Mud Mark Under the Gate, Bird Flies - 適合初學者的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

In the back garden, damp earth smells near the flower bed. Lena stands by the fence. Her toes press dry dirt. She looks through the knothole. The wood rim shows tiny splinters. Older musty lines sit on the lower lip. It is dark inside. Soft creaks rise from the bush.

She walks to the closed gate. A mild stripe of sunlight sits under it. Lena bends and looks through the gap. She finds a simple muddy mark on the path beyond. Older prints near it dry lighter. A small puddle edge draws inward. "I hang the sheet now," an aunt at the laundry line says nearby. A clothespin rests in the wet grass.

She steps to the bush and peers through dry branch spaces. The long brown bean pod hangs beside the flat papery wisteria pod. A bird perches above the wisteria pod. Its dark eye blinks once. The bird lifts and skims over the fence.

在後院的小花園裡，靠近花圃傳來潮土的氣味。Lena 站在木欄旁。她的腳趾壓在乾土上。她從節孔往裡看。木圈有細小的木刺。較舊的霉土紋停在下緣。裡面很暗。灌木叢傳來輕微的吱呀聲。

她走到關著的門前。門底下有一道溫和的日光帶。Lena 微微彎下，從縫隙看過去。她找到路那邊一個簡單的泥痕。旁邊較舊的鞋印變得較淺。小水窪的邊緣慢慢往內縮。「我現在把床單掛上，」在曬衣繩旁的一位阿姨在附近說。一個衣夾躺在濕草上。

她走到灌木旁，從乾枝的縫間往裡看。長長的棕色豆莢掛在扁薄的紫藤莢旁邊。紫藤莢上方停著一隻鳥。牠的黑眼眨了一下。那隻鳥抬起身，掠過圍籬飛走。