“To tell the truth, Uncle, in spite of the pleasure the reading of Robinson Crusoe on his Island gave me, I prefer this trip through the woods to be simply a supposition on your part rather than a reality.”
“Emile is not the only one of that opinion,” declared Jules. “When I have nothing to defend myself with I don’t like those woods where there are wolves and still worse things.”
“I continue my supposition. Hunger drives us and we start. I assume that heaven favors us and that no serious danger comes to disturb us in our hunt for something to keep us from starving. If we are on the seashore we shall catch shell-fish; if inland, we shall gather berries from the brambles and sloes from the thicket. If we hunt long enough we may perhaps find a handful or two of hazel-nuts. [[160]]That will be our dinner, which will beguile our hunger for a while without satisfying it.”
“I should think so,” exclaimed Emile. “Berries and sloes, and nothing else—a sorry feast! I’d rather have a crust of bread, no matter how hard.”
“So had I. But the crust of bread means cultivated fields, the husbandman, the harvester, the miller, and the baker; it presupposes an advanced civilization, whereas we are in a wilderness. We must do without the crust of bread. If, however, you find something better than berries and sloes, I will gladly give up the detestable fruit.”
“Since the woods where you suppose us to be,” said Jules, “are full of all sorts of animals, there ought to be game in abundance.”
“Yes, indeed, game is there in plenty.”
“Well, then; let us hunt it, and then we will light a fire and I will see to roasting what we have got. That will be much better than horrid sloes, sour enough to set your teeth on edge.”
“That is a good idea, but I see two great difficulties: first, we must catch the game; secondly, we must make a fire.”
“Making a fire is the easiest thing in the world,” Emile declared. “All we need is a match, as long as there is plenty of wood.”