Corn From the Loft Falls Into the Donkey’s Tub - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

Sweet molasses and dry hay dust filled the stall and lay on the air. Warm oats smelled nutty from the open bin beside the wooden rail. A small donkey stood by the tub and lowered its nose to the mound. Grain slid under its lips and tapped the metal rim in a thin music. Sara leaned on the rail with a wheelbarrow of clean sawdust beside her. "It's warm in here," she said. "The oats smell sweet today, Harriet." Sun warmed the window panes and laid pale squares across the packed earth. Sara eased the wheelbarrow to the post, and a little sawdust sifted down the side. The dry fall made a soft hush that did not reach the donkey’s ears.

As the donkey pushed forward, the pile shifted and spread flat over the tub. Oat dust rose in a small billow and settled along its whiskers and chin. Harriet stood near the door, watching the slow chewing and the steady ears. From the loft, a dry trickle began through a split in a feed sack. Bran sifted through the boards and sprinkled the donkey's back in light specks. It blinked, lifted its nose, and angled to the other side of the tub. The nose pressed, the grain slid, and the mound slowly changed shape. A hen pecked once at a stray oat near the threshold and clicked away. Sunlight edged a floating curl of sawdust, then the tiny curl drifted to the floor.

Then a few hard corn kernels let go above and fell straight into the tub. They pattered on the rim like soft applause and rolled into a bright cone. The new pieces made a louder rattle than the softer oats in the bin. The donkey paused, then chewed again, and the cone slowly shortened with each push. Sara brushed a fleck from her sleeve, and the loft stayed quiet except for the faint tap of grain. A thin thread still poured from the torn place and left tiny dots on the floor. Bran dust lay on the donkey's nose, and its jaw worked on.

甜甜的糖蜜味和乾乾的乾草粉瀰漫在畜欄裡，停在空氣中。打開的飼料箱邊飄出溫熱的燕麥香。小驢站在飼槽旁，把鼻子壓向那一小堆飼料。穀粒在唇邊滑動，輕敲金屬邊，像一段細薄的樂聲。莎拉靠在欄杆上，旁邊停著一台裝著乾淨鋸屑的手推車。「這裡很暖和，」她說。「今天的燕麥好香，哈麗雅特。」陽光烘著窗格，方方的亮塊鋪在踩實的泥地上。莎拉把手推車挪到木柱邊，邊緣有一點鋸屑悄悄篩落。那股乾乾的沙沙聲沒有傳到小驢的耳邊。

小驢往前一頂，飼料堆就攤平在槽內。燕麥粉冒起一朵小小的灰霧，又落在牠的鬍鬚和下巴上。哈麗雅特站在門口，看著慢慢的咀嚼和穩穩的耳朵。此時閣樓上，一只飼料袋裂縫裡開始出現乾乾的細流。麩皮穿過木板縫，灑在小驢背上，留下一點點淺色顆粒。牠眨了眨眼，抬起鼻子，換到飼槽的另一側。鼻子再度貼上去，穀粒又滑動，小堆的形狀慢慢改變。門檻邊一隻母雞啄走一粒散落的燕麥，就喀喀地走開了。陽光勾出一卷微小的鋸屑，在空中飄一飄，最後落到地面。

接著，幾粒較硬的玉米從上方鬆脫，直直落進飼槽。它們在邊緣上嗶嗶作響，像小小的掌聲，又滾成一個亮亮的小錐堆。那些新顆粒撞在金屬上的聲音，比柔軟的燕麥更清脆。小驢停了一下，接著又咀嚼，鼻口每一次推擠，那個小錐堆就慢慢變短。莎拉彈掉袖子上一點細粉，閣樓只剩下微弱的穀粒輕敲聲。一條細細的穀流仍從破口倒下，在地上留下小小的點。麩皮落在小驢的鼻尖上，而牠的下頜繼續咀嚼。