[11] Every day I sat on the landing and watched the river rise. Mother cooked simple meals in a spare bedroom she had turned into a makeshift kitchen. She was worried, I could tell, about what would happen to us. Father came and went in a small fishing boat. He was concerned about his patients and possible outbreaks of dysentery, pneumonia or typhoid.

[12] Before long, the Red Cross began to pitch tents on high ground north of town. "We are staying right here," my father said.

[13] As the water continued to rise, I kept busy rowing through the house and looking at the furniture that had been too big to move upstairs. I liked to row around the great cozy couch, now almost submerged, and pretend it was an island in a lake.

[14] One night very late I was awakened by a tearing noise, like timbers creaking. Then there was the rumbling sound of heavy things falling. I jumped out of bed and ran into the hallway. My parents were standing in the doorway to the den, where we had stored the books and my mother's beloved china.

[15] The floor of the den had fallen through, and all the treasures we had tried to save were now on the first floor, under the stealthily rising river. My father lit our camp light, and we went to the landing to look. We could see nothing except the books bobbing like little rafts on the water.

[16] Mother had been courageous, it seemed to me, through the ordeal of the flood. She was steady and calm, and kept things going in good order. But that night she sat on the top of the stairs with her head on her crossed arms and cried. I had never seen her like that, and there was a sound in her weeping that made me afraid. I wanted to help her, but I couldn't think of what I could possibly do. I just knew I had to figure out something.

 

每天我都坐在楼梯平台上，看着河水上涨。妈妈把楼上一间空余的卧室临时当作厨房，做一些简单的饭菜。我看得出来，她对我们将要面临的困境深感忧虑。爸爸坐在一条小渔船上来来去去。他担心的是他的病人以及可能突然蔓延开来的痢疾、肺炎和伤寒等诸多疾病。

不久，红十字会开始在小镇北面的高地上架设帐篷。“我们就呆在家里，”爸爸说。

河水继续上涨，我不停地划着船，在屋里来回穿梭，看一看那些没法搬上楼去的大件家具。我喜欢划到那张舒适的长沙发椅的四周转悠，如今它差不多浸在了水下，我把它设想成一座湖心岛。

一天深夜，我被一阵猛烈撕扯的声音惊醒，好像是木头在吱吱嘎嘎地断裂。然后传来重物坍塌时的隆隆声。我跳下床，冲进过道。爸妈正站在小书斋的门口，小书斋里存放着全家人的书籍和妈妈珍爱的那套瓷器。

小书斋的地板已经塌陷下去，我们一直没法保全的珍贵瓷器如今都落到楼下的地板上了，淹没在不停暗涨的河水里。爸爸点亮露营用的灯，我们借着灯光到楼梯平台上察看。除了书籍像小木筏一样飘浮在水面上，什么也看不见。

在我看来，妈妈一直勇敢地经受着这场洪水的严峻考验。她从容、镇静，把每一件事情都安排得有条不紊。可是那个晚上，她坐在楼梯口上抱头痛哭。我以前从未见过她这般伤心，她的哭声让我感到有些害怕。我想帮她，却又不知所措。我只知道我必须把什么事情弄清楚。

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