Hedgehog on the Night Plank- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Moonlight spilled between the fence boards and lay in silver strips across the garden. Cool air carried a faint smell of damp earth. A mild rustle moved through reeds beside the shed. A small hedgehog, spikes glinting, nosed a rare pale berry. The fruit had rolled from a picnic plate earlier that day. The berry has been carried halfway across the yard. Each push sends it toward a hollow under the compost heap. The narrow plank that linked two flower beds offered the quickest route. However, an overturned bucket, set beside the plank, formed an observation ledge for a ginger cat. The cat’s tail twitched above the rim, unseen by the hedgehog still climbing onto the wood.

A sudden scrape of claws sounded; the hedgehog froze too late. The cat sprang, the plank bounced, and the berry slipped into a puddle below. Water splashed, soaking the cat’s paws; the hunter sprang back, fur standing along its spine. The falling berry marked a clear setback. The hedgehog slid from the plank, rolled once, and splashed after its prize. The fruit floated, bobbing like a tiny boat. With steady snout pushes, the hedgehog guided it to the bank that ran beside the compost heap. The berry rested in the dark entrance, but a crack along its skin revealed a hollow center. Its sweetness was already gone, leaving only a rind. The small mystery of its missing juice remained. The hedgehog settled inside the burrow, and the garden grew still.

月光穿過籬笆縫隙，在花園裡鋪成一道道銀白條紋。涼爽的空氣帶著潮濕泥土的氣味，棚屋旁的蘆葦輕輕沙沙作響。一隻小刺蝟，背刺閃著光，推著一顆罕見的淡色漿果。它已把漿果一路推過半個院子，每一下都將果實送向堆肥堆下方的洞口。連接兩片花壇的窄木板看來最快。木板旁倒著一個水桶，正好成了橘貓的觀察臺。貓尾在桶邊抖動，刺蝟還在爬上木板，沒注意到這一幕。

利爪在木板上突然一抓，聲音響起；刺蝟反應已慢半拍。貓躍起，木板一晃，漿果掉入下方水窪。水花濺起，弄濕了貓爪，牠弓起脊背退到籬笆邊。掉落的漿果帶來明顯挫折，刺蝟卻滑下木板，翻身，一頭扎進水窪追向目標。果實漂浮著，像艘小船起伏。刺蝟用鼻尖穩穩推著，將它送到堆肥堆旁的岸邊。漿果停在黑暗入口，裂縫露出中空的果心，只剩外皮。那份果汁消失的謎仍在，刺蝟鑽進洞中，花園再次安靜。