Sparrow at the Window and the Red Celery Stripes - 適合中高級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

"A sparrow on the sill!"

Eli paused beside the glass row and bent closer, his breath leaving a faint fog on the nearest rim. Its brown head tipped once, and the beak tapped the wooden frame with a soft, hollow tick. Red, blue, and yellow water cast warm patches on the white towel, like tiny lanterns resting under celery towers. At the magnifying station, a metal staple held Eli's notebook pages, and a ruler waited under the round lens. The room smelled peppery and sweet from celery and dye, while the tap spaced out slow, bright plops. Cold beads slid down the shadowed glass, and the one near the sun felt warmer against Eli's knuckles.

He wanted bold stripes, so he added two more drops of red dye and stirred the glass with a celery stalk. The water deepened to a dark cherry shade, and the bottom looked almost opaque compared with the brighter top inch. He slid the glass toward the warm windowsill, and the leaves lifted, then sagged a little as the air baked them. Thinking a side-by-side view might help, he tucked a second cut stalk into the same glass until it touched the first. The two ribs bumped and rang the rim, and red drips spread over the towel in a wet, rosy print. Tilting the setup toward the light, Eli saw the sparrow bend low, not drinking, but worrying a dry crumb from the corner. It flicked the pale speck free, hopped twice across the sill, and carried the prize away in a quick burst.

Back at the magnifying station, the red water still hid the early climb, so Eli chose to keep working here. He pressed the towel's corner into the glass and slowly drew out dark dye water. He topped the level with clear water from the jug, and the glass lightened until the celery veins showed faint bands. Eli steadied the stalk near the lens, and red ladders climbed past one notch on the ruler, like a slow drum. On the supply shelf, a wooden spool of kitchen twine rolled when his elbow brushed it, then settled beside the bottles. Eli held up the red stalk with clear bands, while Lyra compared the paler yellow bands by the window. Lyra raised the yellow stalk toward the light, and Eli traced one bright ladder with the magnifying glass.

「窗台上有麻雀！」

Eli 停在三列玻璃杯旁，身子俯近，呼氣在最近的杯口上留下一層淡淡霧氣。牠褐色的小頭微微一點，喙在木框上敲出柔軟、空心的聲音。紅、藍、黃的水在白毛巾上投下暖色斑塊，像放在芹菜塔下的小燈籠。在放大觀察站，一根金屬釘書針固定住 Eli 的筆記本頁面，一把尺安靜地躺在圓形鏡片下。房間帶著芹菜與食用色素的辛香與微甜，水龍頭以疏落的節奏滴出明亮的水聲。陰影裡的杯壁滑著冰涼水珠，靠近陽光的那一只碰到 Eli 指節時明顯更溫暖。

他想要更醒目的條紋，所以又加了兩滴紅色素，並用芹菜梗攪拌那個杯子。水色加深成深櫻桃紅，和較亮的一公分頂層相比，底部幾乎不透明。他把杯子推到溫暖的窗台旁，葉片先抬起，接著在熱氣中微微下垂。他覺得並排觀察也許更清楚，便把第二根切好的梗插進同一只杯子，直到碰到第一根。兩條肋紋互相碰撞，敲得杯口輕響，紅色水滴在毛巾上暈開成一枚濕潤的玫瑰色印痕。Eli 把整組器材稍微傾向光線，看到那隻麻雀低下身，不是在喝水，而是在角落裡啄一粒乾燥碎屑。牠把那粒淡色小點彈了出來，在窗台上連跳兩下，叼著戰利品一閃而去。

回到放大觀察站，紅色的水仍舊遮住了最初的上升痕跡，所以 Eli 決定繼續在這裡動手。她把毛巾的一角按進杯中，慢慢吸走較深的色素水。她又用水壺加回清水到原來的水位，杯中變得明亮，芹菜的脈管浮出淡淡條紋。Eli 在鏡片旁扶穩梗身，紅色的階梯越過尺上的一格，就像一面慢鼓。供應層架上，一個木頭紡錘形的棉線卷被他手肘輕碰滾了一小段，接著又安穩地靠在瓶子旁。Eli 舉起紅色那根、條紋清楚的芹菜，而 Lyra 在窗邊對照較淺的黃色條紋。Lyra 把黃色那根舉向光源，Eli 用放大鏡沿著其中一條亮梯描過去。