《回到雲林：潛行的日子》 By Li Wenhuan

炎炎夏日，當全台灣的孩子都在海邊或山林中享受暑假時，十歲的小萱和她的夥伴——小肥龍，卻躲進了位於中央研究院深處、一處名為「生物多樣性搖籃」的秘密基地。
During the scorching summer, while children all over Taiwan enjoyed their vacation at beaches or mountains, ten-year-old Xiaoxuan and her companion, Little Fat Dragon, hid in a secret base deep within the Academia Sinica, called the "Cradle of Biodiversity."

小肥龍的目標很明確：吃下來自全世界的一百種不同水果，藉此平衡他體內過於龐大而暴躁的龍族魔力，避免他再次因吃太多而變成一棟樓那麼大的龐然大物。
Little Fat Dragon had a clear goal: to eat one hundred different fruits from around the world to balance the excessive and violent dragon magic within him, preventing him from turning into a colossal beast as big as a building again.

這項任務之所以能在短短兩個月內完成，完全歸功於小萱爸爸手中的那道「總統秘令」。
The reason this mission could be completed in just two months was entirely thanks to Xiaoxuan's father holding the "Presidential Secret Order."

這道秘令允許基地啟動最高等級的物流網絡，來自非洲的猴麵包果、亞馬遜河流域的紫色水果、挪威冰川邊緣才能找到的極地莓，乃至於中研院最新研發、能散發七彩光芒的「虹光山竹」，都以最快的陸運、海運和空中特快專遞，在二十四小時內抵達這座大山深處。
This order allowed the base to activate the highest level of logistics, sending baobab from Africa, purple fruits from the Amazon, polar berries found only at Norway's glacier edges, and even the Academia Sinica's latest development—the rainbow mangosteen that emits colorful light—through the fastest land, sea, and air transport, arriving within twenty-four hours deep in the mountain.

小肥龍不是在吃，他是在經歷一場味蕾的全球旅行。
Little Fat Dragon wasn't just eating; he was experiencing a global journey of taste.

當他吃到第九十九種水果——來自智利火山灰地帶，甜中帶辣的「火焰無花果」時，他體內的魔力已經像一條平靜的河流，開始溫順地流淌。
When he ate the ninety-ninth fruit—a sweet yet spicy "Flame Fig" from Chile's volcanic ash region—the magic inside him began to flow gently, like a calm river.

終於，在暑假結束前的最後一天，第一百種水果隆重登場——那是一顆小萱爸爸親手在實驗室培育的「極光奇異果」。
Finally, on the last day before summer ended, the hundredth fruit made a grand appearance—it was an "Aurora Kiwi" cultivated by Xiaoxuan's father in the laboratory.

它外表像普通的奇異果，但切開後，果肉不是綠色，而是閃耀著微弱的藍色和金色星光。
It looked like an ordinary kiwi on the outside, but when cut open, the flesh shimmered with faint blue and golden starlight instead of green.

小肥龍小心翼翼地吞下這顆閃閃發光的奇異果。
Little Fat Dragon carefully swallowed the sparkling kiwi.

霎時間，他沒有感覺到任何爆發性的力量，反而是一種前所未有的寧靜。
In an instant, he felt no explosive power; instead, a sense of unprecedented calm washed over him.

他的身體周圍浮現出微弱的七彩光暈，然後光芒緩緩內收，就像夜空中最遠的一顆星辰收回了它的光芒。
A faint halo of rainbow light appeared around his body, then slowly retracted, like the farthest star in the night sky withdrawing its light.

「成功了！」小萱爸爸激動地摘下護目鏡，大聲宣布：「一百種水果的生態平衡魔法已啟動！小肥龍，你現在可以隨心所欲地控制形態了！」
"Success!" Xiaoxuan's father exclaimed, removing his goggles. "The ecological balance magic of one hundred fruits is activated! Little Fat Dragon, you can now control your form at will!"

小肥龍感受著身體，他不再被龐大的龍族本能所驅使，他可以成為任何他想成為的樣子。
Feeling his body, Little Fat Dragon realized he was no longer driven by the immense dragon instincts; he could become whatever he wanted.

他深吸一口氣，收攏全身的鱗片和龍角，隨著一陣「啵」的輕響，原本那隻圓滾滾、比小萱還高的肥龍，變成了一隻只有巴掌大、通體翠綠、尾巴帶著精緻菱形鱗片的小小爬蟲類。
He took a deep breath, gathered his scales and horns, and with a soft "pop," the round, taller-than-Xiaoxuan Fat Dragon shrank into a palm-sized, green reptile with finely scaled tail.

「哇！你是變色龍嗎？」小萱驚呼。
"Wow! Are you a chameleon?" Xiaoxuan exclaimed.

「我才不是變色龍！我是微型隱身龍！」小肥龍驕傲地揚起小小的龍頭，聲音卻還是他那種沉穩的童音，只不過小了幾個分貝。
"I'm not a chameleon! I'm a miniature invisible dragon!" Little Fat Dragon proudly lifted his tiny head, his voice still calm and childlike, just a few decibels quieter.

他成功了，他不再害怕吃多會失控，因為他已經學會了如何讓自己融入這個世界。
He had succeeded; he no longer feared losing control from overeating, as he had learned how to blend into the world.

隨著九月開學到來，小萱一家人告別了充滿魔法氣息的雪霸國家公園，回到了充滿泥土和陽光氣味的雲林鄉下。
As September came and school started, Xiaoxuan’s family bid farewell to the magical Xueba National Park and returned to the earthy, sun-scented countryside of Yunlin.

對小肥龍來說，雲林的生活是一種樸實的快樂。
For Little Fat Dragon, life in Yunlin was a simple joy.

他現在有了新的日常生活：每天早上，他會變成一隻輕盈的微型隱身龍，溜進小萱的粉色書包裡。
He now had a new daily routine: every morning, he transformed into a tiny invisible dragon and sneaked into Xiaoxuan's pink school bag.

小萱的書包裡充滿了課本、鉛筆屑和一點點未吃完的餅乾屑，這是小肥龍最溫暖舒適的移動城堡。
Xiaoxuan’s bag was filled with textbooks, pencil shavings, and some leftover crumbs, making it Little Fat Dragon’s warm and cozy mobile castle.

在車上，他透過書包側邊的網狀袋縫隙，偷偷觀察著窗外飛馳而過的稻田、檳榔樹和遠處的風力發電機。
In the car, through the mesh side pocket, he secretly watched the passing rice fields, betel nut trees, and distant wind turbines.

到了學校，小肥龍更是忙碌。
At school, Little Fat Dragon was even busier.

他會趁著早自習時，偷偷爬到小萱的鉛筆盒頂端，一邊聽著老師講課，一邊用他那雙被一百種水果滋養過的眼睛，觀察人類世界的奇特。
During morning study, he climbed atop Xiaoxuan’s pencil case, listening to the teacher and using his eyes, nourished by a hundred fruits, to observe the wonders of the human world.

他變成微型隱身龍之後，不僅能避開所有人的目光，還能讓小萱毫無負擔地帶著他。
As a miniature invisible dragon, he could avoid everyone’s gaze and accompany Xiaoxuan without burden.

「小肥龍，你上學要乖乖睡覺哦，不能偷吃我的作業。」小萱每天都會這樣叮嚀他。
"Little Fat Dragon, behave at school and don’t sneakily eat my homework," Xiaoxuan reminded him daily.

「哼，我的肚子裡裝著宇宙間一百種頂級水果的秘密，才不會看得上你那充滿油墨味的作業紙。」小肥龍總是這樣回答，但實際上，他每天都聽得津津有味。
"Hmph, my belly holds the secret of a hundred top fruits in the universe, I won’t bother with your ink-smelling homework," he always replied, though he listened eagerly every day.

週末，小萱仍是到高鐵站，與Steven老師學習最新的UEB統一英文點字，小萱正在練習點字拼寫單字，點字顯示器發出輕微的「喀噠、喀噠」聲。
On weekends, Xiaoxuan still went to the high-speed rail station to study the latest UEB Unified English Braille with Teacher Steven. She practiced spelling words in braille, while the display clicked softly.

Steven老師見小萱有些疲憊，決定休息一下，分享他為小萱準備的一篇中英文對照的「幻想小說」。
Seeing Xiaoxuan a bit tired, Teacher Steven decided to take a break and share a bilingual "fantasy story" he had prepared for her.

「小萱，聽我說一個新故事，你覺得怎麼樣？」Steven老師溫和地問。
"Xiaoxuan, how about I tell you a new story?" Teacher Steven asked gently.

小萱點了點頭，專注地等待著。
Xiaoxuan nodded, waiting attentively.

小肥龍在書包裡立刻豎起了耳朵，龍的聽力極佳，即使隔著厚厚的帆布和幾本課本，Steven老師的每一個字都清晰地傳入他耳中。
Little Fat Dragon perked up his ears in the bag. Dragons have excellent hearing, and even through thick canvas and textbooks, Teacher Steven’s every word reached him clearly.

Steven老師清了清嗓子，開始了他的故事：
Teacher Steven cleared his throat and began his story:

「在一個充滿稻香的雲林小村莊，住著一位像妳一樣善良、喜歡助人的女孩。有一天，她發現自己家門口出現了一位神秘的老婆婆。老婆婆並沒有給她蘋果，而是給了她一顆窯烤的地瓜。」
"In a rice-scented village in Yunlin lived a kind girl like you, who liked helping others. One day, she found a mysterious old lady at her doorstep. The lady didn’t give her an apple, but a baked sweet potato."

小肥龍全身的鱗片突然緊繃起來，地瓜？這是什麼水果？
Little Fat Dragon’s scales tensed up. Sweet potato? What kind of fruit is that?

Steven老師繼續描述：「這顆地瓜不像普通地瓜，它吸收了大地五十年來的精華，外皮看來像石頭，但心卻是金黃色的。老婆婆告訴她：『孩子，吃下這顆非凡的地瓜，妳將獲得穿梭時空的魔力。』」
Teacher Steven continued, "This sweet potato was unlike ordinary ones. It absorbed fifty years of earth’s essence. Its skin looked like stone, but the inside was golden. The lady told her, ‘Child, eat this extraordinary sweet potato, and you shall gain the power to traverse time.’"

「女孩很好奇，她咬了一口。轟！一陣光芒閃過，她發現自己穿越到了三國時代，她用她的善良幫助了那些飢餓的百姓，然後又穿越到了未來，見識了會飛的汽車……」
"The girl was curious and took a bite. Boom! A flash of light, and she found herself in the Three Kingdoms era, helping hungry villagers with her kindness, then she traveled to the future, witnessing flying cars..."

Steven老師的故事充滿了細節與想像，他描述女孩如何利用地瓜帶來的魔力，修正歷史上的小錯誤，並與古今中外的人們交朋友。
Teacher Steven’s story was full of details and imagination, describing how the girl used the sweet potato’s magic to correct small historical errors and befriend people across time.

他強調，地瓜的魔力來自於它「非水果」的純粹與大地五十年來的沉澱。
He emphasized that the sweet potato’s magic came from its "non-fruit" purity and fifty years of earth essence.

小萱聽得入迷，她知道這只是Steven老師的「幻想小說」，用來鼓勵她學習，激發她的想像力。
Xiaoxuan listened captivated, knowing this was Teacher Steven’s "fantasy story," meant to encourage learning and imagination.

然而，在小萱的書包裡，小肥龍聽到的卻是另一回事。
However, in Xiaoxuan’s bag, Little Fat Dragon perceived something else.

地瓜！一個不是水果的食物，卻能賦予時間穿梭這種連龍族高等魔法都難以企及的能力！
Sweet potato! A non-fruit that grants time-travel ability—a power even dragons struggle to achieve!

小肥龍在心中焦急地盤算著：他吃了整整一百種水果，才獲得了形態變化的能力；而現在，一個人類小女孩，只需要一顆地瓜，就能掌握時空！這簡直是魔法界的巨大漏洞！
Little Fat Dragon anxiously thought: he had eaten a hundred fruits to gain shape-shifting, yet now a human girl needed only one sweet potato to control time! This was a massive loophole in the magical world!

他必須得到它！
He had to get it!

回到家後，夜色已深，小萱正在書桌前整理書包，準備隔天的功課。
Back home, late at night, Xiaoxuan was organizing her bag, preparing for the next day’s homework.

小肥龍再也忍不住了。他猛地從書包裡彈了出來，不再保持微型隱身龍的形態，而是恢復成了他那隻約莫小貓大小、圓潤可愛的樣子。
Little Fat Dragon could no longer hold back. He jumped out of the bag, abandoning his miniature invisible form, returning to a chubby, cat-sized, cute dragon.

他那雙原本像黑曜石一樣的龍眼，現在閃爍著從未有過的、對知識和力量的渴望。
His obsidian-like dragon eyes now sparkled with an unprecedented thirst for knowledge and power.

「小萱！停下妳的工作！聽我說！」小肥龍聲音急促，語氣嚴肅得像一個即將發動戰爭的將軍。
"Xiaoxuan! Stop your work! Listen to me!" Little Fat Dragon shouted, his voice urgent and serious like a general about to wage war.

小萱嚇了一跳，連忙用手捂住嘴巴，確認爸爸媽媽沒有聽到。
Xiaoxuan was startled and quickly covered her mouth, making sure her parents hadn’t heard.

「怎麼了？今天Steven老師的故事讓妳做惡夢了嗎？」小萱輕聲問。
"What’s wrong? Did Teacher Steven’s story give you a nightmare?" Xiaoxuan asked softly.

小肥龍沒有理會她的玩笑，他跳上了書桌，用他那小小的龍爪拍打著小萱攤開的課本。
Little Fat Dragon ignored her joke, leaping onto the desk and tapping Xiaoxuan’s open textbook with his tiny claws.

「不是惡夢！是真相！是Steven老師無意間洩露的宇宙級秘密！」小肥龍焦急地喊道：「妳必須老實告訴我！那個地瓜！那個能穿梭時空的地瓜，妳把它藏在哪裡了？」
"It’s not a nightmare! It’s the truth! Teacher Steven accidentally revealed a cosmic-level secret!" Little Fat Dragon shouted anxiously. "You must tell me! That sweet potato! The one that can traverse time—where did you hide it?"

小萱眨了眨眼，一頭霧水。「地瓜？

「地瓜？你是說Steven老師故事裡那個嗎？那是他編的幻想小說啦，假的。」
“Sweet potato? You mean the one in Teacher Steven’s story? That’s just a fantasy he made up. It’s not real.”

「不！Steven老師不可能騙人！」小肥龍的尾巴在桌上急躁地敲擊著，發出「叩叩」的聲音。
“No! Teacher Steven could never lie!” Little Fat Dragon’s tail tapped impatiently on the desk with a “knock knock” sound.

「我是龍族！我最瞭解魔法的運作！一百種水果只能平衡形態，但要獲得『時空』這種超極能力，肯定需要一種非水果、但充滿大地力量的介質！」
“I’m a dragon! I understand magic better than anyone! A hundred fruits can only balance my form, but to gain ‘time-space’ super ability, there must be a non-fruit medium filled with earth’s power!”

他那嚴肅認真的樣子，讓小萱差點笑出來。
His serious expression almost made Xiaoxuan laugh.

「可是，小肥龍，地瓜就是地瓜呀。它就是澱粉，用來吃的。」
“But, Little Fat Dragon, a sweet potato is just a sweet potato. It’s starch, meant for eating.”

「妳不懂！」小肥龍急得在桌面上轉了個圈，語氣充滿了央求與懇切：「妳看看我，我已經達到了身體形態的平衡，我現在可以自由行動、上學、躲進妳的書包。我已經不需要再吃水果了。」
“You don’t understand!” Little Fat Dragon spun on the desk, his tone pleading and earnest. “Look at me! I’ve balanced my body form. I can move freely, go to school, hide in your bag. I don’t need to eat more fruits anymore.”

他靠近小萱，用他那張可愛的小臉蹭了蹭小萱的手指，用一種充滿誘惑的、低沉的聲音說道：
He approached Xiaoxuan, nuzzling her finger with his cute little face, and spoke in a seductive, low voice:

「但是，時間呢？小萱，如果我們能穿越時空，我們就能看到恐龍時代真正的龍族長什麼樣子！我們就能回到過去，把一百種水果的清單再豐富十倍！我們甚至可以去未來，看看妳會不會成為一位偉大的點字老師！」
“But, time? Xiaoxuan, if we can travel through time, we can see what real dragons looked like in the dinosaur era! We could go back and enrich the list of a hundred fruits tenfold! We could even go to the future and see if you become a great braille teacher!”

他抬起頭，眼中充滿了希望：「所以，小萱！請妳務必、務必為我找到那個非水果的『地瓜』！那個吸收了五十年大地精華、能夠帶我們穿越時間縫隙的金色地瓜！我不在乎它是不是水果，我只在乎它能不能帶我看到時間的盡頭！」
He lifted his head, eyes full of hope: “So, Xiaoxuan! Please, please find that non-fruit ‘sweet potato’ for me! The golden sweet potato that absorbed fifty years of earth’s essence and can take us through time! I don’t care if it’s a fruit, I only care if it can show me the end of time!”

小萱看著小肥龍那張寫滿了「求知慾」和「時間旅行夢」的小臉，輕輕嘆了口氣。
Xiaoxuan looked at Little Fat Dragon’s face, full of curiosity and dreams of time travel, and gently sighed.

她知道，這傢伙是徹底把Steven老師的故事當真了。
She knew that this little fellow had taken Teacher Steven’s story completely seriously.

「好吧，小肥龍，雖然我知道那只是個故事。不過，既然妳這麼好奇『非水果』的食物能帶來什麼魔法，明天我們就去雲林最有名的地瓜田看看吧。」
“Alright, Little Fat Dragon, although I know it’s just a story. But since you’re so curious about what magic a ‘non-fruit’ food can bring, tomorrow we’ll visit the most famous sweet potato field in Yunlin.”

小萱笑了笑，心裡想著：地瓜田裡雖然沒有時間穿梭的魔法，但至少能讓這隻充滿好奇心的小肥龍，見識一下雲林真正的在地魅力。
Xiaoxuan smiled, thinking: though the sweet potato field has no time-travel magic, at least it can let this curious Little Fat Dragon experience the true charm of Yunlin.

而小肥龍，則已經開始在書包裡規劃他第一次的「地瓜時空大探險」了。
And Little Fat Dragon had already started planning his first "Sweet Potato Time-Space Adventure" inside the bag.

他的新目標，從一百種水果，轉向了一顆平凡卻充滿無限幻想的——地瓜。
His new goal shifted from a hundred fruits to one ordinary yet infinitely imaginative sweet potato.
