Page:The Swiss Family Robinson, In Words of One Syllable.djvu/24

16 this place at once, and go there?"

"There is a time for all things," said I. "We must at least rest here for one night. But did you see no trace of the men who left the ship?"

"None, on land or sea," said he; "but I saw some strange hogs on the shore, that have feet like hares."

We all sat down to take our soup with the shell spoons. Ernest took from his coat a large shell, which he had hid till now, put it in the soup, and then set it down to cool.

"You do not show want of thought," said I to him. "But I am not glad to see that you think so of yourself, and do so much for your own ease, when all the rest do so much for yours. Now, that shell full of soup you must give to our two dogs. We can all dip our small shells in the pot, and you must do as we do; but as we have nought else that the poor dogs can eat out of, that shell shall be theirs."

I knew he felt hurt at this, but he gave it to the dogs at once, and they soon made quick work of their share of the soup. The sun was low when our meal came to an end. The fowls came round us to pick up the stray crumbs we had let fall, and my wife took out her bag of grain and fed the cocks and hens that we had brought with us, and sent them to roost on the top of our tent. The ducks and geese left us to