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Swiss Family Robinson in Words of One Syllable

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<h2> CHAPTER VII. </h2> WE did not wake next day till the sun shone in upon us. I told my wife and sons that as it was the Lord's day we would do no work. Our beasts and birds had first to be fed. This was done by my wife, who then brought us some hot milk, and made us sit down on the grass and take it. When our meal was done, I got on a log in front of my sons, and we all sang a psalm we knew by heart. Then I sought to teach them and spoke to them thus: "There was once on a time a Great King, who had two vast realms, the Land of Light and Truth, and the Land of Night and Sloth. Those who dwelt in the first were full of life and joy. The King held his court at the Place of Rest where all was bright. "This King had a land, not far off, where those for whom he had so much love should dwell ere they went one by one to the Place of Rest. This land was the Home of Earth. He gave to his Son the right to rule the host that dwelt in the Home of Earth, and set forth to think what they were to do, and all the ills that would come to them if they did not do as they were bid. "At first they were all glad to hear the way in which they were to live, and the terms on which they could reach the Land of Light and Truth. Sad to tell, they soon broke the King's laws, and paid no heed to what they knew to be his will. Still there were a few who did as they had been taught, and dwelt in peace, in the hope that they would please the King and at last reach the place where he held his court. "From time to time ships came to the Home of Earth, and at last a great ship was sent, the name of which was The Grave, which bore the flag of Death. To the good it was a sign of hope, but the bad were thrown by the sight of it into a state of gloom. These ships were not seen till they came close to the shore, and then the crew were sent forth to find those whom they were told to seize. Some went back with them full of joy, but most were seen to weep and mourn their fate. So soon as they were brought in sight of the Great King, the Prince took those who had done well, and put a white robe on them; but those who went their own way when on the Home of Earth, he sent down to toil in deep, dark mines till time shall be no more." When my sons had heard my tale to the end they all knew what it meant; I then drew from them their views of what they ought to do to please and serve the Great King. We then sang a hymn; and my wife drew from her bag the BIBLE, which I gave to one of the boys, who read from it in a clear, loud voice. When this was brought to a close, we all knelt down on the grass to pray, and to ask God to bless the means we took to learn His will. We did no work that day, but took a long stroll up the banks of the stream. The next day Ernest and Jack tried their skill with the bow, and brought down some small birds that came to the great tree in quest of figs. I gave them leave to kill what they could; for I knew if put in casks made air tight with grease, they would keep for a time, and might prove a boon, if our stock of food should get low. When we sat down to dine, the thought struck me that it would be well to give some name to each part of the land that was known to us. This was at first the source of some fun, for Fritz said we should call the bay where we had found the shell spoons by the name of Spoon Bay; but Jack, who still had a mark on his toe where the crab gave him a pinch, thought we ought to term it Crab Bay. "If you will let me give it a name," said my wife, "I should wish to know it by some term that will make us bear in mind how good God was to lead our raft there, and I don't think Safe Bay will be a bad name for it." "So let it be," said I; and from that time Safe Bay had a name. "What shall be the name of the spot where we spent our first night on shore? You shall give that its name," said I to Fritz. "Let us call it Tent House." "That will do," said I. "And now for the spot at the mouth of Safe Bay, where we found our planks?" "Sharp Point," said Ernest. The place from which Fritz and I sought for a trace of out ship mates was to be known as No Man's Cape. Then we had the Boys' Bridge, which name I gave it from a wish to please my sons, who had done so much to build it. "But what shall we call the place which is most dear to us all?" "Now, my dear," said I to my wife, "it is your turn. What shall we say?" "Let us call it The Nest," said she; and with that I gave each of my young birds a glass of sweet wine. "Here's to 'The Nest,'" said I; "and may we live long to bless the day and the means that brought us here." When the heat of the day was past, I told my sons that I should be glad to take a walk with them. My wife said that she should like to go with us; so we left The Nest in charge of Turk, and bent our course to the banks of the stream. On our way we went past some shrubs and rare herbs, which my wife knew well how to make use of should we fall sick; and Ernest found a large spot of ground on which grew a fine kind of PO-TA-TO. At these the boys set to work with such zeal, that we soon had a full bag of the ripe fruit. We then went on to Tent House, which we found in the same state as when we left it to cross the stream on our way to the great tree. We found that our ducks and geese had grown so wild that they would not come near us; so, while my wife and I went to pick up such things as we thought we might take back with us, Ernest and Fritz were sent to catch them, and to tie their legs and wings, and in this way we got them at last to The Nest. <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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