Father.—Since your idle fit has rendered you inventive, I forgive it with all my heart; but is it not a pity to lose in sleeping the opportunity of doing something useful? Did you not promise your mother to carry her some salt? Slothfulness is always a fault, where labour is a necessity.
Ernest.—But, father, my head was not idle, I assure you. I was planning something all the time.
Father.—Really, Ernest! Why, this is quite a novelty, for a boy of your age. Pray tell me what important and profound study it was, which made you go to sleep.
Ernest.—I will tell you. I was thinking, deeply, how difficult it would be to bring away from the vessel every thing which it contains.
Father.—And did you hit upon some method for removing the difficulty?
Ernest.—No, father, no great things; I fell asleep in the middle of my reflections.
Father.—So, this is the hard work your poor head was engaged in!—Discovering a difficulty, and finding no means for conquering it!
Ernest.—At this very moment an idea strikes me.—We ought to have a large raft; but the beams of the ship are too heavy for the purpose: I think it would be better to take a number of the empty casks, and nail some planks upon them to keep them all together. I have read that the savages of America fill the skins of goats with air, tie them to each other, and are thus enabled to use them as rafts upon the largest rivers.
Father.—This is a sound idea, and one day or other we may perhaps derive advantage from it: but for the present, my boy, we must make up for lost time: run, therefore, and fill this little bag with salt, which you will then empty into the large one that the ass is to carry; and which you will take care to fill equally on each side. During this time, I will take the refreshment of bathing; and then it will be your turn to bathe, and mine to take care of the animals. I returned to the rocks, and was not disappointed in my expectation of an enjoyment the most delicious; but I did not stay long, fearing my boy might be impatient for his share of so new a pleasure. When I had dressed myself, I returned to the place, to see if his work had advanced; but he was not there, and I supposed that he had again fallen asleep in some corner. Presently, however, I heard his voice calling out, father, father, a fish! a fish of monstrous size! Run quickly, father, I can hardly hold him! he is eating up the string of my line! I ran to the place from which the voice proceeded, and found Ernest lying along the ground on his face, upon the extremity of a point of land, and pulling in his line, to which a large fish was hanging, and beating about with all his strength. I ran hastily and snatched the rod out of his hand, for I had some apprehension that the weight and activity of the fish, would pull him into the water. I gave a certain liberty to the line, to calm the fish, and then contrived to draw him gently along, till I had got him safely into a shallow, from which he could no longer escape, and thus the animal was effectually secured. We next examined him thoroughly, and it appeared to me that it could not weigh less than fifteen pounds; so that our capture was magnificent, and would afford the greatest pleasure to our good steward of provisions at Falcon’s Stream. You have now really laboured, said I to Ernest, not only with your head, but with your whole body; and I would advise you to wipe the perspiration from your face, and keep a little quiet before you venture into the water. You have procured us a dish of great excellence, which will last for several days, and have conducted yourself like a true chevalier, without fear and without reproach.
It was at least fortunate, observed he in a modest tone, that I thought of bringing my fishing-rod.