Ball Under the Hedge Meets a Shoe - 適合初學者的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

Cut grass smells sharp; Oona reaches under the hedge. Emory kneels by the pond. Leaves rustle overhead.

He sets a small rug down. His knees sink into it. The weave rubs his knees. A damp ring rims one edge. Quacks drift from the pond. Chains creak nearby.

A long twig lies by the hedge. Emory slides it into the gap. He moves the twig with care. It nudges the ball, then slips. The ball pops out another gap. It rolls toward Oona's shoe.

"I can't reach it," Oona says. The shoe stops the ball. "Here it comes," Emory says. Emory taps it back with the twig. Again, he nudges.

割過的草有股清新的味道；Oona 把手伸進樹籬下。Emory 在池塘旁邊跪著。頭頂的樹葉沙沙作響。

他把一塊小地毯放下。膝蓋沉進去。織紋摩擦著他的膝蓋。邊上一圈濕痕還在。池塘傳來鴨叫聲。附近的鐵鍊嘎嘎作響。

樹籬旁有一根長樹枝。Emory 把它滑進縫隙裡。他小心地移動樹枝。它頂到球，又滑開。球從另一個缺口彈出。它往 Oona 的鞋子那邊滾去。

「我夠不到它。」Oona 說。鞋子把球擋住了。「它要過來了。」Emory 說。Emory 用樹枝把它輕輕推回去。他又輕推一次。