beasts of prey on it to kill or hurt me. God has sent the ship so
near to me, that I have got from it all things to meet my wants
for the rest of my days. Let life be what it may, there is sure
to be much to thank God for; and I soon gave up all dull
thoughts, and did not so much as look out for a sail.

My goods from the wreck had been in the cave for more than ten
months; and it was time now to put them right, as they took up
all the space, and left me no room to turn in: so I made my small
cave a large one, and dug it out a long way back in the sand
rock. Then I brought the mouth of it up to the fence, and so made
a back way to my house. This done, I put shelves on each side, to
hold my goods, which made my cave look like a shop full of
stores. To make these shelves I cut down a tree, and with the
help of a saw, an axe, a plane, and some more tools, I made
boards.

A chair, and a desk to write on, came next. I rose in good time,
and set to work till noon, then I ate my meal, then I went out
with my gun, and to work once more till the sun had set; and then
to bed. It took me more than a week to change the shape and size
of my cave, but I had made it far too large; for in course of
time the earth fell in from the roof; and had I been in it, when
this took place, I should have lost my life. I had now to set up
posts in my cave, with planks on the top of them, so as to make a
roof of wood.

One day, when out with my gun, I shot a wild cat, the skin of
which made me a cap; and I found some birds of the dove tribe,
which built their nests in the holes of rocks.