Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss (microsoft ebook reader TXT) 📖

congratulated ourselves on a return

which showed they accepted this as a home, up sprang the three blue

pigeons, the noble foreigners, for whom chiefly I had planned the

house, and rising in circles high in air, winged their rapid way direct

towards Falconhurst.

 

Their departure had such air of determination and resolve about it,

that I feared them lost to us for ever.

 

Endeavouring to console ourselves by petting our four remaining birds,

we could not forget this disappointment, and all day long the dove-cot

remained the centre of attraction.

 

Nothing, however, was seen of the fugitives until about the middle of

next day; when most of us were hard at work inside the cavern, Jack

sprang in full of excitement, exclaiming:

 

`He is there! He is come! He really is!’

 

`Who? Who is there? What do you mean?’

 

`The blue pigeon, to be sure! Hurrah! Hurrah!’

 

`Oh, nonsense!’ said Ernest. `You want to play us a trick.’

 

`Why should it be “nonsense”?’ cried I. `I fully believe we shall see

them all soon!’

 

Out ran everybody to the dove-cot, and there, sure enough, stood the

pretty fellow, but not alone, for he was billing and cooing to a mate,

a stranger of his own breed, apparently inviting her to enter his

dwelling; for he popped in and out at the door, bowing, sidling, and

cooing, in a most irresistible manner, until the shy little lady

yielded to his blandishments, and tripped daintily in.

 

`Now, let’s shut the door. Pull the cord and close the panel!’ shouted

the boys, making a rush at the string.

 

`Stop!’ cried I. `Let the string alone! I won’t have you frighten the

little darlings. Besides, the others will be coming—would you shut the

door in their faces?’

 

`Here they come! Here they come!’ exclaimed Fritz, whose keen eye

marked the birds afar, and to our delight the second blue pigeon

arrived, likewise with a mate, whom, after a pretty little flirtation

scene of real and assumed modesty on her part, he succeeded in leading

home.

 

The third and handsomest of the new pigeons was the last in making his

appearance. Perhaps he had greater difficulty than the others in

finding a mate as distinguished in rank and beauty as himself. However,

we fully expected them, and the boys talked of the arrival of `Mr. and

Mrs. Nicobar’ as a matter of course.

 

Late in the day Franz and his mother went out to provide for supper,

but the child returned directly, exclaiming that we must hasten to the

dove-cot to see something beautiful.

 

Accordingly a general rush was made out of the cave, and we saw with

delight that the third stranger also had returned with a lovely bride,

and encouraged by the presence of the first arrivals, they soon made

themselves at home.

 

In a short time nest-building commenced, and among the materials

collected by the birds, I observed a long grey moss or lichen, and

thought it might very possibly be the same which, in the West Indies,

is gathered from the bark of old trees, where it grows, and hangs in

great tuft-like beards, to be used instead of horse-hair for stuffing

mattresses.

 

My wife no sooner heard of it, than her active brain devised fifty

plans for making it of use. Would we but collect enough, she would

clean and sort it, and there would be no end to the bolsters, pillows,

saddles, and cushions she would stuff with it.

 

For the discovery of nutmegs we had also to thank the pigeons, and they

were carefully planted in our orchard. For some time no event of

particular note occurred, until at length Jack, as usual, got into a

scrape causing thereby no little excitement at home.

 

He went off early on one of his own particular private expeditions.

 

He was in the habit of doing this that he might surprise us with some

new acquisition on his return.

 

This time, however, he came back in most wretched plight, covered with

mud and green slime; a great bundle of Spanish canes was on his back,

muddy and green like himself; he had lost a shoe, and altogether

presented a ludicrous picture of misery, at which we could have

laughed, had he not seemed more ready to cry!

 

`My dear boy! What has happened to you? Where have you been?’

 

`Only in the swamp behind the powder magazine, father,’ replied he. `I

went to get reeds for my wickerwork, because I wanted to weave some

baskets and hen-coops, and I saw such beauties a little way off in the

marsh, much finer than those close by the edge, that I tried to get at

them.

 

`I jumped from one firm spot to another, till at last I slipped and

sank over my ankles; I tried to get on towards the reeds, which were

close by, but in I went deeper and deeper, till I was above the knees

in thick soft mud, and there I stuck!

 

`I screamed and shouted, but nobody came, and I can tell you I was in a

regular fright.

 

`At last who should appear but my faithful Fangs! He knew my voice and

came close up to me, right over the swamp, but all the poor beast could

do, was to help me to make a row; I wonder you did not hear us! The

very rocks rang, but nothing came of it, so despair drove me to think

of an expedient. I cut down all the reeds I could reach round and round

me, and bound them together into this bundle, which made a firm place

on which to lean, while I worked and kicked about to free my feet and

legs, and after much struggling, I managed to get astride on the reeds.

 

`There I sat, supported above the mud and slime, while Fangs ran

yelping backwards and forwards between me and the bank, seeming

surprised I did not follow. Suddenly I thought of catching hold of his

tail. He dragged and pulled, and I sprawled, and crawled, and waded,

sometimes on my reeds like a raft, sometimes lugging them along with

me, till we luckily got back to terra firma. But I had a near squeak

for it, I can tell you.’

 

`A fortunate escape indeed, my boy!’ cried I, `And I thank God for it.

Fangs has really acted a heroic part as your deliverer, and you have

shown great presence of mind. Now go with your mother, and get rid of

the slimy traces of your disaster! You have brought me splendid canes,

exactly what I want for a new scheme of mine.’

 

The fact was, I meant to try to construct a loom for my wife, for I

knew she understood weaving, so I chose two fine strong reeds, and

splitting them carefully, bound them together again, that when dry they

might be quite straight and equal, and fit for a frame. Smaller reeds

were cut into pieces and sharpened for the teeth of the comb. The boys

did this for me without in the least knowing their use, and great fun

they made of `father’s monster toothpicks’.

 

In time all the various parts of the loom were made ready and put

together, my wife knowing nothing of it, while to the incessant

questions of the children, I replied mysteriously:

 

`Oh, it is an outlandish sort of musical instrument; mother will know

how to play upon it.’*

 

* He has forgotten his dictum about truth even in jest.

 

And when the time came for presenting it, her joy was only equalled by

the amusement and interest with which the children watched her

movements while `playing the loom’, as they always said.

 

About this time, a beautiful little foal, a son of the onager, was

added to our stud, and as he promised to grow up strong and tractable,

we soon saw how useful he would be. The name of `Swift’ was given to

him, and he was to be trained for my own riding.

 

The interior arrangements of the cavern being now well forward, I

applied myself to contriving an aqueduct, that fresh water might be led

close up to our cave, for it was a long way to go to fetch it from

Jackal River, and especially inconvenient on washing days. As I wanted

to do this before the rainy season began, I set about it at once.

 

Pipes of hollow bamboo answered the purpose well, and a large cask

formed the reservoir. The supply was good, and the comfort of having it

close at hand so great, that my wife declared she was as well pleased

with our engineering as if we had made her a fountain and marble basin

adorned with mermaids and dolphins.

 

Anticipating the setting-in of the rains, I pressed forward all work

connected with stores for the winter, and great was the in-gathering of

roots, fruits, and grains, potatoes, rice, guavas, sweet acorns,

pine-cones; load after load arrived at the cavern, and my wife’s active

needle was in constant requisition, as the demand for more sacks and

bags was incessant.

 

Casks and barrels of all sorts and sizes were pressed into the

service, until at last the raft was knocked to pieces, and its tubs

made to do duty in the store-rooms.

 

The weather became very unsettled and stormy. Heavy clouds gathered in

the horizon, and passing storms of wind, with thunder, lightning, and

torrents of rain swept over the face of nature from time to time.

 

The sea was in frequent commotion; heavy groundswells drove masses of

water hissing and foaming against the cliffs.

 

Everything heralded the approaching rains. All nature joined in

sounding forth the solemn overture to the grandest work of the year.

 

It was now near the beginning of the month of June, and we had twelve

weeks of bad weather before us.

 

We established some of the animals with ourselves at the salt-cave. The

cow, the ass, Lightfoot, Storm and the dogs, were all necessary to us,

while Knips, Fangs and the eagle were sure to be a great amusement in

the long evenings.

 

The boys would ride over to Falconhurst very often to see that all was

in order there, and fetch anything required.

 

Much remained to be done in order to give the cave a comfortable

appearance, which became more desirable now that we had to live

indoors.

 

The darkness of the inner regions annoyed me, and I set myself to

invent a remedy. After some thought, I called in Jack’s assistance, and

we got a very tall, strong bamboo, which would reach right up to the

vaulted roof. This we planted in the earthen floor, securing it well by

driving wedges in round it.

 

Jack ascended this pole very cleverly, taking with him a hammer and

chisel to enlarge a crevice in the roof so as to fix a pulley, by means

of which, when he descended, I drew up a large ship’s lantern, well

supplied with oil, and as there were four wicks, it afforded a very

fair amount of light.

 

Several days were spent in arranging the different rooms. Ernest and

Franz undertook the library, fixing shelves, and setting the books in

order. Jack and his mother took in hand the sitting-room and kitchen,

while Fritz and I, as better able for heavy work, arranged the

workshops. The carpenter’s bench, the turning lathe, and a large chest

of tools were set in convenient places, and many tools and instruments

hung on the walls.

 

An adjoining chamber was kitted up as a forge, with fireplace,

bellows, and anvil, complete, all which we had found in the