First Things First

We are all very tired by now. We’ve been trapped on this island for a long time and there is no apparent hope for rescue from the boys. I do have hope though. I know everything will be all right and that we will be safe at home some time soon… We’ve changed our behavior a little in order to survive in this place. I tell the boys that we can’t behave like savages, and I expect them to stay civilized; the way they’ve been taught all their lifes back in England. Something that does scare me is Jack’s new obsession –his desire to kill a pig. He has promised me that he will get us meat and that’s exactly what he’s trying to do; yet he has failed to catch a pig. The thing is, I don’t really care about the meat; building shelters is way more important. I’m tired of this! In the last assembly the boys said they would help build, but where are they now? Playing. Taking a bath. And I don’t even want to know what else they are doing, and Jack is too busy hunting. He says he is working harder than me and I won't keep up with that. Simon and me are the only ones building the huts, which are necessary to survive. What if another storm comes like the day we arrived? We need shelters, not meat from the pigs.

The boys are all scared of the beastie. Jack hasn’t noticed but I have. At night, the littleuns, they dream and scream. As if it wasn’t a good island. But they’re batty; there’s no beast in this island. Jack doesn’t believe in the beast, neither do I, but he says that while he’s hunting for pigs he feels something is following him. Like if he was being hunted. We know how the littleuns feel but there’s no beast of course. The most important thing now is getting ourselves rescued; that I know for sure, and for that we need the fire going. But again, Jack only thinks that we’re here to hunt pigs and he wants to catch at least a pig before getting rescued. He wants to paint his face but NO! I won't let him, if he does that he will look like a savage. He’s crackers; what could be more important than being back home? Let's get our priorities straight, Jack. 

- Ralph