The Basket That Slid Beside the Carrot Bed - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

A hollow clap burst from the wooden gate as it swung shut behind Glen.

He carried a small green watering can toward the carrot bed. Near his boot tips, a flat stone lay on the slope beside the path, balancing a basket filled with round beans. Janet knelt among the tomato vines and said, “That watering can looks heavy.” Glen lifted it with both hands and tipped the spout. Water arched out, and the can’s weight dropped forward, pulling his arms. The stream soaked the loose soil, leaving dark puddles that seeped toward the stone.

At the same time, a thin bamboo stake at the end of the tomato row leaned under a fresh coil of vines. Each slight breeze set the stake wobbling, and the vines tugged it lower. For two slow breaths, stake and basket stayed apart, each locked in its own balance. Then a sudden tremor ran through the wet ground; the soaking earth pressed against the stone and eased the basket’s grip. The stone slid downhill a finger’s width. Glen heard a bright elation of clinks as bean pods bumped the rim. He jerked upright, the watering can still half-full, and gave the stone a gentle kick to push it back. Instead, the basket tipped farther, its contents rolling across the path.

Glen dropped to one knee and gathered beans with quick pats, but the slope kept pulling new ones away. The whole experience lasted a brief moment, yet the path now showed muddy tracks, scattered beans, and a watering can resting on its side. The leaning stake waited unchanged, its shadow still tilted across the tomato bed.

木門碰地一聲關上，空音在園裡迴盪，格連跟在門後。

他捧著一隻綠色小噴水壺，走向胡蘿蔔畦旁。腳邊一塊平石擱在斜坡上，石上平衡著裝滿圓豆的籃子。珍妮特蹲在番茄藤間說：「那壺子看起來挺重。」格連雙手抬起壺口，慢慢傾斜。水流成弧，壺重向前墜，他手臂同步下沉。清水滲入鬆土，留下深色水坑，水漸漸朝石頭滑去。

同時，番茄行尾端一根細竹桿被新長藤蔓壓得前傾。微風一來，竹桿就輕輕搖動，藤蔓拉得它更低。兩息之間，竹桿與籃子各自保持著懸而未決的平衡。忽然濕土微微顫動；濡水的泥推向石頭，使籃子握力鬆開。石頭順坡滑了一指寬。豆莢撞擊籃沿，發出清脆串聲。格連猛地直起腰，壺裡水還剩一半，腳尖輕踢石頭想讓它回位。結果籃子更傾，豆粒滾滿小徑。

格連單膝跪下，迅速用手拍集豆粒，可是坡面仍把新的豆粒向下帶。整個過程只是一瞬，但地面已留下一片泥印、散豆，以及側躺的噴水壺。那根傾斜的竹桿依舊未動，影子歪斜在番茄畦上。