 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer visit LibriVox.org. Robinson Crusoe, Written in Words of One Syllable by Mary Godolphin Preface and First Section The production of a book which is adapted to the use of the youngest readers needs but few words of excuse or apology. The nature of the work seems to be sufficiently explained by the title itself, and the author's task has been chiefly to reduce the ordinary language into words of one syllable. But although, as far as the subject matter is concerned, the book can lay no claims to originality, it is believed that the idea and scope of its construction are entirely novel. For the one syllable literature of the present day furnishes little more than a few short, unconnected sentences, and those chiefly in spelling books. The deep interest which defoes story has never failed to arouse in the minds of the young induces the author to hope that it may be acceptable in its present form. It should be stated that exceptions to the rule of using words of one syllable exclusively have been made in the case of the proper names of the boy Shuri and of the man Friday, and in the titles of the illustrations that accompany this work. Robinson Crusoe in words of one syllable, section one. I was born at York on the first of March and the sixth year of the reign of King Charles the First. From the time when I was quite a young child I had felt a great wish to spend my life at sea, and as I grew so did this taste grow more and more strong. Until, at last, I broke loose from my school and home and found my way on foot to Hull, where I soon got a place on board a ship. When we had set sail but a few days a squall of wind came on, and on the fifth night we sprang a leak. All hands were sent to the pumps, but we felt the ship grown in all her planks and her beams quake from stem to stern, so that it was soon quite clear that there was no hope for her and that all we could do was to save our lives. The first thing was to fire off guns to show that we were in need of help, and, at length, a ship, which lay not far from us, sent a boat to our aid. But the sea was too rough for it to lie near our ship's side, so we threw out a rope which the men in the boat caught and made fast, and by this means we all got in. Still, in so wild a sea it was in vain to try to get on board the ship, which had sent out the men, or to use our oars in the boat, and all we could do was to let it drive to shore. In the space of half an hour our own ship struck on a rock and went down, and we saw her no more. We made but slow way to the land, which we caught sight of now, and then, when the boat rose to the top of some high wave, and there we saw men who ran in crowds to and fro, all bent on one thing, and that was to save us. At last, to our great joy, we got unsure, where we had the luck to meet with friends, who gave us the means to get back to hull, and, if I had now had the good sense to go home, it would have been well for me. The man whose ship had gone down said, with a grave look, Young lad, you ought to go to see no more. It is not the kind of life for you. Why, sir, will you go to see no more then? That is not the same kind of thing. I was bred to the sea, but you were not, and came on board my ship, just to find out what a life at sea was like. And you may guess what you will come to, if you do not go back to your home. God will not bless you, and it may be that you have brought all this woe on us. I spoke not a word to him. Which way he went, I knew not. Nor did I care to know, for I was hurt at this rude speech. Shall I go home, thought I, or shall I go to see? Shame kept me from home, and I could not make up my mind what course of life to take. As it had been my fate through life to choose, for the worst, so I did now. I had gold in my purse, and good clothes on my back, and to see I went once more. But I had worse luck this time than the last, for when we were far out at sea, some turks in a small ship came on our track in full chase. We sat as much sail as our yards would bear, so as to get clear from them. But in spite of this, we saw our foes gain on us, and we felt sure that they would come up with our ship in a few hours' time. At last they caught us, but we brought our guns to bear on them, which made them sure off for a time. Yet they kept up a fire at us as long as they were in range. The next time the turks came up, some of their men got on board our ship, and set to work to cut the sails, and do us all kinds of harm. So as ten of our men lay dead, and most of the rest had wounds, we gave in. The chief of the turks took me as his prize, to a port which was held by the Moors. He did not use me so ill, as at first I thought he would have done, but he set me to work with the rest of his slaves. This was a change in my life, which I did not think had been in store for me. How my heart sank with grief, at the thought of those whom I had left at home, nay, to whom I had not had the grace so much as to say goodbye when I went to see, nor to give a hint of what I meant to do. Yet all that I went through at this time was but a taste of the toils and cares which it has since been my lot to bear. I thought at first that the Turk might take me with him when next he went to see, and so I should find some way to get free, but the hope did not last long. For at such times he left me on shore as to see to his crops. This kind of life I led for two years, and as the Turk knew and saw more of me, he made me more and more free. He went out in his boat once or twice a week, to catch a kind of flat fish, and now and then he took me and a boy with him. For we were quick at this kind of sport, and he grew quite fond of me. One day the Turk sent me in the boat to catch some fish, with no one else but a man and a boy. While we were out so thick a fog came on that though we were out not half a mile from the shore, we quite lost sight of it for twelve hours, and when the sun rose the next day our boat was at least ten miles out at sea. The wind blew fresh, and we were all much in want of food, but at last with the help of our oars and sail we got back safe to land. When the Turk heard how we had lost our way he said that the next time he went out he would take a boat that would hold all we could want if we were kept out at sea. So he had quite a state room built in the long boat of his ship, as well as a room for us slaves. One day he sent me to trim the boat as he had two friends who would go in it to fish with him, but when the time came they did not go. So he sent me with the man and the boy, whose name was Shuri, to catch some fish for the guests that were to set up with him. Now the thought struck me all at once that this would be a good chance to set off with the boat and get free. So in the first place I took all the food that I could lay my hands on and I told the man that it would be too bold of us to eat of the bread that had been put in the boat for the Turk. He said he thought so too, and he brought down a small sack of rice and some rusts. While the man was unsure, I put up some wine, a large lump of wax, a saw, an axe, a spade, some rope, and all sorts of things that might be of use to us. I knew where the Turk's case of wine was, and I put that in the boat while the man was unsure. By one more trick I got all that I had need of. I said to the boy, the Turk's guns are in the boat, but there is no shot. Do you think you could get some? You know where it is kept, and we may want to shoot a foul or two. So he brought a case and a pouch which held all that we could want for the guns. These I put in the boat, and then set sail out of the port to fish. The wind blew from the north or northwest, which was a bad wind for me, for had it been south I could have made for the coast of Spain, but blow which way it might, my mind was made up to get off and to leave the rest to fate. I then let down my lines to fish, but I took care to have bad sport, and when the fish bit I would not pull them up, for the moor was not to see them. I said to him, this will not do, we shall catch no fish here, we ought to sail on a bit. Well, the moor thought there was no harm in this. He set the sails, and as the helm was in my hands I ran the boat out a mile or more, and then brought her to, as if I meant to fish. Now thought I, the time has come for me to get free. I gave the helm to the boy, and then took the moor round the waist and threw him out of the boat. Down he went, but soon rose up, for he swam like a duck. He said, he would go all round the world with me, if I would but take him in. I had some fear lest he should climb up the boat side and force his way back. So I brought my gun to point at him, and said, you can swim to land with ease if you choose. You may cased, then, to get there, but if you come near the boat you shall have a shot through the head, for I mean to be a free man from this hour. He then swam for the shore, and no doubt got safe there, as the sea was so calm. First I thought I would take the moor with me, and let Jury swim to land, but the moor was not a man that I could trust. When he was gone I said to Jury, if you will swear to be true to me, you shall be a great man in time, if not I must throw you out of the boat too. The poor boy gave me such a sweet smile, as he swore to be true to me, that I could not find it in my heart to doubt him. While the man was still in view, for he was on his way to the land, we stood out to sea with the boat, so that he and those that saw us from the shore might think we had gone to the strait's mouth. For no one went to the south coast, as a tribe of men dwelt there, who were known to kill and eat their foes. We then bent our course to the east, so as to keep in with the shore, and as we had a fair wind and a smooth sea, by the next day at noon we were not less than one hundred and fifty miles out of the reach of the Turk. End of the Preface and Section 1 Read by Dennis Sayers in Modesto, California, for LibriVox, Spring 2007 Section 2 of Robinson Crusoe, written in words of one syllable This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer visit LibriVox.org Robinson Crusoe, written in words of one syllable by Mary Godolphin I had still some fear, lest I should be caught by the moors, so I would not go on shore in the daytime. But when it grew dark we made our way to the coast, and came to the mouth of a stream, from which we thought we could swim to land, and then look round us. But as soon as it was quite dark we heard strange sounds, barks, roars, grunts, and howls. The poor lad said he could not go on shore till dawn. Well, said I, then we must give it up, but it may be that in the daytime we shall be seen by men, who, for all we know, would do us more harm than wild beasts. Then we give them the shoot-gun, said Shuri, with a laugh, and make them run away. I was glad to see so much mirth in the boy, and gave him some bread and rice. We lay still at night, but did not sleep long. For in a few hours' time some huge beasts came down to the sea to bathe. The poor boy shook from head to foot at the sight. One of these beasts came near our boat, and though it was too dark to see him well, we heard him puff and blow, and knew that he must be a large one by the noise he made. At last the brute came as near to the boat as two oars' length, so I shot at him, and he swam to shore. The roar and cries set up by the beasts and birds at the noise of my gun would seem to show that we had made a bad choice of a place to land on, but be that as it would, to shore we had to go to find some fresh spring so that we might fill our casts. Shuri said that if I would let him go with one of the jars, we would find out if the springs were fit to drink, and if they were sweet he would bring the jar back full. Why should you go, said I? Why should not I go, and you stay in the boat? At this Shuri said, if the wild man's come they eat me. You go away. I could not but love the lad for this kind speech. Well, said I, we will both go, and if the wild men come we must kill them. They shall not eat you or me. I gave Shuri some rum from the Turk's case to cheer him up, and we went on shore. The boy went off with his gun, full a mile from the spot where we stood, and came back with a hair that he had shot, which we were glad to cook and eat, but the good news which he brought was that he had found a spring and had seen no wild men. I made a guess that the cape-deverred islands were not far off, for I saw the top of the great peak which I knew was near them. My one hope was that if I kept near the coast I should find some ship that would take us on board, and then, and not till then, should I feel free man. In a word, I put the whole of my fate on this chance that I must meet with some ship or die. On the coast we saw some men who stood to look at us. They were black and wore no clothes. I would have gone on shore to them, but Shuri, who knew best, said, not you go, not you go. So I brought the boat as near the land as I could, that I might talk to them, and they kept up with me a long way. I saw that one of them had a lance in his hand. I made signs that they should bring me some food, and they, on their part, made signs for me to stop my boat. So I let down the top of my sail and lay by, while two of them ran off, and in less than half an hour they came back with some dry meat, and a sort of corn, which is grown in this part of the world. This we should have been glad to get, but knew not how to do so, for we durst not go on shore to them, nor did they dare to come to us. At last they took a safe way for us all, for they brought the food to the shore, where they set it down, and then went a long way off, while we took it in. We made signs to show our thanks, for we had not a thing that we could spare to give them. But, as good luck would have it, we were at hand to take a great prize for them, for two wild beasts of the same kind, as the first I spoke of, came in, full chase from the hills, down to the sea. They swam as if they had come for sport. The men flew from them in fear, all but the one who held the lance. One of these beasts came near our boat, so I lay and wait for him with my gun, and as soon as the brute was in range, I shot him through the head. Twice he sank down in the sea, and twice he came up, and then just swam to the land where he fell down dead. The men were in as much fear at the sound of my gun, as they had been at the sight of the beasts, but when I made signs for them to come to the shore, they took heart and came. They at once made for their prize, and by the help of a rope which they slung round him, they brought him safe on the beach. We now left our wild men and went on and on for twelve days more. The land in front of us ran out four or five miles, like a bill, and we had to keep some way from the coast to make this point, so that we lost sight of the shore. I gave the helm to Shuri and sat down to think what would be my best course to take, when all at once I heard the lad cry out, a ship with a sail, a ship with a sail. He did not show much joy at the sight, for he thought that this ship had been sent out to take him back, but I knew well from the look of her that she was not one of the Turks. I made all the sail I could to come in the ship's way, and told Shuri to fire a gun, in the hope that if those on deck could not hear the sound, they might see the smoke. This they did see, and then let down their sails so that we might come up to them, and in three hours' time we were at the ship's side. The men spoke to us in French, but I could not make out what they meant. At last a scot on board said in my own tongue, Who are you? Whence do you come? I told him in a few words how I had got free from the moors. Then the man who had charge of the ship, bade me come on board, and took me in with Shuri and all my goods. I told him that he might take all I had, but he said, You shall have your goods back when we come to land, for I have but done for you what you would have done for me had I been in the same plight. He gave me a good round sum for my boat, and said that I should have the same sum for Shuri, if I would part with him. But I told him that as it was by the boy's help that I had got free I was loath to sell him. He said it was just and right in me to feel thus, but at the same time if I could make up my mind to part with him he should be set free in two years' time. So as the poor slave had a wish to go with him I did not say no. I got to all Saints Bay in three weeks, and was now a free man. I had made a good sum by all my store, and with this I went on land, but I did not at all know what to do next. At length I met with a man whose case was much the same as my own, and we both took some land to farm. My stock, like his, was low, but we made our farms serve to keep us in food, though not much more than that. We both stood in need of help, and I saw now that I had done wrong to part with my boy. I did not at all like this kind of life. What thought I? Have I come all this way to do that which I could have done as well at home with my friends round me, and to add to my grief the kind friend who had brought me here in his ship now meant to leave these shores? On my first start to see, when a boy, I had put a small sum in the hands of an aunt, and this my friend said I should do well to spend on my farm. So when he got home he sent some of it in cash, and laid out the rest in cloth, stuffs, bays, and such like goods. My aunt had put a few pounds in my friend's hands as a gift to him to show her thanks for all that he had done for me, and with this sum he was so kind as to buy me a slave. In the meantime I had bought a slave, so now I had two, and all went on well for the next year. But soon my plans grew too large for my means. One day some men came to ask me to take charge of a slave ship to be sent out by them. They said they would give me a share in the slaves, and pay the cost of the stock. This would have been a good thing for me if I had not had farms and land, but it was wild and rash to think of it now, for I had made a large sum, and ought to have gone on in the same way. Well, I told these men that I would go with all my heart if they would look to my farm in the meantime, which they said they would do. So I made my will, and went on board the ship on the same day on which eight years since I had left Hull. She had six guns, twelve men, and a boy. We took with us saws, chains, toys, beads, bits of glass, and such like where, to suit the taste of those with whom we had to trade. We were not more than twelve days from the line when a high wind took us off we knew not where. All at once there was a cry of, land and the ship struck on a bank of sand in which she sank so deep that we could not get her off. At last we found that we must make up our minds to leave her and get to shore as well as we could. There had been a boat at her stern, but we found it had been torn off by the force of the waves. One small boat was still left on the ship's side, so we got in it. There we were all of us on the wild sea. The heart of each now grew faint. Our cheeks were pale, and our eyes were dim, for there was but one hope, and that was to find some bay and so get in the lee of the land. We now gave up our whole souls to God. The sea grew more and more rough, and its white foam would curl and boil. At last the waves in their wild sport burst on the boat's side, and we were all thrown out. I could swim well, but the force of the waves made me lose my breath too much to do so. At length one large wave took me to the shore, and left me high and dry, though half dead with fear. I got on my feet and made the best of my way for the land, but just then the curve of a huge wave rose up as high as a hill, and this I had no strength to keep from, so it took me back to the sea. I did my best to float on the top and held my breath to do so. The next wave was quite as high and shut me up in its bulk. I held my hands down tight to my side, and then my head shot out at the top of the waves. This gave me heart and breath too, and soon my feet felt the ground. I stood quite still for a short time to let the sea run back for me, and then I set out with all my might to the shore, but yet the waves caught me, and twice more did they take me back, and twice more land me on the shore. I thought the last wave would have been the death of me, for it drove me on a piece of rock, and with such force as to leave me in a kind of swoon, which, thank God, did not last long. At length to my great joy I got up to the cliffs close to the shore, where I found some grass out of the reach of the sea. There I sat down, safe on land at last. I could but cry out in the words of the psalm. They that go down to the sea and ships, these men see the works of the Lord in the deep. For at his word the storms rise, and the winds blow, and lift up the waves. Then do they mount to the sky, and from thence go down to the deep. My soul faints, I reel to and fro, and am at my wit's end. Then the Lord brings me out of all my fears. I felt so rapt in joy that all I could do was to walk up and down the coast. Now lift up my hands, now fold them on my breast, and thank God for all he had done for me when the rest of the men were lost. All lost but I, and I was safe. I now cast my eyes round me to find out what kind of place it was that I had been thus thrown in, like a bird in a storm. Then all the glee I felt at the first left me. For I was wet and cold, and had no dry clothes to put on, no food to eat, and not a friend to help me. In section two, read by Dennis Sayers in Modesto, California, for LibriVox, spring 2007. Section three of Robinson Crusoe in words of one syllable. Robinson Crusoe in words of one syllable. Robinson Crusoe in words of one syllable by Mary Godolphin. There were wild beasts here, but I had no gun to shoot them with, or to keep me from their jaws. I had but a knife and a pipe. It now grew dark, and where was I to go for the night? I thought the top of some high tree would be a good place to keep me out of harm's way, and that there I might sit and think of death, for as yet I had no hopes of life. Well, I went to my tree, and made a kind of nest to sleep in. Then I cut a stick to keep off the beasts of prey, in case they should come, and fell to sleep just as if the branch I lay on had been a bed of down. When I woke up it was broad day. The sky too was clear, and the sea calm, but I saw from the top of the tree that in the night the ship had left the bank of sand, and lay but a mile for me. While the boat was on the beach, two miles on my right. I went some way down by the shore to get to the boat, but an arm of the sea, half a mile broad, kept me from it. At noon the tide went a long way out, so that I could get near the ship, and here I found that if we had but made up our minds to stay on board we should all have been safe. I shed tears at the thought, for I could not help it. Yet, as there was no use in that, it struck me that the best thing for me to do was to swim to the ship. I soon threw off my clothes, took to the sea, and swam up to the wreck. But how was I to get on deck? I had swum twice round the ship, when a piece of rope caught my eye, which hung down from her side so low, that at first the waves hit it. By the help of this rope I got on board. I found that there was a bulge in the ship, and that she had sprung a leak. You may be sure that my first thought was to look round for some food, and I soon made my way to the bin, where the bread was kept, and ate some of it as I went to and fro, for there was no time to lose. There was, too, some rum, of which I took a good draft, and this gave me heart. What I stood most in need of was a boat to take the goods to shore, but it was vain to wish for that which could not be had, and, as there were some spare yards in the ship, two or three large planks of wood, and a spare mast or two, I fell to work with these to make a raft. I put four spars side by side, and laid short bits of plank on them, cross ways, to make my raft strong. Though these planks would bear my own weight, they were too slight to bear much of my freight. So I took a saw, which was on board, and cut a mast in three lengths, and these gave great strength to the raft. I found some bread and rice, a Dutch cheese, and some dry goats' flesh. There had been some wheat, but the rats had got at it, and it was all gone. My next task was to screen my goods from the spray of the sea, and it did not take me long to do this, for there were three large chests on board, which held all, and these I put on the raft. When the high tide came up, it took off my coat and shirt, which I had left on the shore. But there were some fresh clothes in the ship. See, here is a prize, said I, out loud, though there were none to hear me. Now I shall not starve, for I found four large guns. But how was my raft to be got to land? I had no sail, no oars, and a gust of wind would make all my store slide off. Yet there were three things, which I was glad of, a calm sea, a tide which set in to the shore, and the slight breeze to blow me there. I had the good luck to find some oars in a part of the ship, in which I had made no search till now. With these I put to sea, and for half a mile my raft went well. But soon I found it drove to one side. At length I saw a creek, to which, with some toil, I took my raft, and now the beach was so near that I felt my oar touch the ground. Here I had well nigh lost my freight, for the shore lay on a slope, so that there was no place to land on, save where one end of the raft would lie so high, and one end so low, that all my goods would fall off. To wait till the tide came up was all that could be done. So, when the sea was a foot deep, I thrust the raft on a flat piece of ground to moor her there, and stuck my two oars in the sand, one on each side of the raft. Thus I let her lie till the ebb of the tide, and when it went down she was left safe on land with all her freight. I saw that there were birds on the aisle, and I shot one of them. Mine must have been the first gun that had been heard there since the world was made, for, at the sound of it, whole flocks of birds flew up, and loud cries from all parts of the wood. The shape of the beak of the one I shot was like that of a hawk, but the claws were not so large. I now went back to the raft to land my stores, and this took up the rest of the day. What to do at night I knew not, nor where to find a safe place to land my stores on. I did not like to lie down on the ground for fear of beasts of prey as well as snakes, but there was no cause for these fears, as I have since found. I put the chests and boards round me as well as I could, and made a kind of hut for the night. As there was still a great store of things left in the ship, which would be of use to me, I thought that I ought to bring them to land at once, for I knew that the first storm would break up the ship. So I went on board and took care this time not to load my raft too much. The first thing I sought for was the tool chest, and in it were some bags of nails, spikes, saws, knives and such things, but best of all I found a stone to grind my tools on. There were two or three flasts, some large bags of shot, and a roll of lead, but this last I had not the strength to hoist up to the ship's side, so as to get it on my raft. There were some spare sails too, which I brought to the shore. I had some fear lest my stores might be run off with by beasts of prey, if not by men, but I found all safe and sound when I went back, and no one had come there but a wild cat, which sat on one of the chests. When I came up I held my gun at her, but as she did not know what a gun was, this did not rouse her. She ate a piece of dry goat's flesh, and then took her leave. Now that I had two frates of goods at hand, I made a tent with the ship's sails to stow them in, and cut the poles for it from the wood. I now took all the things out of the casts and chests, and put the casts in piles round the tent to give it strength, and when this was done I shut up the door with the boards, spread one of the beds, which I had brought from the ship on the ground, laid two guns close to my head, and went to bed for the first time. I slept all night, for I was much in need of rest. The next day I was sad and sick at heart, for I felt how dull it was to be thus cut off from all the rest of the world. I had no great wish for work, but there was too much to be done, for me to dwell long on my sad lot. Each day as it came I went off to the wreck to fetch more things, and I brought back as much as the raft would hold. One day I had put too great a load on the raft, which made it sink down on one side, so that the goods were lost in the sea. But at this I did not fret, as the chief part of the freight was some rope, which would not have been of much use to me. The twelve days that I had been in the isle were spent in this way, and I had brought to land all that one pair of hands could lift, though if the sea had been still calm I might have brought the whole ship piece by piece. The last time I swam to the wreck, the wind blew so hard that I made up my mind to go on board next time at low tide. I found some tea and some gold coin, but as to the gold it made me laugh to look at it. Oh, drug said I, thou art of no use to me, I care not to save thee. Stay where thou art, till the ship go down, then thou go with it. Still, I thought I might as well just take it, so I put it in a piece of the sail and threw it on deck that I might place it on the raft. By and by the wind blew from the shore, so I had to swim back with all speed, for I knew that at the turn of the tide I should find it hard work to get to land at all. But in spite of the high wind I came to my home all safe. At dawn of day I put my head out and cast my eyes on the sea when low no ship was there. This change in the face of things and the loss of such a friend quite struck me down. Yet I was glad to think that I had brought to shore all that could be of use to me. I had now to look out for some spot where I could make my home. Halfway up a hill there was a small plane, four or five score feet long and twice as broad, as it had a full view of the sea I thought that it would be a good place for my house. I first dug a trench round the space which took in twelve yards and in this I drove two rows of steaks till they stood firm like piles, five and a half feet from the ground. I made the steaks close and tight with bits of rope and put small sticks on the top of them in the shape of spikes. This made so strong a fence that no man or beast could get in. The door of my house was on the top and I had to climb up to it by steps which I took in with me so that no one else might come up by the same way. Close to the back of the house stood a high rock in which I made a cave and laid all the earth that I had dug out of it round my house in the height of a foot and a half. I had to go out once a day to search a food. The first time I saw some goats but they were too shy and swift a foot to let me get near them. At last I lay and wait for them close to their own haunts. If they saw me in the veil though they might be on high ground they would run off wild with fear if they were in the veil and I on high ground they took no heed of me. The first goat I shot had a kid by her side and when the old one fell the kid stood near her till I took her off on my back and then the young one ran by my side. I put down the goat and brought the kid home to tame it but as it was too young to feed I called it. At first I thought that for the lack of pen and ink I should lose all note of time so I made a large post in the shape of a cross on which I cut these words I came on these shores on the eighth day of June in the year 1659. On the side of this post I made a notch each day as it came as I kept up till the last End of Section 3 Read by Denis Ayers in Modesto, California for LibriVox Spring 2007 Section 4 of Robinson Crusoe in words of one syllable This is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information If you want to volunteer visit LibriVox.org Robinson Crusoe in words of one syllable by Mary Godolphin Section 4 I have not yet said a word of my four pets which were two cats a dog and a bird You may guess how fond I was of them for they were all the friends I brought the dog and two cats from the ship the dog would fetch things for me at all times and by his bark his wine his growl and his tricks he would all but talk to me yet he could not give me thought for thought If I could but have had some one near me to find fault with treat it would have been now that I had brought ink from the ship I wrote down a sketch of each day as it came not so much to leave to those who might read it when I was dead and gone as to get rid of my own thoughts and draw me from the fears which all day long dwelt on my mind till my head would ache with the weight of them I was a long way out and oh how dull it was to be cast on this lone spot with no one to love no one to make me laugh no one to make me weep no one to make me think it was dull to roam day by day from the wood to the shore and from the shore back to the wood and feed on my own thoughts all the while so much for the sad view of my case but like most things it had a bright side as well as a dark one for here was I safe on land while all the rest of the ship's crew were lost well thought I God who shapes our ways and led me by the hand then can save me from this state now or send some one to be with me I am cast on a rough and rude part of the globe but there are no beasts of prey on it to kill or hurt me God has sent the ship so near to me that I have got from it all things to meet my once for the rest of my days let life be what it may there is sure to be much to thank God for and I soon gave up all dull thoughts to look out for a sail my goods from the wreck had been in the cave for more than ten months and it was time now to put them right as they took up all the space and left me no room to turn in so I made my small cave a large one and dug it out a long way back in the sand rock then I brought the mouth of it up to the fence and so made a back way to my house this done I put shelves on each side to hold my goods which made my cave look like a shop full of stores to make these shelves I cut down a tree and with the help of a saw and axe, a plane and some more tools I made boards a chair and a desk to write on came next I rose in good time then I ate my meal then I went out with my gun and to work once more till the sun had set and then to bed it took me more than a week to change the shape and size of my cave but I had made it far too large for in the course of time the earth fell in from the roof and had I been in it when this took place I should have lost my life I had some posts in the cave with planks on the top of them so as to make a roof of wood one day when out with my gun I shot a wild cat the skin of which made me a cap and I found some birds of the dove tribe which built their nests in the holes of rocks I had to go to bed at dusk till I made a lamp of goat's fat which I put in a clay dish and this with a piece of hemp for a wick made a good light as I had found a use for the bag which had held the fowl's food on board ship I shook out from it the husts of corn this was just at the time when the great rains fell and in the course of a month blades of rice corn and rye sprang up as time went by and the grain was ripe I kept it and took care to sow it each year but I could not boast of a crop of wheat as will be shown by and by for three years a thing now took place on the isle which no one could have dreamt of and which struck me down with fear it was this the ground shook with great force which threw down earth from the rock with a loud crash once more there was a shock and now the earth fell from the roof of my cave the sea did not look the same as it had done for the shocks were just as strong there as on land the sway of the earth made me feel sick and there was a noise and a roar all around me the same kind of shock came a third time and when it had gone off I sat quite still on the ground for I knew not what to do then the clouds grew dark the wind rose trees were torn up by the roots the sea was a massive foam and froth and a great part of the isle was laid waste with the storm I thought that the world had come to an end in three hours time all was calm but rain fell all that night it was a great part of the next day now though quite worn out I had to move my goods which were in the cave to some safe place I knew that tools would be my first want and that I should have to grind mine on the stone as they were blunt and worn with use but as it took both hands to hold the tool I could not turn the stone so I made a wheel by which I could move it with my foot this was no small task but I took great pains with it and at length it was done the rain fell for some days and a cold chill came on me in short I was ill I had pains in my head and could get no sleep at night and my thoughts were wild and strange at some time I shook with cold and then a hot fit came on with faint sweats which would last six hours at a time ill as I was I had to go out with my gun to get food I shot a goat but it was a great toil to bring it home and still more to cook it I spent the next day in bed and felt half dead from thirst yet too weak to stand up to get some drink I lay and wept like a child Lord look on me Lord look on me would I cry for hours at last the fit left me and I slept and did not wake till dawn I dreamt that I lay on the ground and saw a man come down from a great black cloud when he stood on the earth it shook as it had done a few days since and all the world to me was full of fire he came up and said as I see that all these things have not brought thee to pray now thou shalt die then I woke and found it was a dream weak and faint I was in dread all day my fit should come on too ill to get out my gun I sat on the shore to think and thus ran my thoughts what is this sea which is all round me and whence is it there can be no doubt that the hand that made it made the air the earth the sky and who is that it is God who hath made all things then if God hath made all things it must be he who guides them and if so no one thing in the whole range of his works can take place and he not know it then God must know how sick and sad I am and he wills me to be here oh why hath God done this to me then some voice would seem to say dust thou ask why God hath done this to thee ask why thou weret not shot by the moors who came on board the ship and took the lies of thy mates ask why thou weret not torn by the beasts of prey on the coasts ask why thou didst not go down in the deep sea with the rest of the crew but didst come to this isle and art safe a sound sleep then fell on me and when I woke it must have been three o'clock the next day by the rays of the sun nay it may have been more than that for I think that this must have been the day that I did not mark on my post as I have since found that there was one notch too few I now took from my store the book of God's word which I had brought from the wreck not one page of which I had yet read my eyes fell on five words that would seem to have been put there for my good at this time so well did they cheer my faint hopes and touch the true source of my fears they were these I will not leave thee and they have dwelt hard to this day I laid down the book to pray my cry was oh lord help me to love and learn thy ways this was the first time in all my life that I had felt a sense that God was near and heard me as for my dull life here it was not worth a thought for now a new strength had come to me in my griefs as well as in my joys I had now been in the aisle twelve months and I thought it was time to go all round it in search of its woods springs and creeks so I set off and brought back with me limes and grapes in their prime large and ripe I had hung the grapes in the sun to dry and in a few days time went to fetch them that I might lay up a store the veil on the banks of which they grew was fresh and green and the clear bright stream ran through it which gave so great a charm to the spot as to make me wish to live there but there was no view of the sea from this veil while from my house no ships could come on my side of the aisle and not be seen by me yet the cool soft banks were so sweet and new to me that much of my time was spent there in the first of the three years in which I had grown corn I had sown it too late in the next it was spoiled by the drought but the third year's crop had sprung up well I found that the hairs would lie in it night and day for which there was no cure but to plant a thick hedge I found it and this took me more than three weeks to do I shot the hairs in the daytime and when it grew dark I made fast the dog's chain to the gate and there he stood to bark all night in a short time the corn grew strong and at last ripe but just as the hairs had hurt it in the blade so now the birds ate it in the ear when it had begun whole flocks of them would fly up and at this rate I saw that there would be no corn left so I made up my mind to keep a look out night and day I hid by the side of hedge and could see the birds on the trees and watch and then come down one by one at first now each grain of wheat was, as it were so the great thing was to get rid of these birds my plan was this I shot three and hung them up like thieves to scare all that came to the corn and from this time as long as the dead ones hung there not a bird came near when the corn was ripe I made a scythe out of the swords from the ship and got in my crop few of us think of the cost at which a loaf of bread is made of course there was no plow here to turn up the earth and no spade to dig it with so I made one with wood but this was soon worn out and for want of a rake I made use of the bow of a tree when I had got the corn home I had to thrash it part the grain from the chaff and store it up then came the want of a mill to grind it of sieves to clean it and of yeast to make bread of it still my bread was made though I had no tools and no one could say that I did not earn it by the sweat of my brow when the rain kept me indoors it was good fun to teach my pet bird pal to talk but so mute were all things round me that the sound of my own voice made me start end of section 4 read by Dennis Sayers of Modesto California for LibriVox spring 2007 section 5 of Rabbids and Crusoe in words of one syllable this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer visit LibriVox.org Rabbids and Crusoe in words of one syllable by Mary Godolphin section 5 my chief once now were jars pots, cups, and plates but I knew not how I could make them at last I went in search of some clay and found some a mile from my house but it was quite a joke to see the queer shapes and forms that I made out of it for some of my pots and jars were too weak to bear their own weight and they would fall out here and in there in all sorts of ways while some when they were put in the sun to bake would crack with the heat of its rays you may guess what my joy was when at last a pot was made which would stand the heat of the fire so that I could boil the meat for broth the next thing to be made was a sieve to part the grain from the husks goat's hair was of no use to me as I could not weave or spin so I made a shift for two years with a thin kind of stuff which I had brought from the ship but to grind the corn with the stones was the worst of all such hard work did I find it to bake the bread I burnt some wood down to an ash which I threw in the hearth to heat it and then set my loaves on the hearth and in this way my bread was made the next thing to turn my thoughts to was the ship's boat which lay on the high ridge of sand where it had been thrust by the storm which had cast me on the shores but it lay with the keel to the sky so I had to dig the sand from it and turn it up with the help of a pole when I had done this I found it was all in vain for I had not the strength to launch it so all I could do now was to make a boat of less size out of a tree and I found one that was just fit for it which grew not far from the shore but I could no more stir this than I could the ship's boat what was to be done I first dug the ground flat and smooth all the way from the boat to the sea so as to let it slide down but this plan did not turn out well so I thought I would try a new way which was to make a trench so as to bring the sea up to the boat as the boat could not be brought to the sea but to do this I must have dug down to a great depth which would take one man some years to do and when too late I found it was not wise to work out a scheme till I had first thought of the cost and toil well, thought I I must give up the boat and with it all my hopes leave the isle but I have this to think of I am lord of the whole isle in fact a king I have wood with which I might build a fleet and grapes if not corn to freight it with though all my wealth is but a few gold coins for these I had no sort of use and could have found it in my heart to give them all for a peck of peas and some ink which last I stood much in need of but it was best to dwell more on what I had than on what I had not I now must needs try once more to build a boat but this time it was to have a mast for which the ship sails would be of great use I made a deck at each end to keep out the spray of the sea a bin for my food and a rest for my gun with a flap to screen it from the wet more than all the boat was one of such a size that I could launch it my first cruise was up and down the creek but soon I got bold and made the whole round of my isle I took with me bread, cakes and a pot full of rice some half a goat two great coats one of which was to lie on and one to put on at night I set sail in the sixth year of my reign on the east side of the isle there was a large ridge of rocks which lay two miles from the shore and a shoal of sand lay for half a mile from the rocks to the beach to get round to this point I had to sail a great way out to the sea and here I all but lost my life but I got back to my home at last on my way there quite worn out with the toils of the boat I lay down in the shade to rest my limbs and slept but judge if you can what a start I gave when a voice woke me out of my sleep and spoke my name three times a voice in this wild place to call me by name too then the voice said where are you where have you been how came you here but now I saw it all for at the top of the hedge sat pal who did but say the words she had been taught by me I now went in search of some goats and laid snares for them for a bait I had set the traps in the night and found they had all stood though the bait was gone so I thought of a new way to take them which was to make a pit and lay sticks and grass on it so as to hide it and in this way I caught an old goat and some kids but the old goat was much too fierce for me so I let him go I brought all the young ones home and let them fast a long time till at last they fed from my hand and were quite tame I kept them in a kind of park in which there were trees to screen them from the sun at first my park was three miles round but it struck me that in so great a space the kids would soon get as wild as if they had the range of the whole veil to give them less room so I had to make a hedge which took me three months to plant my park held a flock of twelve goats and in two years more there were more than two score my dog sat at meals with me and one cat on each side of me on stools and we had pal to talk to us now for a word or two as to the dress in which I made a tour round the aisle I could but think how droll it would look in the streets of the town in which I was born I wore a high cap of goats skin with the flap that hung down to keep the sun and rain from my neck a coat made from the skin of a goat too the skirts of which came down to my hips flaps of the fur round my shins I had a broad belt of the same round my waist which drew on with two thongs and from it on my right side hung a saw and an axe and on my left side a pouch for the shot my beard had not been cut since I came here but no more need be said of my looks to see me a strange sight was now in store for me which was to change the whole course of my life in the aisle one day at noon while on a stroll down to a part of the shore that was new to me what should I see on the sand but the print of a man's foot I felt as if I was bound by a spell and could not stir from the spot by and by I stole a look round me but no one was in sight what could this mean I went three or four times to look at it there it was the print of a man's foot toes heel and all the parts of a foot how could it have come there my head swam with fear as I left the spot I made two or three steps and then took a look round me then two steps more and did the same thing I took fright at the stump of an old tree and ran to my house as if for my life how could ought in the shape of a man come to that shore and I not know it where was the ship that brought him then a vague dread took hold of my mind that some man or set of men had found me out and it might be that they meant to kill me or rob me of all I had how strange a things the life of man one day we love that which the next day we hate one day we seek what the next day we shun long for the thing which the next day we fear and so we go on now from the time that I was cast on this isle my great source of grief was that I should be thus cut off from the rest of my race why then should the thought that a man might be near give me all this pain nay why should the mere sight of the print of a man's foot make me quake with fear it seems most strange yet not more strange than true once it struck me that it might be the print of my own foot when first the storm cast me on the shores could I have come this way from the boat should it in truth turn out to be the print of my own foot I should be like a boy who tells of a ghost who feels more fright had his own tale than those do whom he meant to scare fear kept me indoors for three days till the want of food drove me out at last I was so bold as to go down to the coast to look once more at the print of the foot to see if it was the same shape as my own I found it was not so large by a great deal so it was clear there were men in the aisle just at this time my good watchdog fell down dead at my feet he was old and worn out and in him I lost my best guard and friend one day as I went from the hill to the coast a scene lay in front of me which made me sick at heart this spot was spread with the bones of men there was a round place dug in the earth where a fire had been made and here some men had come to feast now that I had seen this sight I knew not how to act I kept close to my home and would scarce stir from it save to milk my flock of goats to feel safe was now more to me than to be well fed and I did not care to drive a nail or chop a stick of wood lest the sound of it should be heard much less would I fire a gun as to my bread and meat I had to bake it at night when the smoke could not be seen but I soon found the way to burn wood with turf at the top of it which made it like charq or dry coal this I could use by day as it had no smoke I found in the wood where I went to get the sticks for my fire a cave so large that I could stand in it but I made more haste to get out than in for two large eyes as bright as stars shown out from it with a fierce glare I took a torch and went to see what they could be and found that there was no cause for fear for the eyes were those of an old gray goat which had gone there to die of old age I gave him a push to try to get him out of the cave but he could not rise from the ground where he lay so I left him there to die as I could not save his life I found the width of the cave was twelve feet near the end was so low that I had to creep on my hands and feet to go in what the length of it was I could not tell for my light went out and I had to give up my search the next day I went to the cave with large lights made of goats fat but when I got to the end I found that the roof rose to two score feet or more end of section five read by Dennis Sayers and Modesto California for LibriVox spring 2007 section six of Robertson Crusoe in words of one syllable this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer visit LibriVox.org Robertson Crusoe in words of one syllable by Mary Godolphin section six as my lights shown on the walls and roof of the cave a sight burst on my view the charms of which no tongue could tell for the walls shown like stars what was in the rock to cause this it was hard to say they might be gems or bright stones but let them be what they may this cave was a mine of wealth to me for at such times as I felt dull or sad the bright scene would flash on my mind's eye and fill it with joy a score of years had gone by with no new sight to rest my eyes on till this scene burst on them I felt as if I should like to spend the rest of my life here and, at its close lie down to die in this cave like the old goat as I went home I was struck by the sight of some smoke which came from a fire no more than two miles off from this time I lost all my peace of mind day and night a dread would haunt me that the men who had made this fire would find me out I went home and drew up my steps but first I made all things round me look wild and rude to load my gun was the next thing to do and I thought it would be best to stay at home and hide but this was not to be born long I had no spy to send out and all I could do was to get to the top of the hill and keep a good lookout at last through my glass I could see a group of wild men joined in a dance round their fire as soon as they had left I took two guns and slung a sword on my side then with all speed I set off to the top of the hill once more to have a good view this time I made up my mind to go up to the men but not with a view to kill them for I felt that it would be wrong to do so with such a load of arms it took me two hours to reach the spot where the fire was and by the time I got there the men had all gone but I saw them in four boats out at sea down on the shore there was a proof of what the work of these men had been the signs of their feast made me sick at heart and I shut my eyes I durced not fire my gun when I went out for food on that side of the isle lest there should be some of the men left who might hear it and so find me out this state of things went on for a year and three months and for all that time I saw no more men on the 12th of May a great storm of wind blew all day and night as it was dark in my house and in the midst of the gale I heard a gunfire my guess was that it must have been from some ship cast on shore by the storm so I set a light to some wood on top of the hill that those in the ship if ship it should be might know that someone was there to aid them I then heard two more guns fire when it was light on the south side of the isle and there lay the wreck of a ship cast on the rocks in the night by the storm she was too far off for me to see if there were men on board words could not tell how much I did long to bring but one of the ship's crew to the shore so strong was my wish to save the life of those on board that I could have laid down a life to do so there are some springs in the heart which when hope stirs them drive the soul on with such a force that to lose all chance of the thing one hopes for would seem to make one mad and thus was it with me now I thought was the time to use my boat so I set to work at once to fit it out I took on board some rum which I still had a good deal left some dry grapes a bag of rice some goat's milk and cheese and then put out to sea a dread came on me at the thought of the risk I had run on the same rocks but my heart did not quite fail me though I knew that as my boat was small if a gale of wind should spring up all would be lost I found that I must go back to the shore till the tide should turn and the ebb come on I made up my mind to go out the next day with the high tide so I slept that night in my boat at dawn I set out to sea and in less than two hours I came up to the wreck what a scene was there the ship had struck on two rocks the stern was torn by the force of the waves and the masts were swept off ropes and chains laid strewn on the deck and all was wrapped in gloom as I came to the wreck a dog swam to me with a yelp and a wine I took him on board my boat and when I gave him some bread he ate it like a wolf and as to drink he would have burst if I had let him have his fill of it I went to the cook's room where I found two men but they were both dead the tongue was mute the ear was deaf the eye was shut and the lip was stiff still the sad tale was told for each had his arm round his friend's neck and so they must have sat to wait for death what a change had come on the scene once so wild with the lash of the waves and the roar of the wind all was calm now death had done its work and all had felt its stroke save the dog and he was the one thing that still had life I thought the ship must have come from Spain and there was much gold on board I took some of the chests and put them in my boat but did not wait to see what they held and with this spoil and three casts of rum I came back I found all things at home just as I had left them my goats my cats and my bird the scene in the cook's room was in my mind day and night and to cheer me up I drank some of the rum where I had left it in the chest were two great bags of gold and some bars of the same and near these lay three small flasts and three bags of shot which were a great prize from this time all went well with me for two years but it was not to last one day as I stood on the hill I saw six boats on the shore what could this mean where were the men who had brought them and what had they come for I saw through my glass that there were a score and a half at least and on the east side of the isle they had meat on the fire round which I could see them dance they then took a man from one of the boats who was bound hand and foot but when they came to lose his bonds he set off as fast as his feet would take him and in a straight line to my house to tell the truth when I saw all the rest of the men run to catch him my hair stood on end with fright in the creek he swam like a fish and the plunge which he took brought him through it in a few strokes all the men now gave up the chase and they swam through the creek but by no means so fast as the slave had done now I thought was the time for me to help the poor man and my heart told me it would be right to do so I ran down my steps with my two guns and went with all speed up the hill and then down by a short cut to meet them I gave a sign to the poor slave to come to me and at the same time went up to meet the two men who were in chase of him I made a rush at the first of these to knock him down with the stock of my gun and he fell I saw the one who was left aim at me with his bow so to save my life I shot him dead the smoke and noise from my gun gave the poor slave who had been bound such a shock that he stood still on the spot as if he had been in a trance I gave a loud shout for him to come to me and I took care to show him that I was a friend and made all the signs I could think of to coax him up to me at length he came knelt down to kiss the ground and then took hold of my foot and set it on his head all this meant that he was my slave and I bade him rise and made much of him but there was more work to be done yet for the man who had had the blow from my gun was not dead I made a sign for my slave as I shall now call him to look at him and this he spoke to me and though I could not make out what he said yet it gave me a shock of joy for it was the first sound voice that I had heard for all the years I had been on the Isle the man whom I had struck with the stock of my gun sat up and my slave who was in great fear of him made signs for me to lend him my sword which hung at a belt at my side with this he ran up to the man and with one stroke cut off his head when he had done this he brought me back my sword with a laugh and put it down in front of me I did not like to see the glee with which he did it and I did not feel that my own life was quite safe with such a man he in his turn could but lift up his large brown hands with awe to think that I had put his foe to death while I stood so far from him but as to the sword he and the rest of his tribe made use of swords of wood and this was why he knew so well how to wield mine he made signs to me to let him go and see the man who had been shot and he gave him a turn round first on this side then on that and when he saw the wound made in his breast by the shot he stood quite still once more as if he had lost his wits I made signs for him to come back for my fears told me that the rest of the men might come in search of their friends I did not like to take my slave to my house nor to my cave so I threw down some straw from the rice plant for him to sleep on and gave him some bread and a bunch of dry grapes to eat he was a fine man with straight strong limbs tall and young his hair was thick like wool and black his head was large and high and he had bright black eyes he was of a dark brown hue his face was round and his nose small but not flat he had a good mouth with thin lips with which he could give a soft smile and his teeth were as white as snow I had been to milk my goats in the field close by and when he saw me he ran to me and lay down on the ground to show me his thanks he then put his head on the ground and set my foot on his head as he had done at first he took all the means he could think of to let me know that he would serve me all his life and I gave a sign to show that I thought well of him the next thing was to think of a name to call him by I chose that of the sixth day of the week Friday as he came to me on that day I took care not to lose sight of him all that night and when the sun rose I made signs for him to come to me that I might give him some clothes for he wore none we then went up to the top of the hill to look out for the men but as we could not see them in the boats it was clear that they had left the isle my slave has since told me that they had had a great fight with the tribe that dwelt next to them and that all those men whom each side took in war were their own by right my slaves foes had four who fell to their share of whom he was one I now set to work and a cap of hair's skin and gave him a goat's skin to wear around his waist it was a great source of pride to him to find that his clothes were as good as my own end of section six read by Dennis Sayers in Modesto, California for LibriVox spring 2007 section seven of Robinson Crusoe in words of one syllable this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer visit LibriVox.org Robinson Crusoe in words of one syllable by Mary Godolphin section seven at night I kept my guns sword and bow close to my side but there was no need for this life was in sooth most true to me he did all that he was set to do with his whole heart in the work and I knew that he would lay down his life to save mine what could a man do more than that and owe the joy to have him here to cheer me in this lone isle I did my best to teach him so like a child as he was to do and feel all that was right I found him apt and full of fun and he took great pains to learn all that I could tell him our lives ran on in a calm smooth way and but for the vile feasts which were held on the shores I felt no wish to leave the isle as my slave had by no means lost his zest for these meals it struck me that the best way to cure him was to let him taste the flesh of beasts so I took him with me one day to the wood for some sport I saw a she goat in the shade with her two kids I caught Friday by the arm and made signs to him not to stir and then shot one of the kids but the noise of the gun gave the poor man a great shock he did not see the kid nor did he know that it was dead he tore his dress off his breast to feel if there was a wound there then he knelt down to me and took hold of my knees to pray of me not to kill him to show poor Friday that his life was quite safe I led him by the hand and told him to fetch the kid by and by I saw a hawk in a tree so I made him look at the gun the hawk and the ground and then I shot the bird but my poor slave gave still more signs of fear this time that he did at first for he shook from head to foot he must have thought that some fiend of death dwelt in the gun and I think that he would have knelt down to it as well as to me but he would not so much as touch the gun for some time though he would speak to it when he thought I was not near once he told me that what he said to it to kill him I brought home the bird and made broth of it Friday was much struck to see me eat salt with it and made a rye face but I, in my turn took some that had no salt with it and I made a rye face at that the next day I gave him a piece of kids flesh which I had hung by a string in front of the fire to roast my plan was to put two poles, one on each side of the fire and a stick on the top of them to hold the string when my slave came to taste the flesh he took the best means to let me know how good he thought it the next day I set him to beat out and sift some corn I let him see me make the bread and he soon did all the work I felt quite a love for this true warm heart and he soon learnt to talk to me one day I said do the men of your tribe win in fight he told me with a smile that they did well then said I how came they to let their foes take you they run one, two, three and make go in the boat that time well and what do the men do with those they take up this was not good news for me but I went on and said where do they take them go to next place where they think do they come here yes they come here come else place too have you been here with them twice yes come there he meant the north west side of the isle so to this spot I took him the next day he knew the place and told me he was there once with a score of men to let me know this he put a score of stones all of a row and made me count them are not the boats lost on your shore now and then he said that there was no fear and that no boats were lost he told me that up a great way by the moon that is where the moon then came up there dwelt a tribe of me with beards I felt sure they must have come from Spain to work the gold mines I put this to him could I go from this isle and join those men yes yes you may go in two boats it was hard to see how one man could go in two boats but what he meant was a boat twice as large as my own one day I said to my slave do you know who made you but he could not tell at all what these words meant so I said do you know who made the sea the ground we tread on the hills and woods he said it was beak whose home was a great way off and that he was so old that the sea and the land were not so old as he if this old man has made all things why do not all things bow down to him my slave gave a grave look and said all things say oh to him where do the men in your land go when they die all go to beak I then held my hand up to the sky to point to it and said God dwells there he made the world and all things in it the moon and the stars are the work of his hand God sends the wind and the rain on the earth and the streams that flow he hides the face of the sky with clouds makes the grass to grow for the beasts of the field and herbs for the use of man God's love knows no end when we pray he draws near to us and hears us it was a real joy to my poor slave to hear me talk of these things he sat still for a long time then gave a sigh and told me that he would say oh to beak no more for he was but a short way off and yet could not hear till men went up the hill to speak to him did you go up the hill to speak to him said I no oaks go up to beak not young man's what do oaks say to him they say oh now that I brought my man Friday to know that beak was not the true God such was the sense he had of my worth that I had fears lest I should stand in the place of beak I did my best to call forth his faith in Christ and made it strong and clear but at last thanks be to the Lord I brought him to the love of him with the whole grasp of his soul to please my poor slave I gave him a sketch of my whole life I told him where I was born and where I spent my days when a child he was glad to hear tales of the land of my birth and of the trade which we keep up in ships with all parts of the known world I gave him a knife and a belt which made him dance with joy End of Section 7 Read by Denis Sayers in Modesto, California for LibriVox Spring, 2007 Section 8 of Robinson Crusoe in Words of One Syllable This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer visit LibriVox.org Robinson Crusoe in Words of One Syllable by Mary Godolphin Section 8 One day as we stood on the top of the hill at the east side of the isle I saw him fix his eyes on the mainland and stand for a long time to gaze at it then jump and sing all out to me What do you see, said I Oh joy, said he with a fierce glee in his eyes Oh glad there see my land Why did he strain his eyes to stare at this land as if he had a wish to be there it put fears in my mind which made me feel far less at my ease with him Thought I if he should go back to his home he will think no more of what I have taught him and done for him he will be sure to tell the rest of his tribe all my ways and come back with it may be scores of them and kill me and then dance round me as they did round the men the last time they came on my isle but these were all false fears though they found a place in my mind for a while and I was not so kind to him now as I had been from this time I made it a rule day by day to find out if there were grounds for my fears or not I said Do you not wish to be once more in your own land Yes, I be much oh glad to be at my own land What would you do there would you turn wild like me as you were No, no, I would tell them to be good tell them eat bread corn, milk no, eat man more Why, they would kill you No, no, they no kill they love learn he then told me that some white men who had come on their shores at a boat had taught them a great deal then will you go back to your land with me he said he would not swim so far so I told him he should help me to build a boat to go in then he said if you go, I go I go, why they would eat me No, me make them much love you then he told me as well as he could how kind they had been to some white men I brought out the large boat to hear what he thought of it but he said it was too small we then went to look at the old ship's boat which as it had been in the sun for years was not at all in a sound state the poor man made sure that it would do but how were we to know this I told him we should build a boat as large as that in that he should go home in it he spoke not a word but was grave and sad what ails you said I why you grieve mad with your man what do you mean I am not cross with you no cross no cross with me why send your man home to his own land then did you not tell me you would like to go back yes yes we both there no wish self there if you not there and what should I do there you do great deal much good you teach wild men be good men you tell them no god pray god and lead new life we soon set to work to make a boat that would take us both the first thing was to look out for some large trees that grew near the shore so that we could launch our boat that was made my slaves plan was to burn the wood to make it in the right shape but as mine was to hew it I set him to work with my tools and in two months time we had made a good strong boat but it took a long while to get her down to the shore Friday had the whole charge of her and large as she was he made her move with ease he thought she go there well though great blow wind he did not know that I meant to make a mast and sail I cut down a young fir tree for the mast and then I set to work at the sail it made me laugh to see my man stand and stare when he came to watch me sail the boat but he soon gave a jump a laugh and a clap of the hands when he saw the sail jib and fall first on this side then on that the next thing to do was to stow our boat up in the creek where we dug a small dock and when the tide was low we made a dam to keep out the sea the time of year had now come for us to set sail so we got out all our stores to put them in the boat one day I sent Friday to the shore to get a sort of herb that grew there I soon heard him cry out to me oh grief oh bad oh bad oh out there boats one two three keep a stout heart said I to cheer him the poor man shook with fear for he thought that the men who brought him here had now come back to kill him can you fight said I shoot but me saw three boats one two three have no fear those that we do not kill will be sure to take fright at the sound of our guns now will you stand by me and do just as you are bid me die when you bid die I gave him a good draft of rum and when he had drunk this he took up an axe and two guns each of which had a charge of swan shot I took two guns as well and put large shot in them and then hung my great sword by my side from the top of the hill I saw with the help of my glass that the boats had each brought eight men and one slave they had come on shore near the creek where a grove of young trees grew close down to the sea they had with them three slaves bound hand and foot and you who read this may guess what they were brought here for I felt that I must try and save them from so hard a fate and that to do this I should have to put some of their foes to death so we set forth on our way I gave Friday strict charge to keep close to me and not to fire till I told him to do so we went full a mile out of our way that we might get round to the wood to bide there but we had not gone far when my old qualms came back to me and I thought is it for me to dip my hands in man's blood why should I kill those who have done me no harm and mean not to hurt me nay, who do not so much that they are in the wrong when they hold these feasts are not their ways a sign that God has left them with the rest of their tribe to their own dull hearts God did not call me to be a judge for him he who said thou shalt not kill set it for me as well as the rest of the world a throng of thoughts like these would rush on my mind as if to warn me to pause till I felt sure that there was no more to call me to the work than I then knew of I took my stand in the wood to watch the men at their feast and then crept on with Friday close at my heels thus we went till we came to the skirts of the wood then I said to Friday go up to the top of that tree and bring me word if you can see the men he went and quick as thought came back to say that they were all round the fire and that the man who was bound on the sand would be the next they would kill but when he told me that it was a white man one of my own race I felt the blood boil in my veins two of the gang had gone to loose the white man from his bonds so now was the time to fire at the sound of our guns we saw all the men jump up from the ground where they sat it must have been the first gun that they had heard in their lives they knew not which way to look I now threw down my piece and took up a small gun Friday did the same and I gave him the word the men ran right and left with yells and screams I now made a rush out of the wood that they might see me with my man Friday at my heels of course we gave a loud shout and ran up to the white man as fast as we could there he lay on the hot sand I cut the flag or rush by which he was bound but he was too weak to stand or speak so I gave him some run he let me know by all the signs that he could think of how much he stood in my debt for all that I had done for him I said we will talk of that by and by but now we must do what we can to save our lives Friday who was free to go where he chose flew here and there and put all the men to the route they fled in full haste to their boats and were soon out at sea and so we got rid of our foes at last the man whom we had found on the sand told us that his name was Carl and that he came from Spain but there was one more man to claim our care for the black men had left a small boat on the sand and in this I saw a poor wretch who lay half dead could not so much as look up so tight was he bound neck and heels when I cut the bonds from him he gave a deep groan for he thought that all this was but to lead him out to die Friday then came up and I bade him speak to the old man in his own tongue and tell him that he was free this good news gave him strength and he sat up in the boat but when Friday came to hear him talk and to look him in the face it brought the tears to my eyes to see him kiss and hug the poor old man and dance round him with joy then weep wring his hands and beat his own face and head and then laugh once more sing and leap for a long time he could not speak to me so as to let me know what all this meant but at length he told me that he was the son of this poor old man and that his name was Jeff End of section 8 read by Dennis Sayers in Modesto California for LibriVox Spring 2007