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 island. The ship was destroyed by angry waves. The whole crew and captain need to find a shore. But only the Robinson family survived in the wrecked ship. They built a sort of raft big enough for the family. The next day, the children (Fritz, Ernest, Jack and Frank) explore the ship, find useful things and animals and they make a boat.
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss is a story about a family who are shipwrecked on an island. The ship was destroyed by angry waves. The whole crew and captain need to find a shore. But only the Robinson family survived in the wrecked ship. They built a sort of raft big enough for the family. The next day, the children (Fritz, Ernest, Jack and Frank) explore the ship, find useful things and animals and they make a boat.
They make a tent with sailcloth and beds with grass. They find a variety of plants, sugar cane, coconuts and gourds in the island. Father and Fritz spend two nights on the ship collecting more things. Mum finds a perfect spot across a river for a new house. There are huge trees and it is cool so she thinks of a tree house. The children help Dad to make a rope ladder with bamboo steps.
On their second journey to the ship, the Robinsons bring plants and objects which will help them on the island. Now they have to build a hut for the tools and for the animals. The Robinsons start work in their garden very early. They need bamboo to protect their garden and to make huts for their animals.
In winter, life on the island is very harsh: the rain never stops and the family is always wet. The house on the tree is no longer as comfortable as before and there is little food left so they have to kill a few of their animals. The family has a very bad time. Winter is over and the family looks for a cave to live in; they don't want to go through the same experience next winter. They find a suitable cave full of salt.
Years go by and the children grow older. Fritz wants to visit the parts of the island he has never explored so he builds himself a canoe. In his exploratory journey, Fritz finds pearl bearing oysters, which will make them rich and another shipwrecked person who has been stranded for a year on a small island nearby. One day, a ship comes to rescue Jenny.
In the end, two of them, Fritz and Jenny, leave the island, but the rest of the family decide to stay.
The idea for the story was clearly taken from the earlier classic, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. The author pays tribute to his source in the title of his own book.
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