The family Robinson Crusoe

by Johann David Wyss

My Wife.—The largest serve very well for pins, and even for nails; see how they keep my gown well fastened.

Father.—This, then, you see is a third usefulness the Indian fig-tree can boast, and of which I was not at first aware. You must perceive of what importance these inclosures are; and the rather, as they are made with so little trouble; for, if you plant only one of its leaves in the ground, it immediately takes root, and grows with astonishing rapidity: it is therefore not only a defence against wild beasts, but against enemies in general; for they could not get over it without cutting through the hedge; and during such an operation, which also would be attended with some danger, the persons within, gain time to escape, or to prepare an effectual defence.

Jack, the king of the thoughtless race, asserted that this plant was extremely soft, and yielding in its nature; and that with the assistance of a knife, or even a stick, it would be easy to get over such a hedge: to prove his assertion, he began to cut down, with his clasp knife, a pretty large plant, striking every where to right and left with all his might, till at length one of the divided leaves fell with such violence on his leg, that the thorns struck into the flesh, and Jack roared out piteously, and quickly seated himself upon a stone to disengage it as quickly as possible. I could not now, as I assisted him to draw out the thorns, refrain from laughing a little at this second attack of the figs, which was caused solely by his obstinacy and his imprudence; I observed to him, how difficult it must be, for savages, who wear no clothes, to force such a barrier as they formed, and for this once, I had the pleasure of convincing him.

Ernest.—Ah, papa, do let us make such a hedge round our tree; we shall then have no further occasion to light fires to preserve us from wild beasts, or even from the savages, who from one day to another may arrive in their canoes, as they did on Robinson Crusoe’s Island.

Fritz.—And we could, then, easily gather the cochineal, and try to make the same beautiful scarlet colour.

Father.—We shall have time enough for many things, my dear children; but for the present, it is sufficient to prove to you, that God has not made any thing to be wholly useless; and that it is the duty of men, on whom he has bestowed the gifts of wisdom and intelligence, to employ those faculties, in discovering the utility of the different productions he has allowed to exist.

Jack.—For my part, I have done with the Indian fig-tree, its fruit, its cochineal, and its ugly thorns, and I will never go near it again.

Father.—If the plant could speak, it would most likely say: That little boy shall not come near me any more. Without any reason, or any necessity, but purely out of contradiction to his father, he attacks and destroys me; me, who would have done him service, if he would but have treated me with kindness, and have been careful in coming near me. And now, Jack, if your leg is still painful, apply a leaf of the karata to it, for I recollect that the plant possesses the property of curing wounds. He accordingly took my advice, and in a few minutes was able to join us on our road to Tent House.

Now then, said Ernest, I have had an opportunity of learning the valuable properties of the karata tree, and of the Indian fig-tree; but I wish I could also be informed respecting those tall plants which look like sticks covered with thorns, that I perceive every where about us; I see neither fruits nor insects on them: of what use then, father, do you think they can be?

Father.—It is not in my power, my dear boy, to explain to you the uses of all the plants in the world; I presume that many exist which have no other use than contributing to the sustenance of different kinds of animals; and, as I have already told you, it is for man, by his superior intelligence, to discover those that can be applied to his own use. Many possess medicinal qualities of which I am ignorant, and which will become better known as the world advances in age. It occurred to me that one of the plants we saw today, named the prickly candle, is of the kind which Bruce describes in his Travels to Abyssinia, and of which he gives a drawing; the only difference that I perceive, being the size. They serve, says he, for food to the elephant and the rhinoceros; the first with his strong teeth, or his trunk, and the latter with his horn, lay hold of this seeming stick, and rip it up from one end to the other; they then devour the pith, and sometimes the rind.