Robinson Crusoe

Author: Daniel Defoe (English)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: All day long I had no leisure, so in this state of mind, I began my third year of life. Although I no longer detail every specific task I performed during this year to the readers, overall, they can still see that I had little free time. Based on my daily routine tasks, I divided my time into several parts: First, I set aside a certain amount of time each day to perform three tasks—praying to God and reading the Bible; second, I went out with a gun to forage for food, as long as it wasn’t raining, I usually spent three hours doing this in the morning; third, I cleaned, dried, stored, or cooked the prey I had killed or caught, which served as my daily supply. These tasks occupied most of my time. Additionally, I had to consider noon, when the sun was at its peak and the scorching heat prevented me from going out, so I could only work for four hours in the evening. Sometimes there were exceptions, and I would exchange hunting time for work time, working in the morning and going out with a gun in the afternoon. Due to the short working hours, combined with the heavy workload and the vast amount of time wasted due to the lack of tools, helpers, and skills, it is easy to imagine how long it took me to complete each task. For example, it took me forty-two days to make a plank for the long in my cave. Two sawyers, if they brought their tools to the saw pit, could cut six planks from the same tree in just half a day. Here’s how I did it: I had to cut down a very large tree first, as I needed a wide plank. It took me three days to cut down a tree, and then two more days to remove its branches and shape it into a log or a piece of wood. After countless unimaginable, I gradually flattened both sides of it until it was light enough to move. Then, I turned it over and polished one side from end to end into a smooth, flat plank. After that, I flipped it over and polished the other side until the entire thick plank was reduced to three inches thick with smooth, polished surfaces. The labor involved in making such a plank with both hands is easy to imagine. However, labor and patience allowed me to complete it and many other things. I specifically mention this example to illustrate why I spent so much time but accomplished so little. That is, tasks that are easily done with tools and helpers become incredibly laborious and time-consuming when done alone with just hands. Nevertheless, through patience and hard work, I still managed to accomplish many things. Indeed, I made everything necessary for life, which I will discuss further later. Now, it is around November and December, and I am looking forward to the harvest of barley and rice. The area of land I cultivated and fertilized was not large. Because I only had half a peck of seeds for each type of grain, I once lost a harvest due to planting during the dry season, but now my crops are growing very well. However, suddenly, I realized I was at risk of losing again, as enemies were many and could not be guarded against. First, goats and the wild animals I call rabbits, having tasted the sweetness of the wheat leaves, stayed in my field day and night. As soon as the leaves grew, they immediately ate them, and they grazed the crops so short that they could no longer grow into stalks. There was nothing I could do but build a fence around the area with trees. This also took me a great deal of effort. Moreover, this task required me to work quickly. Because my cultivated land was just enough to grow my crops, I enclosed the entire area with a fence in three weeks. During the day, I hunted some wild animals, and at night, I let my dog guard the area, tying it to a stake at the door, where it stood and barked all night. So, soon, the enemies gave up on this place, and my crops grew strong and healthy, ready to mature soon. However, just as before, when my crops were sprouting and growing, the beasts threatened to ruin me, now that the wheat and rice are in ear, the birds of prey will ruin me. One day, I went to the field to check if the crops were growing well, and I saw that all kinds of birds surrounded my young crops, so many that I didn’t know how many species there were. They stood there, as if waiting for me to leave. I immediately drove them all away (because I always carried a gun). As soon as I fired my gun, another large group of birds, which I had not seen before, rose from the crops like a dark cloud. P96-97