Milo Before the Garden Gate- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Milo balanced a light wooden plane in both hands while morning clouds drifted above the town square. He has practiced building small models for months. Today he wanted this one to reach the club room before the first bell. The wings, wrapped lovingly in clean cotton, trembled each time a sudden breeze cut through the market stalls. People stopped at stands that offered warm bread, leaving only a thin gap beside the fountain. Milo tried to slip through. A heavy basket swung in front of him and forced his foot onto a loose pebble. His knee bent, arms flailed, and the plane bumped against his chin.

He stepped back, breathed twice, then changed course toward a narrow alley which curved behind the library. The gate at the garden end was half closed. Its latch lifted when he nudged it with an elbow. Soft grass cushioned his shoes, and quiet settled around the plane. Near the club window, a column of warm air rose from sun-lit stone. Milo loosened the cotton, raised the model, and a sudden thrill bent his legs into a springy jump. He released it tenderly. Instead of falling, the plane sailed upward, glided through the open window, and landed on the teacher’s desk. Inside, voices rose in fast laughter. Milo pressed both palms on the sill, breathing out as the wings rested unbroken. Sunlight touched the wooden propeller, and it twitched once in the warm air.

米洛雙手托著一架輕巧的木製飛機，早晨的雲層漂在鎮廣場上空。他已經練習製作小型模型好幾個月。今天，他想在第一聲上課鐘響前，把這架飛機帶到社團教室。機翼被潔白棉布溫柔包起，每當突然的微風穿過市集攤位時就輕輕顫動。人們停在賣熱麵包的攤子前，只剩噴泉旁狹窄的縫隙。米洛試著擠過去。一個沉甸甸的籃子擺到他面前，迫使他的腳踩到鬆動的小石子。他的膝蓋一彎，手臂亂揮，飛機撞上了下巴。

他退後兩步，深呼吸兩次，然後改走圖書館後方蜿蜒的小巷。花園盡頭的鐵門半掩，他用手肘一碰，插銷便抬起。柔軟的草地墊住鞋底，四周靜了下來。社團窗戶旁，陽光曬熱的石面送出一股上升暖流。米洛解開棉布，抬起模型，一陣突然的興奮讓他膝蓋微蹲。他溫柔地放手。飛機沒有下墜，而是向上滑行，穿過敞開的窗口，停在老師的桌上。室內立刻爆出快活的笑聲。米洛把雙掌貼在窗台上，吐出一口氣，看著機翼完好無缺地靜靜停在木質桌面上，陽光照在螺旋槳上，使它在暖空氣中輕輕動了一下。