Swiss Family Robinson(fiscle part-3 of 2), Johann David Wyss [acx book reading .TXT] 📗

Up And Moved the Sheaves Over Which The Threshers Rode,

So As To Throw Them In the Track.

 

From Time To Time The Animals Took Mouthfuls Of The Tempting food They

Were Beating out; We Thought They Well Deserved it,  And Called to Mind

The Command Given To The Jews,  `Thou Shalt Not Muzzle The Ox That

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Treadeth Out The Corn.'

 

After Threshing,  We Proceeded to Winnowing: By Simply Throwing the

Threshed corn With Shovels High In the Air When The Land Or Sea-Breeze

Blew Strong,  The Chaff And Refuse Was Carried away By The Wind And The

Grain Fell To The Ground.

 

During these Operations Our Poultry Paid The Threshing-Floor Many

Visits,  Testifying a Lively Interest In the Success Of Our Labours,  And

Gobbling up The Grain At Such A Rate That My Wife Was Obliged to Keep

Them At A Reasonable Distance; But I Would Not Have Them Altogether

Stinted in the Midst Of Our Plenty. I Said,  `Let Them Enjoy Themselves;

What We Lose In grain,  We Gain In flesh. I Anticipate Delicious

Chicken-Pie,  Roast Goose,  And Boiled turkey!'

 

When Our Harvest Stores Were Housed,  We Found That We Had Reaped

Sixty,  Eighty,  Even A Hundred-Fold What Had Been Sown. Our Garner Was

Truly Filled with All Manner Of Store.

 

Expecting a Second Harvest,  We Were Constrained to Prepare The Field

For Sowing again,  And Immediately Therefore Commenced mowing down The

Stubble. While Engaged in this,  Flocks Of Quails And Partridges Came To

Glean Among The Scattered ears. We Did Not Secure Any Great Number,  But

Resolved to Be Prepared for Them Next Season,  And By Spreading nets,  To

Catch Them In large Quantities.

 

My Wife Was Satisfied when She Saw The Straw Carried home And Stacked;

Our Crop Of Maize,  Which Of Course Had Not Been Threshed like The Other

Corn,  Afforded soft Leaves Which Were Used for Stuffing mattresses,

While The Stalks,  When Burnt,  Left Ashes So Rich In alkali As To Be

Especially Useful.

 

I Changed the Crops Sown On The Ground To Rye,  Barley And Oats,  And

Hoped they Would Ripen Before The Rainy Season.

 

The Shoals Of Herring made Their Appearance Just As We Finished our

Agricultural Operations. This Year We Pickled only Two Barrels Of Them;

But We Were Not So Merciful Towards The Seals,  Which Arrived on The

Coast Directly Afterwards. We Hunted them Vigorously,  Requiring their

Skins For Many Purposes,  More Especially For The Completion Of The

Cajack. On The Little Deck Of That Tiny Vessel I Had Made A Kind Of

Magazine,  In which To Store Pistols,  Ammunition,  Water And Provisions,

And This I Meant To Cover With Seal-Skin,  So As To Be Quite Watertight.

A Couple Of Harpoons Furnished with Seal Bladders Were To Be Suspended

Alongside.

 

 

 

 

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At Last Came The Day When Fritz Was To Make His Trial Trip With The

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Cajack. Completely Equipped in swimming costume--Trousers,  And Jacket

And Cap--It Was Most Ludicrous To See Him Cower Down In the Canoe And

Puff And Blow Till He Began To Swell Like The Frog In the Fable.

 

All Trace Of His Original Figure Was Speedily Lost,  And Shouts Of

Laughter Greeted his Comical Appearance. Even His Mother Could Not

Resist A Smile,  Although The Dress Was Her Own Invention.

 

I Got The Other Boat Out,  That My Wife Might See We Were Ready To Go To

His Assistance The Moment It Became Necessary.

 

The Cajack Was Launched from A Convenient Shelving point,  And Floated

Lightly On The Sea-Green Ocean Mirror. Fritz With His Paddles Then

Began To Practise All Manner Of Evolutions: Darting along With Arrowy

Swiftness,  Wheeling to The Right,  Then To The Left; And At Last,

Flinging himself Quite On His Side,  While His Mother Uttered a Shriek

Of Terror,  He Showed that The Tiny Craft Would Neither Capsize Nor

Sink. Then,  Recovering his Balance,  He Sped securely On His Further

Way.

 

Encouraged by Our Shouts Of Approbation,  He Now Boldly Ventured into

The Strong Current Of Jackal River,  And Was Rapidly Carried out To Sea.

 

This Being more Than I Had Bargained for,  I Lost No Time In giving

Chase In the Boat,  With Ernest And Jack; My Wife,  Urging us To Greater

Speed,  And Declaring that Some Accident Could Not Fail To Happen To

`That Horrid Soap-Bubble'.

 

We Soon Arrived outside The Bay,  At The Rocks Where Formerly Lay The

Wreck,  And Gazed in all Directions For Signs Of The Runaway.

 

After A Time We Saw,  At A Considerable Distance,  A Faint Puff Of

Smoke,  Followed by The Crack Of A Pistol. Upon This We Fired a Signal

Shot,  Which Was Presently Answered by Another,  And,  Steering in the

Direction Of The Sound,  We Soon Heard The Boy'S Cheery Halloo; The

Cajack Darted from Behind A Point Of Land,  And We Quickly Joined

Company.

 

`Come To This Rocky Beach,' Cried fritz,  `I Have Something to Show

You.'

 

With Blank Amazement We Beheld A Fine Well-Grown Young Walrus,

Harpooned and Quite Dead.

 

`Did You Kill This Creature,  My Dear Fritz?' I Exclaimed,  Looking

Round In some Anxiety,  And Half Expecting to See A Naked savage Come To

Claim The Prize.

 

`To Be Sure,  Father! Don'T You See My Harpoon? Why Do You Doubt It?'

 

`Well,  I Scarcely Know,' Replied i,  Laughing,  `But Success So Speedy,

So Unexpected,  And So Appropriate,  To An Amateur Greenlander,  Took Me

By Surprise. I Congratulate You,  My Boy! But I Must Tell You That You

Have Alarmed us By Making this Long Trip. You Should Not Have Gone Out

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Of The Bay. I Left Your Mother In grievous Trouble.'

 

`Indeed,  Father,  I Had No Idea Of Passing out Of Sight,  But Once In the

Current,  I Was Carried along,  And Could Not Help Myself. Then I Came On

A Herd Of Walruses,  And I Did So Long To Make A Prize Of One That I

Forgot Everything else,  And Made Chase After Them When Beyond The

Influence Of The Current,  Until I Got Near Enough To Harpoon This Fine

Fellow. He Swam More Slowly,  And I Struck Him A Second Time; Then He

Sought Refuge Among These Rocks,  And Expired. I Landed,  And Scrambled

To Where He Lay; But I Took Care To Give Him The Contents Of My Pistol

Before Going close Up,  Having a Salutary Recollection Of The Big

Serpent'S Parting fling at You,  Jack.'

 

`You Ran A Very Great Risk,' Said I. `The Walrus Is An Inoffensive

Creature; But When Attacked and Wounded,  It Often Becomes Furious And,

Turning upon Its Pursuer,  Can Destroy,  With Its Long Tusks,  A Strongly

Built Whale Boat. However,  Thank God For Your Safety! I Value That

Above A Thousand Such Creatures. Now What'S To Be Done With Him? He

Must Be Quite Fourteen Feet Long,  Although Not Full Grown.'

 

`I Am Very Glad You Followed me,  Father,' Said Fritz,  `But Our United

Strength Will Not Move This Prodigious Weight From Among These Rocks;

Only Do Let Me Carry Away The Head,  With These Grand Snow-White Tusks!

I Should So Like To Fasten It On The Prow Of The Cajack,  And Name It

The Sea-Horse.'

 

`We Must Certainly Carry Away The Beautiful Ivory Tusks,' Said I,  `But

Make Haste! The Air Feels So Excessively Close And Sultry,  I Think A

Storm Is Brewing.'

 

`But The Head! The Head! We Must Have The Whole Head,' Cried jack,

`Just Think How Splendid It Will Look On The Cajack!'

 

`And How Splendid It Will Smell Too,  When It Begins To Putrefy,' Added

Ernest. `What A Treat For The Steersman!'

 

`Oh,  We Will Prepare For That,' Said Fritz. `It Shall Be Soaked and

Cleaned,  And Dried till It Is As Hard As A Wooden Model; It Shall Not

Offend Your Delicate Nose In the Least,  Ernest!'

 

`I Supposed the Walrus To Be An Animal Peculiar To The Arctic

Regions,' Remarked ernest.

 

`And So It Is,' I Replied,  `Though They May Occasionally Be Seen

Elsewhere; These May Have Wandered from The Antarctic Seas. I Know That

On The Eastern Coast Of Africa Is Found A Smaller Species Of Walrus

Called the Dugong: It Has Long Incisor Teeth,  But Not Tusks; And

Certainly Resembles A Seal Rather Than A Walrus.'

 

While Thus Speaking,  We Were Actively Engaged in the Decapitation Of

The Walrus,  And In cutting off Long Strips Of Its Skin. This Took Some

Time,  As We Had Not The Proper Implements,  And Fritz Remarked,  That In

Future The Cajack Must Be Provided with A Hunting-Knife And A Hatchet;

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Adding that He Should Like To Have A Small Compass,  In a Box With A

Glass Top,  Fixed in front Of The Hole Where The Steersman Sits. I Saw

The Necessity Of This And I Promised it Should Be Done.

 

Our Work Being accomplished,  We Were Ready To Go,  And I Proposed to

Take Fritz And The Canoe On Board Our Boat,  So That We Might All Arrive

Together; But