The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
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to carry us ? what says Mr philosopher, the prince of idlers, to_it ? "

" for_my part," said Ernest, quietly, " I_am quite indifferent whether I use my legs in walking, or my arms in rowing, it_is equally fatiguing; but walking gives me more chance of filling my plant- box and my game- bag ."

" and does he think," added Fritz, " that_the mulberry and bread- fruit trees, which we_shall certainly find on_the other side, grow on_the sea ? without naming my gazelle, which_does not run over the waves ."

" no, it_is waiting, without moving, for_you to shoot it," said jack; " and Ernest, perhaps you_may find on_the sea some_of_those curious things half plants, half animals, which you were showing me in a book ."

" the zoophytes, or polypi; for they_are the same family, though there_are more than a thousand species," said Ernest, charmed to display his knowledge; but I stopped him by saying: " we_will dispense with_the thousand names at present . after hearing all your arguments, attend to mine; even jack must yield to_them . our principal aim now being to search for_the trees we_are in need of, and to examine the productions of_the island, our most sensible plan will_be to walk ."

jack still contended that we_might land occasionally; but I showed him the danger of_this, the island being, in all probability, surrounded by reefs, which might extend so_far into_the sea as to_take us out_of_the sight of_the island; this I intended to ascertain some day; and in_the mean time I proposed to_them that we_should endeavour to_find a pass round the rocks on_our side, from whence we_could walk to_the defile at_the other end, take our canoe, which we had left at anchor near the great Bay, and return to tent house .

jack was in ecstasies; he declared the pass must_be very_well concealed that escaped his search, and, seizing his lasso and_his bow, rushed out the first, singing " the sea ! the sea ! "

" there goes a sailor formed by nature," thought I, as_we followed the course of_the chain of rocks to_the left of_our dwelling . it conducted us first to_the place of_our landing, that little uncultivated plain of triangular form, of_which the base was washed by_the sea, and_the point was lost among_the rocks . I_found here some traces of_our first establishment; but how wretched all appeared, compared with_our present comforts ! we_tried here in vain to_find a passage to cross the rocks-- the chain was everywhere like an impenetrable wall . we arrived at_the ravine Fritz and Ernest had scaled when_they discovered their grotto; and, truly, nothing but the courage and rashness of youth could_have undertaken this enterprise, and continued it daily for three weeks . it appeared to_me almost impossible; Fritz offered to ascend, to show me how they accomplished it; but i_would_not consent, as it could serve no useful purpose . i_thought it better for_us to_proceed to_the border of_the island, where it_was not impossible there_might_be a small space on_the strand between_the rocks and_the sea, round which we_could pass; from my sons being able to distinguish from_the summit the country on_the other side, it_was evident the chain of rocks could_not_be very broad . suddenly Fritz struck his forehead, and, seizing Ernest by_the arm--" brother," said he, " what fools we_have_been ! "

Ernest inquired what folly they had_been guilty of .

" why did we not," said Fritz, " when we were working within our grotto, attempt to make_the opening on_the other side ? we should_not have_had much difficulty, I_am persuaded, and if our tools had_not_been sufficient, a little powder would_have opened us a door on_the other side . only consider, father, the convenience of bringing the cart loaded with_the trees we wanted through our grotto, and to_be_able to_go a-hunting without having I don't know how_many miles to_go ."

" well, we_can still do_that," said Ernest, in_his usual calm, grave manner; " if we_do_not find another passage, we_will make one through_the grotto Ernestine, with mamma's permission, as_it_is her property ."

this idea of_my son appeared good . it_was quite certain, from_our experience at tent house and in_the grotto, that_the cavity in_the rocks was of very great extent, and it did_not appear difficult to pierce through to_the other side; but some other chain of rocks, some gigantic tree, some hill, at_the end of_our tunnel, might render all our labour useless .I proposed that we_should defer our work till we had examined the nature of_the ground on_the other side; my sons agreed, and we proceeded with renewed courage, when we were suddenly checked by_the sight of_the sea beating against a perpendicular rock of terrific height, which terminated our island on_this side, and did_not give_us a chance of going on . I_saw the rock did_not extend far; but how to_get round it, I_could_not devise . I_did_not conceive we_could get the pinnace round, as_the coast seemed surrounded by reefs; masses of rock stood up in_the sea, and_the breakers showed that more were hidden . after much consideration and many plans, Ernest proposed that we_should swim out to_the uncovered rocks, and endeavour to_pass round .Fritz objected, on account of_his arms and ammunition; but Ernest suggested that_the powder should_be secured in_the pockets of_his clothes, which he might carry on_his head, holding his gun above the water .

with some difficulty we arranged our incumbrances, and succeeded in reaching the range of outer rocks, without swimming, as_the water was not above our shoulders . we rested here awhile, and, putting on some_of_our clothes, we commenced our walk over sharp stones, which wounded our feet . in many places, where the rocks lay low, we were up_to_the waist in_the water . Ernest, the proposer of_the plan, encouraged us, and led the way for some_time; but at last he fell behind, and remained so_long, that I became alarmed, and calling aloud, for I had lost sight of him, he answered me, and at last I discovered him stretched on_the rock, endeavouring to separate a piece from_it with_his knife .

" father," said he, " I_am now certain that_this bed of rocks, over which_we_are walking, and which we fancied was formed of stone or flints, is nothing but the work of_those remarkable zoophytes, called coral insects, which form coral and many_other extraordinary things; they_can even make whole islands . look at_these little points and hollows, and these stars of every colour and every form; i_would give all the world to_have a specimen of each kind ."

he succeeded in breaking off a piece, which_was of a deep orange-colour inside; he collected also, and deposited in_his bag, some other pieces, of various forms and colours . these greatly enriched his collection; and, idle as he_was, he_did_not complain of any difficulty in obtaining them . he had given his gun to jack, who complained much of_the ruggedness of_our road . our march was truly painful, and I repented more than once of having yielded to_the idea; besides the misery of walking along these shelly rocks, which presented points like the sharp teeth of a saw, tearing our shoes and even our skin, the sea, in some_of_the lower places, was so high as_to bar our passage, and we were obliged, in_the interval between two waves, to rush across, with_the water to our chins . we had some difficulty to avoid being carried away .I trembled especially for jack; though small and light, he preferred facing the wave to avoiding it . i_was several_times obliged to catch hold of him, and narrowly escaped destruction along with_him . happily, our march was not above half a mile, and we gained the shore at last without any serious accident, but much fatigued and foot- sore; and we_made a resolution never more to cross the coral reefs .

after dressing ourselves, resting, and taking a slight refreshment on_the beach, we resumed our march more at our ease into_the interior of_the island; but though the long grass was not so sharp as_the coral, it_was almost as troublesome, twisting round our legs, and threatening to throw us down every step we took . Ernest, loaded with_his bag of fragments of rock, coral, and zoophytes, had given his gun to jack; and, fearing an accident among_the long grass, i_thought it prudent to discharge it . in_order to profit by_it, I fired at a little quadruped, about_the size of a squirrel, and killed it . it appeared to_me to_be the animal called by naturalists the palm- squirrel, because it climbs the cocoa and date-palms, hooks itself by its tail, which_is very long and flexible, to_the upper branches, and feeds at pleasure on_the fruit, of_which it_is very fond . we amused ourselves by details of_the habits of_this animal, occasionally separating to_make more discoveries, but agreeing on a particular call, which_was to assemble us when necessary,--a precaution by no means useless, as it turned out .

Fritz, with_his head raised, went on examining all the trees, and occasionally giving a keen look after his gazelle . Ernest, stooping down, examined plants, insects, and, occasionally pursuing rare and beautiful butterflies, was filling his bag and plant- box with various curiosities . jack, with_his lasso in_his hand, prepared himself to fling it round the legs of_the first buffalo he met with, and was vexed that he_did_not_see any . for_my own part, i_was engaged in surveying the chain of rocks, in_order to discover that which contained the grotto Ernestine . it_was easy to recognize it, from its summit cleft in two; and I wished to ascertain, as nearly as possible, if_the cleft extended to_the base of_the rock, as this_would render our work much easier . this side of_the island did_not resemble that near the great Bay, with_which jack and I had_been so_much charmed . the island was much narrower here, and instead of_the wide plain, crossed by a river, divided by delightful woods, giving an idea of paradise on earth; we were journeying through a contracted valley, lying between_the rocky wall which divided the island, and a chain of sandy hills, which hid the sea and sheltered the valley from_the wind .Fritz and I ascended one_of_these hills, on_which a few pines and broom were growing, and perceived beyond them a barren tract, stretching to_the sea, where the coral reefs rose to_the level of_the water, and appeared to extend far into_the sea . any navigators, sailing along these shores, would pronounce the island inaccessible and entirely barren . this_is_not the fact; the grass is very thick, and_the trees of noble growth; we_found many unknown to_us, some loaded with fruit; also, several beautiful shrubs covered with flowers; the dwarf orange- tree, the elegant melaleuca, the nutmeg- tree, and_the Bengal rose blending its flowers with_the fragrant jasmine . i_should never finish, if I were to_try and name all the plants found in_this shady valley, which might_be called the botanic garden of nature . Ernest was in ecstasies; he_wished to carry away everything, but he_did_not know how to dispose of_them .

"Ah ! " said he, " if only our grotto were open to_this side ! "

at_this moment Fritz came running out of breath, crying out, " the bread- fruit tree ! I_have found the bread- fruit tree ! here_is_the fruit,-- excellent, delicious bread . taste it, father; here, Ernest; here, jack;" and he_gave us each a part of an oval fruit, about_the size of an ordinary melon, which really seemed very_good and nourishing .

" there_are many_of_these trees," continued he, " loaded with fruit . would that we had our grotto opened, that we_might collect a store of_them, now that_they_are ripe ."

my boys pointed out to_me exactly the situation of_the grotto, judging from_the rock above, and longed for their tools, that they_might commence the opening directly . we proceeded to_make our way through a border of trees and bushes, that separated us from_the rock, that we_might examine it, and judge of_the difficulties of_our undertaking . jack preceded us, as usual, after giving Ernest his gun; Fritz followed him, and suddenly turning to_me, said,--

"I believe kind nature has saved us much trouble; the rock appears to_be divided from top to bottom; at_the foot I_see a sort of cave, or grotto, already made ."

[ illustration: " we saw at_the entrance of_the cave two large brown bears ."]

at_this moment jack uttered apiercing cry, and came running to_us, his lasso in_his hand: " two monstrous beasts ! " cried he ." help ! help ! " we rushed forward, our guns ready, and saw at_the entrance of_the cave two large brown bears . the black bear, whose fur is most valued, is only found in cold and mountainous countries; but the brown prefers the south . it_is a carnivorous animal, considered very ferocious . the black bear lives only on vegetables and honey . of_these, the one I judged to_be the female seemed much irritated, uttering deep growls, and furiously gnashing her teeth . as I_knew something of_these animals, having met with_them on_the Alps, I remembered having heard that a sharp whistling terrifies and checks them .I therefore whistled as long and loudly as I_could, and immediately saw the female retire backwards into_the cave, while the male, raising himself on_his hind legs, stood quite still, with_his paws closed . my two elder sons fired into his breast: he fell down, but being only wounded, turned furiously on us .I fired a third shot at him, and finished him . we then hastened to load our guns again, to_be ready to receive his companion . jack wished to use his lasso; but I explained to him that_the legs of_the bear were too short and thick for such a measure to_be successful . he related to_us, that having entered the cave, he_saw something moving at_the bottom; he_took up a stone, and threw it with all his strength at_the object;

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