Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wiss, chapter thirteen.
The next morning all were engaged in archery. I completed
the bow for Francis, and at his particular request, made
him a quiver too. The delicate bark of a tree,
united by glue obtained from our portable soup, formed an
(00:24):
admirable quiver. This I suspended by a string round the
neck of my boy, furnished with arrows. Then taking his
bow in his hand, he was as proud as a knight,
armed at all points. After dinner, I proposed that we
should give names to all the parts of our island
known to us, in order that, by a pleasing delusion,
(00:46):
we might fancy ourselves in an inhabited country. My proposal
was well received, and then began the discussion of names.
Jack wished for something high sounding and difficult, such as Mono,
Motapa or zangwabar, very difficult words to puzzle any one
who visited our island. But I objected to this, as
(01:08):
we were the most likely to have to use the
names ourselves, and we should suffer from it. I rather
suggested that we should give in our own language such
simple names as should point out some circumstance connected with
the spot. I propose we should begin with the bay
where we landed, and called on Fritz for his name
(01:29):
the Bay of oysters, said he. We found so many there. Oh, no,
said Jack. Let it be Lobster Bay, for there I
was caught by the leg. Then we ought to call
it the Bay of tears, said Ernest, to commemorate those
you shed on the occasion. My advice, said my wife,
is that, in gratitude to God, we should name it
(01:51):
Safety Bay. We were all pleased with this name, and
proceeded to give the name of tent House to our
first abode, Sharks Island, to the little island in the
bay where we had found that animal, And at Jack's desire,
the marshy spot where we had cut our arrows was
named fluming Go Marsh. There, the height from which we
(02:13):
had vainly sought traces of our shipmates, received the name
of Cape Disappointment. The river was to be Jackal River,
and the bridge Family Bridge. The most difficult point was
to name our present abode. At last we agreed on
the name of Falcon's Nest in German falconhist This was
(02:35):
received with acclamations, and I poured out for my young nestlings,
each a glass of sweet wine to drink prosperity to
Falcon's nest. We thus laid the foundation of the geography
of our new country, promising to forward it to Europe
by the first post. After dinner, my sons returned to
(02:55):
their occupation as tanners, Fritz to complete his belt, and
Jack to make a sort of cuirass of the formidable
skin of the porcupine to protect the dogs. He finished
by making a sort of helmet from the head of
the animal, as strange as the cuirasses. The heat of
the day being over, we prepared to set out to
(03:16):
walk to tent house to renew our stock of provisions
and endeavor to bring the geese and ducks to our
new residence. But instead of going by the coast, we
proposed to go up the river till we reached the
chain of rocks and continue under their shade till we
got to the cascade, where we could cross and return
(03:36):
by family bridge. This was approved, and we set out,
Fritz decorated with a beautiful belt of skin, Jack and
his porcupine helmet. Each had a gun and game bag.
Except Francis, who, with his pretty fair face, his golden hair,
and his bow and quiver, was a perfect cupid. My
(03:58):
wife was loaded with a large butter pot for a
fresh supply. Turk walked before us with his coat of mail,
and Flora followed, keeping at a respectful distance from him
for fear of the darts nips, as my boys called.
The monkey, finding this new saddle very inconvenient, jumped off
with many contortions, but soon fixed on Flora, who, not
(04:21):
being able to shake him off, was compelled to become
his palfrey. The road by the river was smooth and pleasant.
When we reached the end of the wood, the country
seemed more open, and now the boys who had been
rambling about came running up out of breath. Ernest was
holding a plant with leaves and flowers and green apples
(04:42):
hanging on it. Potatoes, said he. I am certain they
are potatoes. God be praised, said I. This precious plant
will secure provision for a colony. Well, said Jack, if
his superior knowledge discovered them, I will be the first
to dig them up. And he set to work so
ardently that we soon had a bag of fine ripe potatoes,
(05:05):
which we carried on to tent house. End of chapter
Chapter fourteen. We have been much delighted with the new
and lovely scenery of our road. The prickly cactus and
aloe with its white flowers, the Indian fig, the white
and yellow jasmine, the fragrant vanilla throwing round its graceful festoons.
(05:30):
Above all, the regal pine apple grew in profusion, and
we feasted on it for the first time with avidity.
Among the prickly stalks of the cactus and aloes, I
perceived a plant with large pointed leaves, which I knew
to be the krata. I pointed out to the boys
its beautiful red flowers. The leaves are an excellent application
(05:52):
to wounds, and thread is made from the filaments, and
the pith of the stem is used by the savage
tribes for ten. When I showed the boys by experiment
the use of the pith, they thought the tinder tree
would be almost as useful as the potatoes. At all events,
I said, it will be more useful than the pine apples.
(06:15):
Your mother will be thankful for thread when her enchanted
bag is exhausted. How happy it is for us, said
she that you have devoted yourself to reading and study.
In our ignorance, we might have passed this treasure without
suspecting its value. Fritz inquired of what use in the
world all the rest of these prickly plants could be,
(06:37):
which wounded every one that came near. All these have
their use, Fritz said I. Some contain juices and gums,
which are daily made use of in medicine. Others are
useful in the arts or in manufactures. The Indian fig,
for instance, is a most interesting tree. It grows in
(06:58):
the most arid soil. The fruit is said to be
sweet and wholesome. In a moment, my little active jack
was climbing the rocks to gather some of these figs.
But he had not remarked that they were covered with
thousands of slender thorns, finer than the finest needles, which
terribly wounded his fingers. He returned weeping bitterly and dancing
(07:21):
with pain. Having rallied him a little for his greediness,
I extracted the thorns, and then showed him how to
open the fruit, by first cutting off the pointed end
as it lay on the ground. Into this I fixed
a piece of stick, and then pared it with my knife.
The novelty of the expedient recommended it, and they were
(07:43):
soon all engaged eating the fruit, which they declared was
very good. In the meantime, I saw Ernest examining one
of the figs very attentively. Oh, Papa, said he, what
a singular sight. The fig is covered with a small
red insect. I cannot shake them off? Can they be
(08:03):
the cockanel? I recognized at once the precious insect of
which I explained to my sons the nature and use
it is with this insect, said I that the beautiful
and rich scarlet dye is made. It is found in America,
and the Europeans give its weighting gold for it. Thus
(08:25):
discoursing on the wonders of nature and the necessity of
increasing our knowledge by observation and study, we arrived at
tent house and founded in the same state as we
left it. We all began to collect necessaries. Fritz loaded
himself with powder and shot. I opened the butter cask,
(08:45):
and my wife and little Francis filled the pot. Ernest
and Jack went to try and secure the geese and ducks.
But they have become so wild that it would have
been impossible if Ernest had not thought of an expedient.
He tied pieces of cheese for bait to threads, which
he floated on the water. The voracious creatures immediately swallowed
(09:06):
the cheese and were drawn out by the thread. They
were then securely tied and fastened to the game bags,
to be carried home on our backs. As the bait
could not be recovered, the boys contented themselves with cutting
off the string close to the beak, leaving them to
digest the rest. Our bags were already loaded with potatoes,
(09:29):
but we filled up the spaces between them with salt,
and having relieved Turk of his armor, we placed the
heaviest on his back. I took the butter pot, and
after replacing everything and closing our tent, we resumed our
march with our ludicrous encumbrances. The geese and ducks were
very noisy in their adieu to their old marsh. The
(09:51):
dogs barked, and we all laughed so excessively that we
forgot our burdens till we sat down again under our tree.
My wife soon had her pot of potatoes on the fire.
She then milked the cow and goat, while I set
the fowls at liberty on the banks of the river.
We then sat down to a smoking dish of potatoes,
(10:13):
a jug of milk, and butter and cheese. After supper,
we had prayers, thanking God especially for his new benefits,
and we then sought our repose amongst the leaves. End
of chapter
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wiss, chapter thirteen.
The next morning all were engaged in archery. I completed
the bow for Francis, and at his particular request, made
him a quiver too. The delicate bark of a tree,
united by glue obtained from our portable soup, formed an
(00:24):
admirable quiver. This I suspended by a string round the
neck of my boy, furnished with arrows. Then taking his
bow in his hand, he was as proud as a knight,
armed at all points. After dinner, I proposed that we
should give names to all the parts of our island
known to us, in order that, by a pleasing delusion,
(00:46):
we might fancy ourselves in an inhabited country. My proposal
was well received, and then began the discussion of names.
Jack wished for something high sounding and difficult, such as Mono,
Motapa or zangwabar, very difficult words to puzzle any one
who visited our island. But I objected to this, as
(01:08):
we were the most likely to have to use the
names ourselves, and we should suffer from it. I rather
suggested that we should give in our own language such
simple names as should point out some circumstance connected with
the spot. I propose we should begin with the bay
where we landed, and called on Fritz for his name
(01:29):
the Bay of oysters, said he. We found so many there. Oh, no,
said Jack. Let it be Lobster Bay, for there I
was caught by the leg. Then we ought to call
it the Bay of tears, said Ernest, to commemorate those
you shed on the occasion. My advice, said my wife,
is that, in gratitude to God, we should name it
(01:51):
Safety Bay. We were all pleased with this name, and
proceeded to give the name of tent House to our
first abode, Sharks Island, to the little island in the
bay where we had found that animal, And at Jack's desire,
the marshy spot where we had cut our arrows was
named fluming Go Marsh. There, the height from which we
(02:13):
had vainly sought traces of our shipmates, received the name
of Cape Disappointment. The river was to be Jackal River,
and the bridge Family Bridge. The most difficult point was
to name our present abode. At last we agreed on
the name of Falcon's Nest in German falconhist This was
(02:35):
received with acclamations, and I poured out for my young nestlings,
each a glass of sweet wine to drink prosperity to
Falcon's nest. We thus laid the foundation of the geography
of our new country, promising to forward it to Europe
by the first post. After dinner, my sons returned to
(02:55):
their occupation as tanners, Fritz to complete his belt, and
Jack to make a sort of cuirass of the formidable
skin of the porcupine to protect the dogs. He finished
by making a sort of helmet from the head of
the animal, as strange as the cuirasses. The heat of
the day being over, we prepared to set out to
(03:16):
walk to tent house to renew our stock of provisions
and endeavor to bring the geese and ducks to our
new residence. But instead of going by the coast, we
proposed to go up the river till we reached the
chain of rocks and continue under their shade till we
got to the cascade, where we could cross and return
(03:36):
by family bridge. This was approved, and we set out,
Fritz decorated with a beautiful belt of skin, Jack and
his porcupine helmet. Each had a gun and game bag.
Except Francis, who, with his pretty fair face, his golden hair,
and his bow and quiver, was a perfect cupid. My
(03:58):
wife was loaded with a large butter pot for a
fresh supply. Turk walked before us with his coat of mail,
and Flora followed, keeping at a respectful distance from him
for fear of the darts nips, as my boys called.
The monkey, finding this new saddle very inconvenient, jumped off
with many contortions, but soon fixed on Flora, who, not
(04:21):
being able to shake him off, was compelled to become
his palfrey. The road by the river was smooth and pleasant.
When we reached the end of the wood, the country
seemed more open, and now the boys who had been
rambling about came running up out of breath. Ernest was
holding a plant with leaves and flowers and green apples
(04:42):
hanging on it. Potatoes, said he. I am certain they
are potatoes. God be praised, said I. This precious plant
will secure provision for a colony. Well, said Jack, if
his superior knowledge discovered them, I will be the first
to dig them up. And he set to work so
ardently that we soon had a bag of fine ripe potatoes,
(05:05):
which we carried on to tent house. End of chapter
Chapter fourteen. We have been much delighted with the new
and lovely scenery of our road. The prickly cactus and
aloe with its white flowers, the Indian fig, the white
and yellow jasmine, the fragrant vanilla throwing round its graceful festoons.
(05:30):
Above all, the regal pine apple grew in profusion, and
we feasted on it for the first time with avidity.
Among the prickly stalks of the cactus and aloes, I
perceived a plant with large pointed leaves, which I knew
to be the krata. I pointed out to the boys
its beautiful red flowers. The leaves are an excellent application
(05:52):
to wounds, and thread is made from the filaments, and
the pith of the stem is used by the savage
tribes for ten. When I showed the boys by experiment
the use of the pith, they thought the tinder tree
would be almost as useful as the potatoes. At all events,
I said, it will be more useful than the pine apples.
(06:15):
Your mother will be thankful for thread when her enchanted
bag is exhausted. How happy it is for us, said
she that you have devoted yourself to reading and study.
In our ignorance, we might have passed this treasure without
suspecting its value. Fritz inquired of what use in the
world all the rest of these prickly plants could be,
(06:37):
which wounded every one that came near. All these have
their use, Fritz said I. Some contain juices and gums,
which are daily made use of in medicine. Others are
useful in the arts or in manufactures. The Indian fig,
for instance, is a most interesting tree. It grows in
(06:58):
the most arid soil. The fruit is said to be
sweet and wholesome. In a moment, my little active jack
was climbing the rocks to gather some of these figs.
But he had not remarked that they were covered with
thousands of slender thorns, finer than the finest needles, which
terribly wounded his fingers. He returned weeping bitterly and dancing
(07:21):
with pain. Having rallied him a little for his greediness,
I extracted the thorns, and then showed him how to
open the fruit, by first cutting off the pointed end
as it lay on the ground. Into this I fixed
a piece of stick, and then pared it with my knife.
The novelty of the expedient recommended it, and they were
(07:43):
soon all engaged eating the fruit, which they declared was
very good. In the meantime, I saw Ernest examining one
of the figs very attentively. Oh, Papa, said he, what
a singular sight. The fig is covered with a small
red insect. I cannot shake them off? Can they be
(08:03):
the cockanel? I recognized at once the precious insect of
which I explained to my sons the nature and use
it is with this insect, said I that the beautiful
and rich scarlet dye is made. It is found in America,
and the Europeans give its weighting gold for it. Thus
(08:25):
discoursing on the wonders of nature and the necessity of
increasing our knowledge by observation and study, we arrived at
tent house and founded in the same state as we
left it. We all began to collect necessaries. Fritz loaded
himself with powder and shot. I opened the butter cask,
(08:45):
and my wife and little Francis filled the pot. Ernest
and Jack went to try and secure the geese and ducks.
But they have become so wild that it would have
been impossible if Ernest had not thought of an expedient.
He tied pieces of cheese for bait to threads, which
he floated on the water. The voracious creatures immediately swallowed
(09:06):
the cheese and were drawn out by the thread. They
were then securely tied and fastened to the game bags,
to be carried home on our backs. As the bait
could not be recovered, the boys contented themselves with cutting
off the string close to the beak, leaving them to
digest the rest. Our bags were already loaded with potatoes,
(09:29):
but we filled up the spaces between them with salt,
and having relieved Turk of his armor, we placed the
heaviest on his back. I took the butter pot, and
after replacing everything and closing our tent, we resumed our
march with our ludicrous encumbrances. The geese and ducks were
very noisy in their adieu to their old marsh. The
(09:51):
dogs barked, and we all laughed so excessively that we
forgot our burdens till we sat down again under our tree.
My wife soon had her pot of potatoes on the fire.
She then milked the cow and goat, while I set
the fowls at liberty on the banks of the river.
We then sat down to a smoking dish of potatoes,
(10:13):
a jug of milk, and butter and cheese. After supper,
we had prayers, thanking God especially for his new benefits,
and we then sought our repose amongst the leaves. End
of chapter
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