The Birthday Flood: Part 5

By JOY WATSON, Illustrator ANNA-MARIA CRUM

Above the pounding of the rain, they could hear a loud, rumbling roar.

Mum looked up at the small hill that bordered the stream behind the house and screamed, "Get inside!" She pushed the boys into the house and slammed the door behind them.

Joseph just had time to glimpse a sheet of mud and water sliding down the slope towards them.

"Quick! Quick!" shouted Mum. "Get upstairs! Now! Now! Jut come! Run!"

Mum grabbed Joseph with one hand and Antony with the other. They tore through the house, up the stairs, and into a room overlooking the front of the house.

The house shook as the sheet of water and mud swirled past. Mum watched from the window. "It's not safe here. We'll have to get to the main road. Grab the sheet from the bed. We'll use it to stay together."

Publisher: Shortland Publications, $7.80

Age group: 9-10 years