Fritz: (Standing on a platform in the tree and hauling up another board.) Jacqui! Get the end of the rope!
Jacqueline: (On the ground) I've got it!
Laurence: Fritz! I need your help with this roof piece!
Fritz: Coming, Father! I've almost got this board up!
There are general signs of busyness. Fritz, Laurence, and Jacqueline build while Abigail and Elisabeth are weaving branches together tightly.
Laurence: Hold it steady... (He pulls some rope from a nearby branch.) Have you got it?
Fritz: Yes, I have. It just gets heavy after a while.
Abigail: (Climbing a rope ladder with a bucket of water.) Whew, it's hot today! Mama sent some water.
Laurence: (Drinking gratefully) I'm so glad we found that stream. And right by the house, too.
Elisabeth: Laurence!
Laurence: Yes, dear?
Elisabeth: Is Franz up there?
Laurence: I thought he was down there working on that glue for the roof.
Elisabeth: Abi and I haven't seen him in over an hour.
Fritz: He's probably off with Turk and Dune again. They'll keep him safe.
Turk: Arf! Arf!
Abigail: He's not with them!
Fritz: (Calling down to the ground) Franz! Franz?
Elisabeth: (Worried, not commanding.) Go look for him, please.
Fritz descends the ladder and exits calling Franz' name.
Franz: (Entering from the opposite direction) Mama! Look what I found!
Elisabeth: Franz, your brother just went to look for you.
Franz: I was over in the forest playing with Nip.
Jacqueline: Who's Nip?
Nip: Aaa! Aaa!
Franz: This is Nip! My new monkey!
Laurence: We couldn't possibly keep...
Elisabeth: Nonsense, Laurence, of course we can. (Teasingly) We live on an island in a treehouse now, haven't you noticed?
Laurence: The treehouse isn't finished.
Elisabeth: That's no reason not to have a little monkey to keep us company while we finish.
Laurence: I suppose...
Elisabeth: Franz, why don't you find Nip something to eat? And something to sleep on when the house is finished?
Franz: Okay! (Runs off with Nip.)
Abigail: A monkey? In our house, Mama?
Elisabeth: We live on an island. As long as Franz keeps the monkey clean and out of the kitchen and the bedrooms, he can stay with us.
Abigail: Well, he is kind of a cute little fellow.
Fritz: (Reentering) I don't know where he could be, Mother. He's never wandered this far before, and -
Laurence: We found him. And his monkey.
Fritz: Monkey?
Elisabeth: Nip is a very respectable monkey. And probably one that needs our help. He looks like he could use a father like Franz.
Fritz: Monkeys, treehouses, what next?
Laurence: The treehouse was your idea.
Fritz: Well... I suppose I'd better go meet this Nip. Where's Franz now?
Jacqueline: He went back that way to go find some monkey food.
Fritz: (Frustrated) I'll catch up to him.
Fritz exits after Franz. Abigail and Jacqueline go back to the roof to finish weaving.
Laurence: Last night Fritz asked me if he and Abigail could go exploring.
Elisabeth: (Looking slightly anxious) Exploring? Where?
Laurence: He said that perhaps, if he explored the island, he could see if it is really an island at all.
Elisabeth: We've been here for almost two weeks and no one has even come near us. We've been pretty far to the east of here, looking for a place to build.
Laurence: I can't believe how quickly the house has gone up. I suppose it's because we've spent all our time on it and nothing else.
Elisabeth: Then perhaps it is time to figure out where we are, and if there's anyone that can bring a ship to help us.
Laurence: You're saying I should let Fritz and Abigail go explore?
Elisabeth: Why can't you go with them?
Laurence: I can't leave the rest of you alone for a long time. I know you are capable, but I'd worry if I left.
Elisabeth: And I'd worry if Fritz and Abi left. What if they got attacked by animals?
Laurence: Now, Lissie, they'd be fine. Fritz knows how to use a gun, and we have several from the ship.
Elisabeth: I would still worry.
Laurence: I think he needs an adventure. This is just the right one for him. And Abigail will watch out for him. They'll keep each other safe.
Elisabeth: (Recovering her usual on-top-of-things mood) They'll have to take a lot of food. What if they were delayed somewhere?
Laurence: Yes, we must prepare them well - and finish the treehouse.
Elisabeth: Of course.
YOU ARE READING
Swiss Family Robinson: A Place For All Of Us
FanfictionWhen the Robinson family is shipwrecked on a seemingly deserted island, it seems there is no way for them to escape this jail in the jungle. Fritz and Abigail, the oldest two children, miss their home back in Switzerland, and Fritz especially is an...
