The Swiss Family Robinson; or, Adventures on a Desert Island

by Johann David Wyss

In a short time he slipped down the tree, and, advancing to his mother, presented her with the nut-shell he had taken up with him.

"Here," he said, "is a wine which the greatest connoisseur would prize. Taste it, mother."

The shell was filled with a clear, rosy liquor, bright, and sparkling. My wife tasted it. "Excellent, excellent," she exclaimed. "Your very good health, my dear boy!"

We drank the rosy wine in turn, and Ernest received hearty thanks from all.

It was getting late, and while we were enjoying our supper before our tent, our donkey, who had been quietly browsing near us, suddenly set up a loud bray, and, without the least apparent cause, pricked up his ears, threw up his heels, and galloped off into the thicket of bamboos. We followed for a short distance, and I sent the dogs in chase, but they returned without our friend, and, as it was late, we were obliged to abandon the chase.

I was annoyed by this incident, and even alarmed; for not only had we lost the ass, but I knew not what had occasioned his sudden flight. I knew not whether he was aware, by instinct, of the approach of some fierce wild beast. I said nothing of this to my family, but, making up an unusually large fire, I bade them sleep with their arms by their sides, and we all lay down.

A bright morning awoke us early, and I rose and looked out, thinking that perhaps our poor donkey might have been attracted by the light of the fires, and have returned. Alas! not a sign of him was to be seen. As we could not afford to lose so valuable a beast, I determined to leave no attempt untried to regain him. We hurriedly breakfasted, and, as I required the dogs to assist me in the search, I left my elder sons to protect their mother, and bade Jack get ready for a day's march. This arrangement delighted him, and we quickly set out.

For an hour or more we trudged onward, directed by the print of the ass's hoofs. Sometimes we lost the track for a while, and then again discovered it as we reached softer soil. Finally this guide failed us altogether, for the donkey seemed to have joined in with a herd of some larger animals, with whose hoof-prints his had mingled. I now almost turned back in despair, but Jack urged me to continue the search; "For," said he, "if we once get upon a hill we shall see such a large herd, as this must be, at almost any distance. Do let us go on, father."

I consented, and we again pushed forward, through bushes, and over torrents, sometimes cutting our way with an ax, and sometimes plunging knee-deep through a swamp. We at length reached the border of a wide plain, and on it, in the distance, I could see a herd of animals browsing on the rich grass. It struck me that it might be the very herd to which our good donkey had joined himself; and, wishing to ascertain whether this was so, I resolved to make a detour through a bamboo marsh, and get as near as possible to the animals without disturbing them. The bamboos were huge, many of them over thirty feet in height; and, as we made our way through them, I remembered an account of the giant cane of South America, which is greatly prized by the Indians on account of its extreme usefulness; the reeds themselves make masts for their canoes, while each joint will form a cask or box. I was delighted, for I had little doubt that the bamboos we were among were the same species. I explained this to Jack, and as we discussed the possibility of cutting one down and carrying a portion of it home, we reached the border of the marsh, and emerged upon the plain. There we suddenly found ourselves face to face with the herd which we sought—a herd of buffaloes. They looked up and stared at us inquisitively, but without moving. Jack would have fired, but I checked him. "Back to the thicket," I said, "and keep back the dogs!"

We began to retreat, but before we were again under cover the dogs joined us; and, in spite of our shouts and efforts to restrain them, they dashed forward and seized a buffalo calf. This was a signal to the whole herd to attack us. They bellowed loudly, pawed the ground, and tore it up with their horns, and then dashed madly toward us. We had not time to step behind a rock before the leader was upon us. So close was he that my gun was useless. I drew a pistol and fired. He fell dead at my feet. His fall checked the advance of the rest. They halted, snuffed the air, turned tail, and galloped off across the plain. They were gone, but the dogs still held gallantly to the calf. They dragged and tussled with him, but with their utmost efforts they could not bring him to the ground. How to assist them without shooting the poor beast I knew not; and this I was unwilling to do, for I hoped that, if we could but capture him alive, we might in time manage to tame him, and use him as a beast of burden. Jack's clever little head, however, suddenly devised a plan for their aid, and with his usual promptitude, he at once put it into execution. He unwound the lasso, which was coiled round his body, and, as the young bull flung up his heels, he cast it and caught him by his hind legs. The noose drew tight, and in a twinkling the beast was upon the ground. We fastened the other end of the cord round a stout bamboo, called off the dogs, and the animal was at our mercy.