The Coin That Rocked in the Fountain - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

Three wide steps lay between the low bench and the stone rim of the fountain. York sat on the middle step, and Keane knelt beside him, elbows resting an arm-length from the water. A thin crescent of sunlight touched the rim, warming the gray stone enough to prickle Keane’s fingertips. The gentle chat of falling water filled the square, its cool mist brushing York’s forearm in short, damp bursts.

Keane pressed a warm coin against the stone, then slid it into a shallow niche where droplets gathered and hissed faintly as the metal cooled. Curious, he lifted a shaded pebble; its surface felt almost cold against his palm. He turned it over, let his breath heat the smoother side, and dropped it beside the coin. A quick silver flash broke the mirror surface as a small fish floundered near the basin floor, tilting the coin so it rocked in slow circles. York, once a patient mentor at the town pottery, watched without a word. Keane found a dry leaf bent like a thin crescent, cupped it between both hands until the brown skin softened from his warmth, and let the leaf float. Sunlight slid across the water, and a cloud shifted, cooling the rim so a line of condensation formed along the edge. Ripples spread from the spot. The warm coin rolls along the basin floor and glints as fresh ripples climb.

長椅與石製噴泉邊緣之間隔著三階寬闊的臺階。約克坐在中間那階，基恩跪在他旁邊，手肘離水面只是一臂之遙。一道細弦月形的陽光照在邊緣，把灰色石頭烤得微熱，讓基恩的指尖略感刺癢。落水聲像細語般充滿廣場，涼爽的水霧一陣陣拍在約克的前臂上。

基恩把一枚被太陽曬暖的硬幣壓在石頭上，再推進積著水珠的淺凹裡，金屬遇冷發出輕微的嘶聲。他撿起一顆待在陰影裡的鵝卵石；石面貼在掌心幾乎帶著冰意。他翻轉石子，用呼氣溫熱較光滑的一面，接著把它丟到硬幣旁。水面閃過一道銀色光影，一條細魚在盆底掙扎，碰到硬幣，硬幣便緩緩晃動。曾在鎮上陶坊耐心指導後輩的約克靜靜看著。基恩又找來一片乾葉，形如細弦月，雙手合起，讓體溫把葉面烘得柔軟，再把葉片放入水中。陽光滑過水面，雲層移動，邊緣便冷卻，沿邊凝結出一線水珠。漣漪由那一點擴散。那枚暖過的硬幣在盆底滾動，隨著新生的波紋閃光。