的肩膀抖個不停。

奧里恩說：「這顆珠子差點讓我咬下去。」

他們把珠子丟到一旁，又回到行列，現在每種顏色都多看了兩遍。

光線持續在木地板上滑動。

風車旋轉的影子正穩穩地向粗糙的樹幹上爬升。