Wooden Egg and a Tipping Basket in the Henhouse - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

Hollis carried an empty basket and followed Dana to the henhouse yard.

Dana pushed the wooden door, and it swung back on its metal hinge. Warm air met the straw's dry rustle, and a sweet hay smell hung low. The perch bar felt smooth under his fingers, with tiny dents from old claws. Dust drifted in thin rays, and a loose feather turned once and fell. Beyond the wire fence, a small glen dipped between two quiet green hills.

Hollis tipped a tin scoop, and grain sprinkled out in a slow arc. Kernels bounced, then mingled with straw where calm feet scratched and soft beaks tapped. He reached into a box and lifted an egg; warmth infused his palm. Tiny bumps patterned the shell; he turned it, close to the basket's rim. The neat dots could fascinate anyone; his shoulders went still and his eyes widened. A soft wing brushed the handle, and the basket tipped to one side. The egg rolled; straw slowed it, and Dana steadied the basket with her palm. Hollis reached to the next nest and lifted another, smooth and pale. It felt cool and heavy; a gentle tap made a quiet wooden knock. Dana weighed it, then smiled and set it back into a ring of straw. Hollis pressed more straw around the ring until the curve made a steady cradle. By the trough, water rippled as beaks dipped, then spread in small circles. A hen lowered her body into straw, and the box thumped softly. He tucked the warm egg in the basket, and Dana slid the latch closed.

Hollis 提著一個空籃子，跟在 Dana 往雞舍的院子走去。

Dana 推開木門，門在金屬鉸鏈上向後一擺。暖空氣碰上稻草乾乾的沙沙聲，甜甜的乾草味飄在低處的空氣裡。棲木在他指下摸起來很滑順，上面留著舊爪子的小凹痕。細塵在細長的光束中飄著，一片鬆散的羽毛轉了一圈就落下。鐵絲圍欄外有一座小山谷，落在兩個靜靜的綠丘之間。

Hollis 把錫製勺子一傾，穀粒在慢慢的弧線中灑落。顆粒彈了一下，然後和稻草混在一起，旁邊安穩的腳抓地、柔軟的喙輕輕點著。他伸手進巢箱捧起一顆蛋；溫熱透進他的手心。殼上佈滿細小的顆粒；他把它轉了轉，靠近籃子的邊緣。這些整齊的小點足以讓任何人著迷；他的肩膀停住，眼睛張大。一片柔軟的翅膀輕擦過把手，籃子向一側歪過去。那顆蛋滾動起來；稻草把它慢了下來，Dana 用手掌扶住了籃子。Hollis 又伸向隔壁的巢，捧起另一顆，光滑而蒼白。它摸起來又涼又重；輕輕一敲，發出安靜的木頭聲。Dana 掂了掂，笑了一下，然後把它放回一圈稻草裡。Hollis 又把稻草壓緊在那一圈周圍，直到彎度變成一個穩穩的搖籃。水槽旁，喙尖一沾水，水面起了波紋，接著擴成小小的圓。一隻母雞把身子往稻草裡放低，巢箱輕輕一聲悶響。他把那顆溫熱的蛋安放進籃子，Dana 把門閂滑動到位。