Water Over the Rim- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

Silver droplets slid from the playground fountain’s nozzle and vanished into a steel grate. Cal angled his head slightly, studying the wavering, uncertain line of water. The sandbox waited across the springy surface, and his small blue container tapped against his knee, still empty. Iris stood at the spout first, her tall bottle already half-full today. Yet the thin stream kept breaking, forcing her to pause few seconds and press the push-button again. Cal tested the weight of a spare saucer-shaped lid in his palm. It had been washed in cool water only minutes earlier at the nearby bench. He meant to use it as a scoop once his turn began, hoping to conserve water and time. A painted scene of a misty glen curved along the side of the nearby slide. Instead, his eyes followed the rhythm of Iris’s thumb—rise, press, release—while the water dribbled in narrow crescents.

Finally, Iris stepped back from the fountain, shaking stray drops off her sleeves. Cal pressed the button and held it down a little longer than she had. The stream flew over the rim, bounced from the plastic, and scattered across the rubber mat. He flinched at the splash, adjusted his grip, and lifted the container edge so the water slid inside instead of leaping out. An unexpected nudge followed: Iris’s plush quokka tipped from the rim and collapsed on the button, pinning it under fur. A strong column of water burst out with a hiss, and the toy absorbed the spray while the container filled quickly. When Cal lifted the soggy quokka away, water still hissed through the open valve. He stepped aside, droplets rolling off his sleeves and spotting the rubber mat. Behind him the fountain continued to breathe a thin silver arc toward the cold metal grate below.

遊樂場的飲水口噴出銀色水珠，最後消失在鋼製排水孔裡。卡爾微微側頭，仔細觀察那條忽左忽右的水線。沙坑在彈性地墊另一端等著，他的小藍容器輕碰膝蓋，仍然空著。艾瑞絲先佔著水龍頭，她的高瓶子今天已經半滿。細弱的水流不停中斷，逼得她每隔幾秒就再按一下按鈕。卡爾把一個備用的碟形蓋放在掌心掂量，這蓋子幾分鐘前才在附近長椅邊用冷水洗過。他打算輪到自己時，用它把水舀進容器，好節省水量與時間。滑梯旁的側板上畫著薄霧山谷，但他沒多看，目光只跟著艾瑞絲拇指的節奏──按下、放開──水流像細小月牙一樣滴落。

終於，艾瑞絲退開並抖落袖口上的水珠。卡爾按住按鈕，比她多壓了一會兒。水流直接越過邊緣，撞上塑膠後濺到地墊上。他因水花一縮，調整握法，把容器邊緣抬高，讓水線滑入而不再跳出。意外的推力隨即出現：艾瑞絲的袋鼠玩偶跌下邊緣壓在按鈕上。水柱嗤地變粗，玩偶吸走大部分水花，容器很快裝滿。卡爾把濕哒哒的玩偶拿開時，水仍嘶嘶流出。他迅速站到旁邊，袖子上的水珠滴在地墊上。身後的飲水口繼續吐出細長銀弧，落向下方冰冷的金屬格柵。