The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (Robinson Crusoe) (Robinson Crusoe)

- Being the third son of a good family,

and not educated to any trade,

my head began to be filled early

with thoughts of leaving England to see the world.

And thus against the will, nay the commands of my father,

I broke loose and went to sea.

How true my father's prophecy of disaster.

For not long after, being in the latitude of 12 degrees,

18 minutes bound for Africa to buy Negro slaves

from my fellow planters in the Brazil's,

a violent tornado came upon us, which carried us Westward,

far out of the way of all human commerce.

My only possession, my only weapon.

I awoke refreshed, yet half perished with hunger.

Thirsty, without provisions, with little hope of survival,

I set out to survey my fate.

No other land in site.

I was on an island, imbarrened by the sea.

The wreck of our ship, stranded during the night.

Aye!

Aye!

She might slip from the rock.

I must contrive a raft,

and try to save our precious supplies.

I plundered from the wreck many chests with all manner

of clothes, tallow, rum, gunpowder, the carpenter's tools,

and scores of other most useful articles.

Not to forget that fellow survivor, Sam.

Gold. At what use to me?

However, on second thoughts.

Tinder, steal, flint, fire.

Fire! Worth more to me than all the gold in the world.

How often I'd seen my servants do this

Yet I, a master to servants,

couldn't even build my own fire.

Rex?

Rex. You're alive, you're alive too.

Oh, Rex.

What was that, Rex?

What is it?

She was gone.

That fearful sound had been the death cry of our poor ship.

I regretted all ironwork, cables,

and lead that had gone down with her.

Rats, the only things from the ship I did not want ashore.

No ship would sail by without my knowledge.

I kept dry branches ready to flame into a mighty beacon.

My days were hurried,

crowded with all manner of urgent tasks.

The most urgent of all was to secure myself

against both wild beasts and savages.

Meanwhile, the rains approached.

And needing a store room for all of my supplies.

I found a place where the earth was easiest,

and started to dig a cave.

As I had never before so much as handled an ax,

or for that matter, any other kind of tool,

I was but a very sorry workman.

And all this cost me a great deal of time.

I became a passible good shot, and with good cause.

For my constant, hard manual labor

gave me a most voracious appetite.

The green coconut and it's milk, I found to be

most wholesome, cool, and refreshing.

My eleventh month.

Days passed and hunting wild fowl, preparing food,

trips to my lookout hill to search for site of ships.

One day much like another, uneventful and.

I'm sick.

Chills.

Fever, getting worse.

Help. Help me!

In this sickened sleep, I had this terrible dream.

You're here, Father?

- Yes here. Here, here, here, here, here.

Not there, but here.

Where else would I be? Are you not here?

How'd you get here?

- My boy, you should not leave your native country.

At my house, with your dear mother and me,

you had the very best of all possible worlds.

- Yes, yes. I remember all you told me.

You were right.

Give me water.

I told you how well all off.

Days of misery, and labor, and hardship,

and mankind's low estate, nor yet embarrassed by

the pride, envy, luxury, and ambition of his upper state.

Water, father. Give me water.

- Ours is the middle station of life, my boy.

The middle station, even Kings would have envied you.

Admit that now, admit it.

Will you not help me?

I want water.

- Why did you fling yourself into this stupid adventure?

Did you not know that your mother and I were praying

that God would not separate us from you?

You were always wayward.

- Water. Bring me water.

- Your mother and I will forgive you.

But remember, God will not forgive you.

[water bucket thumps on the ground]

He will not forgive you.

You will die like a dog. You will die.

I will die.

I will die.

I awoke week, yet clear of head.

Whether I had slept for one whole day

or more, I could never be certain.

But my first thought was for water.

Did not the Brazilians have some physic

to prevent recurrence of fevers?

Of course, tobacco mixed in rum.

In that chest I found a cure for both body and soul.

Come to me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee.

And thou shalt glorify me.

Yes it's true.

Only he can deliver me from this place.

I now respected the Sabbath,

and so marked that day differently from all others.

That's the last of it, Rex.

At times we denied this, staff of life.

I recalled a grass I had observed

to sprout and start to grow, grain.

That's which in England we called corn,

and in the new world they called wheat.

Some few seeds must have come ashore with me from the ship.

With the Lord's help, I could try to raise a crop.

Meanwhile, I set out to make

a more perfect discovery of my domain.

I found great amounts of cocoa, orange and lemon trees,

sugar cane, tobacco, and bananas.

I discovered the turtle, which furnishes

an abundance and savory flesh,

great quantities of most use for the shell.

And even turtle eggs.

Also that other sea beast, the octopus.

Which they say some people have the fortitude to eat.

Parrots, which were known to me.

And other birds, which were foreign.

Animals I did not recognize,

and those I did, goats.

It was a most unusually clear day.

Land.

Could I not hack out a canoe, sail to it?

I hued out a tiny sailing canoe,

was swept up to sea by some great current.

Thanks only to a sudden gail of wind,

was I even fortunate enough to get back on shore.

At other ventures, I was more successful.

Pretty Polly.

Here Polly, here Polly. On my finger, Polly.

Call Rex, Polly. Here Rex, come here Rex.

Tell me only this. Where did you find their father?

Do you know?

The one mystery of the island I never solved.

Due to sewing during dry season,

first half of seed complete loss.

Second half now in ground, hope for best.

Yet, just as it seemed the best would come to pass,

and I might finally triumph over the sun and the rain,

I was threatened by a new enemy, the birds.

They came down in my field like a plague,

a ruthless devouring army.

I fought for the wheat as though it were my life,

used every weapon to frighten and kill.

Hungry, Rex?

You can wag your tail.

But you cannot talk to me.

Five years.

The fifth anniversary of the day I landed.

Time to celebrate.

Here, Rex. Here, Rex.