from the snow, provided we were armed sufficiently to protect ourselves from wild beasts; for, he said, in
these great snows it was frequent for some wolves to show themselves at the foot of the mountains, being
made ravenous for want of food, the ground being covered with snow. We told him we were well enough
prepared for such creatures as they were, if he would insure us from a kind of two.legged wolves, which we
were told we were in most danger from, especially on the French side of the mountains. He satisfied us that
there was no danger of that kind in the way that we were to go; so we readily agreed to follow him, as did
also twelve other gentlemen with their servants, some French, some Spanish, who, as I said, had attempted to
go, and were obliged to come back again.
Accordingly, we set out from Pampeluna with our guide on the 15th of November; and indeed I was surprised
when, instead of going forward, he came directly back with us on the same road that we came from Madrid,
about twenty miles; when, having passed two rivers, and come into the plain country, we found ourselves in a
warm climate again, where the country was pleasant, and no snow to be seen; but, on a sudden, turning to his
left, he approached the mountains another way; and though it is true the hills and precipices looked dreadful,
yet he made so many tours, such meanders, and led us by such winding ways, that we insensibly passed the
height of the mountains without being much encumbered with the snow; and all on a sudden he showed us
the pleasant and fruitful provinces of Languedoc and Gascony, all green and flourishing, though at a great
distance, and we had some rough way to pass still.
We were a little uneasy, however, when we found it snowed one whole day and a night so fast that we could
not travel; but he bid us be easy; we should soon be past it all: we found, indeed, that we began to descend
every day, and to come more north than before; and so, depending upon our guide, we went on.
It was about two hours before night when, our guide being something before us, and not just in sight, out
rushed three monstrous wolves, and after them a bear, from a hollow way adjoining to a thick wood; two of
the wolves made at the guide, and had he been far before us, he would have been devoured before we could
have helped him; one of them fastened upon his horse, and the other attacked the man with such violence,
that he had not time, or presence of mind enough, to draw his pistol, but hallooed and cried out to us most
lustily. My man Friday being next me, I bade him ride up and see what was the matter. As soon as Friday
came in sight of the man, he hallooed out as loud as the other, "O master! O master!" but like a bold fellow,
rode directly up to the poor man, and with his pistol shot the wolf in the head that attacked him.
CHAPTER XIX . RETURN TO ENGLAND
Robinson Crusoe
It was happy for the poor man that it was my man Friday; for, having been used to such creatures in his
country, he had no fear upon him, but went close up to him and shot him; whereas, any other of us would
have fired at a farther distance, and have perhaps either missed the wolf or endangered shooting the man.
But it was enough to have terrified a bolder man than I; and, indeed, it alarmed all our company, when, with
the noise of Friday's pistol, we heard on both sides the most dismal howling of wolves; and the noise,
redoubled by the echo of the mountains, appeared to us as if there had been a prodigious number of them; and
perhaps there was not such a few as that we had no cause of apprehension: however, as Friday had killed this
wolf, the other that had fastened upon the horse left him immediately, and fled, without doing him any
damage, having happily fastened upon his head, where the bosses of the bridle had stuck in his teeth. But the
man was most hurt; for the raging creature had bit him twice, once in the arm, and the other time a little
above his knee; and though he had made some defence, he was just tumbling down by the disorder of his
horse, when Friday came up and shot the wolf.
It is easy to suppose that at the noise of Friday's pistol we all mended our pace, and rode up as fast as the
way, which was very difficult, would give us leave, to see what was the matter. As soon as we came clear of
the trees, which blinded us before, we saw clearly what had been the case, and how Friday had disengaged
the poor guide, though we did not presently discern what kind of creature it was he had killed.
CHAPTER XX . FIGHT BETWEEN FRIDAY AND A BEAR
BUT never was a fight managed so hardily, and in such a surprising manner as that which followed between
Friday and the bear, which gave us all, though at first we were surprised and afraid for him, the greatest
diversion imaginable. As the bear is a heavy, clumsy creature, and does not gallop as the wolf does, who is
swift and light, so he has two particular qualities, which generally are the rule of his actions; first, as to men,
who are not his proper prey (he does not usually attempt them, except they first attack him, unless he be
excessively hungry, which it is probable might now be the case, the ground being covered with snow), if you
do not meddle with him, he will not meddle with you; but then you must take care to be very civil to him, and
give him the road, for he is a very nice gentleman; he will not go a step out of his way for a prince; nay, if
you are really afraid, your best way is to look another way and keep going on; for sometimes if you stop, and
stand still, and look steadfastly at him, he takes it for an affront; but if you throw or toss anything at him,
though it were but a bit of stick as big as your finger, he thinks himself abused, and sets all other business
aside to pursue his revenge, and will have satisfaction in point of honour . that is his first quality: the next is,
if he be once affronted, he will never leave you, night or day, till he has his revenge, but follows at a good
round rate till he overtakes you.
My man Friday had delivered our guide, and when we came up to him he was helping him off his horse, for
the man was both hurt and frightened, when on a sudden we espied the bear come out of the wood; and a
monstrous one it was, the biggest by far that ever I saw. We were all a little surprised when we saw him; but
when Friday saw him, it was easy to see joy and courage in the fellow's countenance. "O! O! O!" says Friday,
three times, pointing to him; "O master, you give me te leave, me shakee te hand with him; me makee you
good laugh."
I was surprised to see the fellow so well pleased. "You fool," says I, "he will eat you up." . "Eatee me up!
eatee me up!" says Friday, twice over again; "me eatee him up; me makee you good laugh; you all stay here,
me show you good laugh." So down he sits, and gets off his boots in a moment, and puts on a pair of pumps
(as we call the flat shoes they wear, and which he had in his pocket), gives my other servant his horse, and
with his gun away he flew, swift like the wind.
The bear was walking softly on, and offered to meddle with nobody, till Friday coming pretty near, calls to
CHAPTER XX . FIGHT BETWEEN FRIDAY AND A BEAR
Robinson Crusoe
him, as if the bear could understand him. "Hark ye, hark ye," says Friday, "me speakee with you." We
followed at a distance, for now being down on the Gascony side of the mountains, we were entered a vast
forest, where the country was plain and pretty open, though it had many trees in it scattered here and there.
Friday, who had, as we say, the heels of the bear, came up with him quickly, and took up a great stone, and
threw it at him, and hit him just on the head, but did him no more harm than if he had thrown it against a
wall; but it answered Friday's end, for the rogue was so void of fear that he did it purely to make the bear
follow him, and show us some laugh as he called it. As soon as the bear felt the blow, and saw him, he turns
about and comes after him, taking very long strides, and shuffling on at a strange rate, so as would have put a
horse to a middling gallop; away reins Friday, and takes his course as if he ran towards us for help; so we all
resolved to fire at once upon the bear, and deliver my man; though I was angry at him for bringing the bear
back upon us, when he was going about his own business another way; and especially I was angry that he had
turned the bear upon us, and then ran away; and I called out, "You dog! is this your making us laugh? Come
away, and take your horse, that we may shoot the creature." He heard me, and cried out, "No shoot, no shoot;
stand still, and you get much laugh:" and as the nimble creature ran two feet for the bear's one, he turned on a
sudden on one side of us, and seeing a great oak.tree fit for his purpose, he beckoned to us to follow; and
doubling his pace, he got nimbly up the tree, laying his gun down upon the ground, at about five or six yards
from the bottom of the tree. The bear soon came to the tree, and we followed at a distance: the first thing he
did he stopped at the gun, smelt at it, but let it lie, and up he scrambles into the tree, climbing like a cat,
though so monstrous heavy. I was amazed at the folly, as I thought it, of my man, and could not for my life
see anything to laugh at, till seeing the bear get up the tree, we all rode near to him.
When we came to the tree, there was Friday got out to the small end of a large branch, and the bear got about
half.way to him. As soon as the bear got out to that part where the limb of the tree was weaker, "Ha!" says he
to us, "now you see me teachee the bear dance:" so he began jumping and shaking the bough, at which the
bear began to totter, but stood still, and began to look behind him, to see how he should get back; then,
indeed, we did laugh heartily. But Friday had not done with him by a great deal; when seeing him stand still,
he called out to him again, as if he had supposed the bear could speak English, "What, you come no farther?
pray you come farther;" so he left jumping and shaking the tree; and the bear, just as if he understood what he
said, did come a little farther; then he began jumping again, and the bear stopped again. We thought now was
a good time to knock him in the head, and called to Friday to stand still and we should shoot the bear: but he
cried out earnestly, "Oh, pray! Oh, pray! no shoot, me shoot by and then:" he would have said by.and.by.
However, to shorten the story, Friday danced so much, and the bear stood so ticklish, that we had laughing
enough, but still could not imagine what the fellow would do: for first we thought he depended upon shaking
the bear off; and we found the bear was too cunning for that too; for he would not go out far enough to be
thrown down, but clung fast with his great broad claws and feet, so that we could not imagine what would be
the end of it, and what the jest would be at last. But Friday put us out of doubt quickly: for seeing the bear
cling fast to the bough, and that he would not be persuaded to come any farther, "Well, well," says Friday,
"you no come farther, me go; you no come to me, me come to you;" and upon this he went out to the smaller
end, where it would bend with his weight, and gently let himself down by it, sliding down the bough till he
came near enough to jump down on his feet, and away he ran to his gun, took it up, and stood still. "Well,"
said I to him, "Friday, what will you do now? Why don't you shoot him?" "No shoot," says Friday, "no yet;
me shoot now, me no kill; me stay, give you one more laugh:" and, indeed, so he did; for when the bear saw
his enemy gone, he came back from the bough, where he stood, but did it very cautiously, looking behind
him every step, and coming backward till he got into the body of the tree, then, with the same hinder end
foremost, he came down the tree, grasping it with his claws, and moving one foot at a time, very leisurely. At
this juncture, and just before he could set his hind foot on the ground, Friday stepped up close to him, clapped
the muzzle of his piece into his ear, and shot him dead. Then the rogue turned about to see if we did not
laugh; and when he saw we were pleased by our looks, he began to laugh very loud. "So we kill bear in my
country," says Friday. "So you kill them?" says I; "why, you have no guns." . "No," says he, "no gun, but
shoot great much long arrow." This was a good diversion to us; but we were still in a wild place, and our
guide very much hurt, and what to do we hardly knew; the howling of wolves ran much in my head; and,
CHAPTER XX . FIGHT BETWEEN FRIDAY AND A BEAR
Robinson Crusoe
indeed, except the noise I once heard on the shore of Africa, of which I have said something already, I never
heard anything that filled me with so much horror.
These things, and the approach of night, called us off, or else, as Friday would have had us, we should
certainly have taken the skin of this monstrous creature off, which was worth saving; but we had near three
leagues to go, and our guide hastened us; so we left him, and went forward on our journey.
The ground was still covered with snow, though not so deep and dangerous as on the mountains; and the
ravenous creatures, as we heard afterwards, were come down into the forest and plain country, pressed by
hunger, to seek for food, and had done a great deal of mischief in the villages, where they surprised the
country people, killed a great many of their sheep and horses, and some people too. We had one dangerous
place to pass, and our guide told us if there were more wolves in the country we should find them there; and
this was a small plain, surrounded with woods on every side, and a long, narrow defile, or lane, which we
were to pass to get through the wood, and then we should come to the village where we were to lodge. It was
within half.an.hour of sunset when we entered the wood, and a little after sunset when we came into the
plain: we met with nothing in the first wood, except that in a little plain within the wood, which was not
