The Foam That Escaped- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Marcos lifted his small camera toward the tall giraffe beside the zoo pond. The young photographer has waited all morning for the animal to lower its long head, which now drifted closer to the water. Late sunlight shimmered on the pond, and damp straw carried a sweet smell. He shuffled back to frame the perfect shot; his heel pressed a coiled green hose anchored to a short metal post. At once, the blocked hose bulged. A sudden jet burst free, spraying across the path and slapping a plastic bucket full of soapy water left by a cleaner.

The bucket wobbled, tipped, and a sheet of pale foam slid downhill over the warm concrete. The flowing mix pushed fallen leaves ahead of it, and the movement startled the giraffe, whose front hooves splashed into the pond. The splash reached a row of feed pellets lying near the fence; the pellets drifted forward like tiny boats until they brushed the polished shoes of the zoo director standing nearby. Lena, who had sketched quietly until now, braced a wooden broom across the path. The broom formed a narrow barrier, and most of the water curved away into a drain. A thin stream of foam continued to wind around the broom toward the empty drain.

馬可斯把小相機舉向動物園池邊那隻高大的長頸鹿。這位年輕的攝影師整個早上都在等待，想拍下動物低頭喝水的瞬間，而此刻長頸鹿的頭正慢慢靠近水面。午後陽光在池水上閃爍，微濕的稻草帶著淡淡甜味。他為了取景向後小碎步，腳跟踩到一條盤成圈的綠色水管；那條水管被固定在矮金屬柱上。水管被堵住後馬上鼓脹，一股水柱突然噴出，越過小徑撞翻清潔工留下的肥皂水桶。

桶子搖晃後傾倒，一片淡白泡沫順著溫熱的水泥坡面滑下。流動的混合物推著落葉，這動靜驚到長頸鹿，牠的前蹄濺起池水。水花潑到柵欄旁一排飼料顆粒，那些顆粒像小船般漂移，直到碰到站在附近的動物園園長擦得發亮的皮鞋。一直安靜素描的莉娜此時把木掃把橫在路面，形成一道窄障壁，大部分水流便轉向排水口。仍有一條細細的泡沫水流沿著掃把繞行，繼續朝空排水口蜿蜒。