People have sailed around the world in quite small boats. It is not an easy thing. Sometimes the weather goes bad. That will be the end of a boat and the end of everyone in it. Accidents can happen easily and quickly.

One family had an accident with a big fish. The fish swam under their boat and bit holes in it. The water came into the boat, and of course, the boat soon went down. However, these people had another smaller boat -- a life-boat, and they all got into that. They lived and hoped for many days. They woke and slept, and they always, hoped… At last a ship found them.

How do people live in a very small life-boat? Perhaps far weeks or months. They must be strong in every way. They must have hope -- they must want to live. But you cannot eat and drink hope.

You cannot drink sea water. Drink a lot of sea water -- you will quickly die. Sailors can drink rain water. They must catch rain water in their boat. They must also catch fish and birds for food. Lifeboats do not often carry a cooker, and so the sailors cannot cook their food. Raw fish and bird-meat is not very nice. But there won't be any choice in a life-boat! The sailors must eat raw food or they will die.

What do people think about in a life-boat? They think about land, a warm bed, dry clothes, clean water and food.