152 OUR HUMBLE HELPERS 



That will be our dinner, which will beguile our hun- 

 ger for a while without satisfying it. ' ' 



"I should think so," exclaimed Emile. "Ber- 

 ries and sloes, and nothing else a sorry feast! 

 I 'd rather have a crust of bread, no matter how 

 hard." 



"So had I. But the crust of bread means culti- 

 vated fields, the husbandman, the harvester, the 

 miller, and the baker; it presupposes an advanced 

 civilization, whereas we are in a wilderness. We 

 must do without the crust of bread. If, however, 

 you find something better than berries and sloes, I 

 will gladly give up the detestable fruit. ' ' 



"Since the woods where you suppose us to be," 

 said Jules, "are full of all sorts of animals, there 

 ought to be game in abundance. ' ' 



6 ' Yes, indeed, game is there in plenty. ' ' 



"Well, then; let us hunt it, and then we will light 

 a fire and I will see to roasting what we have got. 

 That will be much better than horrid sloes, sour 

 enough to set your teeth on edge. ' ' 



"That is a good idea, but I see two great diffi- 

 culties : first, we must catch the game ; secondly, we 

 must make a fire." 



"Making a fire is the easiest thing in the world," 

 Emile declared. ' ' All we need is a match, as long as 

 there is plenty of wood. ' ' 



"You forget, my friend, that there are no matches. 

 We have nothing, absolutely nothing. ' ' 



"That is true. What shall we do, then? If I re- 

 member right, Eobinson Crusoe too had no end of 



