Indigo Cloth and the Frog at the Rinsing Basin - 適合中高級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

Ian slid a clothespin along the line; the span between two knots held nothing but thin air.

He lifted the top square from the folded stack and checked the edge for loose threads. His parent, Freya, set a stone mortar beside the tub, its rim dusted blue from crushed leaves. The dye lay still and dark, a flat surface with a cool sheen like shaded glass. Beyond the fence, the hillside rose in pale steps, where ribbons waited for a small ceremony later. Ian dipped the square, and damp weight tugged his wrists, while tiny bubbles clung and would not release. He tried to tackle with the wooden tongs, pressing the last bubble along the fold toward the edge. "It's deeper than it looks," Freya said, holding the rinsing basin steady with one hand.

A sudden clack came from the garden gate as a young goat nosed the latch and swung it inward. Ian raised his hands from the dye and jogged across the stones to swing the gate closed. The goat blinked, turned down the path, and small pebbles slid in a thin line beside its hooves. Water in the basin barely moved, but sunlight shifted, and the dipped cloth darkened along its cooling creases. He came back, lifted the wet square free, and a small frog slid from under the bench into the basin. Ripples spread; a water strider shot across the surface, its thin legs leaving V-shaped lines toward the drain. The wake nudged a floating petal, and it drifted until it rested like a cap on the outlet.

Ian leaned, keeping the dyed piece high, and hooked the petal’s edge with two fingers before it sealed. Freya reached without haste and lifted it clear with the tongs, setting it on a pale board to dry. He eased the dyed cloth into the clear water, where air turned it bluer with each breath above the surface. The earlier emptiness on the line now held a dark square, uneven at one corner from the goat’s brief delay. "That edge has a tide-mark," Ian said, and he set a pin sideways to keep the crease from drifting. He stepped back to the bench, wiping his fingers on a cool towel by the mortar. Blue drops tapped from the hem onto the basin rim while the wire line swung in a narrow arc.

伊恩沿著曬衣繩滑動一個夾子；兩個結之間的空檔只有薄薄的空氣。

他從摺好的布堆上拿起最上面的方布，檢查邊緣有沒有散線。他的家長芙蕾雅把一只石臼放在槽邊，臼口沾著被搗碎葉子留下的藍粉。染液靜靜又深暗，表面平整，帶著像陰影玻璃般的冷亮。柵欄外，山坡一層層淡色地往上抬，緞帶擺在那裡，準備稍後的小儀式。伊恩把布浸下去，潮濕的重量拉著他的手腕，細小氣泡緊貼著不願鬆開。他試著用木夾子來處理，把最後一顆氣泡沿著摺痕往邊上推。「看起來沒那麼深，實際更深呢。」芙蕾雅一手扶著清洗盆讓它穩住說。

花園門忽然一聲喀噠，一隻小山羊用鼻子頂了門閂，把門往內推開。伊恩把手從染液裡抬起，踏著石地小跑過去，把門掩上。小山羊眨了眨眼，沿著小徑轉走，蹄邊細細一串小石子滑了下去。盆裡的水幾乎沒動，不過陽光換了角度，浸過的布沿著冷卻的摺痕變深。他回到槽邊，把濕布提起，一隻小青蛙從長凳下面滑進了盆裡。漣漪擴散開去；一隻水黽在水面疾走，細長的腳拖出朝排水口去的V字水紋。牠的尾流推了推一片浮著的花瓣，花瓣飄著飄著，最後像蓋子一樣停在出水口上。

伊恩身子探前，把染好的布舉高，用兩根手指勾住花瓣邊緣，趕在它完全蓋住之前。芙蕾雅不慌不忙地用夾子把花瓣撈起，放到一塊淺色板上晾乾。他把染布輕放進清水，布在水面上每一次接觸空氣，都更藍一些。先前曬衣繩上的空位，現在掛著一塊深色方布；角上一點不平，是被那隻山羊耽擱的痕跡。「這邊緣像留了一道潮線。」伊恩說，然後把夾子側著夾上，讓那道摺痕別再移動。他退回長凳旁，在石臼邊那條清涼的毛巾上抹了抹手指。藍色水滴從布邊滴答到盆緣，鋼絲曬繩在狹窄的弧線裡來回擺動。