The family Robinson Crusoe

by Johann David Wyss

The boys now amused themselves with making a large fire, which they joyously surrounded. I took the liberty to laugh at them, and asked if they had become salamanders, or inhabitants of the planet Mercury, who, it is said, make fires to refresh themselves from the burning heat of the sun; the heat of our island could scarcely be less ardent, and this irony was therefore fair and admissible.

The fire, father, is to enable us to cook the magician.—Ah, hah, that is quite another thing, replied I. It was then for the same purpose, I suppose, that I saw you picking up some large shells: you mean no doubt to use them in the cooking, instead of the rind of the gourds which would not bear sufficient heat.

They all agreed to my conclusion. Begin then, continued I, by making the dish you will want for dressing your crab, before you make a large fire and get roasted yourself by its side.

I require also, said my wife, that some vessels to contain milk, and a large flat spoon to cut out my butter by pieces, and next some pretty plates for serving it at table, should be completed, gentlemen, among you all.

Father.—You are perfectly reasonable in your demand, dear wife, said I; and for me there must be manufactured some nests for the pigeons, some baskets for eggs, and some hives for bees.

All.—Oh yes, these things must all be made, we will set earnestly to work.

Jack.—But first, father, let me make a dish for my crab; the excessive heat would certainly make him unfit to be eaten by the evening, and I should be sorry to be obliged to throw away what it cost me so much trouble to obtain: I should soon have finished, if you will tell me how to divide one of the rinds with a string.

Father.—Well, well, it is but fair to allow you to enjoy the fruit of your victory. As to the cutting with a string, it was good for something when we had no saw. I will however show you, for fear of the worst, how to do it, though I took care to bring here the different instruments I thought we might want. Gather then a sufficient quantity of the gourds, of different sizes, and you shall see how soon we will cut them.

They all began to gather or collect, and we were soon in possession of a sufficient number of this valuable commodity. We found a certain quantity already dry upon the tree, and these we considered fit for immediate use: many also were so bruised or broken in falling, and others so immature, that we threw them aside as useless. We now began our work: some had to cut; others to saw, scoop out, and model into agreeable forms. It was a real pleasure to witness the activity exhibited in this manufacture of porcelain: each tried what specimens of imagination he could present for the applause of his companions. For my own part, I made a pretty basket, large enough to carry eggs, with one of the gourds, leaving an arch at the top to serve as a cover. I likewise accomplished a certain number of vessels, also with covers, fit to hold our milk, and then some spoons to skim the cream. My next attempt was to execute some bottles large enough to contain a supply of fresh water, and these occasioned me more trouble than all the rest. It was necessary to empty the gourd through the small opening of the size of one’s finger which I had cut in it; I was obliged after loosening the contents by means of a stick, to get them out by the friction of shot and water well shaken on the inside. Lastly, to please my wife I undertook the labour of a set of plates for her use. Fritz and Jack engaged to make the hives for the bees, and nests for the pigeons and hens. For this last object, they took the largest gourds, and cut a hole in front proportioned to the size of the animal for whose use it was intended: they had when finished so very pretty an appearance, that little Francis was ready to cry that he was not quite small enough to get into and live in one of them. The pigeons’ nests were intended to be tied to the branches of our tree; those for the hens, the geese, and the ducks, were to be placed between its roots or on the sea-shore, and to represent a sort of hen-coop. When the most essential of the utensils were finished, I allowed them, as they had requested, to add a dish to dress their crab in. This also was soon accomplished; but when the cooking was completed, they discovered that they had no water. We found nothing on this spot like our providential fountain plants, as we had named them. The boys entreated me to go about with them in different directions, and try to find a small supply of this precious article, not daring by themselves to venture further into the wood.

I was therefore of necessity compelled to accompany them. Ernest with great eagerness proposed relieving me of this trouble, and putting himself in my place. He had found it impossible to succeed in assisting to make the utensils; he broke more than half the pieces of gourd he took in hand, and to make amends for his awkwardness, he exerted himself in every direction to discover a water-spring, or to do something else that might be useful. It was not long before we heard him calling loudly to us, and saw him returning in great alarm. Run quick, father, said he, here is an immense wild boar. Oh, how he frightened me! I heard him grunting quite close to me, and then he scampered away to the wood, and I hear him at this very moment.