12. I saved the grain (谷物) carefully and finally had enough to plant. I built a wall around my garden to keep the wild goats (山羊) away.
Then when my grain bore its fruit (结果), the birds discovered it. The birds were not afraid of my dog at all. I shot them but as soon as I walked away, they returned. At last, I killed some birds and hung them among the grain, which turned out to be successful. No more birds came again. By harvest time, I got some rice and wheat.
With my new grain to keep, I found
a new problem. The fine grain ran through my baskets. It took me nearly two months to make and dry two ugly pots (罐子)—one for rice and one for wheat.
Next I made a clay oven and made some other tools from hard wood and cloth to bake (烘, 烤) bread. I made and baked bread in my oven. I spent the third year on the island in farming and baking.
Soon after that, I began to think of my days sailing (航海) in a tidy boat. I wished to have a boat and go around the island by sea.
I tried to turn over the boat, but failed. I still wanted to have a boat. So I chose a strong tree and spent weeks cutting it down. Then it took me months to turn it from tree to boat.
When it was time to set out, I realized I had made my boat too far from the nearest river. The boat was far too heavy for me to move. I tried bringing the water to the boat instead of the boat to the water. I soon saw it would take me twenty years of work.
I celebrated my fourth year on the island with two boats, but
I was no closer to a sea journey. — Adapted from
The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe