Adventures of Robert-Robert

The tiger, in fact, had not rolled all the way down to the bottom: a large protruding rock had stopped it some twenty feet from the edge. Its claws had done the rest, and now it was there, standing against the trunk of the tree and climbing, the eyes on fire, its mouth open, hungry for blood.
And yet Robert-Robert felt less frightened this time, because …Read more »

The boarding took place in good order. The raft could take on all the survivors.
They were nearly five hundred the day before.
Now they were only eighty-two.
Among those were the captain, the doctor, Simon Barigoule, the Parisian, Squirrel, the big Flandrin, Lavenette, Griffard and Robert-Robert.
It was time they left the deck of La Rapide. The transfer …Read more »

There are two ways of going up on board. The first one consists in lightly climbing a sort of ladder, made of small cross-pieces of wood nailed to the outside of the ship and to hoist oneself onto the deck with the ropes hanging to each side, in ways of handrails.
Robert-Robert went up this way, but Lavenette couldn’t be persuaded to use it.
“I say! He exclaimed to cover his fright, such a path is only suitable for cats! I have too much respect for my quality of man, my dignity of intelligent and reasonable animal, to agree to degrading myself to such an extent! I mean, really! ”
The other way had to be used, that is …Read more »

They were cannibals.
Every special event was celebrated by horrible sacrifices, after which the corpses of the victims were devoured. Here is how they went about these horrible feasts.
The victims having their hands cuffed in their back, a knife was stuck through each one of their cheeks, and another one under each scapula. Their back, arms and legs were slashed along. Then they were walked, with a rope passed through their nose, to the sound of music. Finally they were killed, their bodies cut to pieces, which were seasoned with kolla nut, and these awful dishes were eaten with relish.
The ear was prepared with pepper and it was considered an incomparable delicacy.
Robert-Robert and his companions could see that a similar fate was awaiting them and that the cannibals, when they had learnt of the shipwreck …Read more »

As for Lavenette, his Excellency had used his time in a less perilous way than our heroe. Being alone in the remotest apartment of the palace, engaged in a private conversation with Jacquot, and having nobody to try at such a moment, he had begun to try the little animal, to keep himself busy. The crime for which he blamed the poor monkey consisted in the theft of a coconut, with aggravating circumstances of assault and battery and breach of trust. It must have been the most bizarre sight! The man of law, wearing his emblems, gravely questioned the defendant, asked for surname, forename and occupation, enquired about the place of birth, the age and profession, wanted to know all about the circumstances of the crime and the reasons why it was committed, sought to eloquently demonstrate the blackness of such a deed, suggested repentance, by depicting the disgrace falling upon all kin, and the prospect of the scaffold which would be inevitable, if no change was brought to this reprehensible course and he finally required the most …Read more »