Page:The Swiss Family Robinson, In Words of One Syllable.djvu/21

Rh we saw a place where we could land, which we were not slow to do.

As soon as we had made the raft fast with a strong rope, we took out all our wealth, and made a tent with the old sail-cloth we had brought with us, and stuck a pole in the ground to keep it up. This done, I sent the boys to get some moss and dry grass to make our beds with. With the flint and steel we soon set fire to some dry twigs, and my wife made a pot of soup with what she had brought from the ship.

Fritz, who had charge of the guns, chose one, and took a stroll by the side of a stream, while Jack went in search of shell fish, which he thought he might find on the rocks. My share of the work was to save two large casks which were near the shore. Whilst I was up to my knees in the sea I heard a shrill cry, which I knew to come from Jack. I got out at once, took up an axe, and ran to his help. I found him with his legs in a rock pool, where a large crab held him by his toes. It soon made off as I came near; but I struck at it with the axe, and brought it out of the pool. Jack then took it up, though it gave him a pinch or two ere he found out how to hold it, and ran off in high glee to show his dear Ma what he had caught.

When I got back to the tent, I found that Ernest had brought us news that he had seen salt in the