Minecraft wiki entry for Beginner%27s_guide, associated text: If you are repeatedly being killed (too ambitious, a monster got into your shelter, or you didn't manage to make a shelter), you can always dig a three-block deep hole, cover it up and hide there. However, consider that because this is the first day, you don't actually lose much when you die (except for what has already been gathered that day), so if you do end up being killed you can just tough it out until dawn and start again. Keep on practicing killing mobs until you get the hang of it. If you're completely desperate, you can consider switching to "peaceful difficulty", which causes all the monsters to disappear until you switch back.