The Ball Bumps the Forked Stick - 適合初學者的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

A bright ball sits on a flat rock. A blue bike leans on a root. Cora kneels on the flat rock. Her palms press the cool stone. Grit pricks her skin. A pale water ring circles the spot. A mud dot sits on her wrist. The grandmother sits on the fallen log. Damp earth smells rich.

She rolls the ball to the edge. The water runs. Small bubbles rise by her thumb. The current nudges the ball away. It drifts toward the dark log gap.

Cora slides a forked stick in. She braces it against a pebble. A soft hum passes by her ear. She holds still. The grandmother says, "I see it by the stick."

The ball bumps the fork and stops. Cora lifts it to the rock. The mud dot stays on her wrist. The bike still leans by the root. A beetle clicks on the log.

一顆亮亮的球放在平坦的石頭上。一臺藍色的腳踏車靠在樹根上。Cora跪在平坦的石頭上。她的手掌按著冰涼的石面。細砂刺著她的皮膚。淡淡的水圈圍著那一小塊。她的手腕上有一個泥點。祖母坐在倒下的樹幹上。潮濕的土味很濃。

她把球滾到邊緣。水在流動。她拇指旁冒起小氣泡。水流推著球離開。它漂向樹幹下的暗縫。

Cora把一根叉形小枝伸進去。她把枝梗抵住一顆小石子。一陣輕輕的嗡聲從她耳邊掠過。她不動。祖母說：「我看到它在小枝旁。」

球碰到叉口就停住。Cora把它舉回石頭上。那個泥點還在她手腕上。腳踏車仍靠在樹根旁。一隻甲蟲在樹幹上發出喀喀聲。