The Roll After the Flour Burst- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

Dry wheat dust pricked Corbin’s nostrils as he knotted a fresh flour bag on the packing table, where the scale stood on an iron base shaped like an octagon. The main shaft above growled in a heartfelt rhythm, and each pulse sent a pale cloud spiralling from the chute; the swirl looked like quiet sorcery before it drifted down on every surface. He had already tied four bags, yet the hopper’s exuberance kept the cloth bulging, so he slid the full sack aside and nudged an empty one beneath the chute. A sudden gust outside quickened the sails, the vat rattled, and the cloth chute jumped off-centre, throwing a thin stream beside the waiting bag.

Before Corbin could realign it, a sparrow darted through the half-open door and thrashed toward the grain store corner. Wings beat against hanging sacks, sending dandelion-light bursts of flour into the air. Corbin hurried after the bird; wooden stairs vibrated under his boots as he steered it back into daylight. When he returned moments later, the scale’s pan had been jostled; the octagonal base now sat at a slight angle, and the half-filled bag leaned against a brass weight. The cloth chute, still off-centre, poured a thin ridge of warm flour along the table edge.

He eased the bag upright, but its movement nudged the brass weight. The weight rolled, struck a tin oil can, and the can tipped—three drops slid across the smooth boards toward the stair lip. Corbin wedged the broom head in their path, and the oil gathered in a tiny pool instead of reaching the lower gear. Flour continued to sift, softer now, coating the makeshift barrier like frost on winter straw. Outside the tower, a broad sail dipped once more and carried the mill’s steady groan across the distant ponds.

當科賓在包裝桌上綁緊新裝滿的麵粉袋時，乾燥的小麥粉塵刺進他的鼻孔。磅秤的鐵底座呈八角形，磨坊中央的垂直木軸以真摯的節奏轟鳴，每一次脈動都讓白色粉霧如靜靜的魔法般旋轉，最後落在每一個表面上。他已經綁了四袋，料斗仍熱情地跳動，布槽鼓脹著，他便把滿袋推到一邊，將空袋放到槽下。忽然外面的強風加速了風帆，石磨震動，布槽偏離中央，溫熱的麵粉細線落在空袋旁。

科賓還來不及調回布槽，一隻麻雀就衝進半開的門，在堆放穀袋的角落亂撞。拍擊的翅膀掀起蒲公英般輕盈的粉霧。科賓追趕麻雀，木樓梯在他靴下顫動，他終於把麻雀趕回日光下。片刻後回到桌前，他發現磅秤的盤面被碰歪，八角底座微微傾斜，半滿的袋子靠在一枚黃銅砝碼上。布槽仍偏著，溫暖的麵粉沿桌邊形成細脊。

他扶正袋子，袋子卻推動了砝碼。砝碼翻滾撞到錫油罐，油罐傾倒，三滴油沿光滑木板滑向樓梯口。科賓把掃帚頭卡在路上，油滴便在一小灘中聚集，沒有碰到下層齒輪。麵粉繼續更柔和地篩落，如霜覆草般覆在臨時障壁上。塔外，一面寬大的風帆再次下切，將磨坊穩定的轟鳴帶向遠方的池塘。