5 Learning to live alone
I still needed a lot of things.
'Well，'I said，'I'm going to have to make them.
'So，every day，I worked.
First of all，I wanted to make my cave bigger.
I carried out stone from the cave，and after many days'hard work
I had a large cave in the side of the hill.
Then I needed a table and a chair，and that was my next job.
I had to work on them for a long time.
I also wanted to make places to put all my food，and all my tools and guns.
But every time I wanted a piece of wood，I had to cut down a tree.
It was long，slow，difficult work，
And during the next months I learnt to be very clever with my tools.
There was no hurry.I had all the time in the world.
I also went out every day，and I always had my gun with me.
Sometimes I killed a wild animal，and then I had meat to eat.
But when it got dark，I had to go to bed because I had no light.
I couldn't read or write because I couldn't see.
For a long time，I didn't know what to do.
But in the end，I learnt how to use the fat of dead animals to make a light.
The weather on my island was usually very hot，
And there were often storms and heavy rain.
The next June，it rained all the time，and I couldn't go out very often.
I was also ill for some weeks，but slowly，I got better.
When I was stronger，I began to go out again.
The first time I killed a wild animal，and the second time I caught a big turtle.
I was on the island for ten months before I visited other parts of it.
During those months I worked hard on my cave and my house and my fence.
Now I was ready to find out more about the rest of the island.
First，I walked along the side of a little river.
There，I found open ground without trees.
Later，I came to more trees with many different fruits.
I decided to take a lot of the fruit，and to put it to dry in the sun for a time.
Then I could keep it for many months.
That night I went to sleep in a tree for the second time，
And the next day I went on with my journey.
Soon I came to an opening in the hills.
In front of me，everything was green，and there were flowers everywhere.
There were also a lot of different birds and animals.
I saw that my house was on the worst side of the island.
But I didn't want to move from there.It was my home now.
I stayed away for three days，and then I came home.
But I often went back to the other，greener side of the island.
And so my life went on.Every month I learnt to do or to make something new.
But I had troubles and accidents too.
Once there was a terrible storm with very heavy rain.
The roof of my cave fell in，and nearly killed me！
I had to build it up again with many pieces of wood.
I had a lot of food now.I cooked it over a fire or dried it in the sun.
So I always had meat during the rainy months when I could not go out with a gun.
I learnt to make pots to keep my food in.
But I wanted very much to make a harder，stronger pot—
A pot that would not break in a fire.I tried many times，but I could not do it.
Then one day I was lucky.I made some new pots and put them in a very hot fire.
They changed colour，but did not break.
I left them there for many hours，and when they were cold again，
I found that they were hard and strong.That night I was very happy.
I had hot water for the first time on the island.
By then，I also had my own bread.That was luck，too.
One day I found a little bag.We used it on the ship，to keep the chickens'food in.
There was still some of the food in the bag，
And I dropped some of it onto the ground.
A month later I saw something bright green there，
And after six months I had a very small field of corn.
I was very excited.Perhaps now I could make my own bread！
It was easy to say，but not so easy to do.
It is a lot of work to make bread from corn.
Many people eat bread，but how many people can take corn from a field
And make bread out of it without help？
I had to learn and to make many new things，
And it was a year before I cooked and ate my first bread.
During all this time I never stopped thinking about escape.
When I travelled across to the other side of the island，
I could see the other islands，and I said to myself，
'Perhaps I can get there with a boat.Perhaps I can get back to England one day.'
So I decided to make myself a boat.
I cut down a big tree，and then began to make a long hole in it.
It was hard work，but about six months later，I had a very fine canoe.
Next，I had to get it down to the sea.How stupid I was！
Why didn't I think before I began work？
Of course，the canoe was too heavy.I couldn't move it！
I pulled and pushed and tried everything，but it didn't move.
I was very unhappy for a long time after that.
That happened in my fourth year on the island.
In my sixth year I did make myself a smaller canoe，but I did not try to escape in it.
The boat was too small for a long journey，and I did not want to die at sea.
The island was my home now，not my prison，and I was just happy to be alive.
A year or two later，I made myself a second canoe on the other side of the island.
I also built myself a second house there，and so I had two homes.
My life was still busy from morning to night.
There were always things to do or to make.
I learnt to make new clothes for myself from the skins of dead animals.
They looked very strange，it is true，but they kept me dry in the rain.
I kept food and tools at both my houses，and also wild goats.
There were many goats on the island，
And I made fields with high fences to keep them in.
They learnt to take food from me，and soon I had goat's milk to drink every day.
I also worked hard in my cornfields.And so many years went by.