Chapter 20 Another Misadventure For the next five years I prospered on my little island.
My harvests were successful.
I explored the island little by little.
Shippy and Paul were great pets.
There was plenty of food from my fruit trees.
The hunting always went well.
Now.
It might have been foolish, but I made another boat during this time and I learned from my mistakes.
Instead of choosing a tree from the middle of the forest, I found one closer to the beach.
It took me many months to carve out the canoe properly.
When I was done, I got it to the water by putting logs underneath and rolling it along.
Once I knew for sure it would float, I made a small mast and sail.
Now, instead of walking for miles and miles to the other side of the island, I could travel by boat.
My heart still craved adventure, so I set off with enough supplies to last a couple of days.
I took some food, wore my hat, and carried my umbrella.
The little boat sailed nicely to the other side of the island.
I used the small anchor I had saved from the big ship and went on shore to explore.
I camped outside for two full days.
Once I knew the landscape, I made my way back to my boat.
Off I went to sail back home.
Instead of going back the way I came, I decided to go the other way around.
Shortly after I started, the currents picked up.
The water started to carry me right out to sea.
Rowing didn't seem to make a difference.
The wind blew hard and I was transported even farther away.
My little island disappeared in the distance.
"'Oh no!'
I cried.
"'Why me?
Why again?
What can I do?
Where am I going?'
Shippy noticed my panic.
He barked and barked.
All I wanted was to get back home.
My camp was heaven compared to being shipwrecked or lost at sea.
I took the mast and sailed down to see if that would help, but the boat was still stuck in the current.
The only thing I could do was wait.
I threw my hands in the air and watched as the sun made its route across my island.
Once it became afternoon, the wind changed.
It started to blow north.
This gave me a bit of hope.
I quickly got the mast and sail back up.
Nothing but hard work made the boat move out of the current.
I had never sailed so hard in my life.
The boat swayed a bit, back and forth, back and forth.
Then I decided to start rowing too.
After almost an hour, the boat finally turned around and headed back toward the island.
By the time I got back to my side of the island, the sun was setting.
I needed to make it back to shore before the light disappeared completely.
Instead of trying to get back to the river where I first rafted in my supplies from the boat, I decided to stop in a little cove just before night fell.
Thankfully, the water was calm, and I rowed my boat to shore.
Now it was pitch black.
I tied up the boat and decided to camp out for the night.
Up a tree I went and tried to go to sleep.
I miss my hammock.
I grumbled to myself as I tried to get comfortable.
The next morning, I rowed the boat very carefully to a small inlet closer to my camp.
I was very tired when I got home.
Oh, precious walls.
Oh, wonderful fence.
I didn't even take off my hat when I went inside.
I just climbed right into my hammock and fell asleep.
My arms and legs ached.
My mind was completely exhausted.
I heard a strange voice call out in my sleep.
Robinson Crusoe, it said.
Robinson Crusoe.
Where were you?
How did you get here?
Was I being rescued?
Had someone finally come to get me?
I opened one eye and saw Paul perched on my chest.
It was only the parrot.
Oh, Paul, I said as I rolled over and went back to sleep.
It's good to be home.
The feeling of being lost at sea stayed with me for the next few days.
I was so scared.
I could have lost everything.
No, I thought.
No more sailing.
It's not worth the risk.
