Rolling Spindle Surprises a Kitten at the Market - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

Metal chimes rattled above the yarn stall, tapping each other like tiny spoons.

Their dry ring echoed over the sidewalk stones and mixed with wheel creaks nearby.

Sawyer waited beside a basket piled high with soft wool.

A mild scent of clean sheep clung to the fibers.

Knitting needles lay across the top like silver chopsticks.

They felt cold against his knuckles when he brushed them.

A faded cloth showed a dreamer drifting below a thread crescent moon.

Many threads had thinned where sunlight stayed longest.

He pinched a loose strand and twisted it into a small ring.

The ring uncurled at once.

He wound the strand into a firmer loop and placed it on the bench.

A light push from his finger started the loop moving.

It rolled, gained speed, and tapped a wooden spindle.

The spindle spun away, its tip clicking over the bench.

It dropped onto the ground.

Flora, the stall keeper's niece, folded bright squares of cotton at his side.

She watched while Sawyer lifted the smooth rod and tried a new test.

This time he sent both spindle and yarn loop along the slope together.

He watched their different rhythms.

The loop slowed first, caught a bump, and stopped.

The spindle kept its momentum, rolled under a stack of cloth, and vanished.

A soft rustle followed.

A grey kitten waddled out with the spindle pinned between its paws.

Flora laughed, "That one almost reached my shoes!"

Sawyer crouched.

He let the yarn loop dangle like a tiny hobby wheel before the animal.

The kitten planted its claws on the spindle, tail flicking side to side.

Sawyer waited with palm hovering above the stones, the loose strand still swaying.

金屬風鈴在毛線攤上方叮噹作響，像小湯匙互相輕敲。

乾脆的聲音沿著石板人行道回盪，混入遠處輪軸的吱呀。

索耶站在堆滿柔軟羊毛的籃子旁。

一股乾淨羊毛的淡淡氣味附在纖維上。

針織棒像銀色筷子般橫放在最上層。

他手背輕觸時，那些金屬帶著涼意。

一塊褪色布料上，刺繡的做夢人漂在月牙下。

陽光最久停留的地方，線跡已經變薄。

他捏起鬆散的線頭，扭成一個小圈。

圈子立刻鬆開。

他把線纏得更緊，放到長凳上。

指尖輕推，線圈開始滾動。

它加速前進，碰到一根木質紡棒。

紡棒繼續旋轉，尾端在長凳上喀啦作響。

接著它掉到地面。

攤主的姪女佛羅拉在旁邊摺著亮色棉布。

她看著索耶撿起光滑的紡棒，再試一次。

這回，他同時放下紡棒和線圈，讓它們沿著微斜面前行。

他注意兩者不同的節奏。

線圈先慢下來，撞到凸點就停住。

紡棒則保持動能，滾進布堆底下不見了。

隨後傳來輕微窸窣聲。

一隻灰色小貓抓著紡棒，搖搖晃晃走出來。

佛羅拉笑道：「那根差點滾到我鞋子下！」

索耶蹲低。

他把線圈像小玩具輪子般晃在小貓面前。

小貓用爪按住紡棒，尾巴左右擺動。

索耶的手心懸在石板上方，那截鬆線仍在空中輕晃。