Robinson Crusoe in Words of One Syllable (Version 2) — 05 - Section 5

In a short time the corn grew strong, and at last ripe but, just as the hares had hurt it in the blade, so now the birds ate it in the ear.

At the noise of my gun, whole flocks of them would fly up; and at this rate I saw that there would be no corn left; so I made up my mind to keep a look out night and day.

I hid by the side of a hedge, and could see the birds sit on the trees and watch, and then come down, one by one, at first.

Now each grain of wheat was, as it were, a small loaf of bread to me.

So the great thing was to get rid of these birds.

My plan was this, I shot three, and hung them up, like thieves, to scare all that came to the corn; and from this time, as long as the dead ones hung there, not a bird came near.

When the corn was ripe, I made a scythe out of the swords from the ship, and got in my crop.

Few of us think of the cost at which a loaf of bread is made.

Of course, there was no plough here to turn up the earth, and no spade to dig it with, so I made one with wood; but this was soon worn out, and for want of a rake, I made use of the bough of a tree.

When I had got the corn home, I had to thrash it, part the grain from the chaff, and store it up.

Then came the want of a mill to grind it, of sieves to clean it, and of yeast to make bread of it.

Still, my bread was made, though I had no tools; and no one could say that I did not earn it, by the sweat of my brow.

When the rain kept me in doors, it was good fun to teach my pet bird Poll to talk; but so mute were all things round me, that the sound of my own voice made me start.

My chief wants now were jars, pots, cups, and plates, but I knew not how I could make them.

At last I went in search of some clay, and found some a mile from my house; but it was quite a joke to see the queer shapes and forms that I made out of it.

For some of my pots and jars were too weak to bear their own weight; and they would fall out here, and in there, in all sorts of ways; while some, when they were put in the sun to bake, would crack with the heat of its rays.

You may guess what my joy was when at last a pot was made which would stand the heat of the fire, so that I could boil the meat for broth.

The next thing to be made was a sieve, to part the grain from the husks.

Goat's hair was of no use to me, as I could not weave or spin; so I made a shift for two years with a thin kind of stuff, which I had brought from the ship.

But to grind the corn with the stones was the worst of all, such hard work did I find it.

To bake the bread I burnt some wood down to an ash, which I threw on the hearth to heat it, and then set my loaves on the hearth, and in this way my bread was made.

The next thing to turn my thoughts to was the ship's boat, which lay on the high ridge of sand, where it had been thrust by the storm which had cast me on these shores.

But it lay with the keel to the sky, so I had to dig the sand from it, and turn it up with the help of a pole.

When I had done this I found it was all in vain, for I had not the strength to launch it.

So all I could do now, was to make a boat of less size out of a tree; and I found one that was just fit for it, which grew not far from the shore, but I could no more stir this than I could the ship's boat.

What was to be done?

I first dug the ground flat and smooth all the way from the boat to the sea, so as to let it slide down; but this plan did not turn out well, so I thought I would try a new way, which was to make a trench, so as to bring the sea up to the boat, as the boat could not be brought to the sea.

But to do this, I must have dug down to a great depth, which would take one man some years to do.

And when too late, I found it was not wise to work out a scheme, till I had first thought of the cost and toil.

"Well," thought I, "I must give up the boat, and with it all my hopes to leave the isle.

But I have this to think of: I am lord of the whole isle; in fact, a king.

I have wood with which I might build a fleet, and grapes, if not corn, to freight it with, though all my wealth is but a few gold coins."

For these I had no sort of use, and could have found it in my heart to give them all for a peck of peas and some ink, which last I stood much in need of.

But it was best to dwell more on what I had, than on what I had not.

I now must needs try once more to build a boat, but this time it was to have a mast, for which the ship's sails would be of great use.

I made a deck at each end, to keep out the spray of the sea, a bin for my food, and a rest for my gun, with a flap to screen it from the wet.

More than all, the boat was one of such a size that I could launch it.

My first cruise was up and down the creek, but soon I got bold, and made the whole round of my isle.

I took with me bread, cakes, and a pot full of rice, some rum, half a goat, two great coats, one of which was to lie on, and one to put on at night.

I set sail in the sixth year of my reign.

On the East side of the isle, there was a large ridge of rocks, which lay two miles from the shore; and a shoal of sand lay for half a mile from the rocks to the beach.

To get round to this point, I had to sail a great way out to sea; and here I all but lost my life.

But I got back to my home at last.

On my way there, quite worn out with the toils of the boat, I lay down in the shade to rest my limbs, and slept.

But judge, if you can, what a start I gave, when a voice woke me out of my sleep, and spoke my name three times!

A voice in this wild place!

To call me by name, too!

Then the voice said, "Where are you?

Where have you been?

How came you here?"

But now I saw it all; for at the top of the hedge sat Poll, who did but say the words she had been taught by me.

I now went in search of some goats, and laid snares for them, with rice for a bait I had set the traps in the night, and found they had all stood, though the bait was gone.

So I thought of a new way to take them, which was to make a pit and lay sticks and grass on it, so as to hide it; and in this way I caught an old goat and some kids.

But the old goat was much too fierce for me, so I let him go.

I brought all the young ones home, and let them fast a long time, till at last they fed from my hand, and were quite tame.

I kept them in a kind of park, in which there were trees to screen them from the sun.

At first my park was three miles round; but it struck me that, in so great a space, the kids would soon get as wild as if they had the range of the whole vale, and that it would be as well to give them less room; so I had to make a hedge which took me three months to plant.

My park held a flock of twelve goats, and in two years more there were more than two score.

My dog sat at meals with me, and one cat on each side of me, on stools, and we had Poll to talk to us.

Now for a word or two as to the dress in which I made a tour round the isle.

I could but think how droll it would look in the streets of the town in which I was born.

I wore a high cap of goat's skin, with a flap that hung, down, to keep the sun and rain from my neck, a coat made from the skin of a goat too, the skirts of which came down to my hips, and the same on my legs, with no shoes, but flaps of the fur round my shins.

I had a broad belt of the same round my waist, which drew on with two thongs; and from it, on my right side, hung a saw and an axe; and on my left side a pouch for the shot.

My beard had not been cut since I came here.

But no more need be said of my looks, for there were few to see me.

A strange sight was now in store for me, which was to change the whole course of my life in the isle.

One day at noon, while on a stroll down to a part of the shore that was new to me, what should I see on the sand but the print of a man's foot!

I felt as if I was bound by a spell, and could not stir from, the spot.

Bye-and-bye, I stole a look round me, but no one was in sight, What could this mean?

I went three or four times to look at it.

There it was--the print of a man's foot; toes, heel, and all the parts of a foot.

How could it have come there?

My head swam with fear; and as I left the spot, I made two or three steps, and then took a look round me; then two steps more, and did the same thing.

I took fright at the stump of an old tree, and ran to my house, as if for my life.

How could aught in the shape of a man come to that shore, and I not know it?

Where was the ship that brought him?

Then a vague dread took hold of my mind, that some man, or set of men, had found me out; and it might be, that they meant to kill me, or rob me of all I had.

How strange a thing is the life of man!

One day we love that which the next day we hate.

One day we seek what the next day we shun.

One day we long for the thing which the next day we fear; and so we go on.

Now, from the time that I was cast on this isle, my great source of grief was that I should be thus cut off from the rest of my race.

Why, then, should the thought that a man might be near give me all this pain?

Nay, why should the mere sight of the print of a man's foot, make me quake with fear?

It seems most strange; yet not more strange than true.

Once it struck me that it might be the print of my own foot, when first the storm cast me on these shores.

Could I have come this way from the boat?

Should it in truth turn out to be the print of my own foot, I should be like a boy who tells of a ghost, and feels more fright at his own tale, than those do whom he meant to scare.

Fear kept me in-doors for three days, till the want of food drove me out.

At last I was so bold as to go down to the coast to look once more at the print of the foot, to see if it was the same shape as my own.

I

found it was not so large by a great deal; so it was clear there were men in the isle.

Just at this time my good watch dog fell down dead at my feet.

He was old and worn out, and in him I lost my best guard and friend.

One day as I went from the hill to the coast, a scene lay in front of me which made me sick at heart.

The spot was spread with the bones of men.

There was a round place dug in the earth, where a fire had been made, and here some men had come to feast.

Now that I had seen this sight, I knew not how to act; I kept close to my home, and would scarce stir from it, save to milk my flock of goats.

To feel safe was now more to me than to be well fed; and I did not care to drive a nail, or chop a stick of wood, lest the sound of it should be heard, much less would I fire a gun.

As to my bread and meat, I had to bake it at night when the smoke could not be seen.

But I soon found the way to burn wood with turf at the top of it, which made it like chark, or dry coal; and this I could use by day, as it had no smoke.