The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss

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The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss is a story about a family who are shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. The ship was being tossed by angry waves. The whole crew and captain had deserted their ship only to perish to the sea. The only ones remaining on board was the Robinson family. When the storm was over, they discussed about how to get to shore. After much thinking, they built a sort of raft big enough for the family of six, taking with them things that could be of use. Once on shore, they began to search for food and made up somewhere to sleep. The next day, Father and the eldest son, Fritz, went into the forest to explore the island further. They found food like sugar cane, potatoes, and figs. Father, Fritz and two other sons, Ernest and Jack, built a sort of tree house for the family to sleep. Father and Fritz went back to the wreck for supplies and took with them all the animals they had left on board. The two dogs, which they named Juno and Turk, would be guard dogs, the cow would be good for milk, the sheep for wool, the donkey for travel and the chickens for eggs. The family soon learned that there were other animals on land for they had to hunt for food. There were penguins, lobsters, oysters, agouti, monkeys, and jackals. Fritz took a baby monkey and named him Knips and Jack took a young jackal, who he named Fangs. Mother planted roots for lemon, apple, and pear trees. The more the Robinsons explored the woods, the more they found things that would make life easier. They soon discovered some kind of wax berries which they melted and made into candles. They even found a huge salt cavern! The cavern was big enough for them and their supplies, so they moved in, for the rainy season was coming fast. They built stables for their animals, a canoe, and a loom for Mother. The Robinsons were very creative. They made the worst situation into something good and before they knew it, they had spent ten years living on that deserted island! They knew the island like the back of their own hands and Father and Mother watched their sons grow into manhood, as they too got older.

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