The New Swiss Family Robinson Chapter 04 Chapter - Our Proposed New Abode, The Iguana, The Boilstone

Episode Transcript

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Chapter four, our proposed new abode, the Iguana the boil Stone. Some
time after our interesting and instructive adventurewith the monkeys in the forest, my
dear children earnestly begged me to givethem an account of those animals, their

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habits, and their peculiarities, whichI gladly did. Father, you know
everything, said to my little Franz. I hastened to assure the child that
I did not know everything, byany means in which the rest of my
beloved family heartily agreed with me.I was pleased to see this pleasant spirit

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of unanimity in our little company,and we cheerily pursued our way through the
forest. We found a great manyuseful and wholesome vegetables, which we ate
in large quantities, seating ourselves beneaththe luxuriant shade of the bandana tree.
The food we did not eat,my brave wife put into her bag for

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pickles and preserves. Among other tropicalfruits and vegetables, we found many acres
of yum yums and several fine specimensof jim jams. The latter had always
been a great favorite with us athome, where we had often had them
as we wandered along, culling acocoanut here and a gorge there. We

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came into a rocky enclosure quadrilateral inshape. Many massive groups of rock stood
all around it, forming the sides. Most of these were red, but
one was white and very beautiful.On it, the centuries had written their
records, which we read with interest. The blessing of Providence was bestowed on

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some one, but we could notmake out who, for the rock was
damp, and these great truths ofnature indistinct. Therefore, in this enclosure
grew many tall and beautiful trees.One of these seemed to please my dear
wife particularly. It was a beechtree, growing in a slight depression of

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the ground and lifting itself gracefully upwards. Oh, if we could cease sleeping
upon the cold ground and live upthere, said my wife. I laughed
gaily at her pleasantry, but shesaid she meant it, My dear I
began, Do you not see,she continued eagerly, An elephant cannot climb

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a tree, nor can many otherfierce beasts, who would crush us if
they trod upon us while we weresleeping on the ground. We should be
safe from them at any rate,if the tree is hollow, and will
permit an inside staircase, I willconsider the matter, I replied, I

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thin, beat ernest, test thetree and see whether it were hollow.
This he did with some ingenuity,knocking his head repeatedly against the gigantic trunk.
A hollow sound was the immediate result. Then we are saved, exclaimed
my dear wife. Are you sure, my son? I asked that it

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is the tree which is making thishollow sound, and not your head.
The lad assured me, with tearsin his eyes, that it was the
tree. So we continued our way, determining to return on the morrow and
begin work. I marked the spotby tying a pocket handkerchief to a small

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but only bush that grew near thespot. We had not proceeded many rods
before Fritz, who was in advanceof our little party, came rushing back
shouting a crocodile. Father, acrocodile, Ha ha ha, laughed Franz,
the idea of a land crocodile.I peremptorily ordered the boy to cease

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his idle gibing for the animal,I continued, which your good brother Fritz
has mistaken for a crocodile is noless than an iguana or giant lizard,
and so your heedless laughter is illtimed. We saw the animal fast asleep
in the sun. Jack, snatchingsome salt out of my wife's bag,

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approached the iguana. Come back,my son. The iguana cannot be captured
in that manner. We must usegentler means. Are you going to kiss
it? Father, asked Fritz witha grin. I tried to chide the
boy for his impertinence, but failing, I began operations on the iguana.

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I bade my brave wife take herstand on the grassy mead and begin to
dance, slowly at first, andthen increasing in rapidity. Meanwhile, I
formed the rest of my dear familyin a line, one behind the other,
and told them to imitate my movements. Out of my wife's bag,

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I took a trumpet, an accordion, a flute, and a triangle.
These I gave to Fritz, Jack, Ernest and Franz, respectively. This
done, I placed myself at thehead of the precious little party, and,
adopting a quaint but graceful step,I approached the iguana, slowly,
humming Sullivan's lost chord in a low, sweet voice. The animal moved uneasily

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in its slumber. Pleased with thissymptom, I quickened my step and sang
a chorus from Wagner's Gertademerum. Theanimal relaxed its stern expression at the sweet
melody, and was evidently dreaming aboutus us. I again quickened my step
and drew nearer, singing, Iarise from dreams of thee to some music

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of my own composition. This thoroughlyaroused the animal, who allowed a smile
to play over its rugged features.Never have I beheld so affecting an expression
as this poor beast betrayed. Changingthe tune, I sang baby Mine.

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The iguana was now showing signs ofdistress, and it was evident that the
pathos of my melody aroused its sympathies. When Baby Mine was finished, summoning
all my strength, I began emptyas the cradle Baby's gone. But it
was too much. With a strongconvulsion of grief, the animal turned on

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its side and was overcome by chokingsobs. Being assured that we had him
now, I I went up anddried his eyes, encouraging him to get
up and walk but this was impossible, so we carried him away, and
as we went the woods re echoedto his whales. I was very glad

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to have been able to show thisexperiment to my dear children. The power
of music over savage natures, Isaid, is very remarkable. I was
once passing by the cage of atiger, and happened to be singing rather
sweetly. I heard a noise andwas just in time to elude the paw

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which the grateful animal had offered me. We now approached a large gray pile
of granite, into which a caveled a capital place, I said,
to store gunpowder should we discover anyin the island. A gurgling brook ran

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down the rock, so I namedit Boilstone Cave. Inside we could see
many stalactites hanging. Fritz, withhis usual rashness, rushed in and was
immediately overcome by the blast of chemicalmethyitic air, which escaped from a side
recess in the cave. We mustget it out at any rate, I

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said. My brave wife immediately produceda dynamite bomb from her bag, and
I handed it to my eldest sonFritz, bidding him go in and blow
up the recess. Is it notdangerous, father, he inquired, not
at all, my son, Iwould do it myself. Only I notice

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that your mother wants to show mesomething, and I cannot keep her waiting.
As my son entered the cave andbegan arranging the bomb and pouring water
into the cup which was to holdit, I withdrew to a distance and
watched him with the affectionate zeal thatonly a father knows. Very soon a

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loud report was heard, and thedangerous methtic cavern was no more. On
my asking for Fritz, my bravewife produced him, safe and sound from
her miraculous bag, where he hadbeen blown by the force of the explosion.
With renewed thankfulness, we went torest, ready to begin work on

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our tree home the next day.End of chapter four