Wood and Moss- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

The afternoon sun slid behind the high mountain ridge. A young marmot dragged a mouthful of dry grass toward its burrow. A long blue shadow flowed downhill like water. When that shadow touched the stone door of the den, the air would freeze. The grass inside the marmot's jaws would then stiffen hard. Thin sunlight met the pale rock and produced a soft warmth against the marmot's whiskers. The marmot hurried across a flat shelf sprinkled with countless pebble chips from winter frost. Wind gusts added new challenges by pushing loose grass strands out of its jaws. Ahead, a recent rockfall formed a jagged wall. A broad slab blocked the usual tunnel under the ledge, turning the simple trip into a race.

The shadow crawled farther, touching the first scratch marks on the shelf and dimming their color. Two distinct routes across the rockfall remained clearly visible. A robust fallen trunk leaned against the rockfall on the left. Climbing it offered a quick passage over the barrier but left no cover beneath open sky. On the right, a longer tunnel of thorny shrubs dipped below the stones. It looked thick enough to block wind yet demanded several slow turns. The marmot broke into a leap toward the trunk. Tiny claws gripped the rough bark; grass slips fluttered away, lost to the drop below. Halfway across, the animal paused at a split in the wood. Inside it found a green moss cushion—a discovery smelling of water from thawed snow. It stuffed a fresh bite into its cheek, then scrambled down the other side. The shadow reached the stone door just as the marmot slid the remaining grass inside the entrance. A single blade lay caught on the trunk, bending in the cooling air.

午後的陽光越過高高的山脊。年輕的旱獺嘴裡叼著一口乾草，往巢穴拖去。藍色的長影像水般順坡滑下；當長影碰到洞口的石門，空氣就會冰冷，牠嘴裡的草也會變硬。細薄的陽光打在蒼白的岩面上，帶來柔和的暖意，輕觸牠的鬍鬚。旱獺急忙穿過鋪滿無數碎石的平臺，疾風把草絲從牠嘴邊吹得亂飄。前方，最近的落石形成鋸齒狀的牆，寬大的石板堵住往常可走的低洞，平常的小路瞬間變成一場競速。

影子爬得更遠，覆上岩層上的刮痕，顏色被壓暗。岩石堆上清晰可見兩條路：左邊，一根結實的倒木靠在石堆上，爬過去能迅速翻越障礙，但上方毫無遮蔽；右邊，一條荊棘密布的較長通道鑽進石縫，看來能擋風，卻得繞多次彎。旱獺朝倒木一躍而去，小爪緊抓粗糙樹皮，草屑飄落，掉進下方深處。走到一半，牠在裂木處停下，裡面藏著一團青綠苔蘚，帶著融雪的清涼氣味。牠咬下一口塞進頰囊，然後溜下另一側。影子抵達石門時，牠已把剩餘的草推進洞口。倒木上卡著一根孤零零的草葉，在漸冷的空氣中輕輕彎曲。