A Shipwreck

The storm had been going on for six days.  We were so far from the right course that no one on board knew where we were.  Our courage was sinking.  The masts had been cut down.  The boat sprang several leaks and began to fill with water.  My four sons, Fritz, Earnest, Jack and young Francis, clung to me in fright.  My wife, Elizabeth, wiped the tears from her cheeks.  We all fell to our knees and began to pray.  At this moment  a cry of, "Land! Land!" was heard through the roaring of the waves.  Instantly, the ship struck against a rock.  Everyone was thrown down.  There was a tremendous cracking as if the ship were going to pieces.  The sea rushed in from all sides. The vessel had run aground.  It couldn't hold together for long.  The captain called out that all was lost and told the sailors to put out the lifeboats.  The words fell on my heart like a dagger. The children broke out in cries.  I tried to calm them, saying the water had not yet reached us, the ship was near land, and there was still hope.  I went on the deck and a wave threw me down.  another followed, then another.  A disaster met my eyes. The ship was shattered in all directions. The ships company crowded into the lifeboats, till the boats could not hold one person more.  They cut the ropes.  I called to them frantically to wait for us, but in vain.  The roaring of the sea was too loud and the waves, which rose to the height of the mountains, made it impossible for them to return anyway. The boats were driven out of sight.  I took comfort in seeing that the cabin which held my family had been driven upwards between two rocks and was now safe.  At the the same time, in the distance , I could see through the clouds  and the rain several nooks of land.  There was no chance of human help, yet it was my duty to appear calm before my family. "courage," I cried on entering the cabin.  "We will find a way to  reach land safely." The children believed me, but Elizabeth saw the anxiety eating away at me. The storm raged on in full fury.  The planks and beams of the ship separated with horrible crashes.  We thought of the lifeboats and feared they must have sunk under the foaming water.  We prepared a small meal.  The boys ate, but Elizabeth and i had little appetite.  the children went to bed and, exhausted, soon were snoring soundly. Elizabeth and I sat up, afraid and anxious.  We passed this awful night and welcomed with joy the first gleam of light in the morning.  The first winds had died down, the sky had become peaceful. and hope throbbed in my chest.  But how would we get to land?  Earnest wanted to build a raft.  "That would be a good idea," I answered, "if we had the materials to make one.  But come, my boys, look around the ship and see what you can find that might help us."  I checked the supply of food and water.  Elizabeth and young Francis visited the animals who had been taken on board at the beginning of the trip.  They where sick with hunger and thirst.