The Stone That Wouldn’t Stay Still- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Six flat stones ran along the rim of the fountain, leaving a finger-wide crack between the third and fourth piece. Bram knelt beside that gap at midday, a tin of dry sand on the bench while a speckled pigeon bobbed nearby. He pinched the tin and tried to pour sand into the crack. The grains sifted through his fingers, then slid down the sloped edge and sprinkled into the moving water below. Spray from the nearest jet leapt back and scattered the pile further, so the gap still yawned. Behind him, laughter bounced off the paving, then faded under the splash. Sunlight flashed through the spray, colouring the mist with pale gold. The sand had spilled from a paper pouch that once carried thyme seeds he planned to sow later in the courtyard. He dug with the closed blades of his small scissors, yet the dry stream kept rolling away.

Bram wiped his dusty palms, then noticed darker patches where mist clung to the rim; wet grains stayed in place instead of falling. The pigeon tilted its head, watching. He held the tin under the arc of the jet just long enough for the surface sand to darken and clump. Most of the stack beneath stayed loose. With one motion he flipped the tin toward the crack. The damp crust slid out first and wedged neatly inside, its weight now too solid to roll away. The rest burst after it, but the sudden wave of grains splashed over the bench and coated his folded scarf in gritty sludge. He pressed the new plug with the flat side of the scissors. The stone above the crack quivered again, untouched by all his work.

噴泉邊的石緣排著六塊平石，中間第三與第四塊間留出一指寬的裂縫。布拉姆在正午時跪在縫旁，長椅上放著一罐乾沙，一隻斑點鴿子在不遠處點頭踱步。他捏起錫罐，想把沙子倒進裂縫。沙粒從他指間篩落，沿著斜邊滑下，最後灑進流動的水裡。最近的水柱濺起的水花又把小堆沙衝散，裂縫依舊張著。身後傳來短促的笑聲，在鋪石地彈跳幾下，又被水聲掩去。陽光穿過水霧閃耀，把薄霧染成淡金。這些沙原本裝在一只紙袋裡，那袋子曾經放著他打算稍後要播種的百里香種子。他用小剪刀閉合的刀刃往裡掘，可乾沙仍滾走。

布拉姆拍掉掌上的灰塵，注意到水霧沾濕邊緣的地方顏色變深；濕沙黏在那裡不再滑落。鴿子側頭看著。他把錫罐伸到水柱弧線下，只讓表層沙子變暗、結團。罐底的大部分沙仍然鬆散。他單手一翻，把罐口對準裂縫。潮濕的硬殼先滑出，整齊塞進縫裡，自身重量暫時固定。剩下的沙隨後衝出，猛然的沙浪濺到長椅上，將他摺好的圍巾染成砂泥。布拉姆拿剪刀平面壓緊新塞的沙團。裂縫上的石塊又輕輕顫動，彷彿他剛才的忙碌從未發生。