I

@ulliver's' Travels'; L.ill~uf

1

Vaugh,~~
VAUGHAN COLLECTION

Gulliver awakes to find himselftiedto the ground,unable to move.Helooksuponly to realisethat hiscaptorsare diminutive peopleno biggerthanhisforefinger. In presenting us witha worldon its head, Swift'sclassicadventure story parodies andquestions the customs of our own civilization.

..

U,U('IIANCOUICIIQN

@uUiver's' --- Travels':!Ju!Pu1

@ulliver's' Travels': LiII!puf

ByJonathan Swift

Gulliver's Travels: Lilliput

Chapter 1

We set saiP from Bristol, England on May 4,1699, and our voyage started out very well.
However, close to the East Indies, a violent storm pushed us to the northwest of Van Diemen's Land. Twelve of our crew died because of the hard work and bad food. The rest 9f us, the only survivors, were left very,very weak. On November 5, which was the beginning of summer in that part of the world, the strong winds blew our ship up onto a large rock that was half as long as our ship; the ship split into two pieces and only six of us were able to escape on a smalllife boato We rowed2 for about fourteen kilometers until we couldn't row anymore. We were at the merey of the sea, and in about half an hour some strong waves sank' our litde boato 1 don't know what happened to my companions in the boat, or those who were left in the split ship, but 1 assumed they were all dead. 1 swam for my life, and was pushed in every direction by the wind and waves. When 1was finally unable to swim any longer, 1 discovered that 1was in shallow water and 1waIked almost a mile in the water before 1 got to the shore at about eight o'clock in the evening. 1 waIked for about half a mile, but could not discover any sign ofhouses or inhabitants. But 1was so weak that even if they were there,I didn't see them. 1 was exhausted and lay down on the grass, which was very short and soft, and slept more deeply than ever before in my life. 1 think 1 slept for about nine hours because when 1 woke up the sun was just starting to rise. 1 tried to sit up, but
1.1'0 sel sail - Soltar amarra.. 2.1'0 TU,,"- Remar. 3,1'0 .ink - HOlldir.

- .'3-

Vaughan Systems

Gulliver's Travels: LilJiput

they all ran back, terrified, and some of them, 1 was told later, were hurt by falling from my sides down to the ground. However, they all soon retumed, and one of them, who was able to get a good look at my face, cried out with admiration, Hekinah deg;ul!The others repeated the same words several times, but 1 didn't understand what they meant. 1 lay there the whole time, as you can imagine, in great pain. With great effort 1was able to break the strings that held my left arm to the ground. Next, with a violent pull that hurt tremendously, 1was able to loosen the strings that tied down my hair on the left side, so that 1 was able to tum my head about five centimeters. Before 1 could grab any of the creatures with my hand, they ran away and then 1 heard a lot of noise that sounded like yelling. After it stopped, 1 heard one of them cry Talgo Phonic!; in an instant 1 felt a hundred needles hit my left hand. They shot another hundred of their arrows into the air and many of them fell on my body and some on my face, which 1 immediately covered with my left hand to protect it from the pain. When 1 tried to break free, some of them tried to stick me in my sides with little spears7. Luckily, 1 still had my leather vest on, which the spears couldn't pierce. But when the inhabitants saw that 1was being quiet, they didn't shoot any more arrows. 1nstead, 1 heard a knocking" sound about two meters from my right ear that continued for more than an hour. When 1 strained my eyes to the right to see, 1 saw they had built a platform about one meter tall, capable ofholding four of the inhabitants, with two or three ladders9 leaning against it.

1/

couldn't move. 1 was lying on my back and discovered that my arms and legs were firmly attached on each side to the ground. My hair, which was long and thick, was tied down in the same way. 1 also felt several thin ropes across my body, from my armpits. to my thighs5. 1 couldn't tum my head to the side; 1 could only look up and the sunlight hurt my eyes. 1 heard noise and sensed confusion around me, but in the position 1 was in 1 couldn't see anything. A few minutes later, 1 felt something moving on my left lego 1t moved onto my chest, and then up to my chino 1 looked down with my eyes as much as 1 could, and saw what looked like ahuman crea10re fifteen centimeters high, with a bow and arrow6 in his hands. 800n, 1 felt at least forty more of the same type of creature following the first. 1 was astonished by this and yelled so loudly that

On the platform, an official-lookingcrea10remade a long speech that 1 didn't understand. Beforehe began his speech, he cried out three times,Lang;rodehul san! and they immediatelycut the strings that fastened the left side of my head, which let me 10m it to the right so 1 could see the person better. He looked middle aged, and was a bit longer than my middle finger,but he was taller than his three attendants. The crea10reacted like a king, and during his speech, 1 heard some things that sounded like threatslOand others that sounded like ,promises.1answered in a fewwords, but in a very obedient manner.

4. Annl,its - A.,IJS. 5. Thighs - Muslos. 6. 80w and arrow - \rco)' flechJ.

7. S.,ear

LJma.

8. Knocking - De g;olpcs. 9. Ladder - Escalera.

lO. Threat - \lIIcnaza.

- 4-

-5-

Vaughan Systems

Gulliver's Travels: Lilliput

I hadn't eaten for several hours before leaving the ship and was so hungry that I put my finger to my mouth, to signal that I wanted food, even though I was embarrassed to do so. The hurgo (for so they call a great lord, as I learned later) understood me very well. He climbed down &om the platform ladder, and several more ladders were placed on my sides and a hundred of the inhabitants climbed up towards my mouth, holding baskets full of meato I saw the flesh of several animals, but couldn't figure outll what they were by taste. There were shoulders, legs and loins, shaped like those of a sheep, but all smaller than the wings of a tiny bird. I put several of them in my mouth, and ate three loaves of bread, about as large as bullets, at a time. They fed me as fast as they could, expressing wonder and astonishment at my giant size and appetite. Then I made a sign that I wanted something to drink. Because they were very intelligent and creative people, they threw, with great skill, one of their largest barrels onto my chest and rolled it towards my hand. I drank its liquid in one swallow, which was easy to do because the barrel only held half a pint ofliquid that tasted like a good Burgundy wine, but was much more delicious. They brought me a second barrel, which I drank in the same manner, and signaled for more; but they had no more to give me. When I was performing these 'wonders', they shouted for joy, and danced upon my chest, repeating several times as they did at first, Hekinah degul! They made a sign asking me to throw down the two barreIs and warned the people below to stand out of the way with Borach molevah! When I threw the barreIs into the air, the several hundred people around me shouted Hekinah degul! I was tempted to grab forty or fifty of them when they were on my body and throw them to the ground. But the memory of the arrows, which might not be the worst weaponI2 they had, and the fact that I admired them for some strange reason made me forget these temptations. Besides I thought, I should respect their hospitality; they had treated me with great expense - the food alone must have cost a fortune. I was amazed by the bravery of these tiny humans, who dared to get up and walk on my body while one of my hands was free!

After a while, when I didn't ask for any more meat or drink, I felt something on my right legoHis Excellency, a person of apparently high rank, walked &om my right knee up to my face, with twelve of his assistants and held out his royal credentials close to my eyes for my inspection. He spoke for about ten minutes without anger, but often pointed with emphasis towards what I learned later was the capital city, about half a mile away. I assumed he wanted to take me there. I answered him by putting my free left hand over to my right hand to signal that I wanted to be set free. It appeared that His Excellency understood me well enough, because he shook his head to say 'no', and held his hand up in a way to indicate that I must be carried there as a prisoner. However, he made other signs to indicate I would have enough to eat and drink and would be treated very well. 800n, I heard the words Peplom selan! shouted and I felt hundreds of people on my left side releasing the cords enough for me to turn onto my right side so I could urinate, to the great astonishment of the people who irnmediately moved far away to avoid the noise of this raging river! But before I did this, they rubbed my face and hands with an ointment, which, in a few minutes, removed the pain of their arrows. I slept about eight hours, they told me later. It was because the physicians, by the Emperor's orders, had put a drug in the barreIs of wine. These people were excellent mathematicians; hundreds of carpenters and engineers irnmediately started to build a huge engine to carry me to their capital. It was a wooden frame six centimeters above the ground, about three meters long and one and a half meters wide that rolled on twenty-two wheels. They put it next to where I lay, but the big problem was to figure out how to put me on it. Eighty poles were erected for this purpose, and the cords connected to them were tied around my neck, hands, body and legs. Nine hundred of their strongest men tightened and attached the cords to the poles. In less than three hours, I was tied onto the engine. I was asleep during this operation, thanks to more of the physicians' medicine. Fifteen hundred of the Emperor's largest horses, each about twelve centmeters high, were used to pull me towards the city.

11

11. '1'0 fi;urc out - Averiguar. 12. \Vcal'0ll - Arma.

-6-

- 7-

Vaughan Systems

Gulliver's Travels: Lilliput

About four hours after we began our joumey, two or three of the young natives wanted to see what 1 looked like when 1 was asleep. They climbed up onto the engine, and crawled onto my face. 1 woke up instandy when one of them, an officer, put the end ofhis spear into my left nostril, which tickledl3 and made me sneeze. The next moming at sunrise we continued, and were at the city gates by noon. The Emperor of the kingdom and all ofhis court carne out to greet us; but his cautious officers wouldn't let His Majesty get up on my body. The city gates were next to an ancient temple, the largest in the entire kingdom. Someone had been murdered there several years before and so now it was only for public use and its decorations had been removed. They decided to use this temple as my prison. The entrance gate was about one and a half meters high and one meter wide, enough space for me to easily crawl inside. Next to the temple there was a tower at least two meters high, from where the Emperor could watch me. So many people carne to look at me that a law was soon passed which made it illegal to get on my body. The guards cut my cords and put eighty chains and locks around my left leg that were long enough to let me lie down and walk around the temple. When 1 finally got up, 1was as depressed as 1 have ever been in my life. But when the people saw me get up and walk, their cheersl4 and astonishment made me feel better.

Y,
'4

Chapter 2

When 1 crawledl out of my house in the morning to look around, the view was beautiful. The countryside looked like a huge garden, and the fields were separated by small forests in which the tallest trees were only about seven feet tallo 1 desperately needed to relieve myself. It had been almost two days since 1 had last gone to the bathroom. The best solution 1 could think of was to crawl back into my house and close the gate. 1went as far as my chain allowed and relieved myself in the comer. This was the only time in my life that 1 was ever guilty2 of such rude behavior. 1 hope the reader will forgive me for it when he considers what physical stress 1 was in. After this embarrassing event, 1 changed my routine. 1 decided to go in the open air, outside of my palace. Two servants carne every morning to take away my waste in several wheelbarrows3. When the Emperor carne to see me later that morning on his horse, (the beast was very upset by my size!) he looked at me with great admiration but stayed far away from me. He ordered his cooks to give me food and drink, which they pushed towards me in litde wagons. Twenty of them were filled with meat, and ten with liquor. 1 ate the meat in three bites and drank the liquor in one long swallow while the Empress and the young princes and ladies of the court watched with amazement.

"

13. To tickle . Hacer cosquillas.

14. Clteers. Aclamaciones.

1. '1'0crawl . Arraslrlrse. 2. Guilty . Culpable.

3. Wheclharrow

. Carretilla.

- 8-

- 9-

Vaughan Systems

Gulliver's Travels: Lilliput

1 arn now going to describe the Emperor. He is taller than anyone in his court and looks quite impressive. His features are strong and masculine, with a strong nose and mouth and he has an olive complexion. His posture is excellent and his body is well proportioned. His movements are graceful, and he has a certain majestic quality. At the sarne time he was already past his youth, at almost twenty-nine years old. He had been a respected emperor for seven years. In order to see and hear him better 1 lay on my side, so that my face was only one meter away &om his. Since our first meeting, 1 have held him in my hand many times and know that my first impression ofhim was accurate. He was dressed simply in a mixture of Asiatic and European fashion, but he had a helmet of gold on his head with a feather coming out of the topo He held his sword4 in his hand to defend himself, in case 1 broke &ee. It was almost six centimeters long and was made of gold covered with diarnonds. His voice was sharp, but very clear; 1 could hear him quite easily when 1 stood up. He talked a lot, but 1 couldn't understand one syllable.

Huge numbers ofrich or curious people carne to see me. IfHis Majesty hadn't ordered the others to go home, the society would have collapsed, because no one would have taken care of things. In the meantime, the Emperor had many meetings to decide what to do with me. A mend, who knew certain 'secrets', told me later that the court was very concerned about me. They were a&aid 1 might break loose and that my diet would be very expensive and cause a famine. They considered starving7 me or shooting me in the face and hands with poisoned arrows to kill me, but they were a&aid that my carcass might produce a plague in the capital city that could spread through the whole kingdom. During one of these meetings, two arrny officers told the court about my act of mercy with the criminals and the court was so impressed by this that they ordered all of the villages within five hundred meters around the city to deliver six beehives8, forty sheep, bread and wine to me every morning. They hired six hundred people to be my servants, and built tents for them on each side of my door. Three hundred tailors were hired to make a suit for me, similar to the local fashion, and they appointed six of His Majesty's best professors to teach me their language. They also decided that the arrny's horses should be exercised in &ont of me every day so they could get used to me. 1 made great progress in learning their language in only three weeks, during which time the Emperor &equendy visited me and assisted my masters in teaching me. We were already able to converse, sort of, and the first words 1 learned were to express my desire for him to "please give me my liberty;" which 1 repeated every day on my knees. His answer, as 1 understood it, was, "it will take time, and will need to be discussed with the council," and that first 1 must "lumos kelmin pesso desmar lon emposo;" that is, promise to be peaceful with him and his kingdom; if 1 did this, 1 would be treated with kindness. He hoped that 1 wouldn't be offended ifhe ordered his officers to search9 me for weapons, which would be very dangerous things if they belonged to such a gigantic person.I said, "His Majesty will be pleased to know that 1 am willing to take my clothes off in &ont of you and show you the contents of all of my pockets." This
7. To slan'c . Privar de comida hasta la muerte.

1 spoke in as many languages as 1 knew - Latin, French, Spanish, Italian and Lingua Franca, but none of them worked.
The guards tried to protect me &om the crowd, who were very impatient to get as near me as possible. On the right side were four prisoners being taken tojail, whose hands were tied behind their backs. 1picked them up and put them in my pocket. 1 took one out and then brought my hand up to my mouth to suggest 1was going to eat him alive. The poor man screarned in terror, as did the colonel and his officers when they saw me take out my pocketknife5. But 1calmly cut the strings he was tied with and put him gently on the ground and he ran away.1 treated the rest in the sarne manner, taking them one by one out of my pocket. 1could see that both the guards and the people were higWy delighted with my display of merey. At night 1 crawled back into my house where 1continued to sleep on the ground for the next fifteen days. On the sixteenth day, the Emperor gave orders to have a bed made for me. Six hundred beds were brought in carriages and sewn6 together to keep me above the hard stone floor.
4. Sword . Espada. 5. Pocketknife . Nav~ja. 6. Sewn . Cosido, - 10-

S.Beehivc . Colmcna.
- 11 -

9. To seareh . Cachear.

Vaughan Systems

Gulliver's Travels: LilIiput

I said part in words, and part in gestures. He replied, "By the laws of our kingdom, you must be searched by two of my officers,"and said that he had such a high opinion of me that he trusted them in my hands. I picked up the two officersand put them into my coat pockets, and then into every other one of my pockets, except my secret pocket, which I didn't think would be searched; this one contained only some small necessities that only mattered to me. In one of my pockets there was a silverwatch, and in the other a smallquantity ofgold in a purse. These gendemen made an exact inventoryof everythingthey saw on a sheet of paper and when they were finished, asked me to put them down so that they could give their report to the Emperor. I translated this inventory,much later,into English:

side, we saw certain strange circular figures and thought we could touch them, but our fingers were stopped by the clear substance. He put this engine up to our ears and we heard an incredible noise. He told us he never did anything without looking at it. From the left slit he took out a net almost large enough for a fisherman, but it opened and closed like a purse. Inside it we found severa! heavy pieces of yellow metal, which, if they are real gold, must be of great value. "This is an exact inventory of what we found on the body of the manmountain, who treated os very courteously. Signed and sealed on the fourth day of the eighty-ninth moon ofYour MYesty'sprosperous reign, Clefrin Frelock & Marsi Frelock."

.........................................................
"In the right coat-pocket of the great man-mountain (my translation of the words quinbus jkstrin,) we found only one great piece of coarseclothlO,large enough to be a carpet for Your Majesty's palace ballroom. "In his right vest pocket we found a giant package of thin white substances, folded one over another, about the size of three men, tied with a strong cable and marked with black figures; which we think might be writing; every letter is almost half as large as the palm of your hand. In the left vest pocket there was a sort of engine, from the back of which were extended twenty long poles that we think the manmountain combs his hair with. We didn't ask him many questions, though, because it was very difficult to make him understand us. "There were two coat pockets which we could not enter: they were two large slitsll cut into the top of his jacket, but squeezed closed by the pressure ofhis stomach. Out of the right one hung a great silver chain, with a wonderful kind of engine at the bottom. We asked him to pull out whatever was at the end of the chain, which appeared to be a globe - half silver, and half of some transparent metal. On the transparent

.........................................................
Mter this report was received by the Emperor, he ordered me, although very gendy, to give up several items. He asked for my sword, which I took off my belt. At the same time he ordered three thousand ofhis soldiers to surround me at a distance, with their bows and arrows ready to firel2. He then asked me to take my sword out of its holder, which I did. Immediately all the troops gave a shout between terror and surprise; the reflection of the sun on the metal hurt their eyes. His Majesty, who is a very brave king, was less fearful than I expected: he ordered me to put it back in the holder, and I put it on the ground as gendy as I could, about six feet from the end of my chain.

The next thing he demanded was one of my "hollowu iron pillars", by which he meant my pocket pistols. I took it out and eXplained as well as I could how to use it. I loaded it only with gun powder, which I had kept dry in a special pouchl\ something all smart seamen have. I first warned the Emperor not to be afraid, and then I shot it into the air. Their astonishment was even greater than when they saw my sword. Hundreds of the soldiers fell down as if they had been struck dead; and even the Emperor, although he didn't fall down, couldn't recover for several minutes. I gave up both of

12.10 tire - Disp;Il'<II', n. Hollow -IIIICCO, 14.I'ollch - Bolsa,

10. Cuarsc-c\oth - leI.. '..st.., 1 I. Slit - Rcndija,

- 12 -

- 13 -

Vaughan Systems

Gulliver's Travels: Lilliput

I had one secret pocket, as I mentioned earlier, which they didn't find. Inside it there was a pair of glasses (which I sometimes used for my weak eyes), and some other little conveniences that wouldn't matter to the Emperor. I was afraid they might be lost or ruined if I let them out of my possession, and so I didn't mention them to the searchers.

my pistols, and then my pouch of powder and bullets; warning him that the powder must be kept far away from fire; it would blow Upl5with the smallest spark, and would destroy his royal palace. I also gave up my watch, which the Emperor was very curious to see, and commanded two of his tallest guards to carry it on a pole between their shoulders, as men in England do with a barre! of beer. He was amazed at the noise it made, and the motion of the second-hand, which he could easily see; their sight is much better than ours. I then gave up my silver and copper money, my purse, with nine large pieces of gold, my knife, razor, comb and my handkerchief. My sword, pistols, and pouch of powder were carried in wagons to His Majesty's warehouses, but the rest of my goods were returned to me.
1:.. l., hlow"1' - Explotar.

- 14-

- 15-

Gulliver's Travels: Lilliput

Chapter 3

My gendenessl and good behavior impressed the Emperor and the people of Lilliput so much that 1 began to hope 1 would soon be free. 1 did everything 1 could to nurture2 their positive impression. Gradually, the people grew less afraid of me. 1would sometimes lie down and let five or six of them dance on my hand. Mter a while, the boys and girls would come over to play hide-and-seek' in my hair. 1 had now made good progress in understanding and speaking the language, so the Emperor decided one day to entertain me with several traditional dances, where the performers are known for their grace and skill. 1 saw the rope-dancers, who performed upon a thin white thread\ about two feet long and twelve inches from the ground. Rope-dancing is only performed by people who are highly favored at the Emperor's court. They are trained in this art from their youth, and aren't necessarily from the upper-class. When a position is vacant, five or six candidates audition for the Emperor with a dance on the rope, and whoever jumps the highest without falling is awarded the prized position. Sometimes the Emperor's chief ministers are required to demonstrate their skill on the rope, so that the court and the people of Lilliput can see they haven't lost their mental and physical capabilities. Flimnap, th treasurer, can dance on the rope better than any other lord in the whole Empire. 1 have seen him do several somersaults5 in a row>on a rope no
l. (;cntleness
">.SOlllersault

- Dulzura.
- Vnltercta.

2.1'0 nurllll'e - Alimentar. 3. lIidc-and-seek

6. In a row - Seguido.

- El escondite. 4. Thread - Hilo.

- 17 -

Vaughan Systems

Gulliver's Travels: LiJliput

Emperor holds a stick in his hands, paralIel to the ground, and the candidate jumps over the stick, or under it, as the stick is raised or lowered. Whoever performs the best is rewarded with the blue-colored thread; the red is given to the next, and the green to the third. Most of the people you see in the court are wearing one of these colo red threads around their waists. The horses of the army and royalty, which were now used to me, would come up to my feet without fear. Their riders would ask them to jump over my hand, as 1 held it over the ground. About two or three days before 1 was set free, 1 was entertaining the court when a courier arrived and told His Majesty that some Lilliputians, riding near the place on the beach where 1was found, had seen a great black object lying on the sand, circular in shape and as wide as His M'esty's bedroom. It was as high in the middle as a man but they didn't think it was alive because it didn't move. Some of them had walked around it several times and, by getting on each other's shoulders, got to the top, which was flat and even. They jumped on it and discovered that it was hollow inside. They thought it might belong to the manmountain and offered to bring it to His M'esty. 1 suddenly knew what they were talking about, and was happy to hear this news. It seems that they had found my hat, which 1 had fastened to my head while 1 was rowing and swimming to the shore; it fell off after 1 landed on the beach. It was brought to the palace in a wagon, but wasn't in very good condition. The drivers had made two holes in it, and had put two hooks through the holes. These hooks were tied by a long cord to the horses' harness, and my hat was dragged8 along for more than one kilometer. Two days later, the Emperor asked me to stand like a statue, with my legs as far apart as possible. He then commanded his soldiers to march under me, twenty-four men across, beating their drums with their flags raised. There were three thousand men on foot, and a thousand on horses. His Majesty gave strict orders that every soldier should be completely respectful of my body; however, that didn't prevent some of the younger officers from looking

thicker than a piece of thread from England. My friend Reldresal, principal secretaryforprivate affairs,is, in my opinion, the second best afterFlimnap.
There are often fatal accidents; 1, myself,have seen two or three candidates break a limb7.1was told that, a year or two before my arrival, Flinmap would have broken his neck, if one of the Emperor's pillows on the ground nearby hadn't broken his fallo There is also another form of entertainment, which is only performed in front of the Emperor and Empress on special occasions: stick dancing. The Emperor lays three threads six inches long on a table; one is blue, one is red, and one is green. These threads are awarded as prizes for the people who dance the best. The ceremony is performed in His Majesty's great Chamber of State. The
7. Limb - Miembro.

8. '1'0 drag - Arra'trar.

- 18 -

- 19-

Vaughan Systems

Gulliver's Travels: Lilliput

up as they passed under me. To be perfecdy honest, my pants were in such poor condition that they gave many of the soldiers opportunities for both laughter and admiration. 1 sent so many letters to His Majesty asking for my freedom, that he finally mentioned the subject to the council, where no one opposed it, except Skyresh - Skyresh Bolgolarn - who was proud to be my mortal enemy. The council specified conditions for my freedom, which 1 had to agree to. Mter the conditions were read, 1was asked to sweaf'!on the honor of my own country to followthem. Next, according to their ceremony,1 had to hold my right foot in my left hand, and to place the middle fingerof my right hand on the top of my head, and my thumb on the tip of my right ear. Because readers may be curious to know what 1 agreed to in order to be set free, 1 have made a translation of the whole document, word for word, to the best of my abilities:
1st: The man-mountain will not leave our country. 2nd: He will not try to come into our capital city, without being invited, at which time, the citizens will have two hours of warning to stay inside their homes.

7th: The man-mountain will, even when he's resting, help our workmen to raise huge stones to build the wall of our public park, and our other royal buildings. 8th: The man-mountain will, in two moons' time, give us an exact measurement of the circumference of our kingdom, by taking measurements ofhis own walks around the coast ofLilliput.

And Last, that, if he agrees to the terms above, the man-mountain will have a daily supply of meat and drink equal to that of 1,724 people, with open access to our Emperor, and his other friends of the court.
Some time later, 1 asked a friend at court how they carne up with that number of Lilliputians. He told me that His M<riesty's mathematicians compared the proportions of my body to theirs and that mine must be equal to at least 1,724 of theirs, and so, would require as much food as was necessary to support that many Lilliputians. The reader can get a good idea of the ingenuity of these people, as well as the careful and thriftyl2 nature of so great a prince.

3rd: The man-mountain may only walk on our main roads, and may not walk, or lie down, in a meadow or a field of comlO.
4th: When he walks on these roads, he will be careful not to step on the bodies of any of our people, their horses, or carriages, or take any of our citizens into his hands without their permission. 5th: If a mail carrier needs to get somewhere quickly, the man-mountain will be obliged to carry the messenger and horse in his pocket for six days, once every moon, and retum the messenger safely to the roya! palace.

1 very happily agreed to these articles, although some of the lords weren't so agreeable. My chains were immediately unlocked, and 1 was set free! The Emperor gaveme the honor of standing next to me for the whole ceremony.He said he hoped 1would be a useful servant for the kingdom.

6th: He agrees to help us fight our enemies on the island of Blefuscu,and do

everything he can to destroy their fleetll of ships, which is now preparing to invade uso

!l. To swcar -Jurar.

10. Corn - Maz. 11. Flcct - Flota.

12. Thriliy

Ecou.JlIlico.

- 20-

- 21 -

Gulliver's Travels: Lilliput

Chapter 4

The first request 1 made after 1 was set free was for permission to visit Mildendo, the capital city. The Emperor quickly approved, but with a special condition not to harm the inhabitants or their houses. The wall surro~nding the city is almost a meter high and at least twenty-three centimeters wide, and has towers at each comer. 1 stepped over the great westem gate, and walked very carefully ~rough the twO main streets in my vest, because 1 was afraid of damaging the roofs of the houses with my coat. 1 walked carefully to avoid people on the streets, although the Emperor had wamed all the people to stay in their houses. The balconies and roofs of the houses were completely filled with spectators; in all my travels 1 had never seen a more populated city. The city is an exact square, each side of the wall being one hundred and fifty-two meters long. The two main streets, which divide it into four quarters, are a meter and a half wide. The population of the town is five hundred thousand people, living in houses three to five stories high. The Emperor's palace is in the center of the city. It is surrounded by a wall twenty feet from any other building. His Majesty gave me permission to step over this wall. The Emperor wanted me to see his magnificent palace, but 1 wasn't able to for three days. 1 had to build two chairs from the tallest trees in the forest, which were about a meter high. 1 walked through the city to the palace with my two chairs in my hands. When 1 carne to the outside wall of the palace, 1 stood on one chair, and lifted the other one over the roof. 1 set it down carefully in the courtyard and then stepped over the wall from one chair to the

- 23-

Vaughan Systems

Gulliver's Travels: Lilliput

ifit had not been for the current situation of things at court, 1might not have been free so soon. "As strong as we appear to be, we fight two evilsl: a violent situation at home and the danger from an invasion by a fierce enemy across the sea. "Regarding the first evil, for about five years there have been two political parties in this empire, Tramecksan and Slamecksan, which are identified by the high and low heels2 of their shoes. It is true that the high heels are preferred in our constitution; but His Majesty has decided to only allow low heels in the government offices, and in the royal court. You've probably noticed that His Majesty's heels are lower than any of those in his court. The conflict between these two parties is so great that they won't eat, drink or talk with each other. We think there are more Trarnecksans, or high heels, than us, but the power is on our side. We suspect that the Prince has some preference for the high heels. We can clearly see that one ofhis heels is higher than the other, which gives him a strange walk.

other. In this way, 1 was able to enter the palace. Lying down on my side, 1 put my face to some windows and discovered the most beautiful rooms that can be imagined. 1 saw the Empress and the young princes; the Empress smiled sweetly and blew me a kiss through the window. My main intention at this time, however, is to describe the events that happened in Lilliput during the nine months 1 lived there. One morning, about two weeks after 1 was set free, Reldresal, my secretary for private affairs, (as they call him) carne to my house. He said he needed to speak to me for an hour, and 1 quickly agreed because of the many favors he had done for me during my appearances in court. 1 offered to lie down so he could get closer to my ear, but he said he preferred to let me hold him in my hand during our conversation. He congratulated me on gaining my freedom, but added that
- 24 -

"In addition to this internal conflict, we're also threatened' with an invasion from the island of Blefuscu, which is the other great empire of the universe, almost as large and powerful as ours. You've told us that there are other kingdoms and states in the world with human creatures as large as yourself but our philosophers don't want to believe it; they prefer to think you came down from the moon. Our history of four hundred and thirty years doesn't mention any other regions than the two great empires ofLilliput and Blefuscu. We've been at war for two and a half years because of something that happened a long time ago.
"When His Majesty's grandfather was a boy, he was starting to eat an egg by breaking it at the big end, following an ancient custom, and cut one of his fingers. As a result, his father, the Emperor, ordered all ofhis subjects to break their eggs open from the small end. The people resented this law so much that there have been six rebellions over it; one Emperor lost his crown, and another one lost his head. These rebellions were supported by the royals of Blefuscu; our refugees always ran to them for safety. Eleven thousand people have chosen death, rather than agree to break their eggs at the smaller end.
1. [vil. - Males. 2. Heel - -!1ten. 3. To thl"eaten - \l\Jenazar.

- 25-

~-

Vaughan Systems

Gulliver's Travels: Lilliput

"Mentioning these so-called 'Big-endians' has been forbidden for a long time. Many of us think it's a minor offense because it is stated 'that all true believers break their eggs at the convenient end.' Which end is the 'convenient end', should be, in my opinion, decided by each person for himself. Now, the Big-endians are so powerful in Blefuscu that a bloody war has been going on between the two empires for two and a half years. They now have a large fleet4, and are preparing to invade uso His M~esty, who has great confidence in your honor and strength, has asked me to explain our situation to you." 1 asked Reldresal to tell the Emperor that 1 didn't think it was proper for me, a foreigner, to interfere in political issues, but that 1was willing5 to defend him and his kingdom against all invaders. The Empire ofBlefuscu is an island situated to the northeast ofLilliput, separated only by a seven hundred and thirty meter wide channel. All cornmunication between the two empires had been stricdy forbidden, under 'pain of death' during the war. The Blefuscudians didn't know about me because 1 had avoided appearing on the northeast coast where their ships might see me. My advice was to capture the enemy's whole fleet of ships and His M~esty agreed. 1 walked to the coast of Lilliput that faces Blefuscu and viewed the enemy's fleet with my small telescope. There were about fifty warships anchored in the harbor. 1 returned to my house, and gave orders (with the Emperor's permission) for a great quantity ofthe strongest cable and bars ofironfi. The cable was about as thick as strong thread7 and the bars were the length and size of a knitting-needle8. 1 tripled the thread to make it stronger and twisted three of the iron bars together and bent them into fifty hooks9 and attached the threads to the hooks. Then 1 walked into the sea in only my leather vest. It took me less than half an hour to get to the fleet of ships. The sailors were so fTightened when they saw me, they jumped into the water and swam to shore10, where there were at least thirty thousand people watching. 1 attached one hook to the front of each ship and then 1 tied all the threads together into a knotu.

While 1was doing this, the enemy shot several thousand arrows at me and many of them hit my hands and face, which stung12and made my work very difficult. 1 was very afraid the arrows would hurt my eyes. Then 1remembered 1 still had my glasses in my secret pocket. 1 put them on and continued with my work, in spite of the enemy's arrows, which hit the glass lenses. When 1 had attached all of the hooks 1 took the knot in my hand and pulled but not one ship would move because of their anchors. 1had to let go of the knot and left the hooks tied to the ships. 1 cut the anchor cables one by one with my knife and then 1picked up the knot again and easily pulled fifty of the enemy's largest warships towards me. The Blefuscudians, who didn't have the slightest idea of what 1 was going to do, were at first astonished. They had seen me cut the cables, and thought my
12. Stung - Picar (past tense).

4. Hcct - Flota. 5. Willing - Dispuesto.

6.lron-

Hierro.

i. Thread - lilo. 10. Shore - Orilla. 1 L Knot - Nudo.

S. Knitting-nccdlc - Aguja de tejer. 9. /look - Gancho.

- 26 -

- 27-

Vaughan Systems

Gulliver's Travels: Lilliput

intention was only to let the ships run into each other or float away,but when they saw me pulling their whole fleet as one unit, they screamed with terror. When I was safe, I stopped for a minute to pick out the arrows that were stuck in my hands and face. Then I took off my glasses and waited an hour, until the tidelSwas out, before wading back with my little fleet of ships to the royal port ofLilliput.

The Lilliputians greeted me like a hero. His MeUesty wanted me to bring aIl the rest of his enemy's ships into his royal port. In fact, he wanted to reduce the whole empire of Blefuscu into a province, and destroy the Big-endian exiles. By doing this, he hoped to encourage people to break the smaller end of their eggs so he would remain the true king of the universe. I protested and said that I would never agree to make the brave Blefuscudians slaves. When the matter was debated in front of the council, the more inteIligent members of the ministry agreed with me.
About three weeks after this incident, officials arrived from Blefuscu asking for peace; their conditions were very beneficial for our Emperor. Six ambassadors and about five hundred people entered our port in a magnificent way, appropriate for the importance of their business. After speaking, their ExceIlencies carne to visit me. They complimented my honor and generosity, and invited me to their kingdom. These ambassadors spoke to me through an interpreter; the languages ofboth empires were as different from each other as any two in Europe. Each nation was proud of the beauty and energy of its own tongue, but our Emperor, having the advantage he had won by stealing their fleet, made them make their speech in the Lilliputian tongue. It was not long after this that 1had an opportunity of doing His Majesty a great service. At least, I thought it was at the time. I woke up at midnight, hearing many hundreds of people crying at my door. Several of the Emperor's court, making their way through the crowd, begged14me to come immediately to the palace. A careless maid15 had fallen asleep while she was reading a romance novel by candlelight and the Empress's apartment was on fire.

I got up immediately and because the moon was full, I was able to get to the palace without stepping on any of the people. They had already put ladders against the walls of the apartment, and had many buckets of water. These buckets were about the size oflarge thimbles1fi,and the poor people gave them to me as fast as they could, but the flames were so violent that they didn't do much good. This magnificent palace would certainly have burned to the ground if I hadn't suddenly thought of a solution. That evening, I had drunk a large amount of a delicious wine called glimig;rim and I had not yet relieved myself of any part of it. As a result ofbeing very hot from the flames, and by working hard to put them out, I needed to urinate. I aimed my stream of water at the right places so weIl, that in three minutes I put out the fire completely and the palace was saved.

At dawn, I returned to my house. I didn't know how His Majestywould react to my actions; by Lilliputian law,it is forbidden for anyone to 'make water' on the palace grounds. But I felt a little better after I received a message from the Emperor stating that he would give orders to the grand justice to forgive me. However,I could not obtain a pardon from the Empress and was told that she was shocked by what I had done, and had moved her apartments to the other side of the palace, demanding that those rooms should never be repaired for her to use again.

13. Tide - !llar"a.

14. Tu be~ - Suplicar.

15. Maid. Criada.

16. Thimble

. DedaL

- 28-

- 29 -

Gulliver's Travels: Lilliput

Chapter S

Now, I'll saya few things about the laws and customs ofLilliput. 1 won't say much about their education except that their style of writing is very strange, being neither from the left to the right, like the Europeans, nor from the right to the left, like the Arabians, nor from the top to the bottom, like the Chinese: it's slanted1 from one comer of the paper to the other. They b\lI"f their dead with their heads facing down, because they believe that when they rise again, the earth (which they consider to be flat)will tum upside down, and so, when they are resurrected, they'll already be on their feet. Some of the more educated Lilliputians think that this is an old fashioned and ridiculous custom. Criminals are punished severely, but, if the person accused is found innocent at his trial, the accuser is immediately put to death. The innocent person is compensated for the loss ofhis time, for the difficulty ofhis imprisonment, and for any costs relating to his defense. The Emperor also makes a proclamation declaring the person's innocence to the entire country. They consider fraud to be a worse crime than theft, and almost always punish it with death. Ingratitude is a serious crime also punished with death; a person who is ungrateful is an enemy to the rest of mankind.

l. Slanted - llldinaJo.

2. To bury - F",[crrar.

- 31 -

Vaughan Systems

Gulliver's Travels: Lilliput

simple. They are taught the principIes of honor, justice, courage, modesty, mercy, religion and patriotismo They are kept very busy, except when they're eating and sleeping. Also, they must exercise for two hours every day. They are dressed by men until they are four years old, and then they are required to dress themselves. They are never expected to talk to their servants and they always go out together in a group, accompanied by a professor. This prevents them from developing the bad habits our children have. Their parents are allowed to see them only twice ayear for one hour. They are allowed to kiss the child 'hello' and 'goodbye' but the professor, who is always present, will not allow them to whisper4 or talk sweetly to them, or bring them any presents like toys or candt. The nurseries for boys from ordinary families are managed in much the same way. The only difference is that children of great quality study until they're fifteen, not twenty-one like us, and their confinement is gradually decreased for the last tl1fee years. In the female nurseries, the young girls of quality are educated much like the males, only they are dressed by servants and nurses of their own sex until they can dress themselves, which is at five years old. If any of these nurses ever entertain the girls with scary6 or ridiculous stories, they are publicly whipped7 three times around the city, imprisoned for ayear, and forced to move to the most deserted part of the country for the rest of their lives. The young ladies are as ashamed of being cowards and fools as the men are, and hate all types of jewelry; they only value decency and cleanliness. I didn't see any difference in the education of the males and the females, only that the physical exercise of the females wasn't as difficult, and that they were taught some domestic skills. They believe that a wife should always be a reasonable and agreeablc companion, because she can't always be young. When the girls are twelvc ycarHold they're old enough for marriage and their parents take them home, with grcat cxprcssions of gratitude to the professors; the young lady and her classrnatcII alrnost always cry as well.

Their ideas relating to the duties of parents and children differ extremely &om ours. Men and women arejoined together, like other animals, by the laws of nature and aren't affectionate toward their children. They also don't think that a child is under any obligation to his father or mother for creating him. The general opinion is that parents shouldn't be trusted with the education of their own children; there are public nurseries' in every town where all parents are required to send their infants ofboth sexes to be raised and educated. When they reach the age of two, they are supposed to know how to behave in society. They have severa! kinds of schools, appropriate for different talents, and both sexes. They have teachers who are very skilled in preparing children for a lifestyle similar to their parents'.

The nurseries for males of royal birth are provided with serious, welleducated professors. The clothes and food of the children are plain and

:l. Nursel'Y

. Guardera.

4.11' whisper - Cud"d"." - 32 -

~,t

11111"

1."1""",,, h. "il'ary De ",icdo. i. Whipped - Fu,tigado.

.'i.'i-

Vaughan Systems

Gulliver's Travels: Lilliput

The working-class8 families keep their males and females at home because their only function is to grow things; education doesn't matter very mucho When they get old or sick, they're taken care of in hospitals; beggin~ is completely unknown in Lilliputian society. These families helped me survive during my nine months and thirteen days in Lilliput by making clothes and building furniture for my house.

Chapter 6

A few weeks later, 1 was told about a plot against me that had been developing for two months in Lilliput. One night, a person from the court that 1 had defended when His Mcyesty was angry with him, carne to my house in a traveling chair carried by his servants. 1 put the chair, with him in it, into my coat-pocket. 1locked the door of my house, placed the chair on the table, and sat down beside it. 1 noticed the lord was very concerned about something, and 1 asked him what it was.

He replied, "You should know that several committees of council have recently been meeting secretly to talk about you. You are aware that Skyresh Bolgolam has been your mortal enemy ever since your arrival. His hatred and jealousy has increased ever since your great success against Blefuscu. This lord and Flimnap, the high-treasurer who also hates you because he thinks his wife desires you, have advised His Majesty to arrest you for treasonl and other capital crimes." Since 1 knew 1 was innocent, 1 tried to interrupt him but he asked me to be silent, and continued his explanation.
"Because I'm very thankful for the help you've given me, 1 obtained information from the court. Here's a copy of the official document, which 1 risked my life to get." He showed me the document, which I've translated for you:

--~,\"'urkin1.t-dass (~I~IS( nhn'.1. ~LnC'~J'in~r \kndindad. t. "n:asulI Ij',IIClII.

- 34 -

- :35 -

Vaughan Systems

Gulliver's Travels: Lilliput

Accusation against QUINBUS FLESTRIN, (the Man-Mountain) Article I

This one claimed I maliciously urinated to put out Her M~esty's fire. (treason)

Then, irnmediately after my death, five or six thousand ofHis Majesty's people could cut my flesh off, take it away in wagons, and bury it far from the city to prevent infection. This would allow my skeleton to be displayed as a public monument, a testimony to the prosperity of Lilliput.

Article 11 This one referred to my refusal to help His Majesty take over the rule of the people ofBlefuscu. (traitor)
Article 111 This one blamed me for being kind to the ambassadors from Blefuscu. (traitor)

The project of starving me was supposed to be kept a secret, but blinding me would be done with my consent, as a surgicalprocedure, the lord told me.
"In three days your friend the secretary will come to your house, and read you the document which calls for your death. But then he'll tell you that the council has merey and will only ask for the loss of your eyes, which His Majesty has assured them you will gratefully allow. Twenty of His Majesty's best surgeons will supervise the surgery: inserting very sharp-pointed arrows into the balls of your eyes, as you lie on the ground."

The lord continued by tellingme that His Majestyhad told his council to show some mercy,because of the many favors I had done for the kingdom. "He said the friendship between you and him was well known to the world and so perhaps the council would do the right thing and spare2your life." But the council wanted me to be put to death by setting fire to my house at night. In addition, the general wanted his men to shoot me in the face and hands with poisoned' arrows. He also wanted my servants to spray a toxicjuice on my clothes, which would cause me to scratch my skin off,and die a horrible death. But His Majesty was absolutely against capital punishment. So, the council discussed the option of blinding4 me because blindness wouldn't affect my strength and I could still be useful. Blindness would also add to my courage because 1 wouldn't be afraid that the enemy's poisoned arrows would hit my eyes. But others disagreed; this solution wouldn't solve the problem of the expense of feedingme. They referred to the fact that when geese5and ducks are blinded, they eat more and get fat faster.
His Majesty was eventually forced to compromise with the council, and decided that, after they blinded me, they could gradually decrease my portion of food, which would cause me to grow weak, lose my appetite, and die in a few months.
2. '11, 'pa.." - Perdonar. :J. "..iso",,1I 1-:11\ ('n<:ll""". 4. 'Ih hli"d - Dejar ('lego. 5. (;""Sl' - Cansos.

- 36-

- 37-

Vaughan Systems

GuIliver's Travels: LiIliput

Mter this news, the lord said, "1 must immediately return as secredy as I carne." I was left alone to consider this disturbing development. I must confess that I was having difficulty seeing the merey of this punishment. After thinking for a while, I decided that is was more cruel than gende. I rejected their horrible and terrifying 'solution' and made my own solution.

Chapter 7

The next day,I visited the Emperor of Blefuscu.The Emperor, Empress, and several thousand citizens welcomed me with greatjoy~and I lay on the ground to kiss His Majesty's and the Empress's hands. I told His Majesty that I had come to offerhim any servicein my power,with the consent of my own prince. I didn't mention anything about my disgrace, because I wasn't supposed to know about this secret myself.

Three days after my arrival at Blefuscu, I went on a walk to explore the northeast coast of the island. I saw,out in the sea, something that looked like an upside-down boatoI swam out to it and as I got closer, I saw that it really was a small boat that might have been caught in a storm and blown into the region. I immediately returned towards the city, and asked His Imperial Majesty to lend me twenty of the biggest ships he had left (you will remember that I had stolen most of his fleet before), because I couldn't push the boat and swim at the same time. When I got to it, I turned it over and saw that it wasn't in very bad condition. With the help of the Emperor's ships and men, I was able to pull it back to the royalport ofBlefuscu.The people were amazedby the huge sizeof the litdeboato I told the Emperor that good luck had brought the boat to me, so that I might return to my nativecountry.I asked him for some help in fixingit up, alongwithl his permission to leave,which he was pleased to giveme.
I was surprised I hadn't heard anything from the Emperor ofLilliput. I was told later that his Imperial M.yesty, who didn't know that I knew about the secret plot, thought I had gone to Blefuscu to help him take over the country and would return in a few days. But after two weeks, he sent a messenger to say that he wouldn't punish me with blindness, but that if I didn't return in two hours, he would take away my tide of nardac. His messenger also added, "in order to
l. \lul1~ with . .Iunt( ( m

- 38-

- 39-

Vaughan Systems

GlIlliver's Travels: LiJlipllt

keep the peace and fii.endship between both empires, the Emperor asks his royal brother of Blefuscu to tie up the man-mountain and send him back to Lilliput, to be punished as a traitor." The Emperor ofBlefuscu thought about it for three days and then returned an answer. He told the messenger, "As for sending the man-mountain tied up, my brother knows it is impossible." Although 1 had stolen his fleet, he was grateful to me for many good things 1 had done for Blefuscu; He told me that he was going to help me return to my native land and that both empires would soon be free from the enormous expense ofkeeping me. Five hundred men were employed to make two sails2for my boato 1made dozens of ropes and cables by twisting thirty of their strongest ones together. 1 found a huge rock after a long search by the seashore to use as an anchor. Their carpenters helped me smooth' their tallest trees to use as oars. In about a month everything was prepared and 1 was ready to leave. The Emperor and royal family carne out of the palace; 1 lay down on my face to kiss his hand, which he very graciously gave me. His Majesty gave me his picture, which 1 immediately put into one of my gloves, to prevent it from getting wet. 1put as much meat into the ship as the cooks could give me. 1 took six cows and two bulls alive, with as many sheep, intending to take them into my own country to breed4. 1 wanted to take a dozen Blefuscudians with me, but the Emperor wouldn't allow it. He asked his men to search my pockets, to make sure 1wasn't going to carry away any ofhis subjects, even if they wanted to go. 1 set sail on the twenty-fourth day of September, 1701, at six in the morning. My intention was to reach, if possible, one of the islands, which 1 thought was to the northeast ofVan Diemen's Land. 1 discovered nothing all that day; but the next day, at about three in the afternoon, 1 saw a sail in the distance. It is not easy to express the joyS 1felt, at the unexpected hope of seeing my beloved country and family once more! The ship pulled up next to my boat and my joy at seeing its English flag was indescribable! 1 put my cows and sheep into my
2. Sail- Vela, :}.'1'0smooth - \Iisar. 4. "n. brecd - cnar. .5.Joy - Alegria.

coat-pockets, and got on board. The vessel was an English merchant6 ship that was returning fromJapan by the North and South seas. When the crew heard my story, they thought 1 was insane. So, 1 took my black cattle and sheep out of my pocket; they were astonished and then convinced of my sanity. 1 then showed them His Majesty's picture and some other miniature curiosities of that country.

We arrived in England on the 13th of April, 1702. The only bad thing that had happened during the trip was that the rats on the ship had eaten one of my sheep; 1found her bones in a hole, with the flesh gone. During my short time in England, 1 made a lot of money by showing my cattle to many people, and before 1began my second voyage,1sold them for six hundred pounds.
(;. Merchallt - Mercautil.

- 40 -

- 41 -

Vallghan Systems

1 only stayed for two months with my wife and family; my great desire to see foreign countries made me continue to travel. 1 left fifteen hundred pounds with my wife, and said goodbye to her and my son and daughter, who were all crying. 1sailed on a ship named the Adventure, but my story of this voyage will be told in another book.

- 42-