Tilted Jar, Scattered Dust- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Dried jasmine and old dust mixed in the still cellar air. A small mouse nosed between a barrel and a crate, sniffing toward the loose grain that lay near the stone wall. Each step pressed faint tracks through the grey powder scattered across the floor. Above him, a lantern hung from a beam; it had hung there for years, and tonight weak flame trembled inside its cracked glass. The flame shone through a cloudy jar on the highest shelf, so the light refracted and broke into pale stripes that crawled over the steps. Farther back, a nightingale that had slipped through a broken vent fluttered against a cobweb, shaking loose threads without finding an exit. Both the mouse and the shifting stripes moved in separate rhythms, unaware of each other.

When the mouse climbed the first step, his tail bumped the shelf. The jar slid a finger’s width and tilted. Light that had only grazed the floor now struck the jar’s curve, bounced toward the ceiling, and flashed into the nightingale’s eyes. Wings beat hard, sending a shower of dust motes upward; the bright motes caught the redirected beam and turned into a glittering cone. The sudden glare washed over the mouse, so he froze, whiskers flat. An opportunity opened when the jar’s new angle turned the step below the barrel into a deep shadow. To achieve cover, he dived there instead of returning to the open floor. The bird, freed by the burst of force, glided lower and landed on the crate, its chest heaving. With the lantern still burning, the beam continued to pulse through the slanted jar, and fine motes kept drifting. A half-eaten grain and a loose feather lay side by side inside the moving stripes.

乾茉莉與陳年灰塵的味道充滿了陰涼的地窖。 一隻小老鼠在桶和木箱之間鑽動，嗅向靠近石牆的散落穀粒。 牠每踏一步，都在滿地的灰粉上壓出淡淡的痕跡。 頭頂上一盞掛在橫梁上的提燈晃動；多年來它一直懸在那裡，今晚裂紋玻璃中的微弱火焰顫抖著。 火光穿過最高層架上一只混濁的罐子，折射成一條條蒼白光帶，慢慢爬過台階。 更遠處，一隻從破氣孔鑽進來的夜鶯拍打著蛛網，抖落細絲，仍找不到出口。 老鼠與移動的光帶各自以不同節奏活動，彼此全然不知。

當老鼠踩上第一階石梯時，牠的尾巴碰到層架。 罐子滑動了一指寬並傾斜。 先前只掠過地面的光線此刻擊中罐壁，反射向天花板，又射進夜鶯的雙眼。 翅膀用力拍擊，揚起一陣灰塵微粒；閃亮的微粒捕捉到改變方向的光束，化成一支閃爍光錐。 猛然湧出的耀斑掠過老鼠，牠僵住，觸鬚貼平。 罐子新角度在桶下投出更深的陰影，於是出現了可供老鼠躲藏的空隙。 為了達到遮蔽，牠一躍鑽入那片陰影，沒有回到開闊地面。 被衝擊鬆脫的鳥兒滑翔下降，落在木箱上，胸口急促起伏。 提燈仍在燃燒，光束持續經傾斜的罐子脈動，細微塵粒不停漂移。 半粒被咬過的穀物與一根松散的羽毛並排躺在移動的光帶裡。