CHAPTER 11 – BOOK

Then I started to make some furniture. I needed a chair and a table very much. I used the boards from my rafts and the ship to make them. Next, I made shelves inside the cave. I arranged my tools on them. My clothes and guns were hanging there as well.

I was very pleased with my work. The cave was comfortable, everything was in order and I could easily find whatever I needed.

I decided to write a book. I wanted to describe my daily activities in it. It did me good to put my thoughts to paper. I started by writing down my experiences from the very first day on the island. When I got to the present, I continued describing interesting or important events in my life on the island.

I decided to make a schedule to organize my time better. Every morning I walked for a few hours. Then I worked until noon. I had lunch and I slept after lunch for two hours. Then I continued working until the evening.

I was expanding my cave with the tools I had.

I needed to make the cave big enough as it was going to be my kitchen, living room, bedroom and cellar all at once.

When I almost finished my cave, a great quantity of earth fell down from one side. I was scared because this could have killed me if I was in the cave at that time. Afterwards I had a lot of work to clean the cave.

The next week I spent putting long boards on the sides and also on the ceiling of the cave. I wanted to avoid such disaster from happening again.

Little by little I began arranging the furniture in my new home.

The next three days the weather was bad. It was raining day and night, but it was still warm, so I continued with my tasks inside. It was never cold on the island. It was good for me.

At the end of December I killed a goat. I also hurt another one. Its leg was broken, so I took the goat home on a string and took care of it.

After two weeks the goat wasn’t scared. This event made me consider keeping animals, so I could provide food for myself when the gunpowder was finished.

I explored the island and I found more goats in the valleys in the centre of the island. The animals were very shy, which made it difficult to approach them.

I wanted to try to domesticate some goats. I only needed an opportunity to do it. I had a plan. I returned with my dog the next day. He was my hunting partner.

I told my dog, “Sit down. Wait. Don’t move.” Then I went around the goats but in a big distance. When the goats were between me and my dog, I hid behind a tree. Then I shouted at my dog, “Come here.” He started to run to me and the goats too.

WORDS FROM CHAPTER 11