The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
Section [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49]
the knowledge of_my laws, and_that every father should keep a copy, to read daily to_his children, that_they may never be forgotten . and on_the first day of_the week you_must all assemble, as brothers, in one place, to hear these laws read and explained . thus it_will_be easy for every_one to learn the best method of improving his land, what to plant, and how to cleanse it from_the tares that might choke the good seed . all may ask what they desire, and every reasonable demand will_be granted, if_it be conformable to_the great end .

"' if_you feel grateful for_these benefits, and testify it by increased activity, and by occupying yourself on_this day in expressing your gratitude to_me, i_will take care this day of rest shall be a benefit, and not a loss . i_wish that all your useful animals, and even the wild beasts of_the plains, should on_this day repose in peace .

"' he who obeys my commands in earthly abode, shall receive a rich reward in_the heavenly city; but the idle, the negligent, and_the evil- disposed, shall be condemned to perpetual slavery, or to labour in mines, in_the bowels of_the earth .

"' from_time to_time, I_shall send ships, to bring away individuals, to_be rewarded or punished, as_they_have fulfilled my commands . none can deceive me; a magic mirror will show me the actions and thoughts of all,'

" the colonists were satisfied, and eager to_begin their labour . the portions of land and instruments of labour were distributed to_them, with seeds, and useful plants, and fruit-trees . they were then left to_turn these good gifts to profit .

" but what followed ? every_one did as he_wished . some planted their ground with groves and gardens, pretty and useless .Others planted wild fruit, instead of_the good fruit the great king had commanded .a third had sowed good seed; but, not knowing the tares from_the wheat, he had torn up all before_they reached maturity . but the most part left their land uncultivated; they had lost their seeds, or spoiled their implements . many would_not understand the orders of_the great king; and others tried, by subtlety, to evade them .

"A few laboured with courage, as_they had_been taught, rejoicing in_the hope of_the promise given them . their greatest danger was in_the disbelief of_their teachers . though every_one had a copy of_the law, few read it; all were ready, by some excuse, to avoid this duty . some asserted they knew it, yet never thought on_it: some called these the laws of past times; not of_the present . other said the great king did_not regard the actions of_his subjects, that he had neither mines nor dungeons, and_that all would certainly be taken to_the heavenly city . they began to neglect the duties of_the day dedicated to_the great king . few assembled; and of_these, the most part were inattentive, and did_not profit by_the instruction given them .

" but the great king was faithful to_his word . from_time to_time, frigates arrived, bearing the name of some disease . these were followed by a large vessel called the Grave_, bearing the terrible flag of_the admiral Death_; this flag was of two colours, green and black; and appeared to_the colonists, according to_their state, the smiling colour of Hope_, or the gloomy hue of Despa'r .

" this fleet always arrived unexpectedly, and was usually unwelcome . the officers were sent out, by_the admiral, to seize those he pointed out: many who were unwilling were compelled to_go; and others whose land was prepared, and even the harvest ripening, were summoned; but these went joyfully, sure that_they went to happiness . the fleet being ready, sailed for_the heavenly city . then the great king, in_his justice, awarded the punishments and recompenses . excuses were now too late; the negligent and disobedient were sent to labour in_the dark mines; while the faithful and obedient, arrayed in bright robes, were received into their glorious abodes of happiness .

" I_have finished my parable, my dear children; reflect on_it, and profit by_it .Fritz, what do_you_think of it ? "

" I_am considering the goodness of_the great king, and_the ingratitude of_his people," answered he .

" and how very foolish they were," said Ernest, " with a little prudence, they_might have kept their land in good condition, and secured a pleasant life afterwards ."

" away with_them to_the mines ! " cried jack, " they richly deserved such a doom ."

" how_much i_should like," said Francis, " to_see those soldiers in their shining armour ! "

" I_hope_you_will see them some day, my dear boy, if_you continue to_be good and obedient ." I then explained my parable fully, and applied the moral to each of_my sons directly .

" you, Fritz, should take warning from_the people who planted wild fruit, and wished to_make them pass for good fruit . such are those who_are proud of natural virtues, easy to exercise,-- such as bodily strength, or physical courage; and place these above the qualities which are only attained by labour and patience .

" you, Ernest, must remember the subjects who laid out their land in flowery gardens; like those who seek the pleasures of life, rather than_the duties . and you, my thoughtless jack, and little Francis, think of_the fate of_those who left their land untilled, or heedlessly sowed tares for wheat . these are god's people who neither study nor reflect; who cast to_the winds all instruction, and leave room in their minds for evil . then let_us all be, like the good labourers of_the parable, constantly cultivating our ground, that, when death comes for_us, we_may willingly follow him to_the feet of_the great king, to hear these blessed words: ' good and faithful servants ! enter into_the joy of your lord ! '"

this made a great impression on my children . we concluded by singing a hymn . then my good wife produced from her unfailing bag, a copy of_the holy scripture, from_which I selected such passages as applied to our situation; and explained them to my best ability . my boys remained for some_time thoughtful and serious, and though they followed their innocent recreations during the day, they_did_not lose sight of_the useful lesson of_the morning, but, by a more gentle and amiable manner, showed that my words had taken effect .

the next morning, Ernest had used my bow, which I had given him, very skilfully; bringing down some dozens of small birds, a sort of ortolan, from_the branches of_our tree, where they assembled to feed on_the figs . this induced them all to wish for such a weapon . i_was glad to comply with their wishes, as I wished them to_become skilful in_the use of_these arms of_our forefathers, which might_be of great value to_us, when our ammunition failed . I_made two bows; and two quivers, to contain their arrows, of a flexible piece of bark, and, attaching a strap to_them, I soon armed my little archers .

Fritz was engaged in preparing the skin of_the margay, with more care than jack had shown with_that of_the jackal .I showed him how to clean it, by rubbing it with sand in_the river, till no vestige of fat or flesh was left; and then applying butter, to render it flexible .

these employments filled up the morning till dinner- time came . we had Ernest's ortolans, and some fried ham and eggs, which made us a sumptuous repast . I_gave my boys leave to kill as_many ortolans as_they chose, for I_knew that, half- roasted, and put into casks, covered with butter, they_would keep for a length of_time, and prove an invaluable resource in_time of need . as I continued my work, making arrows, and a bow for Francis, I intimated to my wife that_the abundant supply of figs would save our grain, as_the poultry and pigeons would feed on them, as_well as_the ortolans . this_was a great satisfaction to her . and thus another day passed, and we mounted to our dormitory, to taste the sweet slumber that follows a day of toil .

* * * * *

chapter XIII .

the next morning, all were engaged in archery: I completed the bow for Francis, and at his particular request made him a quiver too . the delicate bark of a tree, united by glue, obtained from_our portable soup, formed an admirable quiver; this I suspended by a string round the neck of_my boy, furnished with arrows; then taking his bow in_his hand, he_was as proud as a knight armed at all points .

after dinner, I proposed that we_should give names to all the parts of_our island known to_us, in_order_that, by apleasing delusion, we_might fancy ourselves in an inhabited country . my proposal was well received, and then began the discussion of names . jack wished for something high-sounding and difficult, such as Monomotapa or Zanguebar_; very difficult words, to puzzle any_one that visited our island . but I objected to_this, as_we were the most likely to_have to use the names ourselves, and we_should suffer from_it .I rather suggested that we_should give, in_our own language, such simple names as should point out some circumstance connected with_the spot .I proposed we_should begin with_the bay where we landed, and called on Fritz for_his name .

"_The Bay of Oysters_" said he,--" we_found so_many there ."

"Oh, no ! " said jack, " let it be lobster Bay_; for there i_was caught by_the leg ."

[ illustration: map of_the happy island .

a. tent house .B . first grotto .C . second grotto .D . falcon's nest .E . farm .F . family bridge .G .Bears .H .Cascades .I . shark's island .J . cabbage Palms .K . rice Marsh .L . Arcadia .M .Marsh .N .Bamboos .O . sugar Canes .P . gourd wood .Q . acorn wood .R . monkey wood .S . sand Hills .T . coral Reefs .U . cotton wood .V . flamingo Marsh .W . palm cocoa wood .X .Potatoe plantation .]

" then we ought to_call it the Bay of Tears_," said Ernest, " to commemorate those you shed on_the occasion ."

" my advice," said my wife, " is, that in gratitude to god we_should name it safety Bay ."

we were all pleased with_this name, and proceeded to_give the name of _Tent house to our first abode; shark Island_, to_the little island in_the bay, where we had found that animal; and, at jack's desire, the marshy spot where we had cut our arrows was named flamingo Marsh . there the height from_which we had vainly sought traces of_our shipmates, received the name of cape disappointment . the river was to_be jackal River_, and_the bridge, family bridge . the most difficult point was, to name our present abode . at last we agreed on_the name of _Falcon's nest ( in German Falken- hoist) . this_was received with acclamations, and I poured out for_my young nestlings each a glass of sweet wine, to drink prosperity to falcon's nest . we thus laid the foundation of_the geography of_our new country, promising to_forward it to Europe by_the first post .

after dinner, my sons returned to_their occupation as tanners, Fritz to complete his belt, and jack to_make a sort of cuirass, of_the formidable skin of_the porcupine, to protect the dogs . he finished by making a sort of helmet from_the head of_the animal, as strange as_the cuirasses .

the heat of_the day being over, we prepared to set out to walk to tent house, to renew our stock of provisions, and endeavour to bring the geese and ducks to our new residence; but, instead of going by_the coast, we proposed to_go up the river till we reached the chain of rocks, and continue under their shade till we got to_the cascade, where we_could cross, and return by family bridge .

this_was approved, and we set out .Fritz, decorated with_his beautiful belt of skin, jack in_his porcupine helmet . each had a gun and game- bag; except Francis, who, with_his pretty fair face, his golden hair, and_his bow and quiver, was a perfect Cupid . my wife was loaded with a large butter- pot for a fresh supply . Turk walked before_us with_his coat of mail, and Flora followed, peeping at a respectful distance from_him, for fear of_the darts .Knips_, as my boys called the monkey, finding this new saddle very inconvenient, jumped off, with many contortions, but soon fixed on Flora, who, not being able to shake him off, was compelled to_become his palfrey .

the road by_the river was smooth and pleasant . when we reached the end of_the wood, the country seemed more open; and now the boys, who had_been rambling about, came running up, out of breath; Ernest was holding a plant with leaves and flowers, and green apples hanging on_it .

"Potatoes ! " said he; " I_am certain they_are potatoes ! "

" god be praised," said I; " this precious plant will secure provision for_our colony ."

" well," said jack, " if his superior knowledge discovered them, i_will_be the first to dig them up;" and he set to work so ardently, that we had soon a bag of fine ripe potatoes, which we carried on to tent house .

* * * * *

chapter XIV .

we had_been much delighted with_the new and lovely scenery of_our road: the prickly cactus, and aloe, with its white flowers; the Indian fig; the white and yellow jasmine; the fragrant vanilla, throwing round its graceful festoons . above all, the regal pineapple grew in profusion, and we feasted on_it, for_the first time, with avidity .

among_the prickly stalks of_the cactus and aloes, I perceived a plant with large pointed leaves, which I_knew

Section [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49]