Mia Before the Evening Bell- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Mia stood in the classroom that afternoon, determined to prepare a winter-animals corner before the parents’ visit. She has collected pinecones, cardboard caves, and a faded poster during lunch. Yet the shelf that waited near the window still looked plain. Cotton from an old pillow lay beside her shoes. Much of it had already been glued to cardboard sheets, but plenty remained inside the torn fabric. She shook the pillow once, and light feathers floated like snow. The clock hands moved quickly, adding steady pressure. Then a sudden rustle came from the supply box. Pebble, the class hamster, burst out with surprising vigor, scattering beads and tiny twigs across the floor.

The unexpected visitor slid under the cotton drift, acting as if it wished to hibernate right there. Feathers were drifting everywhere, and Mia nearly slipped while chasing them. Time and mess now formed two separate walls in her path. Instead of grabbing the hamster again, she changed strategy. She shaped the loose cotton into a small hill that suggested deep hibernation. Then she placed Pebble beside it inside a clear plastic bin. The little animal curled into the nest, eyes half closed. With renewed energy, Mia rearranged the pinecones around the bin and added the cardboard caves. She carefully wiped stray glue from the shelf. The evening bell rang, and the quiet corner shimmered under soft feathers.

那天下午，米婭站在教室裡，打算在家長到來前布置一個冬季動物角。午休時她已經收集了松果、紙板洞穴和一張褪色的海報，但靠窗的架子看起來仍然空蕩。她腳邊放著一個舊枕頭裡的棉絮；有些棉絮先前已貼在紙板上，但破布裡還剩不少。她抖動枕頭，輕盈的羽絮像雪般飄散。鐘針快速移動，時間的壓力越來越明顯。忽然，材料箱裡傳出沙沙聲。一隻名叫 Pebble 的班級倉鼠衝了出來，精力十足地把珠子和細枝撒得滿地都是。

這位意外訪客鑽進棉絮堆，好像打算就地過冬。羽絮到處飛舞，米婭追趕時差點滑倒。時間與混亂此刻成了她面前的兩堵牆。她沒有再去抓倉鼠，而是改變方法。她把鬆散的棉絮堆成一座小丘，營造出冬眠的畫面，然後把 Pebble 放進透明塑膠箱並靠在小丘旁。小動物蜷進巢裡，半闔著眼。米婭重新排列松果，補上紙板洞穴，接著細心擦去架子上的餘膠。晚鐘響起，柔軟羽絮下的角落閃著靜靜光澤。