The family Robinson Crusoe

by Johann David Wyss

Ernest.—Oh, I should not be in the least at a loss. We would do like the savages; rub two pieces of wood against each other, till at length they catch fire.

Father.—Many thanks for your information: but for us who are not savages, and not in the habit of such exercise, the expedient would be somewhat inconvenient. I would lay a wager, that if you were to rub two pieces of wood together for a whole day, you would not produce a single spark; or if you did, you would wait so long for the end you had in view, as to make it almost useless.

Ernest.—If this is the case, we must endeavour to have patience till we can find a tree that bears tinder, just as we found one that bears gourds.

Father.—We might make tinder by burning some linen rag, and putting it in a close box: but we have, unfortunately, none to spare; and, therefore, the best thing for us would be to find tinder ready prepared in some plant; and in this we may succeed by examining our new prize, the karata tree.

I then took a dried stalk of the tree, stripped off the bark, and there appeared a kind of dry and spungy substance, which I laid upon the flint; and then striking it with a steel, it instantly caught fire. The boys looked on with astonishment, and then began to caper about, exclaiming: Long live the tinder tree!

Here then, said I, we have an article of greater usefulness than if it served merely to gratify the appetite. Your mother will next inform us, what materials she will use for sewing your clothes, when her provision of thread from the enchanted bag is exhausted.

My Wife.—I have long been uneasy upon this very subject, and would willingly give all the pine-apples in the world, in exchange for some hemp or flax.

Father.—And your wish shall be accomplished, said I. For once I shall have the pleasure of presenting you with something you eagerly desire to have. If you examine, you will find some excellent thread under the leaves of this extraordinary plant, where all-provident nature has placed a store-house of this valuable article, though the lengths of thread will be found not longer than the leaf. I accordingly examined one of the leaves, and drew out of it a strong piece of thread of a red colour, which I gave to my wife. How fortunate it is for us, said she, that you have had the habit of reading and of study! None of us would have had a thought about this plant, or have conceived that it could be of any use; but will it not be a little difficult to draw out the little lengths of thread through the prickles that surround them?

Father.—Not in the least; we shall put the leaves to dry, either in the sun, or by a gentle fire. The useless part of the leaf will then separate by being beaten, and the mass of thread will remain.

Fritz.—I see clearly, father, that we ought not to trust to appearances; it is the same with this tree as with mankind; the most merit is often found in an individual that was least supposed to possess it: but I believe it would be difficult to find any good qualities in the prickly plants which are growing here in all directions, and wounding the persons who go near them: of what use can they possibly be?