Earthquake - Milly Lee
The 1906 Earthquake
On April 18, 1906, at 5:13 a.m., an enormous earthquake struck San Francisco. Many homes and buildings collapse. Fires burned throughout the city. People couln't put out the fires because water pipes were broken. It was aldo difficult to get the fire-fighting euipment through the debris.
This historical fiction tells about one family who was there: PoPo (the grandmother), BaBa (the father), MaMa (the mother), a girl, and her two brothers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This morning the earth shook and threw us from our beds. We were not hurts, just stunned.
Drawers spilled, dishes crashed, pots and pans clanged ad they fell. Acestral portraits flew off the walls.
PoPop packed up all we could carry - bedding, clothing, food, utensils; Kwan Yin and ancestors, too.
MaMa told us to hurry, wear extra layers of clothes, and prepare to leave for safety.
BaBa hurried out to seek help and returned with a cart and two kinsmen.
Carefully and slowly we made our way down the stairs to load the cart with our belongings.
In the early dawn, confused and frightened, we ghathered at Portsmout Square. All of Chinatown must have been there.
"You must go to the Golden Gate Park!" shouted the policeman
"The city is on fire. Go quickly now!"
Dark smoke hurt our eyes. Gritty dust filled the air, our mouths and noses, too.
The earth shook again. We stopped, and watched in fear as buildings crumbles around us.
Elder Brother, Younger Brother, and I cleared a path for the cart carrying MaMa and PoPo and our belongings.
We were hot and thirst until we shed the extra clothing and drank some cold tea.
In the early-morning rush to leave, we had not eaten anything.
PoPo gave us crackers and dried fruits.
Up the steep hills, across the city, we pushed and pulled the heavy cart.
All around us, frightened people struggled and loads too dear to leave behind.
Terrified dogs, cats, and horses joined the people hurrying to safety.
Unti, at last, we were away from the spreading fires. Away from falling buildings.
In a Golden Gate Park there was food, water, and tents for shelter.
PoPo, MaMa, Elder Brother, Younger Brother, and I rested and ate.
We were safe for now while the city still burned and the earth still shook.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------About the Author
MIlly Lee grew up in San Franciso's Chinatown. Her parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and siblings all lived together in the same house. Lee speaks English and Cantonese, a language of China.
In her books, Lee tells about the part that Chinese Americans play in history. "I want my readers to know that 'we were there, too'" she explains. "Earthquake" is the story of Lee's mother, who was 8 years old in 1906.
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: Truyen3h.Co