The Blue Fairy Book
The horses of the army and of the royal stables were no longer shy,
having been daily led before me; and one of the Emperor’s huntsmen, on a
large courser, took my foot, shoe and all, which was indeed a prodigious
leap. I amused the Emperor one day in a very extraordinary manner. I
took nine sticks, and fixed them firmly in the ground in a square. Then
I took four other sticks, and tied them parallel at each corner, about
two feet from the ground. I fastened my handkerchief to the nine sticks
that stood erect, and extended it on all sides till it was as tight as
the top of a drum; and I desired the Emperor to let a troop of his best
horse, twenty-four in number, come and exercise upon this plain. His
majesty approved of the proposal, and I took them up one by one, with
the proper officers to exercise them. As soon as they got into order
they divided into two parties, discharged blunt arrows, drew their
swords, fled and pursued, and, in short, showed the best military
discipline I ever beheld. The parallel sticks secured them and their
horses from falling off the stage, and the Emperor was so much delighted
that he ordered this entertainment to be repeated several days, and
persuaded the Empress herself to let me hold her in her chair within
two yards of the stage, whence she could view the whole performance.
Fortunately no accident happened, only once a fiery horse, pawing with
his hoof, struck a hole in my handkerchief, and overthrew his rider and
himself. But I immediately relieved them both, and covering the hole
with one hand, I set down the troop with the other as I had taken them
up. The horse that fell was strained in the shoulder; but the rider was
not hurt, and I repaired my handkerchief as well as I could. However,
I would not trust to the strength of it any more in such dangerous
enterprises.
I had sent so many petitions for my liberty that his Majesty at length
mentioned the matter in a full council, where it was opposed by none
except Skyresh Bolgolam, admiral of the realm, who was pleased without
any provocation to be my mortal enemy. However, he agreed at length,
though he succeeded in himself drawing up the conditions on which I
should be set free. After they were read I was requested to swear to
perform them in the method prescribed by their laws, which was to hold
my right foot in my left hand, and to place the middle finger of my
right hand on the crown of my head, and my thumb on the top of my right
ear. But I have made a translation of the conditions, which I here offer
to the public:
“Golbaste Mamarem Evlame Gurdile Shefin Mully Ully Gue, Most Mighty
Emperor of Lilliput, delight and terror of the universe, whose dominions
extend to the ends of the globe, monarch of all monarchs, taller than
the sons of men, whose feet press down to the center, and whose head
strikes against the sun, at whose nod the princes of the earth shake
their knees, pleasant as the spring, comfortable as the summer, fruitful
as autumn, dreadful as winter: His Most Sublime Majesty proposeth to the
Man-Mountain, lately arrived at our celestial dominions, the following
articles, which by a solemn oath he shall be obliged to perform:
“First. The Man-Mountain shall not depart from our dominions without our
license under the great seal.
“Second. He shall not presume to come into our metropolis without our
express order, at which time the inhabitants shall have two hours’
warning to keep within doors.
“Third. The said Man-Mountain shall confine his walks to our principal
high roads, and not offer to walk or lie down in a meadow or field of
corn.
“Fourth. As he walks the said roads he shall take the utmost care not to
trample upon the bodies of any of our loving subjects, their horses or
carriages, nor take any of our subjects into his hands without their own
consent.
“Fifth. If an express requires extraordinary speed the Man-Mountain
shall be obliged to carry in his pocket the messenger and horse a six
days’ journey, and return the said messenger (if so required) safe to
our imperial presence.
“Sixth. He shall be our ally against our enemies in the island of
Blefuscu, and do his utmost to destroy their fleet, which is now
preparing to invade us.
“Lastly. Upon his solemn oath to observe all the above articles,
the said Man-Mountain shall have a daily allowance of meat and drink
sufficient for the support of 1,724 of our subjects, with free access to
our royal person, and other marks of our favor. Given at our palace at
Belfaburac, the twelfth day of the ninety-first moon of our reign.”
I swore to these articles with great cheerfulness, whereupon my chains
were immediately unlocked, and I was at full liberty.
One morning, about a fortnight after I had obtained my freedom,
Reldresal, the Emperor’s secretary for private affairs, came to my
house, attended only by one servant. He ordered his coach to wait at
a distance, and desired that I would give him an hour’s audience. I
offered to lie down that he might the more conveniently reach my
ear; but he chose rather to let me hold him in my hand during our
conversation. He began with compliments on my liberty, but he added
that, save for the present state of things at Court, perhaps I might not
have obtained it so soon. “For,” he said, “however flourishing we may
seem to foreigners, we are in danger of an invasion from the island of
Blefuscu, which is the other great empire of the universe, almost as
large and as powerful as this of his Majesty. For as to what we have
heard you say, that there are other kingdoms in the world, inhabited
by human creatures as large as yourself, our philosophers are very
doubtful, and rather conjecture that you dropped from the moon, or one
of the stars, because a hundred mortals of your size would soon destroy
all the fruit and cattle of his Majesty’s dominions. Besides, our
histories of six thousand moons make no mention of any other regions
than the two mighty empires of Lilliput and Blefuscu, which, as I was
going to tell you, are engaged in a most obstinate war, which began in
the following manner: It is allowed on all hands that the primitive
way of breaking eggs was upon the larger end; but his present Majesty’s
grandfather, while he was a boy, going to eat an egg, and breaking it
according to the ancient practice, happened to cut one of his fingers.
Whereupon the Emperor, his father, made a law commanding all his
subjects to break the smaller end of their eggs. The people so highly
resented this law that there have been six rebellions raised on that
account, wherein one emperor lost his life, and another his crown. It is
calculated that eleven hundred persons have at different times suffered
rather than break their eggs at the smaller end. But these rebels,
the Bigendians, have found so much encouragement at the Emperor of
Blefuscu’s Court, to which they always fled for refuge, that a bloody
war, as I said, has been carried on between the two empires for
six-and-thirty moons; and now the Blefuscudians have equipped a large
fleet, and are preparing to descend upon us. Therefore his Imperial
Majesty, placing great confidence in your valor and strength, has
commanded me to set the case before you.”
I desired the secretary to present my humble duty to the Emperor, and
to let him know that I was ready, at the risk of my life, to defend him
against all invaders.
CHAPTER IV
It was not long before I communicated to his Majesty the plan I formed
for seizing the enemy’s whole fleet. The Empire of Blefuscu is an island
parted from Lilliput only by a channel eight hundred yards wide. I
consulted the most experienced seamen on the depth of the channel, and
they told me that in the middle, at high water, it was seventy glumguffs
(about six feet of European measure). I walked toward the coast, where,
lying down behind a hillock, I took out my spy-glass, and viewed the
enemy’s fleet at anchor--about fifty men-of-war, and other vessels. I
then came back to my house and gave orders for a great quantity of
the strongest cables and bars of iron. The cable was about as thick as
packthread, and the bars of the length and size of a knitting-needle. I
trebled the cable to make it stronger, and for the same reason twisted
three of the iron bars together, bending the ends into a hook. Having
thus fixed fifty hooks to as many cables, I went back to the coast,
and taking off my coat, shoes, and stockings, walked into the sea in my
leather jacket about half an hour before high water. I waded with what
haste I could, swimming in the middle about thirty yards, till I felt
ground, and thus arrived at the fleet in less than half an hour. The
enemy was so frightened when they saw me that they leaped out of their
ships and swam ashore, where there could not be fewer than thirty
thousand. Then, fastening a hook to the hole at the prow of each ship,
I tied all the cords together at the end. Meanwhile the enemy discharged
several thousand arrows, many of which stuck in my hands and face. My
greatest fear was for my eyes, which I should have lost if I had
not suddenly thought of the pair of spectacles which had escaped the
Emperor’s searchers. These I took out and fastened upon my nose, and
thus armed went on with my work in spite of the arrows, many of which
struck against the glasses of my spectacles, but without any other
effect than slightly disturbing them. Then, taking the knot in my hand,
I began to pull; but not a ship would stir, for they were too fast
held by their anchors. Thus the boldest part of my enterprise remained.
Letting go the cord, I resolutely cut with my knife the cables that
fastened the anchors, receiving more than two hundred shots in my face
and hands. Then I took up again the knotted end of the cables to which
my hooks were tied, and with great ease drew fifty of the enemy’s
largest men-of-war after me.
When the Blefuscudians saw the fleet moving in order, and me pulling at
the end, they set up a scream of grief and despair that it is impossible
to describe. When I had got out of danger I stopped awhile to pick out
the arrows that stuck in my hands and face, and rubbed on some of
the same ointment that was given me at my arrival. I then took off my
spectacles, and after waiting about an hour, till the tide was a little
fallen, I waded on to the royal port of Lilliput.
The Emperor and his whole Court stood on the shore awaiting me. They saw
the ships move forward in a large half-moon, but could not discern me,
who, in the middle of the channel, was under water up to my neck. The
Emperor concluded that I was drowned, and that the enemy’s fleet was
approaching in a hostile manner. But he was soon set at ease, for, the
channel growing shallower every step I made, I came in a short time
within hearing, and holding up the end of the cable by which the fleet
was fastened, I cried in a loud voice: “Long live the most puissant
Emperor of Lilliput!” The Prince received me at my landing with all
possible joy, and made me a Nardal on the spot, which is the highest
title of honor among them.
His Majesty desired that I would take some opportunity to bring all the
rest of his enemy’s ships into his ports, and seemed to think of nothing
less than conquering the whole Empire of Blefuscu, and becoming the sole
monarch of the world. But I plainly protested that I would never be the
means of bringing a free and brave people into slavery; and though
the wisest of the Ministers were of my opinion, my open refusal was so
opposed to his Majesty’s ambition that he could never forgive me. And
from this time a plot began between himself and those of his Ministers
who were my enemies, that nearly ended in my utter destruction.
About three weeks after this exploit there arrived an embassy from