The Dye Spill Beside the Fern Tile - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

Tatum slid a wide wooden tub of walnut dye across the floor, and the liquid inside rocked against the rim. Midday light crossed the grainy boards and painted copper lines on his boots while Lucia steadied a small glass bottle beside a funnel.

Tatum worked here as a volunteer, so he lifted the tub without complaint and tipped it. The viscous dye crawled down the funnel, its dark swirl slow and heavy. A pocket of air rose, then a sudden bubble burst; thick drops leapt over the rim and dripped onto a square clay tile that waited on a bench. A fern pattern lay pressed into that tile like a soft fossil, and the splatter raced along each groove, filling every vein with shining brown. Lucia’s eyes widened, and she whispered, "Look at that pattern," but the funnel still clogged. Pressure built, and a fresh ribbon overflowed, sliding toward a faded armchair in the corner.

Tatum jerked the funnel free, letting the dye gush back into the tub with a dull slap. His shoulders dropped as stain spread across the floorboards, yet he caught another motion below the armchair. A pale sprout had pushed through a crack, its stem trembling beside the fresh puddle. Sunlight touched the tender leaf, and the green seemed to grow while they watched. Lucia knelt, reached under the dusty fabric, and brushed the puddle away from the stem.

塔頓把一桶核桃染料推過地板，桶中液體隨著動作撞向桶緣。正午的陽光穿過高窗，在粗糙木板上畫出銅色線條，露西亞則在漏斗旁扶穩一只玻璃瓶。

塔頓是來幫忙的志工，因此他毫不抱怨地抬起桶並傾倒。黏稠的染料慢慢沿著漏斗滑下，深色漩渦沉重而緩慢。氣泡浮起，忽然爆裂；濃厚的滴珠越過漏斗邊緣，滴在一塊放在工作台上的黏土磚上。那磚面印著蕨類圖樣，如同柔軟化石，濺開的染料迅速填滿每條細脈。露西亞瞪大眼，用低聲說：「看那花紋。」然而漏斗仍阻塞。壓力上升，又一道染料溢出，滑向角落那張褪色的扶手椅。

塔頓猛地拔出漏斗，染料「啪」地一聲重回桶內。他的肩膀隨即放鬆，地板上的漬痕卻逐漸擴散，這時他在扶手椅下方捕捉到另一個動作。一株淺色嫩芽從裂縫中探出，細莖在新漬旁微微顫動。陽光照在柔嫩葉片上，綠意似乎正生長。他們注視著，露西亞跪下，伸手繞過沾灰布料，把染料漬推離小嫩芽。