The Tube Rolls at the Paint Box - 適合初學者的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

An older sibling taps the paper. The dry brush leaves no mark. They press again. A pale line starts, then breaks in the middle. The aunt rinses a brush at the water cup. A damp paper smell hangs near the cloth.

Noemi leans on the smooth table. Her palm rests flat by the page. An older dried stroke sits sharp. A fresh wet stroke beside it still glistens. A faint smear marks the paint box rim. A dark ring sits at the cup bottom. A cardboard tube from a paper towel rests by the jar.

The tube rolls a little and nudges the brush on the rim. A hanging drop slips into the pan. “It does not paint,” the sibling says. Noemi looks at the bristles.

Noemi dips the brush in the cup. She touches a blue pan. She lifts the tip to the page. A short wet stroke meets the old one in the middle. Together, the two lines make a letter T. The gap is gone. The aunt lifts the cup and rounds the drying rack.

年長的手足輕敲紙張。乾的畫筆不留痕。又按一次。淡淡的一條線開始，然後在中間斷開。阿姨在洗筆杯邊沖洗畫筆。靠近布上有潮紙的氣味。

Noemi 伏在光滑的桌面上。她的手掌平放在紙邊。一筆舊的乾色邊緣清楚。旁邊一筆新的濕色還在發亮。顏料盒邊緣有一小道淡淡的髒色。杯底有一圈較深的沉色。一個用完的紙巾紙管靠在刷具罐旁。

紙管微微一滾，頂了一下架在盒邊的畫筆。掛著的水滴滑進色盤裡。「它畫不出來，」手足說。Noemi 看著筆毛。

Noemi 把畫筆沾進杯水。她碰一下藍色的色盤。她把筆尖提到紙上。一筆短短的濕線在中間接到舊線。兩條線合起來變成一個字母 T。空隙不見了。阿姨端起杯子，繞過晾畫架走開。