Английский язык с Робинзоном Крузо

did it matter?

I have already told you about the shovel which I made from a piece of hard wood.

Next to the shovel I needed a pickax most of all.

Among the many things that I had saved from the wreck, I found an old crowbar.

This I heated in the fire until it was almost white hot.

I then found that I could bend it quite easily. Little by little I shaped it until I had

made quite a good pickax of it. Of course, it was heavy and not at all pretty. But who

would look for beauty in a pickax?

Мультиязыковой проект Ильи Франка www

. f ranklang . r u

98

I at first felt the need of some light baskets in which to carry my fruit and grain.

So I began to study how baskets are made.

It was not until I had searched almost every nook on the island that I found some

long slender twigs that would bend to make wicker ware. Then I [73] spent many an hour

learning how to weave these twigs together and shape them into the form of a basket.

In the end, however, I was able to make as good baskets as were ever bought in

the market.

I had quite a goodly number of edge tools. Among these there were three large

axes and a great store of hatchets; for you will remember that we carried hatchets to trade

with the savages. I had also many knives.

But all these became very dull with use. I had saved a grindstone from the wreck,

but I could not turn it and grind my tools at the same time.

I studied hard to overcome this difficulty. At last, I managed to fasten a string to

the crank of the grindstone in such a way that I could turn it with my foot.

My tools were soon sharp, and I kept them so.

I BECOME A POTTER (становлюсь гончаром)

WHEN it came to making bread (когда предстояло делать хлеб), I found that I

needed several vessels (несколько сосудов). In fact, I needed them in many ways (на

деле, они нужны были мне по многим причинам).

Мультиязыковой проект Ильи Франка www

. f ranklang . r u

99

It would be hard to make wooden vessels (было бы тяжело делать деревянные

сосуды). Of course it was out of the question to make vessels of iron or any other metal

(конечно, не стояло вопроса = было совершенно невозможно сделать сосуды из

железа или любого другого металла). But why might I not make some earthen vessels

(но почему не мог я сделать несколько глиняных сосудов)?

If I could find some good clay (если бы я смог найти хорошую глину), I felt

quite sure that I could make pots strong enough to be of use (я чувствовал полную

уверенность, что я смогу делать горшки достаточно крепкими, чтобы быть

годными к использованию, полезными).

After much trouble I found the clay. The next thing was to shape it into pots or

jars (придать форму горшков или кувшинов).

You would have laughed to see the first things I tried to make (вы бы

посмеялись, увидев первые вещи, которые я сделал). How ugly they were (какими

уродливыми они были)!

Some of them fell in pieces of their own weight (некоторые их них распадались

на кусочки от собственного веса). Some of them fell in pieces when I tried to lift them

(когда я пытался поднять их).

They were of all shapes and sizes (всех форм и размеров).

After I had worked two months I had only two large jars (после того, как я

проработал два месяца, у меня было только два больших кувшина) that were fit to

look at (на которые можно было смотреть; fit — подходящий, подобающий). These I

Мультиязыковой проект Ильи Франка www

. f ranklang . r u

100

used for holding my rice and barley meal (их я использовал для хранения рисовой и

ячменной еды).

Then I tried some smaller things, and did quite well (попытался /сделать/

несколько более мелких вещей, и сделал довольно хорошо).

I made some plates (тарелок), a pitcher (кувшин), and some little jars that would

hold about a pint (и несколько маленьких кувшинов, которые удерживали около

пинты /мера емкости = 0,57 л/).

All these I baked in the hot sun (обжег а горячем солнце). They kept their shape

(они сохранили свою форму), and seemed quite hard (казались довольно крепкими).

But of course they would not hold water or bear the heat of the fire (не удержали бы

воды и не выдержали бы жара огня).

One day when I was cooking my meat for dinner (мясо на ужин), I made a very

hot fire (сделал очень жаркий огонь). When I was done with it (когда я закончил это

= приготовление ужина), I raked down the coals (разгреб угли) and poured water on it

to put it out (налил воды на них, чтобы загасить его).

It so happened that one of my little earthenware jars had fallen into the fire and

been broken (так случилось, что один из моих глиняных кувшинов упал в огонь и

разбился). I had not taken it out (я не вытащил его), but had left it in the hot flames

(оставил его в горячем пламени).

Now, as I was raking out the coals (когда я разгребал угли), I found some pieces

of it and was surprised at the sight of them (был удивлен при виде их), for they were

burned as hard as stones and as red as tiles (спеклись крепкими, как камни, и

красными, как черепица).