Day one | The adventure begins Don't Starve Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
Your adventure always starts In the meadow, where there is an easy access to most of the basic resources. You should get to collecting them as quickly as possible. Nearly everything that you find lying on the ground, will come in handy soon.
Your first task now is to create an Axe. What you are going to need for that is 1x Twigs and 1x Flint.
You get the former by left clicking on Sapling, and the latter one should be somewhere around on the ground. To create an item, you need to click on it in the Tools tab, in the toolbar on the left rim of the screen.
Once you create the axe, put it in the slot corresponding to the hand, on the right side of the equipment toolbar. From now on, you will be able to chop trees by clicking on them. This way you will be able to acquire wood (Log).
Your next task is to collect resources for a small Campfire. And so, you are going to need 3x Grass and 2x Log. Do not make fire yet. You will do that right before sunset.
It is the time now to fill your character's stomach now. To do that, collect as many Carrots as you can find and Berries from the nearby Berry Bushes. If you Carry them over to the Campfire, you will be able to Cook those, which will increase their nutritional value.
Once you get, at least, 5-10 pieces of food, you need to set out to search for Rocks. To do that, you need to discover a rocky area where there are the deposits of this material most often to be found. While wandering around, keep collecting all the resources you stumble upon, and also chop some trees to keep the campfire going throughout the night.
It is also a good idea to collect Flowers, as every 12 Petals can be used to create a Garland which increases your sanity level. You can find this item in the Dress tab. To make it work, you need to put it on your head by putting it in the appropriate slot to the right of the equipment bar.
On the first day, you presumably won't manage to acquire rocks so, right before the nightfall, you need to kindle fire. You just need to make sure you don't start it too close to the trees, or else they will catch on fire. After you start fire, add one log to the fire, and make sure that the flame is medium in size. If the fire dies at night, so will your character. That is why you should always have some Grass and Logs on you. There is not going to be much to do at night. You should devote that time to cooking some food, to collecting the resources you can see and running through schemata available to you.