The Children's Hour, v 5. Stories From Seven Old FavoritesTappan, Eva March
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The Children's Hour, v 5. Stories From Seven Old Favorites
Tappan, Eva March
Children's stories; Literature -- Adaptations
In the interval of time while this was doing, I went out once, at
least, every day with my gun, as well to divert myself as to see if I
could kill anything fit for food, and as near as I could to acquaint
myself with what the island produced. The first time I went out, I
presently discovered that there were goats in the island, which was a
great satisfaction to me; but then it was attended with this
misfortune to me, viz., that they were so shy, so subtle, and so swift
of foot that it was the difficultest thing in the world to come at
them. But I was not discouraged at this, not doubting but I might now
and then shoot one, as it soon happened; for after I had found their
haunts a little, I laid wait in this manner for them. I observed if
they saw me in the valleys, though they were upon the rocks, they
would run away as in a terrible fright; but if they were feeding in
the valleys, and I was upon the rocks, they took no notice of me, from
whence I concluded that, by the position of their optics, their sight
was so directed downward that they did not readily see objects that
were above them. So afterward I took this method: I always climbed the
rocks first to get above them, and then had frequently a fair mark.
The first shot I made among these creatures I killed a she-goat, which
had a little kid by her, which she gave suck to, which grieved me
heartily; but when the old one fell, the kid stood stock still by her
till I came and took her up; and not only so, but when I carried the
old one with me upon my shoulders, the kid followed me quite to my
enclosure; upon which I laid down the dam, and took the kid in my
arms, and carried it over my pale, in hopes to have bred it up tame;
but it would not eat, so I was forced to kill it, and eat it myself.
These two supplied me with flesh a great while, for I eat sparingly,
and saved my provisions, my bread especially, as much as possibly I
could.
Having now fixed my habitation, I found it absolutely necessary to
provide a place to make a fire in, and fuel to burn; and what I did
for that, as also how I enlarged my cave, and what conveniences I
made, I shall give a full account of in its place. But I must first
give some little account of myself, and of my thoughts about living,
which it may well be supposed were not a few.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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