Refreshed and with renewed strength, Robinson awoke late the next
morning, but he had a bad headache. The day before the hot tropic sun
had beat down on his bare head, as he worked at his cave. He was so
busy that he forgot to go into the shade from time to time in order
to shield himself from the scorching sunshine. He felt a new need.

"I must make me a hat," said Robinson to himself. "But how?" He had
no straw, no thread and no needle. He looked around for a long time,
but found nothing. The sun mounted even higher in the heavens, and
shone hotter and hotter. He went to seek shelter at last in the deep
shade of a nearby tall plant.

As he stood there he examined the plant more carefully. "Out of these
leaves," he said, "I might make a hat." He climbed up the short stem
of the plant and saw that it had not only leaves as long as himself,
but between the leaves were big bunches of long, thin fruit, as thick
as three fingers and similar in shape to a cucumber.

He plucked the leaves and fruit and was about to eat some of the fruit
when he heard near him a light stir as of some animal. He rolled the
leaves and fruit together and hastened back to the cave.

[Illustration: THE BANANA TREE]

The bananas, for that is what the fruit proved to be, were sweet and
refreshing. After he had eaten enough he set immediately about making
his hat. He broke off a couple of reeds. He bent one into a hoop. But
the hoop would not hold without thread. Sometimes it was too large