Rice Tin Tips on Stage; Sawdust Keeps Pouring - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

"The tin rattled on the shelf."

Etta reached up and held it still. A cat stood on a costume trunk and watched with wide eyes. Warm yellow light from a work lamp touched the rough curtain, and a faint dry smell rose from old cloth. Shea checked a small brass bell on the table, and the bell’s dull shine caught the light. An iron stand held the lamp steady near the stage-right mark.

Etta carried a tray toward that mark. On it lay the tin, a folded invite, and a cloth napkin for the prop table. The cat leaped down and padded beside her. She set the tray, and the tin tipped a little. Rice began to pour out, first in a light sift, then in a louder patter. The flow stalled at the mouth when a clump bridged the opening. Etta tapped the tin, and the grains loosened into a thin trickle. Shea slid a small prop cart to make space; its brass wheel met the rice and made a short skid. "It is only rice," Shea said, and he nudged the cart back to the rack.

Etta bent to gather the rice with her hand. Her sleeve brushed a paper bag of sawdust on a low chair. The side gave a tiny split, and a narrow stream of pale sawdust started to pour. The cat stepped through it, and soft paw prints dotted the fresh mound. The trickle reached the folded invite and lifted one corner as the pile grew under it. Rice scattered into a chalk dust line on the floor, and a small puff rose and settled in the lamp’s glow. The sawdust keeps shaking free from the split. The light mound widens along the boards and climbs around the invite.

「那個鐵罐在架子上晃動。」

艾塔伸手把它扶好。一隻貓站在戲服箱上，眼睛睜得大大的。工作燈的溫暖黃光照在粗糙的幕布上，陳舊布料飄出一絲乾燥的氣味。謝亞在桌上檢查一個小黃銅鈴，鈴身的暗淡光澤映進燈光裡。鐵製燈架把燈穩穩撐在舞台右側標記旁。

艾塔端著一個托盤走向那個標記。上面放著錫罐、一張對折的邀請卡，還有一條布餐巾，準備放到道具桌。貓跳下來，跟在她旁邊走。她放下托盤，錫罐微微一斜。米粒開始倒出來，先是輕輕的篩落聲，接著是較響的啪嗒聲。口邊的米團卡住，流動停住了。艾塔輕敲錫罐，米粒又鬆開成一條細細的流。謝亞把一台小道具車滑開一點讓出空間；它的黃銅輪子碰到米粒，劃出短短的滑痕。「只是米而已，」謝亞說，然後把小車推回架子。

艾塔彎下身，用手掌把米往一起撥。她的衣袖擦到一袋放在矮椅上的鋸屑。袋側裂出一條小縫，一道淡色鋸屑細流開始傾倒。貓踩過去，柔軟的爪印點在新堆的小丘上。這股細流流到那張對折的邀請卡下面，邊角被越來越高的堆積頂了起來。米粒散進地上的粉筆線，輕煙般的粉塵冒起又在燈光裡落下。鋸屑還在從裂縫裡一顫一顫地倒出來。那淺色的小丘在地板上擴開，並沿著邀請卡邊緣一圈一圈往上爬。