To my great joy
I knelt down
The branches grew very close together
With my pocket knife
It was now quite dark
It seemed so good to be on dry land
around [@'raund], without [wI'D@ut], thought [TO:t], almost ['O:lm@ust], wild ['waIld], child ['tSaIld], [bi:st], stood [stu:d], alone [@'l@un], branch [brA:ntS], walk [wO:k], among [@'mVN], knelt [nelt], thirsty ['T@:stI], climb ['klaIm], danger ['deIndZ@], weapon ['wep@n], quite ['kwaIt], sound ['saund]
IT was now late in the afternoon. The sun was shining in the bright sky. The storm was at an end. I began to look around me, to see what kind of place I was in. "Where shall I go?" I asked myself. "What shall I do?"
My clothes were still wet. I could dry them only by sitting in the sun.
I had nothing to eat or drink.
I had nothing about me but a knife, a pipe, and a little tobacco.
How could I live on this strange shore without shelter and without food?
The thought of this made me almost wild. I ran this way and that, like a madman.
Then I sat down and cried like a child.
I never felt so lonely as at that moment. I never felt so helpless and lost.
Soon I saw that night was coming on.
I thought: "What if there are wild beasts in the woods? They will come out in the darkness and find me here. And then how can I save myself from them?"
A little way from the shore I saw a tree. It stood all alone, with no other trees near it.
It was thick and bushy, with long thorns on its branches.
I walked out to look at it.
To my great joy I found a spring of fresh water bubbling out from among its roots.
I knelt down and took a long drink, for I was very thirsty. Then I climbed up into the tree.
The branches grew very close together. I found a place where I could rest, half sitting and half lying, with no danger of falling.
With my pocket knife I cut a strong stick about two feet long. This would be my weapon if any beast should find me in the night.
It was now quite dark. The only sound that I could hear was that of the waves breaking against the shore.