He could not think of anything else. He thought how grand it would be to sail and sail on the wide blue sea. He thought how pleasant it would be to visit strange countries and see strange peoples.
As he grew up, his father wished him to learn a trade.
"No, no, I am going to be a sailor; I am going to see the world" he said. His mother said to him: "A sailor's life is a hard life. There are great storms on the sea. Many ships are wrecked and the sailors are drowned." "I am not afraid" said Robinson Crusoe. "I am going to be a sailor and nothing else."
So, when he was eighteen years old, he ran away from his pleasant home and went to sea.
He soon found that his mother's words were true.
A sailor's life is indeed a hard life. There is no time to play. Every day there is much work to be done. Sometimes there is great danger.
Robinson Crusoe sailed first on one ship and then on another. He visited many lands and saw many wonderful things.
One day there was a great storm. The ship was driven about by the winds; it was wrecked. All the sailors were drowned but Robinson Crusoe.
He swam to an island that was not far away. It was a small island, and there was no one living on it. But there were birds in the woods and some wild goats on the hills.
For a long time Robinson Crusoe was all alone. He had only a dog and some cats to keep him company. Then he tamed a parrot and some goats.