After the Eggs Rolled- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

A small orange bulb above the coop door buzzed, painting the straw with dotted halos. Wade stepped inside carrying a shallow tray of stiff woven fabric. Patch, a speckled farm dog, waited outside; his leash rubbed the wooden step each time his tail swung. Wade’s goal was to slide the tray along the low perch and collect the late eggs before the hens climbed higher. The floor sloped, and the tray kept drifting sideways, so he braced it with one knee. Dust and tiny feathers lifted, drifting like a faint constellation under the buzzing light. He made painstaking circles from box to box, easing each warm egg into the tray. Beyond the wire, green fruit on the garden vines continued to ripen in the cooling air.

Wade slid the nearly full tray toward the door. A sudden flutter broke the rhythm; one curious hen hopped onto the tray’s edge. Her weight tipped it, and the eggs began to roll. At the same moment, Patch jerked the leash, bumping the door against Wade’s arm and pushing the tray farther. Eggs clinked together and threatened to spill. Wade pinched the far corner, twisted his wrist, and lowered the tray to the straw. Friction slowed the motion, yet one egg cracked with a dull pop. He breathed out, shifted his stance, and tucked extra straw around the remaining eggs before lifting them again, this time hugging the tray close to his chest. Inside the coop, wings folded and the scratching quieted. The orange bulb still hummed. Loose straw stopped shifting along the plank.

雞舍門上方的一顆橘色小燈泡嗡嗡作響，把稻草染成點點光暈。韋德抱著一只用硬質編織布做成的淺托盤走進來。斑點農犬帕奇在外面等著；牠的牽繩每當尾巴擺動就擦過木階。韋德的目標是把托盤沿著低棲木滑動，在母雞爬上高棲前收走晚出的蛋。地面有斜度，托盤總向旁邊溜，他只好用膝蓋頂住。灰塵和細羽被驚起，在嗡鳴的燈光下像暗淡的星團漂浮。他費心在巢箱間來回，小心把一顆顆溫熱的蛋放進托盤。鐵絲網外，園子裡的青果在漸涼的空氣中繼續轉熟。

韋德把幾乎裝滿的托盤滑向門口。猛然一陣拍翅打破節奏，一隻好奇的母雞跳到托盤邊緣。牠的重量使托盤傾斜，蛋開始滾動。此時，帕奇猛拉牽繩，門撞到韋德手臂，把托盤又推了一下。蛋互相碰撞，眼看就要灑落。韋德捏住遠角，扭腕把托盤放到稻草上。摩擦力減慢了動作，但仍有一顆蛋發出沉悶噗聲裂開。他吐了口氣，換個姿勢，在剩下的蛋旁多塞些稻草，然後把托盤緊貼胸口再次抱起。雞舍裡，翅膀合攏，扒地聲安靜下來。橘色燈泡依舊低鳴。鬆散的稻草停止在棧板上移動。