One day while Fritz and I were out exploring, I noticed some interesting bushes.
They were loaded with small, white berries that were waxy in appearance.
"You know, Fritz, we might be able to use these berries to make candles," I said.
"Oh, that would make Mother happy.
She doesn't like having to set aside her work and go to bed as soon as the sun sets."
The wax would be more brittle than beeswax, but it would burn well and with a pleasant scent.
Having the donkey with us, we quickly gathered enough berries to fill one of the large canvas sacks he carried.
We then continued on our way.
Very soon we came upon a tree with a whole colony of birds.
Their nests were built in a mass around the tree trunk and branches.
A roof-like covering of straw and grass protected the colony from the rain and hot sun.
"The nests are like rooms in a house!" said Fritz.
We watched as the birds swarmed in and out by the thousands.
Most of them were plain brown birds, but there were also a few beautiful, bright parakeets.
Fritz was curious about the nests so he climbed the tree.
He put his hands into several nests, hoping to capture a young bird.
"Ow!" he cried. "Something pecked my finger."
He reached back in and pulled out a small bird.
Fritz's prize was not one of the brown birds, but a pretty green parakeet.
For the moment he put it in his pocket and we walked on.
Our next discovery was a strange tree with bark that oozed a gummy resin.
Fritz scraped some off.
"Look at this, Father. When I stretch this gum, it springs right back.
Do you think it could be rubber?"
"If it is, that's a most valuable discovery."
"Why is it valuable? I've only seen rubber used for erasing pencil marks.
How else can you use it?"
"I would try to make waterproof boots and shoes!"
Pleased with our discoveries, we headed back to Falconhurst.
The next morning the boys wanted to make candles as soon as breakfast was over.
We put the berries in a large, shallow iron pot on the fire.
The sweet-scented wax melted rapidly.
We skimmed it from the surface of the berry juice, and put it in another pot.
I then took the wicks my wife had prepared and dipped them in the wax.
"These are very skinny candles," said Ernest as the boys hung them on a bush to dry.
"They're not done yet," I said. "We're going to dip them several times."
We soon had sturdy candles, which we left in a cool spot to harden.
And that night Falconhurst was brilliantly illuminated for the first time.
"You are very clever indeed," my wife said to me.
"I just wish you could figure out a way to make butter.
Day after day I'm annoyed about the large amount of good cream that goes bad before I can use it."
"Let me think about that.
I hoped we would find a churn on the wreck, but we didn't."
By the next morning, I had come up with a plan.
"Bring me one of our gourd bottles," I said to Jack.
He quickly fetched a gourd that we had hollowed out.
We had also added a small hole at one end.
I partially filled the gourd with cream and then tightly plugged the hole with a piece of cork.
"Here, boys," I said.
"You can continue the job while I become a carpenter and build a cart."
I gave them some directions and set about my own work.
The boys pounded four stakes into the ground.
Then they fastened a square of sailcloth to the stakes with cord.
After that they placed the gourd full of cream on this cloth cradle.
Each taking a side of the cloth, they rolled the gourd back and forth without stopping.
"This is hard work," complained Ernest.
"No it isn't," said Jack. "This is fun."
"Keep at it, boys," I said as I looked up from my work.
"This is going to take awhile."
I expected little Franz to complain too.
But he was just happy to be helping his older brothers with some real and useful work.
After half an hour I told the boys to stop and look inside the gourd.
"What's happened to the cream?" asked little Franz, shaking the gourd.
"We've turned it into butter!" said Jack.
"Now take the contents to your mother with my compliments," I said.
My wife was delighted with the results from my gourd "churn."
That night at supper we had plenty of butter to go with our meal.
"You've more than made up for scaring me with that sailboat!" she said.