Celery and Blue Water: A Leaf Shows a Pinwheel - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

Every hour that morning, Nell climbed onto her stool by the kitchen window.

A fresh stalk of celery stood in a clear glass of blue water.

Its cut end rested on the bottom, and a wet towel ringed the base.

Harriet stayed beside her with one hand near the glass.

She held a warm mug in the other hand.

Cool glass dampened Nell's palm, and the clock ticked softly on the wall.

Outside, an immense sky sat over the roofs and poured pale light inside.

Nell watched for the color's departure from the glass into the stalk.

Two small bubbles glided along the side and popped at the surface.

She placed a paper pinwheel on the sill and gave its blades one flip.

Its quick spin made a round shimmer in the glass, then slowed to stillness.

By lunch, thin blue lines entered the lowest ridges and rested like quiet threads.

They were hard to see, so Nell bent until her eyes met counter level.

Harriet held the base steady while Nell slid the glass a finger-width toward light.

The lines showed more clearly, and a higher ridge suddenly carried a pale stripe.

The middle looked plain, yet a leaf near the top showed a tiny fan of blue.

It turned around a center like a small pinwheel, unexpected and bright.

Nell's shoulders lifted, and her breath sat still for a tick of the clock.

She kept watching, elbows on the counter, while the slow climb continued.

The towel left a cool mark on her sleeve, and the paper pinwheel lay quiet.

When the hour hand moved again, a fresh blue thread crossed the leaf and climbed.

那天早上每隔一小時，Nell 就爬上廚房窗邊的椅凳。

一根新鮮的芹菜立在一個裝著藍色清水的透明玻璃杯裡。

切口貼著杯底，杯底周圍墊著一圈濕紙巾。

Harriet 待在她身旁，一隻手靠近玻璃杯。

另一隻手端著一個溫熱的杯子。

冰涼的玻璃弄濕了 Nell 的手心，牆上的時鐘輕輕作響。

窗外遼闊的天空在屋頂上方鋪開，把淡淡的光灑進來。

Nell 盯著看，等著顏色離開杯中的那一刻，進到莖裡。

兩個小氣泡沿著杯壁滑上去，到了水面就破了。

她把一支紙風車放到窗台上，輕輕一撥那幾片扇葉。

它飛快轉了一圈，玻璃裡出現圓圓的反光，然後慢慢停住。

到了中午，最底下的紋路出現了細細的藍線，像安靜的線頭躺著。

很難看清，所以 Nell 彎下身，讓眼睛和檯面在同一高度。

Harriet 按住杯底，Nell 把杯子朝著光滑動一個指寬。

那些線更清楚了，更高的一道紋路忽然帶著一條淡線。

中段還看不出變化，但靠上的一片葉子露出小小的藍色扇面。

它圍著一個中心轉開，像一個小小的紙風車，出乎意料又清亮。

Nell 的肩膀抬了一下，她的呼吸在時鐘滴答間停住片刻。

她繼續看著，手肘撐在檯面上，緩慢的上行沒有停。

紙巾在她袖子上留下涼涼的一片痕跡，旁邊的紙風車安靜地躺著。

當時針再移動一格時，一道新的藍線越過葉片，又往上爬。