Basket Tips Under the Low Apple Branch - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

The wicker handle scratched across Clyde's palm, and the apple skin felt cool. Bethan set the wooden ladder at a resolute angle and kept a hand on its side. "It's firm on the grass," she said. A small tin mariner hung from Clyde's basket. It clicked against the weave when he lowered it by the trunk. He reached the low fruit with cautious hands and set each one in. The ground rose a little under one edge. The basket leaned and made the top apples slide toward the low side. He paused and built a neat row along the rim to balance them. Warm apple scent mixed with dry bark, and a faint rustle moved through the leaves overhead.

A green hopper rested on a twig near a heavy apple, and the twig bent. The branch made a slow, small seesaw while the hopper rocked with it. It sprang and landed on the basket rim, right beside a high apple. The tiny tap loosened that apple, so it rolled across the sloped stack. The whole basket wobbled. One apple slid down and tapped the trunk. A thin flake of bark dropped and showed a pale beetle gallery under it. "It looks like a river," Clyde said, holding the basket steady. The twig still swayed, and the hopper sprang off into the grass. He pushed two apples back toward the center and kept his wrist against the handle. The basket still leaned into the tufted grass, and a light smear from the bark marked his sleeve.

柳條提把在克萊德的手心上磨擦，蘋果皮摸起來冰涼。貝莎安把木梯立成一個穩妥的角度，並把一隻手放在側邊。她說：「放在草地上很穩。」克萊德的籃子上掛著一個小小的錫製水手吊飾。他把籃子放到樹幹旁時，吊飾在編織面上喀答作響。他用小心的雙手摘低處的果子，一個個放進去。地面在一邊微微隆起。籃子便向那邊傾斜，最上層的蘋果一起往低處滑。他停了一下，把邊緣擺成整齊的一排來平衡。溫暖的蘋果香和乾燥的樹皮味混在一起，葉片間傳來細細的沙沙聲。

一隻綠色的蚱蜢停在靠近沉重蘋果的細枝上，細枝向下彎。枝條慢慢地小幅上下，如同蹺蹺板，蚱蜢也跟著輕輕起伏。牠一彈，落在籃緣上，就在一顆高處的蘋果旁。那一下微小的碰觸鬆動了那顆蘋果，於是它沿著斜斜的堆疊滾動。整個籃子跟著一陣晃動。一顆蘋果滑下去，輕敲樹幹。薄薄一片樹皮掉落，露出下面淡色的蟲道。克萊德握著籃子說：「看起來像一條河。」那根細枝仍在搖，蚱蜢又彈進草叢裡。他把兩顆蘋果往中心推回去，手腕抵著提把。籃子依舊向著簇生的草叢傾著，他的袖子上留下一道被樹皮蹭出的淡痕。