Ribbon and the Falling Fish- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Mira balanced a cardboard box on her left palm while steering her scooter with the other hand. Inside rested a small round cake; blue icing showed ripples, a sugar bridge arched across, and a plastic goldfish sat near the center as cake decoration. The cake had been baked that morning by her cousin. Rain had stopped moments earlier and wet leaves clung to the pavement. The afternoon air smelled of wet stone. A faint electric buzz from streetlights hovered above the road.

A gust struck as she turned onto the footbridge that crossed the drainage ditch. Wood planks rattled, and the scooter wobbled. She had negotiated uneven boards before, yet the wind now pushed sideways, while the rising slope pulled downward on the box. Mira bent her knees, pressed her elbow over the lid, and advanced slowly. An even stronger gust flipped the lid open; the goldfish decoration skated toward the edge of the frosting. Her free hand darted, missed, and the tiny figure slid off. Ribbon that had wrapped the box whipped forward, curled around the fish, and lifted it back like a swinging cradle. Children at the playground paused, then broke into a unanimous cheer when the fish dropped neatly onto the icing again. Their lighthearted voices faded as Mira closed the lid, tightened the ribbon twice, and rolled away from the bridge. The box rested still on her palm, and the scooter wheels hummed over dry ground.

蜜拉用左手掌托著一個紙盒，另一隻手操控滑板車。盒內放著一個小圓蛋糕；藍色糖霜呈波紋狀，一座糖橋橫跨其上，塑膠金魚安坐中央作為蛋糕裝飾。那蛋糕是堂姐今天早上烤好的。雨剛停不久，溼葉黏在柏油路面上。午後空氣帶著濕石味。路燈傳來微弱的電流嗡嗡聲。

一陣強風在她轉上跨排水溝的木橋時襲來，木板顫動，滑板車搖晃。她以前曾跨過不平的木板，但此刻風側吹，而上升的坡面又把紙盒往下拉。蜜拉屈膝，用手肘壓住盒蓋，慢慢前進。更強的陣風掀起盒蓋；金魚裝飾在糖霜上滑行，朝邊緣衝去。她伸手撲抓卻落空，小飾物滑了出去。纏在紙盒上的緞帶被風捲起，圈住那條魚，像搖籃般把它盪回原位。遊樂場的孩子們停下來，隨後一起歡呼。那輕快的笑聲漸漸遠去，蜜拉闔上盒蓋，把緞帶多繞兩圈，從橋上滑出。紙盒在她掌心安穩停著，滑板車輪在乾燥地面上發出嗡嗡聲。