The family Robinson Crusoe

by Johann David Wyss

Next came the cow’s turn; and as she was infinitely more valuable than the ass, my fears increased in due proportion. The ass had swum so courageously, that he was already at a considerable distance from the vessel, so that there was sufficient room for our experiment on the cow. We had more difficulty in pushing her overboard, but she reached the water in as much safety as the ass had done before; she did not sink so low in it, and was no less perfectly sustained by the empty barrels; and she made her way on the surface with gravity, and, if I may so express it, a sort of dignified composure. According to this method we proceeded with our whole troop, throwing them one by one into the water, where by and by they appeared in a group floating at their ease, and seemingly well content, at a short distance from the vessel. The sow was the only exception; she became quite furious, set up a loud squalling, and struggled with so much violence in the water, that she was carried to a considerable distance, but fortunately in a direction towards the landing-place we had in view for ourselves. We had now not a moment to lose; our last act was to put on our cork-jackets; and then we descended without accident through the cleft, took our station in the boat, and were soon out to sea, surrounded by our troop of quadrupeds. We carefully took up from the water, each of the floating bits of wood which we had fastened to the ropes round the animals, and thus drew them all after us by fastening the bits of timber to the boat. When every thing was adjusted, and our company in order, we hoisted our sail, which soon filling with a favourable wind conducted us and our escort safe to the land.

We now perceived how impossible it would have been for us to have executed our enterprise without the assistance of the sail; for the weight of so many animals sunk the boat so low in the water, that all our exertions to row to such a distance would have been ineffectual; while by means of the sail, and the improvement I had invented for the steering, she proceeded completely to our satisfaction, bearing in her train our suite of animals; which produced altogether the most singular effect. Proud of the success of so extraordinary an enterprise, we were in high spirits, and seated ourselves in the tubs, where we made an excellent dinner. Fritz amused himself with the monkey, while I was wholly occupied in thinking of those I had left on land, and of whom I now tried to take a view through my telescope. My last act on board the vessel had been to take one look more at them, and I perceived my wife and the three boys all in motion, and seeming to be setting out on some excursion; but it was in vain that I endeavoured, by any thing I saw, to conjecture what their plan might be.

I therefore seized the first moment of quiet to make another trial with my glass, when a sudden exclamation from Fritz filled me with alarm. O heavens! cried he, we are lost! a fish of an enormous size is coming up to the boat. And why lost? said I half angry, yet half partaking of his fright. Be ready with your gun in an instant, and the moment he is close upon us, let us both fire upon him at the same instant. Our guns were each loaded with two balls, and we got up from our tubs to give the intruder a hearty reception. He had nearly reached the boat, and with the rapidity of lightning had seized the foremost sheep: at this instant Fritz aimed his fire so skilfully, that the balls were lodged in the head of the monster, which was an enormous shark. The fish half turned himself round in the water and hurried off to sea, leaving us to observe the lustrous smoothness of his belly, and that as he proceeded, he stained the water red, which convinced us he had been severely wounded. I determined to have the best of our guns at hand the rest of the way, lest we should be again attacked by the same fish, or another of his species.

Fritz had great reason to be proud of the achievement of having forced the shark to retreat; whilst I on my part rather felt surprise; for I had always understood that this kind of sea-monster was not easily to be frightened from his purpose, and also that the heaviest load of shot was rarely known to do him any injury, the creature being extremely voracious of his prey, and his skin so hard, as to present an extraordinary degree of resistance to all attempts of this kind. For this time, however, the animal left us in tranquillity; I resumed the rudder; and as the wind drove us straight towards the bay, I took down the sail, and continued rowing till we reached a convenient spot for our cattle to land. I then untied the end of the cords, which had been fastened to the boat, and they stepped contentedly on shore. Our voyage thus happily concluded, we followed their example.

I had already been surprised and uneasy at finding none of my family looking out for us on the shore, and was at a loss to conjecture in what they could be occupied to prevent them: we could not, however, set out in search of them, till we had disencumbered our animals of their swimming apparatus. Scarcely had we entered upon this employment, when I was agreeably relieved by the exclamations and joyful sounds which reached our ears, and filled our hearts with rapture. It was my wife and the youngest boys who uttered them, the latter of whom were soon close up to us, and their mother followed not many steps behind; each and all of them in excellent health, and eager for our salutations. When the first burst of happiness at meeting had subsided, we all sat down on the grass, and I began to give them an account of our occupations in the vessel, of our voyage, and of all our different plans, and their success, in the order in which they occurred. My wife could find no words to express her surprise and satisfaction at seeing so many useful animals round us, and her language respecting them had such a vein of affectionate simplicity, as greatly to increase the gratification it could not otherwise but inspire. I had been ransacking my poor brains, said she, every moment of your absence, to conceive some means by which you might succeed in protecting the poor animals; but I could fix on none that seemed to promise the least success.

Yes, said Fritz a little consequentially, for this once the privy-counsellor has tried his talents at invention.

This indeed is very true, replied I; in all humility have I to confess, that to Fritz alone all praise belongs, and that to his sagacity it is, that we are indebted for our success. His mother could not refrain from giving him a hearty kiss. Our gratitude is due to both, said she; for both have laboured to give us the possession of this troop of animals, an acquisition beyond any other, agreeable and serviceable to us, in the situation in which it has pleased Providence to place us.

Ha ha! cried little Francis, what is that I see in your boat? Look, mamma, there is a sail and a new flag floating about in the air. How pretty they are! I like the sail and the flag much better than the ass and the cow.

Little blockhead! said his mother, you will change your mind when I give you every morning a cocoa-nut full of delicious milk.

Ernest and Jack now ran also to the boat, and bestowed no less admiration than Francis had done upon the mast, the sail, and the flag, desiring their brother to explain to them how all the things they saw had been effected, and what he had himself done towards them. In the mean time we began to unpack our cargo, which was by no means a trifling undertaking; while Jack, who had no fancy for the occupation, stole aside and amused himself with the animals, took off the jackets from the sheep and goats, bursting from time to time into shouts of laughter at the ridiculous figure of the ass, who stood before them adorned with his two casks and his swimming apparatus, and braying loud enough to make us deaf. Jack tried a long time to disengage the ass from his incumbrances, but constantly found difficulties he knew not how to overcome; till at last, tired out with so many fruitless endeavours, and longing to be in some way a more effectual actor in the scene, he got upon the ass’s back between the casks, and kicked and stirred so violently against his sides, that he at last succeeded in causing the animal to advance to the place where we were all assembled.