[Robinson Crusoe has saved a young savage from cannibals who had brought him to Crusoe"s island. So, after many years of loneliness, Crusoe now has a companion, whom he calls Friday. At this part of the story he has just shot a young goat, and Friday, who knows nothing about guns, is very frightened by what he thinks must be magic.]
I soon found a way to convince him that I would do him no harm, and, taking him up by the hand, laughed at him, and, pointing to the kid which I had killed, beckoned to him to run and fetch it, which he did; and, while he was wondering and looking to see how the creature was killed, I loaded my gun again, and by and by I saw a great fowl like a hawk sit upon a tree within shot; so, to let Friday understand a little what I would do, I called him to me again, pointing at the fowl, which was indeed a parrot, though I thought it had been a hawk. I say, pointing to the parrot, and to my gun, and to the ground under the parrot, to let him see I would make it fall, I made him understand that I would shoot and kill that bird. Accordingly, I fired, and bade him look, and immediately he saw the parrot fall.
He stood like one frighted again, notwithstanding all I had said to him; and I found he was the more amazed because he did not see me put anything into the gun, but thought that there must be some wonderful fund of death and destruction in that thing, able to kill man, beast, bird, or anything, near or far off; and the astonishment thus created in him was such as could not wear off for a long time; and I believe, if I would have let him, he would have worshipped me and my gun! As for the gun itself, he would not so much as touch it for several days after; but would speak to it as if it had answered him, when he was by himself; which, as I afterwards learned of him, was to desire it not to kill him.
Drawn by R.C.Fricke
"While he was wondering.... I loaded my sun again."Well, after his astonishment was a little over at this, I pointed to him to run and fetch the bird I had shot; whichhe did, but stayed some time; for the parrot, not being quite dead, was fluttered a good way off from the place where she fell; however, he found her, took her up, and brought her to me; and, as I had perceived his ignorance about the gun before, I took this advantage to charge the gun again, and not let him see me do it, that I might be ready for any other mark that might present. But nothing more offered at that time; so I brought home the kid, and the same evening I took the skin off, and cut it out as well as I could; and having a pot for that purpose, I boiled or stewed some of the flesh, and made some very good broth; and, after I had begun to eat some, I gave some to my man, who seemed very glad of it, and liked it very well. But that which was strangest to him was to see me eat salt with it. He made a sign to me that the salt was not good to eat, and putting a little into his own mouth he seemed to nauseate it, and would spit and sputter at it, washing his mouth with fresh water after it. On the other hand, I took some meat in my mouth without salt, and I pretended to spit and sputter for want of salt as fast as he had done at the salt. But it would not do, he would never care for salt with his meat, or in his broth; at least, not for a great while, and then but a very little.
Having thus fed him with boiled meat and broth, I was resolved to feast him the next day with roasting a piece of the kid. This I did by hanging it before the fire on a string,as I had seen many people do in England, setting two poles up, one on each side the fire, and one cross on the top, and tying the string to the cross-stick, letting the meat turn continually. This Friday admired very much; but, when he came to taste the flesh, he took so many ways to tell me how well he liked it, that I could not but understand him; and at last he told me he would never eat man"s flesh any more- which I was very glad to hear.
The next day I set him to work at beating some corn out, and sifting it in the manner I used to do, as I observed before; and he soon understood how to do it as well as I, especially after he had seen what the meaning of it was, and that it was to make bread of: for after that I let him see me make my bread, and bake it too, and in a little while Friday was able to do all the work for me as well as I could do it myself.
I began now to consider that, having two mouths to feed instead of one, I must provide more ground for my harvest, and plant a larger quantity of corn than I used to do; so I marked out a larger piece of land, and began the fence in the same manner as before; in which Friday not only worked very willingly and very hard, but did it very cheerfully. And I told him what it was for; that it was for corn to make more bread, because he was now with me, and that I might have enough for him and myself too. He appeared very sensibleof that part, and let me know that he thought I had much more labour upon me on his account than I had for myself; and that he would work the harder for me, if I would tell him what to do.
I was greatly delighted with him, and made it my business to teach him everything that was proper to make him useful, handy, and helpful; but, first of all, to make him speak, and understand me when I spake; and he was a good scholar, and so merry, so diligent, and so pleased when he could but understand me, or make me understand him, that it was very pleasant to me to talk to him.
This was the pleasantest year of all the life I led in this place. Friday began to talk pretty well, and understand the names of almost everything I had occasion to call for, and of every place I had to send him to, and talk a great deal to me; so that, in short, I began now to have some use for my tongue again, which indeed I had very little occasion for before-that is to say, about speech. Besides the pleasure of talking to him, I had a singular satisfaction in the fellow himself. His simple, unfeigned honesty appeared to me more and more every day, and I began really to love the creature; and, on his side, I believe he loved me more than it was possible for him ever to love anything before.