When the Cap Spilled Color- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Hot tar mixed with lemon cleaner drifted across the wide rooftop. A black crow landed near a shallow tray where bright paint still glimmered. An artist had worked there earlier, leaving cardboard sheets and scattered brushes behind. Patient brush marks striped the bricks, part of a mural about gratitude. The crow tilted its head and hopped nearer to explore a small blue plastic cap. A sudden gust rolled the cap toward the edge, dragging it across gravel. Gravel rasped under the cap, and the crow lunged, grasping it between its beak. Wind pressed against the bird’s wings, tilting its balance toward open air. The crow flapped once and dropped the cap beside the shimmering tray.

The cap rocked, leaving a narrow blue streak along the tray’s rim. The bird stepped nearer; its claws tapped on metal and the cap tipped, releasing paint. Blue drops dotted the gravel like tiny seeds. A passing breeze rippled the surface and spattered new dots across the fresh stripes. Far below, traffic hummed while late sunlight winked from distant windows. The crow returned, slid the cap through a deeper puddle, and stamped again. Each print darkened the bricks, forming a rough ribbon beside the mural. Another gust rose and pushed the wet cap toward the drain. The crow pressed one foot over the cap until the wind passed. Then it nudged the cap into line with five earlier marks. The bird lifted its beak clear of paint at last. It hopped back once, leaving six bright stamps drying in a neat row.

熱柏油混著檸檬清潔劑的味道飄過寬闊的屋頂。一隻黑鴉在一只淺漆盤旁降落，盤中亮彩仍微微發光。稍早，一位畫家曾在此工作，留下紙板和散落的筆刷。耐心的筆觸在磚牆上拉出條紋，那幅壁畫描繪的是感恩。烏鴉歪頭，跳近去探索一個藍色的塑膠瓶蓋。忽然一陣風把瓶蓋捲向邊緣，拖著它滑過礫石。礫石在瓶蓋下磨擦作響，烏鴉猛地前衝，用喙夾住它。風推著鳥翼，把身體向外空傾斜。烏鴉猛拍一下翅膀，把瓶蓋丟在閃亮的漆盤旁。

瓶蓋搖晃，在盤邊留下窄窄的藍痕。鳥兒再度靠近；爪子敲著金屬，瓶蓋傾倒，漆料流出。藍色點滴像細小種子灑滿礫石。微風掠過漆面，把新點滴濺到新鮮條紋上。遠處車流低鳴，夕陽晚光在遠方窗戶一閃一閃。烏鴉回來，把瓶蓋滑進更深的漆窪，再次踩印。每一次印記都讓磚面變暗，在壁畫旁排成粗糙帶狀。又一陣風起，把濕瓶蓋推向排水口。烏鴉用一隻腳壓住瓶蓋直到風停。接著它把瓶蓋排進先前的五道印痕。鳥喙終於離開漆面。它向後跳一步，讓六道亮彩印記整齊地在磚面上風乾。