Saving the Blocks

Chapter 3- Furnaces, Windows, and a New Friend

I stand up as sunlight comes through my window and walk to my chest. I take out my pick and go outside.

There's a mountain about twenty-five blocks away from here. I sprint to it and find stone on the side. I take out my pick and start to branch mine.

After five minutes, I have eight stacks of cobblestone. I found a vein of coal and have thirty coal chunks. I also found iron and have twelve iron ore. Pleased with my discovery, I sprint back to my house.

On my way to the house, I see some sand. I punch it, and soon I have a stack of sand.

Suddenly, I here a few "baaas". I turn around and there are six sheep! I kill three with my sword and collect their wool. I make my way back to the house.

At my clearing, I see somebody in my house. I walk cautiously towards the house. Wooden sword gripped tightly in hand, I jump inside. There's a guy there, and he's using my crafting table. He turns around and points his diamond sword at me.

The guy puts his sword down. "Oh, sorry. You must be the owner of the house. I hope you don't mind. I just need a place to stay for awhile." I kept my sword up.

"Don't worry, I promise I'm not a threat."

I slowly lower down my sword.

"Fine. You can stay for a while."

He nods his head and goes back to crafting.

I peer over his shoulder. He's putting paper around a compass... I somehow know he's making a map. He sees me watching.

"Oh, you have seen a map before, right?" he says.

I shake my head. "Nuh-uh. I'm new here."

The guy nods. "Thought so. I mean, since you barely have anything in this house, and the house is so small."

That's the end of our conversation. I start to make another crafting table, but he stops me.

"Oh, sorry! I'm so rude," he says. He pulls out his own crafting table and puts it beside mine.

I start crafting. I make a furnace.

"So," the guy says. "My name's Paul."

"Rachel," I say.

Paul nods his head. "Good name."

I blush and put the furnace down beside my crafting table. I throw in my last two pork chops and some wooden planks. While they cook, I craft a bed and place it in a corner of my room.

I notice that my windows have glass in them. Paul sees me watching.

"Oh, that?" he says. "Yeah, I made some glass when I noticed you didn't have any in your windows."

"Thanks," I say. "Hey, how do you make glass?"

Paul keeps his eyes on the crafting table. "You burn sand in the furnace," he answers, "and you didn't ask me this, but you make torches by putting coal on top of a stick."

I wonder about this and try it for myself. Sure enough, I get torches. I have a whole stack and place some around my house.

It's nighttime. Paul picks up his crafting table and puts his own bed in its place. We both go to sleep.

The next day, we wake up at the same time. I go straight to my chest and take out two stacks of wood. I make a door and chop a doorway on one of my walls. I go outside and build a room around the doorway, with a wooden floor and roof. I tell Paul he can move into the room for right now. He smiles and goes into the room.

I let him be as I check on my wheat. All of it has grown! I harvest it and replant. I have a lot of wheat. I walk back inside and tinker with it, and soon I have bread! I make eight pieces of bread, and save the rest of the wheat for later. I also take out my pork chops from the furnace. I put my iron ore in the furnace and use coal for fuel.

Suddenly, I hear music. I peer into Paul's room. He has a bed, furnace, crafting table, double chest, and a block where the music is coming from.

Paul sees me. "That's a music player. You put music disks in it. The one I have playing now is from a skeleton shooting a creeper."

"What's a creeper?" I ask.

"It's a green monster that explodes in your face if it gets to close."

"Oh," I say. "I got hit by one. What are the tall black things with purple eyes?"

"Enderman," Paul replies. "They're three blocks high and can teleport, so it was smart of you to build this house with a roof two blocks high. The endermen won't harm you if you don't hit them or look them straight in the eye. You can look at them with a pumpkin on your head."

Paul takes a pumpkin from his knapsack and hands it to me. I put it on my head. I can see through two eyes and a spiky mouth.

"Whoa," I say, giggling.

"You can keep it," Paul says. "I have thirty-seven more. And here are some seeds," he says, handing me twelve pumpkin seeds. I thank him and put everything of mine in my chest. It was a good day.