Seeds That Wouldn’t Stay Still- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

"One quick pour," Olive said.

She straightened her back, lifted the glass jar from the warm bench plank, and felt its weight sway against her wrist. Sara sat a step away, knees bent and steady, watching without comment while Olive crossed the three paces to the feeder. When the jar tilted, seeds rattled across the wooden tray and the pile spread unevenly. A pair of pigeons dropped from the nearby tree, wings beating the air; their sudden arrival jolted a smaller finch that had been edging forward. The finch sprang upward, brushed a low branch, and loosened a dry leaf that spiralled down into the water dish. Olive had hoped the finch would stay, yet only the heavier birds gripped the tray. She returned to the bench, shoulder muscles tight from the brief lift, and noticed a subtle hint of fragrant herb clinging to her sleeve—remnant of lunchtime sandwiches.

Olive tried again. She braced her feet, pinched a few herb-dusted seeds between thumb and forefinger, and walked with slower steps so her heels met the ground first. The overwhelming aroma released by the crushed leaves drifted toward the pigeons; one bird recoiled, flapped hard, and struck a sparrow perched beside it. Startled, the sparrow darted sideways, clipping the rolled top of the paper bag. The bag toppled, a seam tore, and seeds trickled across the bench boards in a thin stream. Olive’s elbow jerked as she caught the bag, but kernels kept sliding through the rip. Sara leaned over and wedged the torn corner beneath the bench arm, halting the flow while Olive pressed the jar’s smooth rim against the seam to block the gap. Above them, the tree’s smaller branches vibrated from the earlier commotion.

A robin bobbed among the rolling kernels beside the path, its beak flicking crumbs into the grass.

「再倒一點點。」Olive 說。

她挺直背脊，從溫熱的長椅木板上提起玻璃罐，感覺重量在手腕間搖晃。Sara 坐在旁邊一步遠處，屈膝保持穩定，默默注視著 Olive 走過三步距離來到餵鳥台。罐子傾斜時，種子在木盤上喀啦散開，堆成不均的薄層。一對鴿子從後方大樹俯衝而下，拍翼帶起氣流；牠們的突然而至驚動了正要靠近的小朱雀。朱雀猛然向上竄，擦過低枝，抖下乾葉，葉片盤旋落進水碟。Olive 原本盼望朱雀逗留，但沉重的鴿子才牢牢佔據托盤。她回到長椅，因剛才抬舉而繃緊的肩膀微酸，並注意到袖口殘留午餐三明治裡芳香香草的若隱氣味。

Olive 再試一次。她穩住雙腳，拇指與食指夾起少量帶香草粉的種子，腳跟先落地放慢步伐走向餵鳥台。被壓碎的葉子散出濃烈香氣，飄向鴿群；其中一隻向後縮身，猛力拍翼，撞到旁邊麻雀。受驚的麻雀斜飛，擦到紙袋卷口，袋子翻倒，接縫撕開，種子沿長椅板縫細細流下。Olive 手肘猛收接住袋子，但小顆粒仍滑落。Sara 俯身把破口塞進椅臂下方，終於阻住滑流，Olive 也用罐沿擋住裂縫。頭頂樹枝因先前動靜而細微震顫。

一隻知更鳥在小徑旁彈跳啄食滾動的種子，鳥喙將碎屑甩向草叢。