Page 57 - Purple Butterfly Book 2

Date:
He made a tent of sails to protect the things that could be spoiled by the sun or rain.
After several weeks, the weather changed, and a high wind began to blow.
One morning, when Crusoe awoke, he found that the ship had broken to pieces and was no longer to be seen. However, he had saved from the wreck everything that he needed.
Then Robinson Crusoe decided to find a better place for his tent. There was a little plain on the bide of a hill. At the further end was a rock with a hollow place like the entrance to a cave; but there was really not any cave or way into the rock at all. Here he placed his tent.
In a half circle, in front of the tent, Crusoe drove two rows of strong stakes sharpened at the top, about six inches apart. He laid pieces of rope between the stakes. The fence was about five arid a half feet high and so strong that no one could enter.
There was no door, so Crusoe climbed in and out by means of a ladder which he always drew up after him.
Before closing up the end of the fence, Crusoe carried within all the articles that he had saved from the wreck. He rigged a double tent inside the fence, to protect all from the sun and rain.
When this was finished, Crusoe began to dig out the rock. It was not very hard, and soon, behind his tent, he had a cave in which he placed his powder, in small parcels.
Robinson Crusoe was very comfortable. He had saved from the wreck two cats and a dog. He had ink, pens, and paper, so that he could write down all that happened.
“But what shall I do when the ink is gone?” thought Crusoe. “I must find some way of keeping track of the time.”
He set up a wooden cross, upon which he cut with a knife the date of his landing. Each day he cut another notch in the wood.
Every seventh notch was twice as long as those for the days between, and the notch for every first day of the month was twice as long again. Thus Crusoe kept a calendar, or weekly, monthly, and yearly reckoning of time.
By and by, he found that there were many goats on the island, and many pigeons which he could obtain for food.
After a time, Crusoe decided that his cave was too small.
As he was sure that there were no wild beasts on the island, he began to make his cave larger,
and he finally built a tunnel through the rock outside his fence.
Then he began to hang his belongings upon the sides of the cave, and to arrange them in order. He even built shelves on the walls, and made a door for the entrance. He also made a table and some chairs.
During all this time, Robinson Crusoe climbed the hill daily.
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