A terrible explosive noise was heard, immediately followed by strong shaking of the classroom building. Mrs. Li Lan, a country school teacher in Sichuan, who was giving a class, could hardly keep on her feet, and many of her pupils made panic cries. Mrs. Li realized at once that it must be a powerful earthquake hitting the area. Though she herself was scared, she managed (设法) to make the children calm down, opened the door right away and told the children to leave the classroom and get down to the playground as quickly as possible.
When all the children had left, she followed them to the first floor. The earth still kept moving violently (巨烈地). Some of the buildings nearby were falling down, and a great number of falling stones were rolling down from the hills behind the school. Suddenly, she found a little boy fell over and was hit by a big stone right on his body. She forgot the danger she was facing and ran over, trying to push the stone away. The stone was so big that it was not easy for her to move it. She kept pushing until the boy was pulled out, carrying him to the center of the playground. The boy was later sent to hospital and saved.
