The Swiss Family Robinson, Told in Words of One Syllable
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CHAPTER VII.
WE did not wake next day till the sun shone in upon us. I told my wifeand sons that as it was the Lord's day we would do no work. Our beastsand birds had first to be fed. This was done by my wife, who thenbrought us some hot milk, and made us sit down on the grass and take it.When our meal was done, I got on a log in front of my sons, and we allsang a psalm we knew by heart. Then I sought to teach them and spoke tothem thus:
"There was once on a time a Great King, who had two vast realms, theLand of Light and Truth, and the Land of Night and Sloth. Those whodwelt in the first were full of life and joy. The King held his court atthe Place of Rest where all was bright.
"This King had a land, not far off, where those for whom he had so muchlove should dwell ere they went one by one to the Place of Rest. Thisland was the Home of Earth. He gave to his Son the right to rule thehost that dwelt in the Home of Earth, and set forth to think what theywere to do, and all the ills that would come to them if they did not doas they were bid.
"At first they were all glad to hear the way in which they were to live,and the terms on which they could reach the Land of Light and Truth. Sadto tell, they soon broke the King's laws, and paid no heed to what theyknew to be his will. Still there were a few who did as they had beentaught, and dwelt in peace, in the hope that they would please the Kingand at last reach the place where he held his court.
"From time to time ships came to the Home of Earth, and at last a greatship was sent, the name of which was The Grave, which bore the flag ofDeath. To the good it was a sign of hope, but the bad were thrown by thesight of it into a state of gloom. These ships were not seen till theycame close to the shore, and then the crew were sent forth to find thosewhom they were told to seize. Some went back with them full of joy,but most were seen to weep and mourn their fate. So soon as they werebrought in sight of the Great King, the Prince took those who had donewell, and put a white robe on them; but those who went their own waywhen on the Home of Earth, he sent down to toil in deep, dark mines tilltime shall be no more."
When my sons had heard my tale to the end they all knew what it meant;I then drew from them their views of what they ought to do to please andserve the Great King. We then sang a hymn; and my wife drew from her bagthe BIBLE, which I gave to one of the boys, who read from it in a clear,loud voice. When this was brought to a close, we all knelt down on thegrass to pray, and to ask God to bless the means we took to learn Hiswill.
We did no work that day, but took a long stroll up the banks of thestream.
The next day Ernest and Jack tried their skill with the bow, and broughtdown some small birds that came to the great tree in quest of figs. Igave them leave to kill what they could; for I knew if put in casks madeair tight with grease, they would keep for a time, and might prove aboon, if our stock of food should get low.
When we sat down to dine, the thought struck me that it would be well togive some name to each part of the land that was known to us. This wasat first the source of some fun, for Fritz said we should call the baywhere we had found the shell spoons by the name of Spoon Bay; but Jack,who still had a mark on his toe where the crab gave him a pinch, thoughtwe ought to term it Crab Bay.
"If you will let me give it a name," said my wife, "I should wish toknow it by some term that will make us bear in mind how good God was tolead our raft there, and I don't think Safe Bay will be a bad name forit."
"So let it be," said I; and from that time Safe Bay had a name. "Whatshall be the name of the spot where we spent our first night on shore?You shall give that its name," said I to Fritz.
"Let us call it Tent House."
"That will do," said I. "And now for the spot at the mouth of Safe Bay,where we found our planks?"
"Sharp Point," said Ernest. The place from which Fritz and I sought fora trace of out ship mates was to be known as No Man's Cape. Then we hadthe Boys' Bridge, which name I gave it from a wish to please my sons,who had done so much to build it.
"But what shall we call the place which is most dear to us all?"
"Now, my dear," said I to my wife, "it is your turn. What shall we say?"
"Let us call it The Nest," said she; and with that I gave each of myyoung birds a glass of sweet wine.
"Here's to 'The Nest,'" said I; "and may we live long to bless the dayand the means that brought us here."
When the heat of the day was past, I told my sons that I should be gladto take a walk with them. My wife said that she should like to go withus; so we left The Nest in charge of Turk, and bent our course to thebanks of the stream. On our way we went past some shrubs and rare herbs,which my wife knew well how to make use of should we fall sick; andErnest found a large spot of ground on which grew a fine kind ofPO-TA-TO. At these the boys set to work with such zeal, that we soon hada full bag of the ripe fruit. We then went on to Tent House, which wefound in the same state as when we left it to cross the stream on ourway to the great tree.
We found that our ducks and geese had grown so wild that they would notcome near us; so, while my wife and I went to pick up such things as wethought we might take back with us, Ernest and Fritz were sent to catchthem, and to tie their legs and wings, and in this way we got them atlast to The Nest.