CHAPTER EIGHT

I Am Always Busy

I had now been on the island for one year. I knew that the year was divided into rainy and dry seasons. I could plant seeds at one time, and gather the foods at another time. I decided to use my planting skills from Brazil to grow my own food. I planted the seeds of corn and rice that I had taken from the ship.

Fortunately, I didn't plant all those seeds! My first plants did not grow because I had planted them at the wrong time.

I planted a second crop. These plants grew very well. They gave me plenty of new corn and rice. I was able to plant even more during the next seed time. As the years passed, I planted and gathered these foods two times a year.

One day when I returned to my garden, I found that the poles I had used to build a fence had grown many leaves, like trees. Now there was enough shade for me to spend all the hot, dry days there.

I taught myself how to make baskets from twigs that I cut and dried in the sun. These were very useful for holding fruit, corn and rice.

After so long on the island, I realized that because of my hard work, I had almost everything I needed to live well. I had been lucky to land on such a wonderful island! The only things I needed were some more bottles and some small pots to cook with. I also wanted a new pipe to smoke tobacco with.

I did not know what I would use to make pots, bottles and a pipe. There was nothing in my garden or my house to make these things, of course. So I decided to explore more of the island.

I called my dog and, taking my gun, some dried meat and a great bunch of grapes, I began to explore.

I walked extremely far that day. I climbed up a hill and looked out at the ocean. I saw some land not far off. I had no idea who might live there. It could be owned by the Spanish, or the home of savages.

I deeply hoped it was Spanish land. Surely a ship would pass my island sooner or later!

If Savage peoples lived there, it was good that I lived where I was. If I had landed on their land they would have had me for dinner!

As I walked on, I found myself on a part of the island that was much more beautiful than my home. There were open, green fields filled with flowers and grass, and there was a great jungle filled with strong trees.

Many parrots lived in the trees and flew from one to another. Their feathers were all the colors of the rainbow, and they made loud cheerful noises. I was able to catch one and take it home. I thought I could teach it to speak to me!

I arrived on the other side of the island and saw the beach there. This beach was covered with turtles and many more birds than the beach on my side of the island.

Although this part of the island was much more beautiful I did not want to move there. I had come to think of my house, my cave and my garden as my home, and I did not want to move again.

As we walked back home, my dog scared a young goat and it ran in front of me. He was about to kill it when I stopped him. I had been thinking about trying to gather many tame goats, and use their milk. I could also kill them easily when I needed meat. Here was a fine young male. If I could catch a young female goat, I would be lucky.

Making a rope for the goat from the thick string that I always carried, I led the animal home to my garden where I left him. I immediately set off for the beach.

I was happy to be home again, and I began to make a cage for my parrot. After a week, I went to my garden again to take care of my goat. I was horrified when I saw him almost dead, he was so hungry! I had thought there was enough to eat in my garden for him, but perhaps he did not like any of the fruits. I gave him something to eat, and when I began to walk home, he followed me like a dog. From then on he almost never let me out of his sight. It would be many years before I had many goats.

Soon after this, it was the day of September 30th again. Now I had been on the island for two years. I had never seen another ship in the water. The hope and idea that I might be rescued grew less and less each day.

The years passed. I dried my grapes and planted more corn and wheat. I worked in my garden and hunted for food. I began a project that would keep me busy for many months—digging the inside of a tree trunk, to make a wooden canoe.

Because I had been on the island for some years, my clothes had begun to rot! The clothes of my long dead friends had kept me warm for a long time. When these clothes also became useless, I made myself a suit and a cap from goat skins.

I spent some time making an umbrella. This would protect me from the sun when I was walking along the beach. I had fun trying to teach Polly, my parrot, to speak. Perhaps she did not like me, because she would never say one word!

It took me six years on the island to make a good canoe. Finally, I was ready to travel around in the water. I fitted it with a sail, loaded it with supplies and began to sail around the island.

The first time I went to sea in my canoe, the strong water currents took me very far away from the island. I had to work very hard to get the boat back to my beach. The second time I went out, I had studied the water currents, so I knew how to travel through the water. When I returned to the island, I took the canoe to a small inlet and tied up my boat.

Then, with my umbrella covering my face from the sun, I walked along the beach towards home. I was happy to reach my garden early in the evening. Tired by my adventure in the canoe, I lay down under the trees and fell asleep.

When I woke up, I heard someone calling my name! Over and over I heard.

"Robin Crusoe! Poor Robin Crusoe! Where are you, Robin Crusoe?"

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