Abigail and Fritz are carrying large knapsacks. Fritz also has a gun. The family gathers to bid them farewell.
Laurence: Have you got everything?
Fritz: I think so! We've got almost more than we can carry!
Abigail: I'd rather have what we need and step slowly than run rapidly with empty hands.
Fritz: Ah, such poetry!
Abigail: It's not poetry, it's common sense!
Fritz: "Step slowly" and "run rapidly" doesn't sound like common sense, it sounds like alliteration.
Elisabeth: Now, if you bicker the whole time, it won't be any fun at all.
Fritz: Yes, Mother.
Laurence: (to Fritz) Please, be careful.
Elisabeth: Abi, mind your brother.
Abigail: Yes, Mama.
Franz: Goodbye Fritz! Goodbye Abi!
Jacqueline: Don't get eaten by tigers!
Fritz: I'm sure we'll be fine. (Kisses his mother.) Goodbye, Mother!
Abigail: We'll come back soon!
Fritz and Abigail venture into the woods. They walk in silence for a while.
Abigail: Fritz, do you miss Switzerland?
Fritz: (opening up a little) I suppose I do.
Abigail: It seems like it's been months and months since we left, but six weeks ago I was getting ready for that dinner party at the Riesens. (Turning back to Fritz) What do you miss the most?
Fritz: I don't know. Listening to the carriages drive by at night, or walking to fetch something for Father and waving to someone. Just hearing the sounds and seeing the faces. (Fritz stops walking, as if daydreaming.)
Abigail: (Almost more to herself than to him.) You're...lonely?
Fritz: (Not listening to her and getting more worked up.) Oh, I miss the people! I miss Thomas, and Georg, and Jorgen. I miss the stars at home. I miss the food at home. There's nothing here! (Sits down on a rock.) I'm all alone on this island! There's nothing here for me! There's no school, no work, no friends. And no one cares because they think I'm just fine! (Slowly transitioning from sitting to lying on the ground.) I can't stay on this island! I don't want to live in a treehouse and eat pheasant for the rest of my life! I can't stay in this jungle! There's no one to talk to, no one to listen, no one to understand me when I'm hurting!
Abigail: (Shocked at this display of emotion from her always-calm brother) Fritz, I... I didn't know... (Kneels on the ground beside him)
Fritz: (Getting up shakily and trying to sound strong) We've got to keep going.
Abigail: (Gently) You wouldn't like to stop for the night?
Fritz: (Tired, but determined.) No, we've got to keep going. Mother and Father are expecting us back in a few days, and we have to know if this is an island.
Abigail: (Still startled by her brother's insecurity.) All right.
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...
