was well that Robinson had learned to climb while on board the ship.
He quickly laid down his hunting bag and clambered up the smooth stem
of the high tree, a palm. He picked off a nut and threw it down and
then several more, and climbed down again.

But the nuts were very hard. How should he open them? He had brought
along his sharp stone with which he had stripped off the inner bark.
With this he forced off the thick outer shell. But now came the hard
nut within, and how hard it was! Striking it was of no use.

Then he threw a great stone on the nut. The shell was crushed and a
snow-white kernel lay before him. It tasted like almond. With
astonishment Robinson saw in the middle of the nut a large empty space
which must have been filled with fluid as the inside was wet. He
wished that he had the juice to drink, for he was very thirsty. With
this in view, he examined another and riper nut, and the outside came
off more easily. But how could he break it and at the same time save
the juice? He studied the hull of the cocoanut on all sides. At the
ends were three little hollows. He attempted first to bore in with
his fingers, but he could not. "Hold!" he cried. "Maybe I can cut them
there with the point of my stone knife." This was done without trouble
and out of the hole flowed the sweet, white juice.

Robinson put a couple of nuts in his hunting bag, and also the shells
from the broken nuts. "Now," he thought, "I shall no longer have to
drink from my hand." With this thought he went on his way.

As Robinson came to a rock in his path, out jumped what Robinson took
to be a rabbit. He ran after him to catch him, but the rabbit was much
the swifter. So Robinson hastened home, but before he reached it the