Chapter One. "A New Life."

My name is Robinson Crusoe and I want to tell you about my life. My father was German but came to live and work in Hull, England. He made lots of money with his business and bought a nice house. Then, he met my mother. She came from a good English family called Robinson, and soon they were husband and wife. I came into this world in 1632. Now they had three sons and they called me Robinson. At that time, my family name was ‘Kreutznaer'. After many years in England, everybody started to call us ‘Crusoe'.

My first brother died and nobody knows anything about my other brother. He went out one day and never came back. My father was very old. He often asked:

‘Robinson, my son, will you stay here, please and find a job near home?'

Every time he asked, I didn't answer. My father understood that I wanted to leave my town. He was very sad. I was a good student but I wanted to stop studying and see the world. I didn't want a job at a desk. I wanted to travel the seas and make lots of money.

My father said: ‘Robinson, please don't go!'

My mother said: ‘Robinson, don't leave your father and I!'

My friends said: ‘Robinson, stay here, where you're safe!'

Did I listen to them? No! It was my life and I wanted to live it!

One morning, my father called me to his room. He was in bed because he wasn't very well. I was only eighteen at the time. I looked at his tired, sad eyes and felt sorry. Again, he asked me to stay at home.

‘You don't have to travel the seas to make money,' he said. ‘I'll help you find a good job. You'll have a great life here.'

‘But father,' I said, ‘it's not only for the money. I want to see the world. Can't you understand? I love you and mother, but I have to do this.'

‘But you'll have a hard life, my boy. Your life here now, is easy. You aren't rich but you aren't poor. You've got all you need.'

‘I know, but I need more,' I answered.

On 1st September 1651, I left Hull to go to London on my friend's ship. I didn't tell my parents. There was a lot of wind and the ship went up and down, up and down. I didn't feel very well. I wanted to go home but I couldn't. I remembered my mother and father and felt sad.

The morning after the storm, the weather was good. I forgot the difficult night before and started to enjoy my first voyage. I was excited about seeing London. Then, there was a storm again.

‘Robinson,' said my friend, ‘we have to leave the ship, it's going down! Come with me. There's a small boat we can use!'

With the small boat, we got to Yarmouth. Here, my friend's father said to me:

‘Young man, don't go to sea again, please! After two storms on your first voyage, can't you see it isn't the life for you? We don't want to travel with you again!'

I didn't answer him. I was sorry, but I wanted to go to London. I had some money and travelled to London by road. I stayed there some time and waited for a new voyage.

This time I travelled on a ship to Africa. The captain was my friend, and I enjoyed talking to him.

He taught me lots about ships, and I was happy to learn these things. This voyage went very well.

In Africa, the people bought some small things from me, so I came back to London with some money. I stayed in London for two or three months, because my friend, the captain, died. One of his friends had a ship, so we left for Africa together. Before I left, I gave the captain's wife some of my money. I also took some money with me on the voyage. But we didn't get to Africa because pirates came and took our ship and all our money. Now, we had nothing. The captain of the pirates took me to his home in Sallee, North Africa, to be his slave because I was young and could work hard. I thought of my father and mother and wanted to go home; I couldn't. I didn't know that this was only the first of many problems to come.

The captain of the pirates didn't take me on his voyages. He left me at home to work in his garden and in the house. It was all very boring for me. When he came home from his voyages, I had to stay on the ship and clean it. Every evening, I thought about my difficult life and how much I wanted to go home.

After about two years, the captain of the pirates stayed at home all the time because he had no money for his voyages. He liked catching fish and went out in his small boat every week. He often took me and a young boy called Xury, with him.

One morning, we went to catch some fish. The weather was good when we left. Then, two hours later, a storm started. Before the storm, we could see the beach. After the storm, there was only the sea. It was difficult to get back to the beach and we didn't get home till late in the evening. From that day, the captain of the pirates stayed at home. When he wanted some fish, he sent me and Xury with one of his friends. One day, he invited some friends for dinner. That morning he told me:

‘Go and get some fish for me. Use the big boat. My friend will go with you and Xury. Take some water and biscuits too.'

I started to think: a big boat, water, biscuits… with these things, was it possible for me to leave and never come back? I began to think about the things I needed for a long voyage. I found some tools and put them in the boat.

We left early in the morning. There was a good wind and the boat went fast. We stopped to catch some fish. I called the captain's friend.

‘Look at this big fish!' I said.

He came to see and looked into the water. I was behind him. I kicked him. The next minute, he was in the water below.

‘Help! Help!' he said.

I looked at Xury. He looked at me and we were both happy. I was free! The captain's friend swam well, but he couldn't catch us, so he swam to the beach. We never saw him again. I was so happy and excited. Xury was surprised.

I said, ‘Xury, I'll take you with me, but you must be good and help me.'

‘Don't worry, I'll work hard for you,' said Xury.

We travelled for five days. Then one evening, we came to a little river. I wanted to look for water to drink, and waited until it was night. But then we heard the noise of animals, so we waited until morning. The animals came and swam near us. I didn't know what kind of animals they were. They were very big and there was a lot of noise. We didn't sleep that night. Morning came and Xury said:

‘I'll go and look for water. Stay here on the boat where it's safe.'

‘You're a good boy, but no, we'll go together,' I said.

We found clean water and didn't see any big animals. I didn't know what country we were in, only that it was Africa. We didn't meet any people, so we went back to our boat to start our voyage again. We travelled for 12 days and stopped sometimes for water. By day, we saw nothing and nobody. By night, we heard the noise of the animals. We didn't have many biscuits and I started to worry. Then, one afternoon, Xury said:

‘Look! A big ship!'

‘Hurrah!' I said, ‘We're safe!'

It was a Portuguese ship. They took us on their ship and gave us food and water. I said I was an Englishman. I told them about the captain of the pirates. I also told them about my life when I was a slave and who Xury was.

‘You're safe now, my friend,' said the Portuguese captain. ‘You can travel with us. We're going to Brazil.'

‘But I haven't got money to pay for the voyage,' I said.

‘Don't worry, I don't want any money,' said the captain.

‘Thank you, my friend,' I said.

The captain bought my boat from me and gave me money for Xury too. I was sorry for this, but I needed the money.

‘Don't worry,' said the captain. ‘The boy will be free after ten years with me.'

The voyage was fine and we got to Brazil after twenty-two days. In Brazil, a lot of people were rich because they had sugar plantations. I bought a plantation and started to make sugar. It was a hard life and there weren't any houses with families near me. I had nobody to talk to. Sometimes, I thought my plantation was a desert island and I felt sad. I stayed there for four years. Each year, I made a lot of sugar from my plantation and I now had a slave to help me with the work. But, I was bored and wanted to travel again. Eh? I hear you ask. What can I say? I was young… too young. Some other men had plantations. They wanted slaves to work on them.

‘I'll go to Africa to get the slaves,' I said. ‘Can you work on my plantation for me? I'll be back soon.'

They all said yes. I left on 1st September 1659. I was so happy to be on a ship again! I felt free!

At first, the weather was good. Then, there was a big storm for twelve days. The wind and rain drove our ship into the sand at the bottom of the sea, where it stopped. Eleven of us went into a small boat. It was early morning. A big wave came. I was in the water. I thought it was time to die, but I swam and swam. I closed my eyes… then… I was on a beach! A beach! I opened my eyes. I was safe!