But how was I to move it three hundred feet, or even one foot
I thought of several plans
What could I do but leave it in the woods where it lay
How foolish I had been
The wise man will always look before he leaps
I went back to my castle
Why should I be discontented and unhappy
I was the master of all that I saw
I had all the comforts of life
I had food in plenty
I might raise shiploads of grain
I had thousands of trees for timber and fuel
I counted the money which I had brought from the ship
I would have given all for a handful of peas or beans to plant
escape [Is'keIp], reach [ri:tS], distant ['dIst(@)nt], danger ['deIndZ@], enough [I'nVf], canoe [k@'nu:], chisel ['tSIz(@)l], discontented [,dIsk@n'tentId], market ['mA:kIt], fuel ['fju:@l]
WHILE I was doing these things I was always trying to think of some way to escape from the island. True, I was living there with much comfort. I was happier than I had ever been while sailing the seas.
But I longed to see other men. I longed for home and friends.
You will remember that when I was over at the farther side of the island I had seen land in the distance. Fifty or sixty miles of water lay between me and that land. Yet I was always wishing that I could reach it.
It was a foolish wish. For there was no telling what I might find on that distant shore.
Perhaps it was a far worse place than my little island. Perhaps there were savage beasts there. Perhaps wild men lived there who would kill me and eat me.
I thought of all these things; but I was willing to risk every kind of danger rather than stay where I was.
At last I made up my mind to build a boat. It should be large enough to carry me and all that belonged to me. It should be strong enough to stand a long voyage over stormy seas.
I had seen the great canoes which Indians sometimes make of the trunks of trees. I would make one of the same kind.