Jacquelyn and her family were sleeping in their home. Their dog Scruffy was asleep next to Jacquelyn. It was 4:36 a.m. and the night was quiet. There were no cars passing in the street, no noise could be heard, it was like everything was still. Jacquelyn always put a cup with water next to her bed, so that if she got thirsty during the night she didn’t have to walk all the way to the kitchen. That was when it happened. The furniture started shaking, and the cup of water fell to the floor. Scruffy started barking and it woke up Jacquelyn. She looked around and saw that all her stuff was shaking. She started screaming. Soon after, her father came in and told her to come out quickly.

It was an earthquake. Jacquelyn was so scared, and couldn’t move. Her father went in and picked her up. He took her outside, where Jacquelyn’s mother and brother were at already. Jacquelyn and her brother were crying. They didn’t understand what was happening.

Luckily, Jacquelyn’s mother had prepared an emergency kit (应急箱) and had it outside. She looked for the key, which was hidden inside a fake rock, and unlocked the box. She pulled out blankets from it to keep her children warm. Jacquelyn looked at her mother and took the blanket. She then saw her dad take a flashlight (手电筒) from the box. He used the flashlight to see if the house had any damage. The father knew the house was not safe, so they stayed up until someone could examine the house.

The children didn’t have school due to the earthquake, so they spent the day with their parents. Jacquelyn was so proud of her parents, because they knew what to do during this disaster. She talked to her friends, and they weren’t so lucky. Jacquelyn went up to her mother and father and hugged them, because she knew she felt the protection of her parents.

My aunt worked as a nurse for a long time. Ten months ago, she quit her job. Now she teaches music at a high school. She also volunteers (自愿) to look after animals that have been hurt in her free time. A few says ago she was given a little a baby kangaroo to look after. The mother kangaroo was hit by a truck (货车) while crossing the street at night. The next morning a man drove by and saw the kangaroo lying in the middle of the road. He stopped his car and checked the kangaroo. He found the baby kangaroo alive in the mother’s pouch (育儿袋). While its mother died. He took it to a wildlife sanctuary (野生动物保护区).

At the sanctuary hospital, the doctor took some X-rays. The doctor felt happy that the baby kangaroo was not hurt so it didn’t have to stay in the hospital. My aunt took the baby kangaroo home. For the first few weeks, she had to feed it every four hours, day and night. She gave it bottles of milk. It was so cute. It slept inside a baby’s blanket.

Now the baby kangaroo is able to look after itself, it goes to live on the grassland at the sanctuary with other kangaroos. Maybe one day soon it can go back into the wild.