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THE 
 
 SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON 
 
 IN WORDS OF 
 
 One Syllable. 
 
 BY 
 
 MARY GODOLPHIN, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "ROBINSON CRUSOE IN WORDS OF ONE SELLABLE, " "EVENINGS 
 AT HOME IN WORDS OF ONE SYLLABLE." 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 CLAXTON, REMSEN & HAFFELFINGER, 
 
 819 & 821 MARKET STREET. 
 1869 
 

 BY THE SAME AUTHOR, 
 
 Uniform 
 
 with this Edition of " 
 Robinson." 
 
 The Swiss Family 
 
 ROBINSON 
 
 CRUSOE IN WORDS 
 
 OF ONE SYLLABLE, 
 
 With Coloured Illustrations, price 
 
 $1.50 cloth extra. 
 
 EVENINGS 
 
 AT HOME IN WORDS 
 
 OF ONE SYLLABLE, 
 
 With Coloured Illustrations, price 
 
 ^$1.50 cloth extra. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The kind reception given to the 
 author's system of writing in words of 
 one syllable has encouraged her to add 
 to her works the popular story of 
 " The Swiss Family Robinson " as a 
 twin book to " Robinson Crusoe." 
 The monosyllabic rule has been strictly 
 adhered to throughout, the only excep- 
 tion occurring necessarily in the title of 
 the book itself. The author's object 
 has been to provide what the reviewer 
 of her former works in the Athenczum 
 has called " a field of exercise for a 
 child who has just learnt to conquer 
 words." " There is sure to be some 
 success," he continues ; " and it is a 
 great point in all teaching to let the 
 ^ first independent exercise be one in 
 % which victory is really to be won by 
 £ moderate effort." 
 
THE 
 
 SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 For six days a fierce wind set in, which 
 tore our sails to shreds ; the white foam 
 of the waves swept our decks, and the 
 storm drove our ship so far out of its 
 course, that there was no one on board 
 who could tell where we w T ere. All 
 were worn out with toil and care, and the 
 oaths of the men were heard no more, 
 but they fell on their knees to pray. 
 
 My wife and boys clung round me 
 in great dread ; but I said to them, 
 " God can save us if He will. He 
 knows each rock that lies hid, and 
 sees each storm as it comes; yet if He 
 
2 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 should think it good to call us to 
 Him, let us not grieve at it: we shall 
 not part." At these words I saw my 
 wife dry her tears, and from that time 
 she was more calm. 
 
 All at once we heard the cry of 
 " Land ! Land ! " The ship had struck 
 on a rock, and the force of the shock 
 with which she went threw us off our 
 feet. 
 
 Then came a loud crack as if the 
 ship had split in two, when we heard 
 the chief mate call out, " Launch the 
 boats !" , These words went like a 
 sword through my heart, and the 
 cries of my boys grew more and more 
 shrill. 
 
 " Fear not, my dear ones," said I ; 
 " the ship still lifts us out of the sea, 
 and the land is near. Stay here, and 
 I will try to save you." 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 3 
 
 I went on deck, but was soon thrown 
 down by the wild surge of the sea. 
 Once more there came a wave of such 
 huge bulk that I strove with it in 
 vain, and fell flat on the deck. 
 
 The ship was all but in two. The 
 whole of the crew had got in the boat, 
 and I could see the last man cut the 
 rope. I gave a loud call for them to wait 
 till we could join them ; but from the 
 roar of the waves my voice was not 
 heard, and all hope from the boat was 
 lost. 
 
 The stern, which held those most 
 dear to me on earth, stood like a wedge, 
 with a rock on each side of it. I could 
 see in the south a trace of land, which 
 though wild and bare, was now the 
 aim of all my hopes ; for there was no 
 more aid to be had from man. 
 
 I left the deck to go down to my 
 
 R 2 
 
4 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 wife and boys. I then put on a calm 
 look, and said, " Be of good cheer. If 
 the wind should go down we may yet 
 reach the land." 
 
 This made my dear boys dry their 
 tears, for at all times they put their 
 trust in what I told them. But my 
 wife, who knew best how to read my 
 thoughts, saw how full of care they 
 were ; and by a sign I made known 
 to her that I had not much hope that 
 the wind would go down. 
 
 " Let us take some food," said she ; 
 " it will give us strength." 
 
 Night came on, and it grew dark ; 
 we heard the wild waves boil with rage, 
 and they tore down the planks with 
 a loud crash. " How could the boats 
 live through such a storm as this ? " 
 thought I. 
 
 The boys went to bed and slept, all 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 5 
 
 but Fritz, whom I took with me on 
 deck to watch. He and I could swim ; 
 but as the rest could not, we set our 
 thoughts to work out some plan by 
 which we could get them to land, 
 should the ship break up. 
 
 There were casks on board, *and we 
 thought we might bind two of them fast 
 with ropes, and leave a space in which 
 to place one of the boys, who might put 
 an arm in each cask, and so float to 
 shore ; the same for the rest of them, 
 and one for my wife. We put by 
 some knives, string, and such like 
 things, which we thought might be 
 of use in case we should reach the 
 coast. 
 
 At length Fritz, worn out with hard 
 work, fell to sleep. My wife and I 
 had too much on our minds for rest. 
 We brought the load of our grief, our 
 
6 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 doubts, and fears, to the throne of God, 
 and left them there ; for we did our 
 best not to give way to them, lest they 
 should chill our sense of God's love, 
 and dry up the spring of our faith in 
 His might. 
 
 Oh, how the time did seem to lag 
 with us through that long dark night ! 
 But, like all things else, it came to an 
 end at last. Words are too weak to 
 tell of the joy with which I saw from 
 the deck the first faint streak of dawn 
 shoot up the sky. 
 
 The wind was now more calm, the 
 sea less rough, and this brought a ray 
 of hope to my heart. I went to fetch 
 my wife and boys on deck ; and the 
 young ones were struck with awe to 
 find no one there. " The crew, where 
 are they ? " said they. " Who works 
 the ship ? " 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 7 
 
 " My boys," said I, " One more 
 strong than man has brought us through 
 it till now, and if He think fit He 
 will stretch out His arm to save us. 
 Let all hands set to work, and think 
 the while on this, God helps us 
 when we help those round us. Now 
 we must think of what it will be best 
 for us to do." 
 
 Fritz. — " Let us leap in the sea and 
 swim to shore." 
 
 Ned. — " That may do well for you 
 who can swim ; but all the rest of us 
 would sink. Can we not make a raft 
 on which we could all go ? " 
 
 " That might do," said I, "if we 
 had strength for the work, and if a 
 raft were a more safe thing to go to 
 land on. But set off, boys, all of you, 
 and seek for what there is on board 
 that may be of use to us." 
 
8 The Swiss Family Robinson, 
 
 As for me, I made my way to 
 where the food was kept, and my wife 
 went to the live stock and fed them, 
 for they were much in want of food. 
 Fritz sought for arms, and Ned for 
 tools. Jack, by chance, went were the 
 Chief Mate's two great dogs were 
 kept, who leapt on him in play, and 
 were so rough that he gave a cry, as 
 he thought they meant to tear him ; 
 but want of food had made them too 
 weak to be fierce, and in a short time 
 he got up from where he fell, and rode 
 on the back of one of the dogs, and 
 with a grave look came up to me as 
 I left the hold whence I had been 
 drawn by his cries. I could not keep 
 a smile from my face when I told him 
 of the great risk he had run, and that 
 he ought to be on his guard with dogs 
 that had been kept from food so long. 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. g 
 
 Now my boys all came round me 
 with their stores. Fritz had found six 
 guns, some bags of shot, and some 
 horn flasks, and these held all that we 
 could want for the use of our arms. 
 Ned brought an axe, a spade, knives, 
 nails, and the like ; but young Frank 
 brought a large box, which it was as 
 much as he could do to hold, and when 
 the rest of the lads saw what was in 
 it, they gave a loud laugh. " You may 
 laugh if you will," said I, " but Frank 
 has brought the best prize of all, for 
 these fish hooks, of which I see the 
 box is full, may save our lives ; still 
 Fritz and Ned have done well too." 
 
 " For my part," said my wife, " I do 
 but bring good news. I have found 
 a cow, an ass, two goats, six sheep, and 
 a sow. I have fed them, and I hope 
 they will do well." 
 
io The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 I told my boys that I thought they 
 had all done great things, save Jack. 
 " But," said I, "he has brought me 
 two great mouths to fill, which will do 
 more harm than good." 
 
 Jack. — " The dogs can help us to 
 hunt when we get to land." 
 
 "Ah!" said I, "but can you tell 
 us how to reach the land ? " 
 
 " Yes," said my brave Frank, " put 
 us each in a great tub and let us float 
 to shore. I went on Aunts pond in 
 one." 
 
 " A good thought ! " said I ; "we may 
 take a hint from a child. Be quick, 
 boys, give me the saw, with some 
 nails, and we will see what we can 
 do." 
 
 I found some casks in the ship's 
 hold, which we brought on deck ; they 
 were made of strong wood, and were 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 1 1 
 
 bound with hoops ; in fact, were just 
 the right thing. My boys and I cut 
 each of these four casks in two with 
 our saw ; but it was a work of great 
 toil to join eight tubs, so as to make 
 them all the same height. 
 
 We drank some wine which we found 
 in one of the casks, and this gave us fresh 
 strength for our work. At last our job 
 came to an end, and we. saw with joy 
 our small fleet of boats all in a line ; 
 yet I could not guess how it was that 
 my wife should be still so sad at heart. 
 
 " I could not trust my life in 
 one of those tubs ! " said she. But 
 I told her to wait till the work was 
 done. I then sought out a long thin 
 plank, and put the tubs on it ; but 
 left a piece at each end to form a curve 
 like the keel of a ship. We then 
 drove in nails to make the tubs firm 
 
1 2 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 to the planks, and in the same way 
 put boards on each side of it, so as 
 to make a sort of boat, which I thought 
 might float in a calm sea. 
 
 But to our grief we found that our 
 raft was of such a weight that we could 
 not move it an inch. I sent Fritz to 
 bring me the jack screw, and with this 
 and a thick pole I found I could lift 
 one end of the boat. Ned said he 
 thought the screw was slow. " What 
 we gain in time we lose in force," said 
 I. " The jack is not meant to move 
 fast, but to raise weights ; and the more 
 weight there is, of course the more slow 
 it must be." I then took a strong rope 
 to fix to the stern of the boat, one end 
 of which I bound fast to the beam 
 of the ship. I next put two round 
 poles for the boat to roll on, and went 
 to work with the jack to launch it. 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 1 3 
 
 The boys all stood on the ship's deck 
 in great joy to see it glide off, and then 
 float like a swan on the waves ; and 
 had it not been for the rope, it would 
 have gone off to sea. But our raft 
 leant so much to one side that there 
 was not one of the boys who would 
 dare to go in it. 
 
 At this I was quite cast down, when 
 all at once I thought the cause must 
 be that it was too light : so I threw in 
 all I could lay hold of, and soon made 
 my boat fit for use. 
 
 " Which of us is to go in first ? " said 
 the boys, who all made a rush at once. 
 But this I put a stop to, as I thought 
 that — full of fun as they were — they 
 might tip the boat on one side, and get 
 thrown in the sea. 
 
 It was now time to clear the way for 
 the flight. I got in one of the tubs and 
 
14 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 made the boat fast in a cleft in the 
 ship's side. I then came back with 
 an axe and a saw, and cut off from the 
 wreck, right and left, all that might 
 come in our way. The next thing was 
 to look out for some oars, and we had 
 the good luck to find some. 
 
 This had been a day of hard work 
 for us all. One more night was to be 
 spent on board the wreck, though we 
 knew not that it would be there till the 
 dawn of the next day. And now we 
 sat down to a meal, for we had scarce 
 had time to snatch a piece of bread all 
 day. We then went to rest, and were 
 more at our ease than we had been on 
 the past night. 
 
 I thought the best thing my wife 
 could do would be to wear the dress of 
 a youth who had been one of the ship's 
 crew, as it would be more warm, and 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 1 5 
 
 would suit the raft best, and be most 
 fit for all the toils that were in store for 
 her. She felt strange in her new dress, 
 but at last I saw her laugh at it, as did 
 our young ones. She then went to her 
 berth and slept well, which gave her 
 strength for the next day. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 At dawn we all woke up, and I said, 
 " We must now, my dear boys, go on 
 the wide sea in search of a home. 
 Give all the poor beasts on board the 
 wreck food to last them for some days. 
 We could not take them with us, but 
 we might come back in our tubs for 
 them. Are you all here ? Get what 
 you wish to take with you, but let it be 
 
1 6 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 things that will meet our wants when 
 we get to land." 
 
 I had put the guns on our raft, and 
 I told my wife and the lads each to 
 seek for a game bag, a chest of tools 
 and nails, and sails to make a tent 
 with ; and the boys brought so much 
 that I thought we must leave half, 
 though I took out of the tubs those 
 things which I had thrown in to give 
 weight. 
 
 Just as we got on board the cock 
 gave a loud crow as a hint that we had 
 left no food for him and the hens. So 
 I took all the birds with us, geese, 
 ducks, fowls, and doves. We put 
 twelve of them in a tub with a lid 
 to it, and the rest we let loose, in the 
 hopes that the geese and ducks might 
 swim to shore, and the fowls and doves 
 fly there. 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 1 7 
 
 Where was my wife all this time ? 
 She came at last with a huge bag, which 
 she threw in the tub that held her dear 
 Frank, and I made sure it was meant 
 for a seat for him. 
 
 This is the way we each took our 
 place on the raft: — In the first tub sat 
 my wife ; in the next, Frank ; in the 
 third, Fritz, a good big boy, with sound 
 sense and full of life ; in the fourth, our 
 dear Jack, ten years old, yet stout of 
 heart ; and the fifth and sixth held all 
 sorts of food. Then in the next tub 
 stood Ned, who was twelve years old, 
 with more thought of self than the rest, 
 and slow to move. I was in the eighth 
 tub, bent on my task, which was to 
 guide the boat that held all that was 
 most dear to me in this world. 
 
 As we left the wreck the tide rose, 
 which I thought might be a help to us. 
 
1 8 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 We each took an oar, in hopes that in 
 the end we should reach the blue 
 shore. But, oh, how far off it did 
 seem ! 
 
 For some time it was all in vain, as 
 the boat would turn round and round. 
 But at last I found the way to steer it 
 so as to make it go straight on. 
 
 As soon as the two dogs saw us 
 leave the ship, they leapt in the sea and 
 swam up to us ; but though my boys 
 had a great wish to take them with us, 
 I could not let them come in the boat, 
 lest they should tip it down on one side. 
 This was a source of great grief to all, 
 for we did not think they would have 
 the strength to swim to shore. Be that 
 as it might, Spring and Flox took to 
 the waves with a dash, as much as to 
 say they did not mean to be left. They 
 came up now and then to put their fore 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 19 
 
 paws on the raft, and by this means 
 they kept up with us. 
 
 We went on and on, and I had much 
 doubt if we should reach the land. 
 As we drew near to it, my hopes were 
 the more faint, so drear did the coast 
 seem; and, worst of all, it had a dark 
 ridge of rocks in front of it, that wore 
 the look of a frown, as if to warn us off. 
 
 Now and then we came up to some 
 casks from the wreck, and we drew 
 them with us all the way, by means 
 of a rope. We did not cease to ply 
 our oars till we got to the coast, and 
 then, to our great joy, we found a break 
 in the chain of the rocks, and the sharp 
 eye of Fritz made out some trees. I 
 could not see them, but, by good luck, 
 Jack had brought a small glass, which 
 he drew from his pouch with some 
 pride, and gave it to me. ■ By the aid 
 
 c 2 
 
20 The Szuiss Family Robinson. 
 
 of this I saw a small creek with rocks 
 on each side of it ; and as I found that 
 the ducks and geese made up to it, 
 I knew it was all right. It was, in 
 short, a small bay, and there we got 
 on shore. 
 
 All who could do so leapt to land in 
 a trice ; and our poor Frank, who had 
 been laid down in his tub like a salt 
 fish, did his best to crawl out, but had 
 to wait for my wife to help him. The 
 dogs, which were the first to get to 
 shore, leapt round us with a loud bark ; 
 the ducks and the geese kept up their 
 cry ; and the fowls, which we had just 
 let loose, lent their cluck. All these 
 sounds, with the noise of the boys' talk, 
 made a strange din. 
 
 The first thing we did when we 
 came safe to land, was to bow down 
 and give thanks to God, in whose 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 2 1 
 
 hands were our lives. To cast off our 
 own strength, and lay hold of the 
 Lord's, is the way to be strong — too 
 strong for earth and hell to shake us. 
 
 If we make God our guide, how can 
 we go wrong? If we make Him our 
 shield, why need we fear? If we make 
 His Word the lamp of our feet, how 
 can we stray ? He is our life, our 
 God, our all ; the Lord is our strength. 
 
 When we took all we had out of the 
 boat — how rich we felt with these few 
 things ! We found a good place for 
 our tent in the shade of the rocks : so 
 we set to work with a pole and pegs, 
 and then we brought out the food. 
 
 I sent my sons to fetch some grass 
 and moss to spread in the sun to dry, 
 that we might sleep on it at night, and 
 while all the boys, down to Frank, 
 were at work at this, I found a place 
 
22 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 near a stream for us to cook in. The 
 flat stones of the rock made a good 
 hearth, and it did not take long to light 
 up a bright fire of dry twigs ; then 
 I put in the pot some squares of the 
 new kind of soup, and left my wife and 
 Frank to cook our meal. The poor 
 child took this soup for glue, and said 
 he knew not how he could dine as there 
 was no meat to dress. 
 
 To land the guns was Fritz's care, 
 and he took one of them with him to 
 the side of the stream. Ned would 
 not join him, for the rough road was 
 not to his taste : so he bent his way to 
 the coast. Jack set off to a ridge of 
 rocks which ran down to the sea 
 to look for shell fish, while I went 
 to try and draw some of the casks on 
 shore. But I found that the place 
 where I had come to land was too steep 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 23 
 
 to get them up ; so I went in search 
 of one that lay more on a line with the 
 sea. I had not been there long when 
 I heard screams from my dear Jack. 
 I took up my axe and ran to his aid, 
 and found him up to his knees in a 
 pool with a huge crab, which held his 
 leg tight in its sharp claw. Though 
 the crab made off when I came up, 
 I did not lose sight of it, and as Jack 
 had a mind to take it home, I gave 
 it to him. But as soon as he took the 
 crab in his hand, it gave him such a 
 blow that the poor boy threw it off and 
 set up a sad wail once more, and it was 
 as much as I could do to keep a smile 
 from my lips. In a great rage my boy 
 flung a large stone at it, which put an 
 end to its life. When we came back 
 to the tent Jack said in a loud voice, 
 "A crab ! Such a huge crab ! Ned ! 
 
24 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 where's Fritz ? Take care it does not 
 bite you, Frank ! " They all soon 
 came round him. " Yes, here's the 
 claw that caught hold of my leg," quoth 
 Jack ; " but I paid him out, the rogue ! " 
 
 " What is it that you boast of?" said 
 I. "You would not have come off so 
 well, had I not brought you aid in time ; 
 and, pray, do you not call to mind the 
 blow on your face ? The poor crab 
 did but make use of his arms to save 
 his life ; but you had to hurl a great 
 stone at him with yours : so you have 
 no cause to be proud, my boy." 
 
 Ned thought the crab would be a 
 good thing to put in the soup, but my 
 wife set it by for the next day. I then 
 went to that part of the shore where 
 it had been caught, and drew my casks 
 to land there. 
 
 I told Jack that he was the first boy 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 25 
 
 to bring us food, for none of the rest 
 had done so. 
 
 " I saw some shell fish on a rock," 
 said Ned ; " but I could not get at them, 
 for the sea made my feet wet." 
 
 " Nay," said I, " I must beg of you 
 to get us some then ; for we must all 
 work for the good of the rest, and take 
 no heed of wet feet, for the sun soon 
 dries them." 
 
 " I may as well bring some salt at 
 the same time," said he ; "I saw lots 
 of it in the cracks of the rocks, and 
 I think it must have been left there 
 by the sea." 
 
 " No doubt, my young sage," said I. 
 " Where else could it have come from ? 
 And you would have done more good 
 to fill a bag with it, than to dwell on 
 the laws that brought it there. But 
 if you wish to eat your soup with a zest, 
 
26 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 be quick and get some salt." So he 
 set off, and soon came back with some ; 
 but it was full of sand and earth. 
 
 To stir the pot my wife made use 
 of a small stick, and when she came to 
 taste that which clung to it, she said, 
 " The soup is good, but how are we 
 to drink it ? We have brought no 
 plates nor spoons ! And how can we 
 raise this large pot to our lips ? " 
 
 We all cast a grave look at the pot- — 
 our grave look then grew to a dull gaze 
 — when all at once we burst out in a 
 loud laugh at our sad plight. 
 
 "If we had but some large nuts," 
 said Ned, " we might split them and 
 make both spoons and plates of them ! " 
 
 " If," said I ; " but we have none ! 
 We might as well wish for some fine 
 gold spoons with our coat of arms on 
 them, if it were of use to wish." 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 2 7 
 
 " Well," said Ned, " we can use 
 shells." 
 
 " That is a good thought," said I ; 
 " set off, Ned, at once, and get some. 
 And mind, my brave boys, no grunts, 
 and groans, though we find it hard to 
 hold our spoons, and you should have 
 to dip your hands in the hot soup." 
 
 "At these words off ran Jack, who 
 was up to his knees in the sea by the 
 time that Ned had got to the spot. 
 He tore down the shells from the rocks 
 and threw them to Ned, who put them 
 in his game bag (but took good care to 
 let a large one fall in his pouch for his 
 own use), and then they came back 
 with their spoil. 
 
 Fritz had not yet come home, and 
 my wife was full of care lest all was not 
 right with him ; but just then we heard 
 his voice hail us some way off. He 
 
28 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 soon came up with a feint that he was 
 sad, and at the same time hid his hands. 
 But Jack, who took a peep, said in 
 a loud voice (by way of a joke), " Good 
 sport ; a young pig ! " The beast 
 which Fritz had shot was in truth no 
 pig at all, but a kind of hare, which 
 lives on nuts and fruit. 
 
 Though all the rest of the boys had 
 a wish to hear Fritz tell of what he 
 had seen and done, I thought it right 
 to take my son Jack to task for the 
 false tale he had spread, though but 
 in jest. 
 
 Fritz told us he had been on the left 
 side of the stream, where the land lies 
 low ; and " as to the casks," said he, 
 " I could not count them, to say not 
 a word of chests, planks, and all sorts 
 of things from the wreck. Should we 
 not do well to go and fetch them ? 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 29 
 
 And at dawn of day we ought to go 
 there to look to the live stock, for we 
 must at least have the cow : our bread 
 cakes would not be half so hard if 
 we had some milk to soak them in." 
 
 Ned. — " How much more nice, too, 
 they would be ! " 
 
 Fritz. — " Then I found a wood, and 
 some rich grass for the cow. I can't 
 see why we should stay down here, in 
 this dull nook." 
 
 " Stay," said I, " we are but just 
 come ! But first tell me, did you see 
 a trace of our poor ship mates ?" 
 
 Fritz. — " No sign at all of man on 
 land or sea ; but I saw a strange sort 
 of beast as big as a hog, with feet like 
 a hare." 
 
 The time had now come to sit down 
 to our meal of soup ; the boys all burnt 
 their hands, of course, save Ned, who 
 
30 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 took his large shell from his pouch, and 
 when it was full of soup, set it down to 
 cool, quite proud of it. 
 
 " You have shown some thought, my 
 dear Ned," said I ; "but how is it you 
 take so much more care of your own 
 self than of the rest ? Now, pray, give 
 what is in the large shell to those poor 
 dogs. We can all dip our shells in the 
 pot, but the dogs can't do so : so they 
 may have your soup, and you must eat 
 as we do." 
 
 This struck the heart of Ned, and 
 when he put his shell on the ground 
 the dogs took their meal from it. As 
 we all sat with our eyes cast on our 
 shells to wait for the soup to get cool, 
 the dogs fell on Fritz's hare (for so he , 
 chose to call it). All the boys sprang 
 up to drive them off; but Fritz, in a 
 great rage, took up his gun and struck 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 31 
 
 one of them with the stock end of it, 
 till the force of the blows bent it, and 
 would have been the death of the dog 
 if I had not held him back.. 
 
 As soon as he had had time to cool 
 I took him to task, and told him he had 
 thrown us all in a state of great fear ; 
 and, what was still worse, he had spoilt 
 the gun, which might have been of so 
 much use to us ; add to this the hard 
 blows he gave would kill most dogs. 
 " Rage such as this," said I, " leads to 
 all crime. Do you not know what Cain 
 did ? " 
 
 " Oh," said Fritz, " I grieve to think 
 of what I have done." 
 
 As soon as we had had our meal 
 the fowls came round us to pick up the 
 crumbs. My wife then took out her 
 bag, and fed them with some grain. 
 When they had had their fill, our 
 
32 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 doves flew to the rocks, the fowls took 
 their perch on the tent, and the ducks 
 and geese went to roost in a marsh near 
 the sea. 
 
 The sun sank all at once, and it was 
 time for us to go to rest. We took 
 care to load the guns, then knelt down 
 to pray, and went to our beds of moss ; 
 but, hot as the day had been, we found 
 the night was cold. 
 
 Once more I took a peep out, to see 
 if all was still, and then lay down to 
 rest, and we all slept. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 At break of day I heard the cock 
 crow ; in fact, it woke me from my 
 sleep. The first thing I did was to 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 33 
 
 rouse up my wife, and tell her of a plan 
 I had thought of, which was to go all 
 round the coast of the isle in search 
 of our friends from the wreck, and she 
 thought as I did, that this ought to be 
 our first care. 
 
 My wife, who saw that we could not 
 ull go, said she would stay where she 
 was with her three young ones, while 
 Fritz and I went on our search. I 
 told her that to get back by the light of 
 day we must start at once, and should 
 want a good meal first ; yet what was 
 there for us to eat ? " Jack's great 
 crab will be the thing," said she ; but 
 it was not to be found. So whilst my 
 wife made up the fire and put on the 
 pot, I woke up the boys. " Where is 
 the crab?" said I to Jack; and he 
 brought it from a hole in the rock, 
 where he had put it to be out of the 
 
 D 
 
34 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 reach of the dogs, which ate up all that 
 they could find. Said I to Jack, 
 " Will you give up your crab to Fritz ? 
 We think the claw that caught hold 
 of your leg will make a good meal for 
 him to start on, for we shall soon be on 
 a long march, and we must first break 
 our fast." 
 
 When he heard this, Jack gave up 
 his crab with a good grace. 
 
 Ned and the two young ones leapt 
 round me like kids, to beg of me to let 
 them join us. " But," said I, "if you 
 all go, who is to take care of our new 
 home ? " 
 
 I meant to take Turk, and with him 
 and our gun I thought we should make 
 a great show of strength. I then bade 
 Fritz tie up Flox and get out the guns. 
 
 Fritz gave a deep blush, and did his 
 best to get his gun straight. I let him 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson, 35 
 
 go on for some time, and then told him 
 to take one of mine, for I knew he felt 
 pain for what he had done. The dog, 
 too, gave a snarl at him ; but though 
 he held out some of the hard bread to 
 him, and gave him a kind stroke on the 
 head, still it was all one, for Turk 
 would not trust him, while Flox would 
 lick his hand. 
 
 " Give him the claw of my crab," 
 said Jack. 
 
 " Fear not, Jack, my boy," said Ned, 
 '£. for they will be sure to meet with 
 nuts. Think of a nut as big as your 
 head, with a cup full of milk in it ! " 
 
 " Please bring it to me if you find 
 one, Fritz," said Frank. 
 
 I then told them all that we would 
 pray to God first to bless our work, 
 and then lose no time, but set off at 
 once. 
 
 D 2 
 
36 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 " Ding dong ! Ding dong ! Ding 
 dong ! " said my wild Jack, as in play 
 he took off the sound of the church 
 bells ; but I chid him for it, and told 
 him that though love for the Lord was 
 a thing of joy, yet it was not right to 
 joke while we were on our knees to 
 pray to Him. 
 
 Poor Jack came and knelt down close 
 to me, to show me that he saw what 
 I had said to him in the same light as 
 I did. I gave all the three boys a 
 kiss, and took leave of my wife and 
 them. 
 
 I thought it best to load the gun 
 which I had left with my wife, and told 
 her to keep near the boat, as it would 
 prove her best friend in time of need. 
 We all wept when we took leave, for we 
 did not know what our fate might be ; but 
 the noise of the swift stream which we 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson, 37 
 
 had to cross would seem to drown the 
 sobs of those we had left, and we bent 
 our thoughts on the work we had in 
 hand. 
 
 We each took a large bag for game, 
 a gun, and an axe. The right bank of 
 the stream was so steep that there was 
 but one place through which we could 
 cross it, and that was near the sea. 
 But at last, with some toil, we got to 
 the left bank. We had not gone more 
 than a few yards through grass which 
 was as tall as we were, when we heard 
 a noise as if some wild beast ran 
 through it up to the spot where we 
 stood. 
 
 I felt proud to see that Fritz was so 
 brave as to stand and point his gun 
 to the place whence the sound came. 
 What was our joy to find that this fierce 
 foe should turn out to be Turk, whom 
 
38 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 our grief, when we took leave of my 
 dear ones, drove from our thoughts, 
 and we made no doubt that they had 
 sent him off to join us. Fritz did 
 not fire, and I gave him all praise 
 for this, as by so rash an act we should 
 have lost our best friend. 
 
 The sea was on our left, and on our 
 right ran a chain of rocks, from the side 
 of which spread fine woods, and on the 
 skirts of these we took our w T ay. We 
 kept a bright look out for our ship 
 mates. Fritz had a great wish to fire 
 his gun to show them where we were, 
 in case they might be near us ; but 
 I told him I thought there would be 
 a risk in that, for if there were wild 
 tribes on the isle, they might rush on 
 us, and kill us. 
 
 Fritz — -" I can't see why we should 
 search for the crew at all. I am sure 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 39 
 
 the brutes left us to our fate on the 
 wreck ! " 
 
 " Fritz," said I, "we must do good to 
 those that hate us, if they stand in need 
 of our help. You must bear in mind 
 that we have things from the wreck 
 which they have as much right to as 
 we, and that there would not have been 
 room for us in the boats ; add to this, 
 if they were cast in the sea by the storm, 
 which I make no doubt they were, we 
 should have been lost too." 
 
 Fritz — " But we might make such 
 good use of our time if we were to go 
 to the wreck to bring the live stock on 
 shore." 
 
 " Should we not do more good," said 
 I, "to save the life of a man than that 
 of an ass, or a cow ? The beasts on 
 board the ship have food to last them 
 some days, and while the sea is so calm 
 there is no fear." 
 
4-0 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 We now came to a small wood which 
 ran down to the sea shore, in the shade 
 of which we ate our food, whilst birds 
 stood on the boughs all round us, whose 
 gay plumes made up for their harsh 
 song. 
 
 Turk gave a loud bark at what we 
 thought must be an ape in one of the 
 trees, and when Fritz ran to look out 
 for it, he fell on a large round bird's 
 nest ; at least, so he thought it was. 
 But when I broke the shell, I found it 
 was one of the nuts which Ned had 
 set his heart on. 
 
 " But," said Fritz," where is the 
 sweet milk which he talks so much 
 of?" 
 
 I told him the milk was found in the 
 nuts when they were half ripe ; but as 
 this nut was ripe, the juice had got 
 thick and hard. 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 41 
 
 It took us a long time to get through 
 the wood ; but at last we left this maze 
 of boughs and roots, and came to a 
 broad plain, where, to my joy, I found 
 the gourd tree, which bears fruit on its 
 stem. 
 
 " The shells of these gourds/' said I, 
 " will make plates, cups, spoons, and 
 forks." 
 
 Fritz leapt with glee at the thought. 
 
 " Now we can drink our soup like 
 men of high rank," said he ; and he 
 soon set to work to cut spoons from the 
 rind, in which he put sand, so that the 
 sun should not warp them, and left 
 them to dry till we came back. 
 
 " Can you tell me why the gourd 
 tree bears fruit on the stem, and not on 
 the boughs ?" said I. 
 
 " To be sure ; the boughs would not 
 bear the weight of it," quoth he. 
 
42 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 We then set out once more on our 
 search, and I took up my glass to spy 
 round me, but saw no signs of our 
 friends. At last we got to a tongue 
 of land that ran out in the sea, to the 
 top of which we came at last with much 
 toil, and from it we had a fine view 
 of sea and land, but still no trace of 
 man ; and I felt sure that our mates 
 had been lost in the sea. 
 
 We now sat down once more to rest. 
 " This sea," said I, "which looks so 
 calm, ought to fill our minds with 
 thoughts of peace ; yet while I think 
 of those who, but four days since, were 
 swept off by the rude lash of its wild 
 waves, and, as I fear, lie dead in this 
 smooth sea, its smile would seem to 
 mock them ! " 
 
 We had now to pass through ground 
 on which grew a vast crop of canes, 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 43 
 
 which made it hard work for us to walk, 
 and I felt some fear that there might 
 be snakes in it, which I knew chose 
 out such spots, so we made Turk go 
 in front of us, that he might start them, 
 and with his loud bark put us on our 
 guard. 
 
 When I cut the canes, I was much 
 struck to see a juice like glue come 
 out, and of course I must needs taste 
 it. I found it was sweet, and gave me 
 as much strength as a glass of wine. 
 But when Fritz put it to his lips, he 
 said, — 
 
 "Oh, such luck! What will the 
 boys say to this ? " 
 
 He ate so much of it that I felt 
 bound to check him ; and when we 
 left he took a load of the canes on his 
 back. 
 
 We now came to a wood of palm 
 
44 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 trees, where a group of apes took fright 
 at us, and at the bark of the dog they 
 fled to the top of the trees, and there, 
 with grins and shrill cries, sat to watch 
 us. I held back Fritz's arm, for he 
 would have shot at them. 
 
 "We have no right," said I, " to kill, 
 save for food ; and, in fact, these apes 
 will be of more use to us with life in 
 them, than if they were dead, as I will 
 show you. I then threw stones at 
 them, and they in their rage took nuts 
 by the score to hurl at me, so we soon 
 had a good store of the nuts, from 
 which we drank the milk. We gave 
 Turk the rest of the crab, bound up 
 a store of nuts by the stems, and set off 
 on our way home. 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 45 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 As we went, we must needs suck the 
 canes, for they were so good, till Fritz 
 had great fears that there would be but 
 a poor feast for those whom we had left 
 at home. But I told him I thought 
 there was more cause of fear from the 
 sun, which might turn the juice sour ; 
 in that case there would be no need to 
 spare them. 
 
 " Well, my flask is full of milk for 
 them, that's one good thing," said 
 Fritz. 
 
 " Nay," said I, "there is more fear 
 still of the nuts, for you may make sure 
 that they will turn sour." 
 
 We now got to the spot where we 
 had left the spoons, and we found them 
 
46 The Swiss Family Robinson* 
 
 quite dry, and as hard as a bone. We 
 had not gone far when Turk made a 
 dart at a troop of apes, who sprang from 
 place to place in sport. He bit hold 
 of one of them that held her young one 
 in her arms, which made her flight 
 more slow. 
 
 Fritz ran with all his might to save 
 the old ape from Turk's jaws, and so 
 lost his hat, canes, and cups ; but he 
 found that she was dead. The young 
 ape leapt on his back, and put its paws 
 in his curls, and no cries or threats 
 could rid him of it. 
 
 I ran up to him with a laugh, for 
 I saw the ape was too young to hurt 
 him. As it would not stir, all Fritz 
 could do was to take the cub home 
 as it was ; for since it had lost its dam, 
 the young thing would fain look to him 
 to screen it from harm. It was but the 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 4 7 
 
 size of a cat, though the old ape was 
 as tall as Fritz. 
 
 I did not wish to have one more 
 mouth to fill ; but Fritz was loth to part 
 with his pet, and said that till we had 
 the cow, it should have his share of 
 the milk from the nuts. In the mean 
 time Turk made a meal of the old ape, 
 from which Fritz strove to drive him. 
 
 " Nay," said I, " if you drive the dogs 
 off such game as they have the luck to 
 find, they might spring on one of the 
 young boys some day when they are 
 much in want of food. Fritz thought 
 we were well off to have two such fine 
 dogs, and that the ass too would be 
 of great use to us. 
 
 When Turk came up to join us the 
 young ape took fright at him, and crept 
 up the breast of Fritz's coat. 
 
 He did not care to have him quite 
 
48 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 so near, and the thought struck him 
 that he would tie the cub with a cord 
 to Turk's back, and lead the dog. 
 Turk did not at all like this at first ; 
 but a threat and a coax made him yield 
 in the end. 
 
 We went on at a slow pace for some 
 time, and I could but think of the state 
 of joy in which our young ones would 
 be thrown when they saw us come 
 home with the ape like two Beast Show 
 men. 
 
 We had but just got to the banks 
 of the stream which ran near our tent, 
 when we heard Flox give a loud bark, 
 as much as to say, " Here they are !" 
 Then Turk gave a bark, to tell them, 
 " Here we come!" But at these 
 sounds the young ape took fright, and 
 leapt from Turk's neck to Fritz's head, 
 and come down he would not. 
 
The Swis^Family Robinson. 49 
 
 Turk was but too glad to break loose, 
 that he might run to meet Flox and 
 the boys, who were soon at our side, 
 and in great glee to see us back once 
 more. Each boy had a kiss, and then 
 came shouts of praise at the sight of the 
 new pet. 
 
 " An ape ! a real live ape ! Oh what 
 a love! How did you catch him?" 
 burst from the lips of Ned and Jack; 
 but Frank, who stood in some fear of 
 him, said, " I call him a fright." 
 
 Jack. — "I am sure his looks are twice 
 as good as yours. See how he laughs. 
 How I should like to see him eat !" 
 
 Ned. — " Now, if we had but some 
 of the nuts with milk in them ! Have 
 you found some ? " 
 
 ' But I fear you have met with some 
 risks," said my wife. 
 
 It was in vain to try to tell them all 
 
50 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 at once what we had done. At length, 
 when they let us have some peace, I 
 told them where we had been, and that 
 we had brought them all sorts of good 
 things ; but that I had not seen a trace 
 of our friends from the ship. 
 
 " God's will be done !" said my wife. 
 "Let us thank Him that He has 
 brought you safe back to us. This day 
 has been like a whole week to me ! 
 But put down your load, and let us 
 hear you talk of all that you have seen 
 and done. We, too, have found work 
 to do, though we have not gone through 
 all the toil that you must have had. 
 Boys, see if you can ease them of 
 their load." 
 
 Jack took my gun, Frank the gourds, 
 and my wife the game bags. Fritz 
 soon gave out the canes, and put the 
 ape on Turk's back, to the great glee of 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson, 5 1 
 
 the rest of the boys. He gave his gun 
 to Ned, who said the gourds were of 
 too ^reat a weight for him to take, so 
 my dear wife lent a hand, and we went 
 on our way to the tent. 
 
 Fritz.- — "It strikes me that if Ned 
 knew that the gourds held his dear nuts 
 with milk in them, he would not give 
 them up so soon." 
 
 Ned. — " Give them to me ; I will 
 take them, and the gun too." 
 
 My wife had a good meal for us at 
 the fire. She had put some sticks in 
 the shape of a fork on the hearth, 
 which made a rest for a thin spit, on 
 which all sorts of fish were put to roast, 
 and a goose too. Frank was set to 
 turn the spit, and the pot was on the 
 fire, from which came forth the fumes 
 of some good soup. 
 
 At the back of the hearth stood one 
 
 E 2 
 
52 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 of the casks, which held a Dutch cheese 
 in a case of lead. All this was sweet 
 to our sight and smell, and we felt sure 
 would soon be so to our taste ; and for 
 the time we lost sight of the fact that 
 we were on a lone shore where, till 
 now, man's foot had not been set. 
 
 I could not think my boys or my 
 wife had lost much time since we left 
 them ; but I told them that they must 
 not kill our geese quite so fast, as we 
 ought to keep them for stock. 
 
 " Have no fear," said my wife, "this 
 is not one of our own, it is a wild goose 
 which was brought home by Ned ; 
 Jack and Frank caught the fish at the 
 rocks, while I brought the cask up to 
 the tent and broke the lid of it, to 
 get to this good cheese." 
 
 Fritz. — " Let's feed our young ape, 
 who has lost his dam's milk." 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 53 
 
 Jack. — " I have been to try him, and 
 ( he will not eat." 
 
 I told the boys that he must be fed 
 with the milk from the nuts till he 
 could eat. Jack said he should have 
 all his share ; but Ned and Frank, on 
 their part, had a wish to taste the 
 milk. 
 
 Jack. — " Nay ; but the poor cub 
 must live ! " 
 
 " And so must we all," said my wife ; 
 " so now come and sup, and we will 
 have the nuts by and by." 
 
 We sat down on the ground, and 
 the meal was spread. My boys cut 
 the nuts in two with our saw, and made 
 spoons of the shells. Jack took good 
 care that the poor ape should have his 
 share ; and the way the boys fed him 
 was to put the end of a cloth in the 
 milk, and then let the cub suck it. 
 
54 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 As night had now come on we all 
 went to rest. The young ape was laid 
 on some moss to keep him warm, with 
 Fritz and Jack by his side ; the fowls 
 went to roost on the tent, and we were 
 all soon in a deep sleep. 
 
 But we had not slept long, when we 
 heard a great noise, which the dogs and 
 the fowls had set up, and we thought, 
 of course, that some foe was near. My 
 wife, Fritz, and I, each took a gun 
 and went out, when by the light of the 
 moon we saw a fierce fight, for our 
 brave dogs had round them a score 
 of wolves. 
 
 Fritz and I let off our guns, at which 
 two fell dead, and the rest fled, but 
 Turk and Flox soon put them to death, 
 and then, like true dogs, ate them. We 
 were glad to find it was no worse a foe, 
 and then went back to our beds, and 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 55 
 
 slept till the cock woke us with his loud 
 crow, and then my wife and I set our 
 thoughts to work to make plans for the 
 day. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 "Well, my dear," said I, "I see 
 some toil lies in our path this day; 
 Fritz and I must go on our raft to the 
 wreck, for if we are to save the live 
 stock, we must go at once ; and there 
 are bales and bales of goods on board 
 which may be of much use to us. Yet 
 I know not what to do first, for we must 
 have some place here to stow them in," 
 
 " All may be done," said my wife, 
 " in due time ; and though I shall be 
 in a sad state of fear till I see you both 
 
56 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 back, still I yield to the good it will 
 be to us all, so let it be done this 
 day." 
 
 I then went to rouse my boys. Fritz 
 was the first to jump up, and he ran 
 for a dead wolf, which he found had got 
 quite stiff. He put it on its legs at the 
 door of the tent, to make the rest of 
 the boys start ; but as soon as the dogs 
 saw it, they sprang on it, and would 
 have torn it to shreds, had not Fritz 
 gone to work the right way this time, 
 which was to coax them off with food. 
 But this loud bark woke the boys, who 
 made a rush at the door of the tent 
 to see the cause of it all. 
 
 Jack was the first to come out, with 
 the ape on his arm ; but as soon as the 
 young thing saw the wolf which lay 
 dead at the door, he sprang back to his 
 bed and hid in the moss, till no part 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson* 5 7 
 
 of him but the tip of his snout could 
 be seen. Jack took the wolf for a dead 
 dog ; and Ned, in a tone of some pomp, 
 said, " This is a gold fox." 
 
 We then sat down to break our fast, 
 when Ned gave a sly look at a cask 
 which stood by. 
 
 " Ah," said he, " if we had but some 
 lard to spread on this hard bread, how 
 good it would be. Could we not get 
 at this cask ? " 
 
 He then brought out some lard from 
 a crack in the side of it. 
 
 " Your taste for good things, Ned, 
 has brought us a great boon. Come, 
 my boys, who wants bread and lard ?" 
 
 As our dogs lay at our feet, I saw 
 that they had got deep wounds in the 
 neck ; so my wife put some of the 
 lard on them, which gave the poor 
 brutes much ease. Ned thought they 
 
58 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 ought to have spikes round their necks 
 to keep off their foes. 
 
 " I will make them some," said 
 Jack. 
 
 While Fritz got out the boat, I set 
 up a high post, on the top of which 
 I put a piece of sail cloth for a flag, and 
 I told my wife and boys that they must 
 let it float in the air as long as all went 
 on well ; but if they stood in need of 
 us they were to let down the flag and 
 fire a gun three times, when we should 
 come back with all speed. I told my 
 wife that we might have to stay on 
 board all night. 
 
 "Well," said she, "if I thought you 
 would be on the raft, I should rest at 
 ease, but not if you slept on the wreck." 
 
 Our guns were all we took, as we 
 thought we should find food on board. 
 But I must add that Fritz would take 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson, 59 
 
 the ape, that he might give it some 
 milk from the cow, as he thought it did 
 not seem " quite up to the mark." So 
 we took our leave, and went off in the 
 boat. 
 
 When we had got mid way down the 
 bay, a strong stream drove us on for 
 three parts of the way ; at last we came 
 to the creek of the rock from which 
 I had made my first start. Then we 
 went on board the ship. 
 
 Fritz's first care was to feed the live 
 things, each of which we heard greet 
 us in its own way. The young ape was 
 put to the goat to suck, and this he 
 did with so great a zest that it made 
 us hold our sides to laugh at so droll 
 a sight. 
 
 Now that we had made our way to 
 the wreck, the next thing we had to 
 think of was how we should get back. 
 
60 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 We knew that the wind which blew 
 in our teeth as we came, would serve us 
 now if we had a sail ; so a mast and sail 
 were of course the first things for us to 
 look out for. We found a strong pole 
 for a mast, and to fix the sail to a yard 
 did not take us long. We then put 
 a plank on the top of the fourth tub on 
 our raft, and so made a deck. Fritz 
 ran up a red flag to the top of the mast 
 as a sign to those whom we had left on 
 shore, to let them know that we should 
 not go back that night. 
 
 The next day we found all sorts of 
 things that we could turn to some use 
 on shore, such as shot, tools, and cloth ; 
 and we took care this time to bear in 
 mind spoons, knives, forks, plates, pots, 
 pans, and a jack to roast with. 
 
 We found a chest full of good things 
 to eat, such as the new kind of soup, 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 61 
 
 hams, some bags of maize, wheat, seeds, 
 and herbs. We took all the tools we 
 could find room for, some guns, swords, 
 and a large roll of cloth. Our tubs 
 were full to the brim, and we left but 
 just room to stand. We now sent up 
 our flag to say that all was right, and 
 went to rest for the night. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 At break of day I went on deck to 
 look through a good glass which I had 
 found in the ship, and I could see my 
 wife with her face my way, as well as 
 the flag, which flew in the breeze. So 
 as I knew that all went well with her, 
 I sat down to eat a full meal. 
 
 As to the live stock, it was plain that 
 
62 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 if we made a raft for them, the beasts 
 would not rest on it ; the great fat sow 
 might swim to land, but as to the rest we 
 did not see our way with them. At last 
 Fritz thought of a plan by which they 
 might reach the shore, but which it 
 took us two hours to put in force, and 
 this was the way of it : the cow and the 
 ass had a cask on each side of them, 
 well bound with strips of sail cloth, and 
 we put a block of wood on the head 
 of each to hold him by. We sent the 
 ass off by a hard push, and he swam 
 well when he had once made a plunge 
 or two. The cow, sheep, and goats, 
 all took to the sea as if they did not 
 mind it, but the sow broke loose from 
 us, and was the first to reach the land. 
 
 We then got in our boat, bound all 
 the blocks of wood (which held the beasts) 
 to its stern, and drew with us our train. 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 63 
 
 We thought much of our sail, for with 
 such a load as we had, we could not 
 have got on with our oars. 
 
 Once more I took up the glass to 
 look for my wife and boys, when a 
 loud cry from Fritz rang in my ears : 
 
 " We are lost ! We are lost ! See 
 that huge fish ! " 
 
 But the bold boy took hold of his 
 gun, and sent two balls at its head, and 
 as it swam it left a track of blood. 
 
 We were now not far from the shore, 
 so we let down the sail and took our 
 oars, and when the beasts felt the 
 ground we cut off the wood and each 
 went on shore just in the way he 
 thought most fit. 
 
 So we came to land. But where 
 were all those whom we had left ? We 
 could see no trace of them ! 
 
 But we had not long to wait ; for 
 
64 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 they soon came up to greet us ; and 
 when our first burst of joy had gone off, 
 we sat down to tell our tale from first 
 to last. My wife's joy was great to see 
 the ass, cow, sheep, sow, and goats, and 
 more than all, to hear how well Fritz's 
 plan to get them to land had been 
 brought to bear. 
 
 We then set to work to bring on 
 shore all our stores. I saw that Jack 
 wore a belt of skin, in which were put 
 firearms. Said I, " Where could you 
 have found such a thing ? " 
 
 u I made it," said he, " and this is 
 not all ; look at the dogs ! " 
 
 The dogs had each a thong round 
 his neck, thick with spikes. 
 
 "It was I that thought of it," said 
 Jack, "but I had help when I came to 
 sew the nails on." 
 
 I told him I should like to know 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 65 
 
 where .he got the thong, the nails, and 
 the thread from ? 
 
 Jack then said, " The thong was 
 made out of the skin of Fritz's wolf, 
 and the rest came from the large 
 
 ba S-" 
 
 " There is still more in it ; do but 
 
 say what you want ! " quoth my wife. 
 
 I sent Fritz to bring the ham from 
 the raft, and, to the joy of all, it was 
 set out on the top of the lard cask. My 
 wife brought out twelve dove's eggs, 
 which were like white balls ; and while 
 she spread our meal, Fritz and I took 
 our load out of the boat, and made use 
 of the ass to help us. 
 
 We sat down to cheese, ham, and 
 eggs, with the ass, cow, sheep, goats, 
 dogs, sow, and fowls all round us. The 
 geese and ducks kept to the marsh, 
 where they ate the small crabs. I sent 
 
66 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 Fritz for some wine from the stores ; 
 and then my wife gave us a sketch of 
 all that she and the two young ones had 
 done while we were on the wreck. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 " As to the way in which I spent the 
 first day," said she, " I will spare your 
 kind heart, for I w T as in such great fear 
 that I kept my eye the whole time on 
 the flags and signs from the ship, which 
 with the aid of the glass I could see 
 well. But to day, as I was sure that 
 all went well with you, I set out with 
 the two dear boys in search of some 
 spot to pitch our tent in, that had more 
 to boast of than this poor bare place. 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 67 
 
 We went forth with game bags, and 
 knives at our sides ; the boys took our 
 food, and I shut up the tent door with 
 the hooks. Turk and Flox went with 
 us as our guides ; but when we got to 
 the stream we were in a great strait, for 
 we knew not how to cross it. So we 
 kept for some time to the left bank, 
 when by hook or by crook the boys got 
 me through it. 
 
 "We had now come to what we 
 thought was a wood, which was in good 
 truth but a group of twelve trees, all 
 of a great height, and which would seem 
 as if the air was their home more than 
 the earth ; and the trunks sprang from 
 roots, each of which made an arch to 
 hold up the boughs. Jack put a piece 
 of twine round the trunk of one of these, 
 to see what size it was, and found it to 
 be two score feet round the stem ; and 
 
 F 2 
 
68 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 as far as we could judge, it was three 
 score feet high. A short smooth turf 
 grew at the foot, and near it ran a clear 
 brook with a bank of bright green moss 
 on each side of it. On the whole, it 
 was as sweet a spot as the eye could 
 rest on. Here we sat down to eat our 
 meal. The two dogs, which soon came 
 to join us, did not seem to crave for food, 
 as I thought they would, but lay down 
 to sleep at our feet. 
 
 "As for me, so safe and so full of 
 peace did this sweet spot seem, that 
 I could but think that if we were to 
 build a home on the top of these high 
 trees, I could find it in my heart to 
 spend the rest of my life here. 
 
 " When we set out to go home we 
 took the road by the sea shore, in hopes 
 that the waves would have cast up things 
 from the wreck which might be of use 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson, 69 
 
 to us. We found chests and casks 
 which we had not the strength to move 
 far, though we took them out of the 
 reach of the tide. In the mean time 
 the dogs caught small crabs which they 
 ate as fast as they could catch them. I 
 was glad to see this, as I knew the poor 
 things could not get their own food. 
 
 " As we sat down a while to rest from 
 this hard work, I saw Flox scratch a 
 hole in the sand and eat some small 
 things out of it with a great zest. Ned 
 stood to watch him, and then said : 
 
 ' ' They are eggs ! round white eggs ! 
 and such good ones ! ' 
 
 " We took twelve of them, and left 
 Flox the rest for her pains. 
 
 ' While we put our spoil in the game 
 bags, we saw in front of us a sail. Ned 
 was quite sure it was our raft, but 
 Frank was much in dread lest it should 
 
jo The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 be a boat full of wild men who would 
 eat us up. Yet we soon drove off these 
 fears, and leapt from stone to stone, till 
 we got to the place where you were to 
 land." 
 
 " Then," said I, " I make out from 
 what you tell me, that you have found 
 a high tree where you would have us 
 perch like fowls. But how are we to 
 get up ? " 
 
 " Oh," said my wife, " can you not 
 call to mind the large lime tree near our 
 town in which a ball room had been 
 made ? We went up to that by stairs ; 
 so why could you not make stairs in 
 those huge stems ? There we should 
 live in peace, and have no fear of wolves 
 or foes that prowl by night." 
 
 I said I would think of what could 
 be done. 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 71 
 
 Q 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The next day we set our wits to 
 work to make a plan. In the end we 
 thought that we would build a home on 
 the spot my wife spoke of in terms of 
 such high praise. 
 
 " But the store house for our goods," 
 said I, " must be in the rock, as well 
 as a place to fly to in time of need, 
 which shall be known to none but 
 us. 
 
 I told my wife that the first thing to 
 be done was to build a bridge, that we 
 might bring all our goods to the house 
 and stores. 
 
 " A bridge ! " said my wife. " Why 
 can't we make use of a ford as we have 
 done ? The cow and the ass could 
 take our stores." 
 
72 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 I told her that a bridge we must 
 have, and that the boys and I would 
 make it, while I set her to work to 
 stitch up some strong bags to put shot 
 in. 
 
 As our minds were now made up 
 for this change of home, I woke up the 
 boys and told them of our plans. We 
 all gave a loud laugh when we saw the 
 young ape suck the goat, who took to 
 it as if she had been its dam. And as 
 to my wife to see her milk the cow, one 
 might vow that she had been born a 
 milk maid. She gave us some of the 
 warm milk, and put the rest in flasks 
 for us to take in the boat, and I then 
 had to go in search of planks of wood 
 to build the bridge with. 
 
 I took both Fritz and Ned with me 
 this time, as I saw we should have a 
 good load to bring on shore. 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 73 
 
 When we came up to a small isle at 
 the mouth of the bay, we saw there a 
 vast flock of gulls and sea birds of that 
 kind, which, with their harsh cry, fed 
 on a huge fish. This fish was the shark 
 which Fritz had shot through the head, 
 and he found on it the marks of his 
 two balls. 
 
 Ned struck some of the birds right 
 and left, and put the rest to flight. We 
 cut off the skin of the shark, which I 
 thought might be of use, and put it in 
 the boat. 
 
 We found loads of planks there, 
 which had been thrown up by the high 
 tide, and as these were all that I could 
 wish for to build our bridge with, I did 
 not go to the wreck. We chose out 
 those which we thought would best suit 
 us, and by the aid of the jack screw 
 and some strong poles we bound them 
 
74 Tke Swiss Family Robinson, 
 
 to the stern of the boat, and then put 
 off. As we went on, Fritz set to work to 
 dry the shark's skin to make files with, 
 and Ned in the mean while must needs 
 muse on the fact that the shark's mouth 
 is so made that to seize his prey he 
 must turn on his back, and this gives 
 his prey a chance to save their lives ; 
 else, with such a maw, he would lay 
 waste the sea. At last we came to 
 land, and a loud call soon brought the 
 boys to our side. 
 
 They had been hard at work at the 
 banks of the stream. Frank had 
 round his neck a net full of fine craw 
 fish, and Jack had the same. " Frank 
 was the first to find these fish," said 
 Jack, " when he and I went in search 
 of the best place to build the bridge." 
 
 " Thank you," said I ; " then may be 
 you will plan the works." 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 75 
 
 " Yes, yes," said Jack, " but just 
 hark at what we saw. When we got 
 to the stream, Frank gave a loud call 
 to me, and when I came up to him I 
 saw Fritz's wolf with a coat of crabs 
 on him ! I ran to fetch a net that we 
 found on the shore, and we caught all 
 these as soon as we had cast it, and 
 could have got more if you had not 
 just then come up." 
 
 I told Jack to keep as much as we 
 should want to eat, and put the rest 
 back in the stream, and I was glad to 
 find that we had such good food in our 
 reach. We now brought our planks 
 on shore. I thought well of Frank's 
 site for the bridge ; but it was a long 
 way from our store of planks. To get 
 these to the left side of the stream, we 
 bound a rope to the horns of the cow 
 (as its chief strength lies in the head), 
 
76 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 and one end we made fast to the 
 planks ; and by the aid of the ass we 
 took all the wood we had need of to 
 the spot which the dear boys chose for 
 the site of our bridge. 
 
 To find out the breadth of the 
 stream Ned hit off a good plan, which 
 was to tie a stone to a ball of twine and 
 fling it to the left bank, and then draw 
 it back, and in this way we could judge 
 of the width of the stream by the length 
 of the string. So we brought from the 
 coast those planks which were of the 
 right size. We found the stream was 
 one score feet wide ; but to give 
 strength I made the planks rest three 
 feet on each bank. 
 
 But now we were in a great strait ; 
 for we knew not how we were to hoist 
 the planks on the left bank of the 
 stream, when the cow and the ass had 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. jy 
 
 brought them there. I said this 
 must be thought of while we ate our 
 meal. " Craw fish and Rice Milk" 
 was the bill of fare. But we were first 
 shown the two bags for the ass, which 
 my wife had made of the wolf's hide 
 with twine and a nail to pierce the holes 
 with. As we ate our meal, to talk of 
 our bridge was the one thing to do, and 
 we gave it the name of the Swiss 
 Bridge. 
 
 We then went to work, and sent the 
 ass and cow, with Ned and Jack on 
 their backs, to swim to the left bank 
 with the long planks, and so the thing 
 was done. I laid down boards on the 
 top of these strong planks cross ways ; 
 but I would not fix them, as I thought 
 that if we should meet with a foe we 
 might want to take down the bridge. 
 When it was made, my wife and I went 
 
78 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 up and down it with as much glee as 
 the boys. Worn out with the toil of 
 the day, we then made our way home 
 and went to rest. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The next day, with all my dear ones 
 round me, I went to pray ; and we then 
 took leave of our first home on the isle, 
 for we had now to set out for our new 
 house in the trees. I bade my boys 
 keep near me in a group, and on we 
 went. 
 
 We brought out the ass, the cow, 
 the sheep, and the goats. The bags 
 were put on the backs of the first two 
 of these, and were full of things of 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson, 79 
 
 weight, such as pots, pans, cheese, 
 bread, and flour. 
 
 All was in trim for the march, when 
 my wife came in haste to beg of me to 
 make room for her large bag which 
 held so much ; nor would she leave the 
 fowls, lest they should fall a prey to the 
 wolves ; but her chief thought was to 
 have a seat found for Frank, as he 
 could not walk so far. I could but 
 smile at her wants, when room was so 
 scarce ; but I gave in, and made a good 
 place for Frank on the back of the ass, 
 where he sat with a pack on each side* 
 of him. 
 
 The boys came back, and said they 
 could not catch the fowls ; but my wife 
 said she would soon bring them. 
 'Well, if you do," quoth our pert 
 Jack, " I will let you roast me in the 
 place of the first chick you take." 
 
80 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 " Then my poor Jack," said she, * you 
 will soon be on the spit ! Look here !" 
 As she said this she threw down some 
 grain for them near the tent, and then 
 some more in the tent, which the fowls 
 came to eat ; she then went in, shut the 
 door, and caught them all. To tie the 
 wings of each to its feet was soon done, 
 and they were put in nets, which were 
 slung on the cow and ass. 
 
 All that we could not take with us 
 we shut up in the tent, the door of 
 which we made fast, and put chests 
 and casks in front of it, and took our 
 way to our new home. 
 
 My wife and Fritz went first, then 
 came the cow and ass with their loads, 
 and Jack drove the goats. The young 
 ape sat on the back of his nurse, where 
 his grins and tricks did not fail to cheer 
 our hearts on the way, and he was quite 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 81 
 
 a pet with us all. Next came Ned 
 with the sheep ; then I, like the Jews of 
 old, with my flocks and herds in front 
 of me, came last The two dogs ran 
 first to the front, then to the rear, as if 
 they thought we were all in their 
 charge. 
 
 CHAPTER X. . 
 
 Our march was slow. We had ere 
 long to cross the new bridge, and here 
 we had one more than we had set out 
 with ; for the sow — which was so wild 
 when it was her turn to be caught that 
 we had to leave her — now came to join 
 us, with grunts which would seem to 
 say, " This change is not at all to my 
 mind." 
 
 G 
 
82 The Swiss Family Robinson, 
 
 As soon as we had got to the left 
 side of the stream the beasts set off to 
 feed on the rich grass, and but for our 
 dogs, we should not have known how 
 to catch them ; so I told our " guard " 
 we would take the road near the coast, 
 where there was no grass to tempt 
 them. We had not left the long grass 
 half an hour, when our dogs made a 
 rush back to it with loud barks and 
 howls, as if they were in fight with 
 some foe. 
 
 Fritz and Jack ran off to the spot 
 with their guns in their hands, when 
 Jack, who leapt in the high grass up 
 to the dogs, said, with a clap of the 
 hands : 
 
 " Be quick : here's a great beast like 
 a Hedge Hog, with quills as long as 
 my arm ! " 
 
 When I got up to it, it made a fierce 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 83 
 
 noise, and was so bold as to set up its 
 quills at us, as it had done at the dogs, 
 who gave sad howls at the pain they 
 were put to. At last, to put an end 
 to the fight, Jack sent a shot in the 
 head of the poor beast, at which it 
 fell dead. 
 
 " Jack is proud of his feat," said 
 Fritz, " but he is too young to make 
 use of a gun, for he might have shot 
 one of the dogs, and what would be 
 still worse, one of us." 
 
 But I said that all did well to act for 
 the good of the rest. 
 
 My wife was then sent for, to see 
 this strange beast. Her first thought 
 was to dress the wounds of the poor 
 dogs made by the quills. As Jack had 
 a great wish to take so strange a beast 
 with us, I put it in some soft grass, so 
 that the quills might not break. 
 
 G 2 
 
84 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 At last we got to the end of the 
 march, and I must say I was much 
 struck with the trees ; for they were 
 of a bulk which I could not have 
 thought of. And we gave all thanks 
 to my dear wife who had sought out so 
 nice a home for us. 
 
 We took the load from the backs of 
 the cow and ass, and bound fast their 
 fore legs, that they might not stray ; but 
 the sow we let go in the way of her 
 own will, and the fowls and doves were 
 let loose. We then all sat down on 
 the grass to think of the best site for our 
 new home. 
 
 It was my wish to mount the tree 
 that night. All at once we heard the 
 sound of a gun ; but Fritz's voice set 
 us at our ease. He had crept out and 
 shot a fine Pole Cat, which he held up 
 to our view with great pride. 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 85 
 
 " Well done ! " said I ; " you ought to 
 have the thanks of the fowls and doves, 
 for the cat would soon have made a 
 prey of them." 
 
 " Pray shoot all the rest, Fritz, else 
 we shall not have a chick left for the 
 spit," said Ned. 
 
 I told Fritz to skin it at once, and 
 throw the flesh to the dogs. I left my 
 wife to cook our meal, while I made 
 the quills fit for her to sew with. To 
 do this I held a large nail in the fire 
 till it was red hot, and then sent it 
 through the head of the quill to make 
 the eye. 
 
 All the time my thoughts were full 
 of my house in the air. 
 
 As we knew of no way to climb to the 
 top of the trees, I hung the beds (which 
 I had brought from the ship) from the 
 roots, for as I have said, they grew in 
 
86 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 the shape of an arch some way from 
 the ground, while on the top of the 
 roots we spread the sails to keep the 
 dew off. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 When my wife sat down to sew, I 
 went with my sons to the shore in search 
 of wood to build our house with ; and 
 we saw a vast deal that had been thrown 
 up by the high tide, but none fit for our 
 use. 
 
 As I knew that a house could not 
 be built in a tree if there were no steps 
 to go up it, I did not at first see that 
 my way was clear. 
 
 But by and by the thought struck me 
 that we might make steps with two ropes 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 87 
 
 for the sides, and bits of cane to mount 
 up by, which we did with great ease, 
 though we had to nail all the canes to 
 the ropes to make them safe. We 
 then drew them up by means of a cord, 
 which I shot up in the tree from a bow 
 with a weight at the end of it, so that 
 it might fall back to the ground. 
 
 All the boys were mad to climb up 
 it, but I chose Frank to go first, as he 
 was the least weight: so up he went while 
 we held the ropes firm. Then went 
 Fritz with the nails and tools, so that 
 the two boys sat on their perch in the 
 sky, and made loud cries to us poor folk 
 down on the dull earth. 
 
 Then I took boards up to make the 
 floor of the house with, and came down 
 by the light of the moon. But I was 
 in great fear when I found that Fritz 
 and Jack had not been seen, and still 
 
88 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 more so when I heard their clear tones 
 ring forth in song from the tip top of 
 the tree, where it was by no means safe 
 to go. When there, they were so 
 struck with the grand view which lay 
 spread at the foot, that they burst out 
 with a hymn of praise. 
 
 I could not find it in my heart to 
 scold my dear boys when they came 
 down, but told them to tie up the ass 
 and the cow for the night, and get 
 wood for our fires, which we should 
 stand in need of to keep off wild beasts. 
 The doves had flown to the top of the 
 tree to perch there for the night, and 
 we found the fowls at roost on the 
 steps. 
 
 Now that the toils of the day had 
 come to an end, we sat down to our meal. 
 Then I lit up my watch fires, and we 
 all went to rest, and slept — all save one, 
 
The Swiss Family Robi7ison. 89 
 
 that is, — and that one was I ; for care 
 kept sleep from my eyes till near the 
 dawn of day, as I did not think we were 
 safe, but when I had had a short sleep 
 I rose, and we were all once more at 
 work. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 My wife had the cow and the goats 
 to milk, and when she had done that 
 she went in search of wood for our use, 
 while Fritz and I went up the steps 
 with axe and saw to get rid of each 
 branch, bough, and twig, that came in 
 our way. We had put the last stroke 
 to the floor, and next had to hoist up 
 the sail for a roof. 
 
 The huge trunk of the tree made 
 
90 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 a back to our room, and the front let in 
 a fresh breeze from the sea, of which 
 we had a fine view. With the rest of 
 the wood we made a bench and a few 
 chairs. 
 
 While we took our meal the young 
 ape leapt first to this boy, then to that, 
 for food, and ate what scraps they gave 
 him just as we did, and with such fun 
 in his looks that he kept us on the broad 
 laugh the whole time. 
 
 Our great sow now came back to us 
 with grunts of joy. We had not seen 
 her for two days, and my wife gave her 
 all the milk she could spare to show that 
 we were glad to see her. The boys 
 then set a light to the fires, the dogs 
 were bound to the roots of the trees, 
 and we went up our steps for the night. 
 My three big boys soon ran up them ; 
 my wife, who trod with more care, went 
 
The Swiss Familv Robinson. 9 1 
 
 next, and got to the top with ease. I took 
 Frank on my back, and then drew in 
 the steps ; and now we felt safe, like the 
 knights of old when their draw bridge 
 was up. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 We did not wake till the sun 
 shone on us, and as it was the Lord's 
 Day, of course we did no work, but we 
 sang hymns, which we knew by heart, 
 and we could pray, though we had no 
 books. 
 
 The next day all the lads shot with 
 bows, and I made a small one for 
 Frank. So he set off with his bow in his 
 hand, of which he was as proud as a 
 prince. 
 
92 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 It was my whim to give names to all 
 those parts of the isle which were well 
 known to us. The bay where we first 
 came to land, Ned said we ought to 
 call the Bay of Tears when we thought 
 of all those that poor Jack had shed 
 there. 
 
 " Nay," said my wife, "as it is the 
 place where we first set foot on dry 
 ground, I think we should give it the 
 name of the Bay of Joy. Our first 
 home had the name of Tent House; 
 the small isle where the fish was found, 
 Shark Isle ; and the swamp where the 
 canes were cut, Bow Marsh. 
 
 My wife and boys had a glass of sweet 
 wine to drink the health of the chicks 
 and all who were at Kite's Nest — for this 
 was the name I gave to our new home. 
 When the heat of the day had gone off, 
 we set out to Tent House to get more 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 93 
 
 food, and to bring the geese and ducks. 
 This time we did not go by the banks 
 of the stream, but kept in the shade 
 of the chain of rocks till we got to the 
 Swiss Bridge. Ned wore a belt of 
 skin from the hide of the wolf. 
 
 Each of us had a gun and game bag 
 save Frank, who, with his fair face, his 
 gold hair, his bow and darts, was a 
 sweet sight to look at. Then came 
 Turk and Flox, but someway off, for they 
 were in fear of Frank's darts. Knips 
 — the ape — took his seat on the back 
 of Flox, who could not shake him 
 off. 
 
 New and bright scenes now burst on 
 our view on all sides. The fig tree 
 grew here, the fruit of which was of 
 great size and good to the taste. Jack 
 was soon on the top of the sand rocks 
 to pick some ; but it had not struck him 
 
94 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 that the figs had small thorns as fine as 
 a pins point, which, of course, stung his 
 hands and hurt him. He came back 
 with sad cries, and we could see him 
 dance with the pain. I took out the 
 thorns, and put him in the right way to 
 treat the fruit, which was to run a piece 
 of stick through the fig, and then pare 
 it; and soon all the boys sat down to 
 eat them, and gave the best sign that 
 they thought them good. 
 
 While I put the stores on the ass and 
 cow, my wife and Frank had to cook 
 all the good things. Ned and Jack 
 went to try to catch the geese and ducks, 
 which had grown so wild, that but for 
 a bright thought of Ned's, they could 
 not have done so. His plan was to 
 fix a piece of cheese to a thread for a 
 bait, which was made to float on the 
 stream : the ducks soon took the cheese 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 95 
 
 down their throats, and were drawn out 
 by the thread. He then cut off the 
 thread close to the beak, and left the 
 rest of it in their craw, and threw them 
 neck and heels in the game bag. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 I had seen on the shore some wood 
 which I thought would serve to build a 
 sledge with, on which we could take 
 our casks and stores from Tent House 
 to Kite's Nest. The next day at dawn 
 I woke up Ned, and left the rest to 
 sleep. We went down to the shore, 
 and set to work at the wood, and cut 
 it the right length with the saw ; we 
 then bound it to the ass, who drew it 
 with a good heart. We threw on it a 
 
9 6 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 small chest that we found sunk half way 
 in the sand, and Ned led the ass. 
 
 The chest was full of the clothes of 
 the crew, which were wet with the sea ; 
 but my wife thought much of them, for 
 she said that our own would soon be 
 worn out. Fritz and Jack had shot 
 some birds, but I said, "It will save 
 our shot if you set snares to catch 
 them." And I taught them how to do 
 so with threads which we drew from 
 the leaves of plants that we had found. 
 
 Then my two boys and I made the 
 sledge, but while we were at work on it 
 we heard a great noise from the fowls. 
 Ned went out to look round him, and 
 saw the young ape seize and hide the 
 eggs from the nests, of which he had 
 made a store at the foot of our tree. 
 When my wife heard of it, Knips had 
 a box on the ear, and from that time he 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 97 
 
 was shut up till all the eggs had been 
 brought in. When Jack went up the 
 trees to set the snares he found that the 
 doves built there. I told him to keep 
 a sharp look out that our own birds were 
 not caught in them, and by no means to 
 fire his gun in the tree. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 At the end of the day I had made 
 my sledge in this way : in the first 
 place, there were two long planks of 
 wood with a curve in them, and on 
 these were three short ones put cross 
 ways. The fore and hind parts were 
 in the form of horns, so that the load 
 might not fall out. 
 
 Two ropes were bound on to the 
 
 H 
 
98 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 front, and my sledge was made. My 
 wife was loud in her praise of it, and 
 Ned and I set off with it to Tent 
 House for some more casks, as our food 
 had got low ; and I left the rest in the 
 care of Fritz. We bound the cow and 
 ass to the sledge, made a whip out of 
 a cane and a piece of twine, and took 
 our way by the shore, as that was the 
 best road for the sledge ; and by the 
 help of Swiss Bridge we were soon at 
 Tent House. Here we took out the 
 ass and cow and let them graze, and 
 soon set to work to load the sledge once 
 more with all that we could find that 
 was good to eat. 
 
 So hard at work were we at this, that 
 we did not give the beasts a thought, 
 but they took it in their heads to cross 
 the bridge, and roam out of sight. I 
 told Ned to look to them, and in the 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 99 
 
 mean time I cut a load of the rush 
 which grew in that part. When Ned 
 came back I found he had made good 
 use of his wits, for he took care to lift 
 off the first planks of the bridge, so that 
 there was now no fear that the beasts 
 would stray. 
 
 We took a bathe, and then Fritz 
 went to fish. He had not been gone 
 long when I heard him cry out : 
 
 " Oh, pray come and help me ; here 
 is such a huge fish ! I can't hold it, it 
 will break my line ! " 
 
 I ran up to lend my aid, and found 
 that poor Fritz lay with his face on the 
 ground, and gave tugs at his line, to 
 which hung so large a fish that it all but 
 broke it. 
 
 I drew it to a pool, and we thought 
 our good cook would be much struck 
 with such a prize ; so I put some salt 
 
 H 2 
 
ioo The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 to it, and brought it home on the 
 sledge. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 When I got home I found that the 
 boys were clad in the clothes which we 
 found in the small chest, and this new 
 style of dress brought screams of mirth 
 from all, as the clothes did not suit 
 their shape or their age ; but my wife 
 thought that to wear these was not so 
 bad as to go with none at all. The 
 next day when I rose, I broke the news 
 to her that I must go once more to the 
 wreck, and bade Fritz get out all that 
 we should want. 
 
 My wife was as sad this time as the 
 last, and to add to her grief, Ned and 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. ioi 
 
 Jack were no where to be found. 
 But we set out for Tent House, and 
 on our way we heard cries so loud 
 as to fill the air. We gave a start, 
 and all at once Ned and Jack leapt 
 from some trees, mad with glee to find 
 that their plan to join us should (as they 
 thought) turn out so well. Their fun 
 was to make us think that a tribe of 
 wild men stood round us to close us in ; 
 but I sent them both back, and told 
 them that it was wrong to come out 
 when they had not had leave to do so. 
 At this they felt much shame, and hung 
 down their heads ; but to cheer them 
 up, I bade Fritz give Ned his watch 
 that he might know how the time went 
 while we were gone. And as I had 
 seen a case full of them in the ship, 
 I knew it would be no loss to us. We 
 got out our boat, and by the aid of the 
 
102 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 stream which ran through the bay we 
 soon came up to the ship. 
 
 The first work to turn our hands to 
 was to make a new raft. We found at 
 least ten tubs, which we threw in the 
 sea, and laid some long planks on them, 
 and these we bound to them with ropes. 
 This took up the whole of the first day, 
 and we had but time to eat some cold 
 meat which we had brought with us, 
 and then we went to rest for the 
 night. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The next day we put the goods on 
 the raft, and took all that we could lay 
 our hands on. There were rich gems 
 of great cost, gold, and some small 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 103 
 
 cash ; these we had at first a wish to 
 take, but soon gave them up for things 
 that would be of more use to us, such 
 as a case of plants and trees which were 
 kept in damp moss. I saw with joy 
 two or three plum trees, some young 
 shoots of the vine, and a peach tree. 
 How I did long to plant them ! 
 
 There were pigs of lead, cart wheels, 
 tongs, coils of wire, sacks of maize, peas, 
 oats, and a small hand mill. We knew 
 not what to take, and what to leave, but 
 we brought as much as it was safe for 
 the raft to hold, and then we made for 
 the shore. 
 
 Though the wind was fair, yet we 
 got on at a slow rate, for the mass we 
 had to tug kept us back. When we 
 came on shore Fritz gave a shout. All 
 ran to greet us, and great was their joy 
 to see such a load of goods. I sent the 
 
104 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 boys for the sledge to take some of our 
 freight on shore at once, as the ebb 
 tide left our boat dry on the sand. 
 
 By the aid of the jack screw we 
 brought two large rolls of lead from the 
 raft ; and these were a great boon to us, 
 as we stood in need of them to make 
 shot with. We took on shore the chest 
 of tools, and wheels for our sledge, and 
 then we sat down in the shade to rest 
 and eat our meal. 
 
 " And now," said my wife, " since 
 you have had such a hard day's work, 
 I think I can give you some wine to 
 cheer you up." 
 
 She then brought out some choice 
 wine from a small cask that had been 
 cast on shore by the waves, and which 
 she and the boys had brought to Kite's 
 Nest. 
 
 My wife went up the steps to stow 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 105 
 
 the goods, which took all our strength 
 to hoist up to her. This done, we lay 
 down on our beds, and I need not add 
 that our sleep that night was sound and 
 sweet. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Day by day we went to the wreck, 
 for a whole week, for we had found a 
 great prize there in the shape of a boat. 
 
 " To work ! To work ! " said I to 
 the three boys. 
 
 Each piece of it had a chalk mark 
 to show where it was to join to the next. 
 I saw it would take some days to make, 
 and I could get no sleep that night for 
 the thought of it. 
 
 To clear a space on deck for it took 
 
106 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 us an hour or two, and we came on 
 shore each night when our work was 
 done, but not to the Kite's Nest ; for my 
 dear wife had left it and come to Tent 
 House, as she thought it would suit us 
 best to be there while we had this long 
 job in hand. At last our boat was set 
 up. It was light, and had the look of 
 a craft that would sail well. At the 
 head was a short deck, and the masts 
 and sails were stout. To caulk all the 
 seams with tow and tar was the last 
 thing we did, but just for the look of it 
 we put two small guns in, which we 
 bound to its side by chains. And now 
 the boat stood on the stocks, but how 
 could we get it to float ? The ship's 
 side was so strong that to force a way 
 for it was not to be thought of; all at 
 once a bold plan struck me, but in 
 which there was some risk that all might 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 107 
 
 be lost as well as won. In a word, that 
 part of the ship which stood in the way 
 of the launch, I blew up. But I did 
 not make my scheme known lest it 
 should not turn out as I could wish. 
 So I laid down a long match and then 
 came on shore. 
 
 When it blew up, " What's that ? " 
 said all my boys at once, with a start. 
 "It must be some foe," said Jack. 
 Fritz thought it might be a ship out 
 at sea in want of help ; but Ned said, 
 " Let's get out the glass and see." 
 
 My wife's fears were that we had left 
 a light on board, and that this had 
 blown up the wreck. 
 
 " Be that as it may," said I, "we will 
 go and find out the cause of it, for 
 it is from the wreck that the sound 
 came. Who will go with me ? My 
 three sons at once leapt in the boat, 
 
108 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 and off we went, and as we had each 
 an oar, we were soon on board the ship, 
 which lay just where we had left it ; 
 part of the side was gone, and in its 
 place stood our boat safe and sound. 
 
 "All hail! All hail!" I sang out. 
 " The boat is our own, for now we can 
 launch her !" 
 
 " Ah, I see," said Fritz, " you have 
 blown up the ship. But how could you 
 do it so as to save the boat ? " 
 
 " You will see by and by," said I. 
 
 To launch, load, and fit out our boat 
 took us two days. 
 
 At last we put up our masts and sails, 
 and when we got to the Bay, I gave 
 my boys leave to fire one of the guns : 
 so Ned and Jack put the match to 
 it, and bang ! it went. My wife and 
 Frank ran out in great fear, but our 
 shouts of joy soon told the glad tale, 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 109 
 
 and a plank was put that my wife might 
 get in the boat ; and she could but praise 
 our skill, "for," said she, "the boat 
 rides on the waves like a queen in full 
 state." 
 
 We soon came on shore, and when 
 we had got as far as the Swiss Bridge 
 my wife held out her hand to point 
 with some pride to a plot of ground 
 which she and Frank had laid out in 
 beds and walks. 
 
 " See ! this is our work ! " said she. 
 " Here are peas, and beans, as well as 
 pines, and maize/' 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 We then got to Kite's Nest, to the 
 great joy of my wife, who had a dread 
 
no The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 of the heat of Tent House. The next 
 day I found that the doves had built in 
 our tree, and that the nests had eggs in 
 them. We brought out the fruit trees 
 which we had found on board the ship, 
 and we laid out a piece of ground to 
 plant them in. As we had no meat to 
 eat we went out with our guns in search 
 of game. My wife went with us this 
 time, as she had a wish to see the world. 
 The three boys and I set off with our 
 guns, next came my wife, and Frank — 
 who led the ass, — then Knips on the 
 back of the mild Flox. 
 
 We soon came to the wood, where 
 Fritz and I had the fight with the 
 apes. Ned gave a look at the nuts, 
 but there were no apes there this time 
 to throw them down. 
 
 " Do they not fall from the trees 
 when they are ripe?" said Ned; when 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 1 1 1 
 
 down fell a nut at his feet, then one or 
 two more. " My words act like a 
 charm ! " said he ; " I have but to speak, 
 you see, and they fall at my feet." 
 
 " Here comes the rogue that sent 
 them," said I, when I saw a huge land 
 crab come down from the tree. 
 
 Jack struck a blow at him, but did 
 not hit him. The beast spread out his 
 claws and made up to him, when poor 
 Jack fled in great fear. But a loud 
 laugh from the rest gave him pluck, 
 and he threw off his coat and put the 
 beast to death. 
 
 All got round it to see what it was 
 like, and I told them that when the nuts 
 do not break by the fall, the crab puts 
 its claw in the small holes which are 
 at the top of the shell to take out the 
 nut, which it eats. We then went to 
 the Gourd Wood, where my wife and 
 
112 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 boys were much struck with the growth of 
 the large gourds which they found there. 
 When we sat down to our meal, Fritz 
 made a large spoon out of one of them 
 to skim the milk with, as well as bowls 
 and flasks ; while Ned — who had no 
 taste for work of that sort — went for a 
 stroll in the thick wood. 
 
 All at once we saw him run to us in 
 great fear, and cry out, " A wild boar ! 
 A great wild boar ! " 
 
 Fritz and I took up our guns and 
 ran to the spot, but the dogs went 
 first. We soon heard barks and loud 
 grunts, by which we knew that a fight 
 went on, and off we set in the hope of 
 a good prize. 
 
 What did we see, — a wild boar ? 
 No, but our own great sow, which Turk 
 and Flox held by the ears ! She had 
 grown so wild that she had left us to 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 1 1 3 
 
 live in the woods ; and of course I 
 made the dogs give up their prize. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The next day I thought I would 
 roam far and near till I made sure 
 that we were in good truth on an isle ; 
 and I took with me Fritz, Turk, and 
 the ass. As we went through a wood 
 of oaks we met with the sow once more, 
 but this time she did not run from us. 
 
 Fritz shot some birds of the jay 
 tribe, and he had not had time to load 
 his gun when we heard a strange noise 
 like a drum, but not so loud, and at the 
 same time a sharp, harsh cry. We both 
 made a rush with our guns to a copse, 
 
ii4 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 and there we found a green bird, which 
 spread his wings and gave a strut up 
 and down the branch of a tree, where 
 he made his shrill note, and the sound 
 of the drum came from his wing, which 
 he struck on the stem of it. I knew 
 this to be the green grouse, and as all 
 at home were much in want of food, 
 Fritz shot the bird. 
 
 In this tour we met with no sort of 
 fright, and no one thing to boast of. 
 We then came home to turn our hands 
 to a cart ; for we found we could not'go 
 far from home for the want of one. 
 We made a rough sort of thing with 
 the wheels which we had brought from 
 the wreck, and found it of great use to 
 us. 
 
 In the mean time my wife and three 
 sons had set to work to plant the vines, 
 and the quince, plum, and pear trees 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 1 1 5 
 
 near our new home. The rest I put in 
 the ground round Tent House, which 
 was our strong fort now, and held our 
 arms and stores. It was shut in by a 
 high hedge of thick trees, so that no 
 man or beast could get to it. There 
 was but one way in, and that was near 
 Swiss Bridge, the first planks of which 
 we took up when we left it. All this 
 took us three months to do. 
 
 Our clothes were now in a bad state, 
 and we could see no way to get new 
 ones, save by a sail to the wreck in our 
 new boat : so off we went, and we found 
 it in much the same state as we had 
 left it. 
 
 We brought some of our own clothes, 
 
 bales of cloth, some tar, doors, locks, 
 
 bolts, and all the guns that we had 
 
 strength to move ; in fact, we might be 
 
 said to sack the ship, and when we had 
 
 1 2 
 
n6 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 done this, I made up my mind to blow 
 it up. So we put a long match which 
 I knew would take some hours to burn, 
 and went at once to the Bay to watch 
 the wreck. My wife spread our meal 
 on a point of land where we could see 
 the ship, and just as the sun went down, 
 off it went with a crash, and a pile of 
 flame burst up to the sky. 
 
 When we heard this we could not 
 but shed tears, as we lost the sole bond 
 which bound us to the land from which 
 the ship had brought us ; and we went 
 back with sad hearts to Tent House. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 The next day we made a search for 
 wood, and found loads of it strewn on 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 117 
 
 the shore from the ship. My wife who 
 came to help us, saw on a small lake 
 one of our geese and two ducks, each 
 with a brood in her wake. She had a 
 wish to get some eggs of the wild fowl 
 to put in the hens nests. So we made 
 a tour in search of some, took our food 
 with us, and a large sail to make a tent 
 with. The day was all that we could 
 wish, not too warm nor too cold, and in 
 high glee we sang as we went. 
 
 We came to a large plain where the 
 canes grew, at the back of which were 
 palm woods, and then the sea. We 
 were so much struck with the place that 
 we thought we should do well to move 
 from Kite's Nest to this sweet spot ; 
 but we soon gave up the thought. 
 ' For," said I, "where shall we find a 
 home so safe and snug as our dear nest 
 up in the tree ?" 
 
1 1 8 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 So our tent here was to be kept as 
 a place to rest and eat our meals in 
 when we made a tour. We let the ass 
 and cow graze on the rich grass round 
 us, and spent the night here. The 
 next day we set to work to tie up the 
 large canes, and put them in the cart 
 to take home, for we had need of them 
 as props for our new fruit trees. 
 
 This hard work made my boys long 
 for some milk from the nuts, and they 
 did all they could to climb the smooth 
 bare trunk of the tree, but in vain ; 
 at last I gave them some of the rough 
 skin of the shark to brace on their legs, 
 which I had brought for that use. 
 Then I taught them to climb by the 
 aid of a rope, which was flung round 
 the tree with a noose, when they soon 
 got to the top, and an axe which was 
 hung to their belt, did the rest of the 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson, 119 
 
 work, for the nuts fell down by scores. 
 On these we made a feast, and the jests 
 of Fritz and Jack went round ; for they 
 did not spare poor Ned, who was lost 
 in some new thought. 
 
 When all at once up he sprang, took 
 the shell of a nut in his left hand, and 
 in his right a tin flask, and with a grave 
 air spoke thus : — " Dear friends, I feel 
 that all praise is due to the shark, whose 
 skin gave you the means to climb so 
 well. And though in the nuts which 
 you have sent down to us we have 
 found at once meat and drink, yet I 
 hope by my skill to tempt your lips 
 with some juice from this flask that will 
 give joy to your hearts, and bring to 
 mind the good feasts of our old 
 Swiss home." 
 
 He then bound his legs with the 
 shark's skin, and sprang up a palm, 
 
1 20 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 which he had long been seen to gaze at 
 through his glass. 
 
 Ned took no heed of the loud laugh 
 which the boys gave at this speech ; 
 but as soon as he got to the top, he 
 struck the tree with his axe, and a 
 tuft of light green leaves fell at our 
 feet, which I knew were those of the 
 palm. 
 
 He now came down and held out 
 to me his cup, which was full of a 
 wine as pink as the rose, and then 
 said, " I beg of you to drink my 
 health." 
 
 It was the true palm wine ; of it we 
 all drank, and gave great praise to 
 Ned, who thought no more of the 
 jokes which had been thrown out at 
 him. 
 
 As it now grew late we set up the 
 tent for the night, when all at once our 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 121 
 
 ass, which till now had stood quite still 
 near us, gave a loud bray, stuck up his 
 ears, and with a kick right and left, 
 gave a plunge, and was lost in the cane 
 wood. 
 
 This I did not like at all ; for I felt 
 loth to lose the poor ass that was of so 
 much use to us, and more than this, I 
 had my fears that some beast of prey was 
 near, which he might have caught sight 
 of. The dogs and I sought far and 
 near for a trace of him, but in vain ; so 
 then to guard the tent I made a large fire, 
 which I sat to watch till the night was 
 half spent, when as all was still, I crept 
 to my bed of moss in the tent to sleep. 
 At break of day we all fell on our knees 
 to thank God for His gift of health and 
 strength. 
 
122 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 I then went with Jack in search of 
 the ass, for I thought Fritz and Ned 
 would make the best guard for my wife. 
 We made a search in the cane wood for 
 an hour or more, but still in vain. At 
 last we saw the marks of hoofs and the 
 foot marks of some beast that we knew 
 not of. 
 
 A long way off we saw some vague 
 things, which I took for wild beasts, 
 and as I went through a wood to see if 
 our ass were with them, we came face 
 to face with a herd of wild bulls 
 and cows. And to see them troop 
 up to us, lift their heads, and fix 
 their large eyes on us, struck me with 
 such awe that at first I could not use 
 my gun. 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 123 
 
 By good luck the dogs were in the 
 rear. We drew back a pace or two, 
 got out our arms, and then made off on 
 one side, when up came Turk and 
 Flox, and though we did all we could 
 to hold them in, they would fly at the 
 herd. 
 
 And now a scene took place which 
 it makes my hair stand on end to think 
 of. We heard a whole troop of them 
 lift up their voice and roar, we saw them 
 beat the ground with their feet, and 
 butt with their horns. Our brave dogs 
 went straight at them, and fell on a calf 
 which they took hold of by the ears. 
 The cow, whose eyes were red and 
 whose blood would seem to boil with 
 rage, came full drive at us to shield 
 her young one, and with her the whole 
 herd. 
 
 Just then — I shake with fear as I 
 
1 24 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 write it — I made a sign to my brave 
 Jack, who was more cool than I, and 
 we shot at them. 
 
 This made the whole herd pause for 
 a while, and they took to flight so fast 
 that ere the smoke from the guns was 
 blown off they were out of sight. My 
 dogs still held their prize, and the cow, 
 though she had two wounds from our 
 shot, made a rush at us, and tore up 
 the ground in her rage. She then set 
 at the dogs to toss them with her 
 horns; but just then I came up, and 
 sent a shot in her head, which laid her 
 dead on the spot. 
 
 We now had time to take breath. 
 We had seen death stare us in the face ; 
 and we gave thanks to God, who 
 had brought us through such great 
 risks. 
 
 The dogs still held the calf by the 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson, 125 
 
 ears ; the poor thing kept up a loud 
 roar all the time, and I had my fears 
 lest the dogs should be hurt, or lose 
 their prize. I went up to give them 
 help, but knew not how to act. It 
 would have been no hard task to kill 
 the calf ; but I had a great wish 
 to bring him home and tame him, 
 that he might take the place of our 
 ass. 
 
 Now Jack hit on the right thing to 
 do ; he flung a rope round the hind 
 legs of the calf, and so threw him 
 down ; then I came up, put a strong 
 rope in the place of the thin one, 
 and bound a loose cord round his fore 
 legs. 
 
 Jack thought of the joy with which 
 those at home would hail us when they 
 saw us with this prize. But how 
 were we to get the calf to move ? He 
 
126 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 would not stir a step ; at last I thought 
 of the mode made use of in the East, 
 which is to bore a hole in the nose, and 
 put a cord through it. This cord was 
 to serve as my rein to guide the poor 
 beast, and the plan did well. 
 
 I did not wish to leave the whole of 
 the cow I had put to death, as the meat 
 is so good, so I cut out the tongue and 
 some of the best parts of the loin, put 
 salt on them, and took them with me ; 
 and I tore the skin off the fore legs, as 
 I knew I could make good boots with 
 it We let the dogs feast on the rest, 
 and while they made their meal on 
 it, we went to a stream to wash, 
 and then sat in the shade of a large tree. 
 
 Clouds of birds of prey came from 
 all parts to feast on the cow, and a 
 fight was kept up the whole time, till 
 none was left but the bare bones. 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 127 
 
 In the mean time the same sort of 
 work went on at the tent ; for while 
 Fritz and Ned had gone to the wood 
 to cut down a palm tree, a troop of 
 apes got in the tent, and ate all they 
 could find. 
 
 We made a fire of green wood, in 
 the smoke of which we put the flesh 
 of the wild cow, and left it there all 
 night, and we found it was nice to the 
 taste. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 The next day we all set off home, 
 and were glad to find that the calf 
 could graze. He was now put to draw 
 the cart by the side of his nurse (our 
 
128 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 own cow), and these took the place of 
 our lost ass. 
 
 Fritz and Jack now went to cut 
 down the short wood to. make a road 
 for the cart, and as they did so, the 
 dogs, who were with them, burst 
 out in howls and cries. I had much 
 fear lest they should have met with 
 a beast of prey ; so I made a rush to 
 the spot, that I might use my gun, and 
 found that the dogs kept some beast at 
 bay ; but I could not see what it was 
 for the thick shrubs. 
 
 Fritz told me he had caught a 
 glimpse of some wild beast with a 
 black skin ; but Jack, who lay on the 
 ground to spy at it, burst out with a 
 loud laugh, and said. "It is one more 
 trick of that old sow ! All she seems 
 good for, I think, is to make fools of 
 us!" Half in a rage, and half in 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 1 29 
 
 mirth, we made our way up to the spot, 
 and there she was with ten voung ones 
 a few days old. We were glad to see our 
 old friend with all these pigs round her, 
 for which we gave her a stroke, and a soft 
 grunt made it quite plain that it was as 
 great a source of joy to her as it was to 
 us. The poor thing knew not that our 
 plan was to eat her young ones as soon 
 as they were fit for the spit, and my 
 wife and boys could not bear the 
 thoughts of it. But I told them we 
 must eat meat or die. 
 
 At length we came to Kite's Nest, 
 where our first work was to make some 
 stairs in the place of the rope steps ; 
 and this took us a month to do. 
 
 " Come ! come and see Flox ! " said 
 
 Frank, in high glee ; " she has six 
 
 pups ! but I fear they are all blind." 
 
 As these were more than we could 
 
 x 
 
1 30 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 keep, I had all put to death save two ; 
 to which Frank gave the names of Bob 
 and Nell. Frank, too, made great pets 
 of three young kids which were just 
 born, as well as the lambs ; and to love 
 and make much of these was a new life 
 to him. For fear our sheep should 
 stray as the ass had done, we hung 
 some small bells, which we had brought 
 from the ship, round their necks. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 One day, just as we had come to the 
 end of our work at the stairs, we heard 
 some way off a noise like the roar of a 
 wild beast, but with it a long sharp 
 sound and a strange kind of hiss. Our 
 dogs stuck up their ears, while we all 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 131 
 
 got up a tree to look out, in no small 
 fear of the noise, which we thought 
 came more and more near. At length 
 Fritz threw down his gun, and said 
 with a loud laugh, " It is our friend the 
 ass, come back to us with a song of 
 joy." 
 
 We were now sure that he was right, 
 and could not but feel a slight blush to 
 think that we had been put to such 
 fright by an ass. We soon saw him in 
 the wood, and with him a friend of 
 his own kind, which I at once knew 
 to be the wild ass, and that it would 
 be a great thing for us if we could 
 catch him. 
 
 The wild ass, as soon as he got sight 
 of Fritz, threw up his head and gave 
 a start back, as it was no doubt the first 
 man that he had seen. Fritz went up 
 to old Griz with some oats and salt, 
 
 K 2 
 
132 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 and this he came straight up to eat as his 
 old treat ; the wild ass, too, with a toss of 
 the head and a snuff of the air, came so 
 near that Fritz could throw a rope with a 
 noose on his head. Thepoor beast swung 
 round to fly from him, but that drew 
 the cord so tight as to stop his breath ; 
 so he lay down with his tongue out. 
 I made all haste to throw a rope round 
 his neck, and put a split cane on his 
 nose, just as smiths do to tame a horse 
 the first time they shoe him. I then 
 took off the noose, and when I had 
 made the rope fast to the roots of two 
 trees, I left him to come to. 
 
 In the mean time my wife and the 
 rest of my boys had come round us to see 
 this fine beast, whose form was so full 
 of grace that he was all but as good as 
 a horse. In a short time he rose, and 
 beat the earth with his feet to get loose ; 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 133 
 
 but the pain in his nose made him lie 
 down once more. 
 
 We took care to tie the feet of our 
 own ass, so that he should not stray, 
 and when we had put a stout rope 
 on him we left him near his friend. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 I made use of all the means I could 
 think of to tame our new guest, and at 
 the end of a month I thought I might 
 try to break him in. This was a long 
 and tough task. We first put some 
 weights on his back, but still he would 
 not let us mount him. 
 
 At last I thought of the mode they 
 make use of in the Far West to tame 
 the wild horse, and I made up my 
 
1 34 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 mind to try it. In spite of the bounds 
 and kicks of the fierce beast, I leapt on 
 his back, and took one of his long ears 
 in my teeth and bit it till the blood 
 came. Up he went on his hind legs, 
 stood for a while quite stiff, then came 
 down on his fore feet, while I still held 
 on by his ear. At last I thought I 
 might let him go ; he made some leaps, 
 but soon went off in a sort of trot. 
 From that time he was quite our slave ; 
 my sons all got on his back, and they 
 gave him the name of Light Foot. I 
 had put loose cords on his fore legs, 
 which we kept on for some time ; and, 
 as he would not bear the bit, we had to 
 guide him by a stick, with which we 
 struck the right or left ear, as we might 
 wish him to go. 
 
 As the time for the great rains was 
 now at hand, we had to make sheds 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 135 
 
 for our beasts, to keep them safe and 
 dry. We first made a roof on the top 
 of the roots of our tree. For this we 
 made use of canes, which we had to 
 bind fast, and then to fill the cracks 
 with moss and clay, and smear the 
 whole with tar to keep out the rain. 
 
 By the aid of some boards we made 
 this one roof serve as well for our fowl 
 house, hay house, and store room. 
 
 One night when we were in the wood 
 we heard the loud cries of some birds, 
 and we made up our minds that Knips 
 must have had a fight with some of 
 them. So Ned went off to see what 
 the noise was, and we soon heard him 
 shout out, " Be quick ! a fine heath 
 fowl's nest, full of eggs. Knips wants 
 to suck them, and the old one is at 
 him." 
 
 Fritz ran up and caught both the old 
 
136 The Szviss Family Robinson. 
 
 birds, while Ned brought back a large 
 nest full of eggs. Knips had done 
 us a good turn this time ; for the 
 nest lay hid in a bush with such long 
 leaves — of which Ned had his hand 
 full — that but for the sharp sight of the 
 ape we could not have found it out. 
 I need not say how glad Ned was to 
 take the nest and eggs home to my 
 dear wife, and the long leaves he meant 
 to give to Frank, to serve as toy 
 swords. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 We then set out on our way back, Ned 
 with the two fowls, while I took charge 
 of the eggs, which I found were still 
 warm, and I had some hopes that the 
 bird would hatch out the brood when 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 137 
 
 we got to Kite's Nest. Fritz rode 
 Light Foot, and in his wish to be first 
 to take the good news to my wife, struck 
 his steed with a bunch of the long leaves 
 which he took from Ned. This gave 
 Light Foot such a start that he flew 
 out of sight, like a shaft from a bow, 
 and did not stop till he got to his home. 
 My wife put the eggs in the nest of one 
 of her hens, while the heath fowl was 
 made safe in a cage and hung up in our 
 room to make her tame. I n a few days 
 a score of young chicks came forth from 
 the eggs, and were soon as tame as our 
 own fowls ; though when they were full 
 grown I cut their wings, lest in a wild 
 mood they might fly off. 
 
 Frank did not long care for the new 
 toy that Ned had brought him in the 
 shape of the long leaves, and they were 
 thrown on one side. But Fritz by 
 
138 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 chance took up some of these leaves, which 
 were now quite dry and soft, and he told 
 Frank to make whips of them to drive 
 the sheep and goats, of which the small 
 boy had charge. As he split these 
 leaves in strips, I found that they were 
 a kind of flax, and when I told this to 
 my wife, she said, " Bring me all the 
 leaves you can at once, and I will 
 make you socks, shirts, coats, thread, 
 cords — in fact, give me but flax and 
 tools, and I know not what I could 
 not do." 
 
 So Fritz and Jack went off to get 
 a fresh store of the leaves. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 In the mean time my wife told me 
 what tools I must make, that she 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 139 
 
 might spin and weave, and clothe 
 us from head to foot ; her eyes were 
 bright with joy as she spoke, and 
 I gave her my word that I would do 
 all that she could ask. In a short time 
 our boys came back with a large store 
 of these leaves, which they laid at the 
 feet of my wife. The first thing was 
 to steep them till they were quite moist ; 
 so we got out the cart and took a load 
 of leaves to the marsh, where we threw 
 them out in a pond, with stones on the 
 top to keep them down. 
 
 In two weeks' time the flax was fit to 
 take out of the pond ; we then spread 
 it in the sun, which made it so soon dry 
 that we brought it to Kite's Nest the 
 same night, and laid it up in the store. 
 
 As we thought that the time of rain 
 was now near at hand, we brought in, from 
 day to day, loads of roots, nuts, wood, 
 
140 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 canes, fruit, and all that might be of use 
 to us. We made the most of the last 
 few fine days to sow our wheat and 
 grain, that the rain might make them 
 grow. We had had a slight fall of rain, 
 the sky was dark with clouds, and the 
 wind rose. We did not think the change 
 would come so soon ; but we now heard 
 the winds rage through the woods, and 
 the sea foam and roar ; the clouds burst 
 in the sky, and rain fell night and day ; 
 the streams kept no more to their 
 banks, and the fields were one huge lake. 
 By good luck we had made our home 
 high up in the vale, and we found that 
 we were left in a sort of isle in the 
 midst of the great flood. But the rain 
 came through the roof on all sides, and 
 from hour to hour we thought the wind 
 would blow our house off the tree, and 
 all that were in it. 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 141 
 
 We set to work to move our beds 
 to the small space where the high roots 
 of the trees made a roof for our beasts ; 
 but there was no room to move, the 
 smoke of a fire would choke us, and 
 if we went out the rain would drench us. 
 For the first time since our wreck we did 
 now long and sigh for our old home. 
 
 I made the wild calf and Light Foot 
 half free, but took care that they should 
 not stray, and they had to seek a roof from 
 the boughs of the tree. We had need 
 of but few fires, for it was not cold, and 
 we had not much that we could wish to 
 cook ; but we had a good store of milk, 
 dry meat, fish, and cakes. At break 
 of day we sent out some of our live 
 stock, round the necks of which we had 
 put bells ; and at night Fritz and I had 
 to seek them and bring them in, when 
 we were sure to get wet through. So 
 
142 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 my wife made us a sort of frock with a 
 hood out of some old clothes, which, 
 with the help of some gum, kept out 
 the rain. 
 
 The care of our beasts took up the 
 first part of the day, and then we had 
 to bake our cakes. Though we had a 
 glass door to our hut, the dark sky, and 
 the vast boughs of the tree, which hung 
 round us, made the night come on much 
 too soon. Our light we had to fix in 
 a gourd, round which we all sat. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 While I wrote down all that took 
 place, my wife would mend our clothes, 
 and Fritz and Jack taught Frank to 
 read and write, or draw the plants, 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 143 
 
 beasts, and birds that they had been 
 struck with. 
 
 At dawn, and at the end of each day, 
 we read in turns from the Book of 
 God's Word, which we had brought 
 from the wreck. My kind wife would 
 now and then give us a feast in the 
 shape of a roast fowl, or duck, and once 
 in four or five days we had fresh cheese 
 made in the gourd churn. 
 
 What was left at our meals we gave 
 to our pets. We had four dogs, a tame 
 hawk, and the ape, which were to be 
 fed from our hands. But if the wild 
 calf, Light Foot, and the sow could not 
 have found their own food, they must 
 have been left to die, for we had none 
 to give them. 
 
 We made up our minds that should 
 we live till this time next year, we 
 would not spend it in such a house, 
 
144 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 but that we would build a new one 
 which could be made safe from the 
 wind and rain, and then come back to 
 our tree at the warm time of the year. 
 
 One night we all sat round the fire 
 to talk of our plans, when the thought 
 came to my mind that we might choose 
 as the place of our home the rocks at 
 Tent House. This I knew would be 
 a work of great toil, but with time we 
 felt sure that it could be done. 
 
 I need not say what joy we felt when 
 at length we saw the sun spread its 
 bright rays through the dark clouds ; 
 the winds were still, the floods had 
 sunk, and the air was mild and calm. 
 We went out with shouts of glee to 
 breathe the pure air, and gaze on the 
 fresh grass that now sprang up at our 
 feet. 
 
 All things had a look of youth once 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 145 
 
 more, and in the midst of these 
 bright charms, we lost sight of our 
 cares, and sent up a hymn of thanks to 
 the God of all good. 
 
 Our plants and seeds had done well ; 
 the air was sweet with their smell, and 
 the songs and cries of flocks of birds 
 that were at work with their nests gave 
 life to the scene. Our first task was to 
 clear out the rooms where we slept in 
 the tree, and in a few days they were 
 fit to dwell in. 
 
 My wife set to work with her flax ; 
 while my sons led out the beasts to 
 graze. We then had to dry our flax, 
 and strip, beat, and comb it ; and we 
 drew out such soft, fine stuff that my 
 wife was wild with joy, and would let 
 me have no rest till I had made her a 
 wheel. 
 
 In my youth I had had a taste for 
 
146 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 the lathe, and though I had now no 
 tools, I knew how a wheel and a reel 
 should be made ; and as soon as I had 
 got these out of hand, my wife set to 
 work to spin with so much zeal that she 
 would scarce leave her wheel to take 
 a walk or to cook our meals. She got 
 Frank to reel off the thread as she spun 
 it, and would have had the rest take her 
 place when she left it ; yet none of them 
 but Ned would do what they said was 
 "girls' work.'' 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 In the mean time we went to Tent 
 House to see the state of things, and 
 found that the rain had done more harm 
 there than at Kites Nest. The storm 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 147 
 
 had thrown down the tent, and blown 
 off some of the sail cloth, and a great 
 part of our stores were so wet that they 
 were not good for food. Our fine yacht 
 was still safe, and fit for use, but our 
 tub boat was quite spoilt. 
 
 We now felt that we must have a 
 roof to shield us, more strong than a 
 tent or the boughs of trees. The rocks 
 round Tent House stood up like a hard 
 wall, and had no cracks through which 
 we could pierce them. But we made 
 up our minds to have some sort of cave 
 at all costs. So we set to work to hew 
 the stone. We chose a fine site for 
 a house, with a view of the whole bay, 
 and of the two banks of the great 
 stream as well as of Swiss Bridge. 
 
 The sun had made the rock so hard 
 that our first blows made but a slight 
 mark on it. But at the end of five or 
 
 L 2 
 
148 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 six days, we found it more soft, and at 
 last we came to a sort of clay which we 
 could dig out with spades. This gave 
 us hopes, and in a short time we had 
 made way to a depth of eight feet. One 
 day while Jack was at work with a crow 
 bar, we heard him call out : 
 
 " I have cut through ! " 
 
 " Not through your hand, child ? \ 
 said I. 
 
 " No," said he ; " I have cut through 
 the rock." 
 
 Fritz ran in at the shout, and told 
 him he might as well have said at once 
 he had cut through the earth. But Jack 
 said, though Fritz might laugh, he was 
 quite sure he had felt a space with his bar. 
 
 I took a long pole to probe the 
 hole, and found there must be a cave 
 of some size. But as I put my face 
 down to look in, a rush of bad air 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson, 149 
 
 brought on a sort of head ache, and 
 made me feel quite faint. 
 
 " Come off, boys," said I ; " the air 
 you would breathe there might cause 
 your death." 
 
 I then sent them to get some hay, to 
 which I set a light and threw it in the 
 cave ; but it was at once put out by the 
 foul gas. 
 
 We had brought from the ship a box 
 of squibs ; so I threw in some of these, 
 and set a light to them by a long match, 
 which gave us time to get out of the 
 way. When they went off the gas 
 came out with a rush, and the pure air 
 took its place. I put in some more hay 
 which burnt with a bright blaze, so I 
 knew that we were now safe from the 
 gas ; but for fear of pits or pools I 
 would not go in till we had some lights. 
 So I sent off Jack on Light Foot to 
 
150 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 tell the news to my wife, and bring all 
 the lights they could find. 
 
 Jack went off with a crack of his whip 
 in such haste that he made my hair 
 stand on end. While he was gone, 
 Fritz and I gave more width to the 
 hole, and swept a clean road for my 
 wife. Just as we had done this we 
 heard the sound of wheels on the bridge, 
 and the cart came in sight, drawn by 
 the cow and ass, while Jack rode in 
 front on Light Foot, and blew through 
 his hands as if it had been a horn. 
 
 I then gave one light to each, with 
 some flints and a steel ; and we took arms 
 with us, and set forth in a slow line for the 
 heart of the cave. I went first, then my 
 big boys, and then my wife and Frank. 
 We had gone but a few steps, when we 
 came to a stop, quite struck with awe ; 
 the scene round us was a blaze of bright 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 151 
 
 light, and we found that we were in a 
 cave of gems, which hung from the high 
 roof in all forms and shapes. 
 
 The floor was smooth with fine dry 
 sand. I broke off one of the gems to 
 judge what they were, and found to my 
 great joy that it was a cave of rock 
 salt. This was in truth a mine of great 
 wealth ; for salt was good for our beasts 
 as well as for us, and would cost us 
 now no toil to get. 
 
 Blocks of salt lay on the ground, and 
 I had some fears lest more should fall 
 on us : so when the rest had left, Fritz 
 and I let off our guns, but not more 
 than two or three lumps came down. 
 We were now sure that our cave was 
 quite safe as a place to dwell in ; so we 
 spent each day at Tent House at work 
 on our new home, and went back at 
 night to Kite's Nest. 
 
152 The Swiss Family Robinson, 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 One day when we were at work at 
 the rock at Tent House we were struck 
 with a strange sight. A large part of the 
 sea would seem to boil, and now and 
 then small flames shot up and were 
 seen no more, while huge flocks of sea 
 birds flew round it with loud cries, and 
 here and there took a plunge in the 
 waves. We ran down to the bay and 
 found that this was a shoal of fish, so 
 dense that they were like a sand bank 
 some miles in length. We sent at once 
 for our pails to hold them, and made 
 plans as to how we should take so rich 
 a prize. Fritz and Jack stood up to 
 their waists in the sea, and threw them 
 up on the sand. My wife and Ned 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson, 153 
 
 then set to work to clean them and rub 
 them with salt, that we might have a 
 store of them for the cold time of the 
 year. 
 
 These fish drew to the spot a shoal 
 of sea dogs, some of which we caught 
 for the sake of their skin and oil, which 
 we might burn in lamps or use for 
 soap. 
 
 At this time I put my sledge on 
 wheels that I took from the guns of the 
 ship, and made it so low that we could 
 place great weights on it. 
 
 In a month we had one more shoal 
 of fish, which Jack was the first to find 
 out. They were so large that he was 
 sure they must be whales. Jack ran at 
 once for his bow, and made fast a ball 
 of string to a dart with a hook at the 
 end of it. He then made the ball safe 
 on the shore, took his bow, put the dart 
 
154 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 in it, and shot a large fish in the side. 
 The fish fought hard to get free, but at 
 length weak with the loss of blood, we 
 drew him to the land with the cord, and 
 put an end to him. 
 
 Ned took his rod and caught some 
 trout, while I struck some huge fish 
 with a large prong. The hard part of 
 our task was to get the spoil to land. 
 Fritz had struck a fish of at least eight 
 feet long, which was more than a match 
 for us all, till my wife brought up Light 
 Foot, to whom we bound the line, and 
 so got this great prize to shore. 
 
 As we had more fish than we could 
 eat, we had to dry and salt some, or 
 boil them in oil ; and the roe of the 
 large fish we kept by us as a great 
 treat. 
 
 When this was done, our next task 
 was to plan a boat to take the place of 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 155 
 
 our tub raft. I had a great wish to 
 make one of bark, as the wild men do : 
 so we set out in search of a tree for 
 that end. All those near our house 
 were worth too much to cut down, some 
 for their fruit and some for their shade : 
 so we made up our minds to search for 
 trees a good way off, and on the road 
 we took stock of our plants and fields. 
 Our peas, beans, maize, and canes had 
 grown well, and the pines on the high 
 ground gave us hopes of a rich feast. 
 
 One fine day we set out for Kite's 
 Nest to see the state of things there. 
 We found my wife's fields of wheat, 
 oats, and beans were for the most part 
 fit to cut, though our best crop was the 
 maize. But birds of all kinds, from the 
 heath fowl to the quail, had made their 
 homes round them, and it would seem 
 that they did not mean to leave much 
 
156 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 for us. Fritz let loose his hawk and 
 flew it at some of them. The bird at 
 once went up in the air and shot down 
 on a fine fowl, which it laid at the feet 
 of Fritz. We got, too, a score of fat 
 quails, which made a nice feast for us. 
 My wife made some juice of green 
 maize, and this was a sweet and fresh 
 drink, as white as milk. 
 
 We then put to rights our house at 
 Kite's Nest, and laid by our wheat till 
 we should have time to thrash and 
 grind it. Fritz thought we could build 
 a mill on the stream ; but for this bold 
 scheme, as yet, we had not time. 
 
 The next day we set out on a tour to 
 look out for a spot on which to build 
 a farm house for some of our live stock, 
 where they could find their own food. 
 My wife chose out twelve young fowls, 
 and I took four young pigs, four sheep, 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 157 
 
 and two goats. These, with all the 
 tools which we might need, were put in 
 the cart, and drawn by Light Foot, the 
 cow, and our old friend, the ass. Fritz 
 rode first on Light Foot to guide us ; 
 and on the road we found some new 
 trees and plants, which were of great 
 use to us. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 When we had made our way through 
 the high grass of the plain, we came to 
 the top of a hill, from which we had a 
 grand view of the land that lay at our 
 feet. Trees grew thick on the sides of 
 the hill, and made a screen from the 
 north wind, and a fine stream ran 
 through the rich fields. We saw at 
 
158 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 once that we must make this the site of 
 our farm. 
 
 We set up our tent, made a fire, and 
 went to work to cook some food. 
 Fritz and I then went in search of a 
 spot on which to build our farm house, 
 and we chose a group of trees which 
 grew so close as to make quite a wall 
 of wood. Here we brought our tools, 
 but as the day was far gone, we went 
 back to sleep in our tent. In our 
 search for trees and bark, our goats led 
 us to find out a rare kind of spice, and 
 some gum which would take the place 
 of pitch for the boat we meant to 
 make. 
 
 We went on with our work at the 
 new farm house, which took us some 
 days. We made the walls of thin 
 laths and reeds, six feet high, and we 
 took care to let in light and air. One 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 159 
 
 room was for our own use when we 
 chose to come to the farm, and all the 
 rest was kept for our live stock. But 
 we could not get on fast with our work 
 from want of skill. 
 
 While Fritz and Jack had gone to 
 Kite's Nest to bring back a fresh stock 
 of food, Ned and I thought we would 
 make a short tour. We went up the 
 stream for some time, which led us to a 
 large marsh, and here we found a lake 
 full of wild fowl. Round this lake 
 there grew some tall thick grass, with 
 ears of grain, which I found to be a 
 small kind of rice ; and we took some 
 of it home to show to our good cook, 
 who would I knew think it a great 
 boon. 
 
 We then went round the lake, where 
 a new scene burst on our view on each 
 side. In the mean time Ned, with 
 
1 60 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 great skill, brought down some birds, 
 while Knips found out some choice 
 fruits. In the midst of the birds of all 
 kinds, we were most struck with a pair 
 of black swans, and it was a treat to 
 stand and watch them glide, like a ship 
 in full sail, on the bright face of this 
 clear lake. Ned would have shot some 
 more birds, but I bade him not break 
 the charm which the hush of the scene 
 gave to it. As to the lake, none but a 
 Swiss, who from his youth looks on 
 such scenes, can judge of the joy we 
 felt. We thought we were once more 
 in our own dear land, but the huge 
 trees and the rare plants put us 
 in mind how far we were from it. 
 
 One of the dogs caught a most 
 strange beast as it swam at the edge 
 of the lake, and brought it to us. It 
 had web feet, a thick tail, small head 
 
/ 
 
 The Swiss Family Robinson. 1 6 1 
 
 and ears, and a long flat bill, like that 
 of a duck. None of us knew what 
 it was : so I gave it the name of the 
 beast with a bill, and I told Ned to 
 take it home and stuff it. 
 
 On our way back to Kite's Nest 
 we went through the wood of apes, 
 when the rogues threw a cloud of fir 
 cones at us ; but a few shots put them to 
 flight. The cones were of use to us, so 
 we took a bag of them home. 
 
 We then came to a small hill, from 
 the top of which we had a view of rich 
 plains, streams, and woods full of bright 
 plants and gay birds. " Here, my 
 boys," said I, "here we will build a 
 house for the hot time of the year." 
 In ten days from this time we had built 
 a house, and we gave it the name of 
 View Hill. 
 
 But I had not yet met with a tree 
 
 M 
 
1 62 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 that would suit me for a boat. So we 
 went back, and at last I chose a sort of 
 oak, the bark of which was more like 
 that of the cork tree. We first had to 
 fell it, which took us some time ; and 
 then we cut out the trunk in the shape 
 of a boat, though we made it look more 
 like a trough ; and it was then left in 
 the sun to dry. 
 
 As there was still much to do to it, I 
 sent Fritz and Jack to Tent House 
 for the sledge, that we might move the 
 boat there. We now set hard to work 
 at it, and made a mast, a keel, seats, 
 brass rings for the oars, and stays for 
 the mast. To give it weight, I put 
 down some stones and clay with boards 
 on the top, and we could then boast 
 that our boat was fit for sea. 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 163 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 In the mean time our cow had borne 
 a young male calf : so as the rest of the 
 boys had steeds to ride, I gave it to 
 Frank to teach and train. 
 
 We now spent all our time at the 
 cave at Tent House, that we might have 
 it warm and snug when the rain and cold 
 should come. The beams and planks 
 from the ship were a great help to us 
 when we made the rooms that we 
 meant to live in, but the part for our 
 live stock we built of stone to keep out 
 the smell. The floor we made of a 
 sort of clay, which, when dry, was 
 smooth and hard, and on it we put 
 sail cloth, wool, and goat's hair, which 
 with some gum made a kind of felt. 
 We made one of these felt cloths for 
 
164 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 each room to keep out the damp ; so 
 that when the rain came at last, we had 
 a warm and safe home. At break of 
 day we went to our work room, while 
 my wife took her wheel or her loom, 
 and I made a sort of lathe out of the 
 wheel of a gun, with which Ned 
 could turn some neat things with much 
 skill. 
 
 Our room was bright with lights, 
 which we did not spare, as we could get 
 them with so much ease. For Jack 
 and Frank I made flutes out of reeds, 
 on which they soon learnt to play well, 
 and my wife, who had a good voice, 
 sang to their notes. 
 
 I made a small church in that part 
 of the cave which shone with so bright 
 a light, and here we went each day 
 to pray. Thus we spent our days free 
 from care and gloom. As far as we 
 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 165 
 
 knew, we might have to pass the rest of 
 our lives on this lone shore. We had 
 good health and sound hearts, so that 
 we could work with a will, and our 
 minds grew more full and strong from 
 day to day. 
 
 We saw round us on all sides the 
 signs of a wise and good God. In 
 Him I put my trust that He would 
 give us back to the world, or send some 
 friends to join us in the isle, where for 
 two years we had seen no trace of man. 
 To Him did our hearts turn, and to 
 Him we left our fate. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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 THE CHILD'S COUNTRY-BOOK, 
 
 In words of two syllables, by Thomas Miller. With 16 colored illustra- 
 tions, square Svo, cloth, gilt side $1 75. 
 
 THE CHILD'S COUNTRY STORY-BOOK 
 
 By Thomas Miller. Uniform with "The Child's Country-Book." With 
 eight colored illustrations, square Svo, cloth $1 75. 
 
-t&f 
 
 Little Lays for Little Folk, 
 
 SELECTED BY JOHN G. WATTS, 
 
 From the poems and songs of 
 
 W. C. Bryant, Thomas Millek, 
 
 Janc Taylor, Mks. Barbauld, 
 
 Lucy Aiken, William Wordsworth, 
 
 Mary Howitt, Caroline Bowles, 
 
 And many others. 
 
 Illustrated with many hundred engravings and ornamental borders, 
 arranged and executed in the highest style of art under the direction of 
 Mr. James D. Cooper. Extra cloth, full gilt side and edges... $4 00. 
 
 " By far the most beautiful child's book we have ever seen It 
 
 is not easy to speak of these designs as they deserve, the majority of them 
 are so excellent, even the smallest showing some touch of beauty or grace." 
 — Tie Round Table. 
 
 "Little Loyi is by all odds the prettiest volume of the season " — The 
 Albion. 
 
 UNIFORM WITH THE ABOVE, 
 
 ORIGINAL POEMS FOR INFANT MINDS. 
 
 BY JANE AND E. TAYLOR. 
 
 With 114 illustrations from original drawings by the best artists. 
 Engraved by J. D. Cooper, small 4to, extra cloth, full gilt side and 
 edges $4 00. 
 
 " Here are verses for children, all good, and all inculcating the best and 
 most proper moralities of kindness and sympathy with nature, flowers and 
 trees, and 'dumb animals' and poor folk, as well as proper lessons on the 
 sins of gluttony and idleness." — Saturday Rcvieio. 
 
 "No daintier gift for a book-loving child can be devised than this 
 charmingly-printed and prettily-illustrated little volume. Messrs. Routlcdge 
 & Sons will endear themselves to all the little folks if they issue many 
 more such treasures."— Tie Round Table. 
 
t£- 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WORKS ON 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY, 
 
 FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY THE REV. J. G. WOOD, M.A., F.L.S. 
 
 NATURAL HISTORT PICTURE-BOOK. Mammalia. With two 
 hundred and forty-two illustrations by Wolf, Zwecker, Weir, Cole- 
 man, and others, small 4to, cloth $2 oo. 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY PICTURE-BOOK. Birds. With two hun- 
 dred and forty-two illustrations by Wolf, Zwecker, Weir, Coleman, and 
 others, small 4to, cloth $2 oo. 
 
 NATURAL HISTORT PICTURE-BOOK. Re?tiles, Fishes, In- 
 sects, &c. With two hundred and forty illustrations by Wolf, 
 Zwecker, Weir, Coleman, and others, small 4*0, cloth... $2 00. 
 
 P..OUTLEDGES POPULAR NATURAL HISTORY. By the Rev. 
 J. G. Wood. Being the above three bound in one volume. Contain- 
 ing upwards of seven hundred engravings by the best artists, small 
 4to, cloth, gilt edges, 750 pages $6 00, 
 
 fPOOD'S NATURAL HISTORY. A new edition, revised and enlarged. 
 Illustrated with four hundred and eighty original designs by William 
 
 Harvey, crown 8vo, cloth $2 00. 
 
 %* From its systematic arrangement, fullneis of illustration, clearness of type, and its 
 
 low price, this will be found an admirable text-book for higher classes in schools.