Once upon a time in England, there lived a man named Lemuel Gulliver. He dreamt of sailing the seas and seeing all the wonders of the world.
‘I long to spend my life travelling and seeing distant lands. The sea looks so inviting!’ thought Gulliver. As he watched the sunlight sparkle on the surface of the waves, and the dolphins darting through the water, he knew that he would be the happiest man on the earth if he sailed upon those waves. He had joined a ship as a surgeon.
One night, there was a storm at sea and the ship was wrecked. ‘Oh…is this how I shall meet with my untimely demise?’ wondered Gulliver.
All the passengers were drowned, except Gulliver. He was an excellent swimmer and swam for many miles before he reached the shore. Very tired, he decided to sleep.
Gulliver slept for a whole day. When he woke up, the sun was beating down upon him. ‘Where am I…is this heaven?’ thought Gulliver. He tried to move but could not. Lifting his head for a better look, Gulliver was amazed to see countless tiny people climbing over his body.
“Who are you? Let me go!” said Gulliver. They did not respond and Gulliver was unable to get away from them. His hands, legs and body were tied to the ground. All the little men were running around him. One of them got a tiny ladder and was climbing upon him. The little man, no bigger than Gulliver’s thumbnail, came up to him and said, “You are in the land of Lilliput; we are the Lilliputians. We are taking you to our King, so please do not make any trouble. Otherwise, you will be shot!” Gulliver almost laughed at this threat, but nodded.
A huge wooden structure with wheels was brought. After a lot of struggle, Gulliver was slid onto it. It was pulled through the streets of Lilliput. When Gulliver was brought into the capital-city, he could see the entire population of Lilliput in the streets, jostling to get a better look at him. He could hear them commenting about him, “Look how enormous he is! His little finger is bigger than I!”
“How much do you think I’d have to eat to grow so big?” “You must eat entire armies and all the animals for breakfast… .” There was laughter all around. It was a festival atmosphere, which the Lilliputians seemed to be enjoying themselves, much to the amusement of Gulliver.
Finally, they arrived at the King’s palace, a bugle sounded and the King appeared.
“Greetings, Giant! I am the King of Lilliput,” the King said. “Greetings, Your Majesty. My name is Gulliver. Forgive me for not saluting you properly; but what else can I do? I am tied up!”
“If you are to stay here, you will have to be of service to my people,” the King said, pointing to the crowd.
Gulliver said, “I agree to any condition, but only if you untie me.” “You do not appear
particularly evil to me,” said the King. He then ordered, “Release the living mountain at once!”
Gulliver was thrilled to hear that the King was setting him free.
Gulliver was freed and the Lilliputians let him stay in a large, ruined temple. It was the only place in the town that was big enough for him. From that day on, the Lilliputians were very kind and welcoming to him. They provided him with food and water, and measured him for a new outfit.
The day when Gulliver’s new clothes were completed, there was a celebration for the entire kingdom of Lilliput. All the Lilliputians gathered in the street to see him in the new outfit that they had made together with their own hands. They did not have any fabric big enough for him, so the entire outfit was pieced together out of different fabrics. Gulliver was deeply touched by all the Lilliputians’ care and generosity. One day, disaster struck. “Fire! Fire! The palace is burning! We must save the Queen! Help!”
Gulliver was awakened by the screams and rushed to help. He put out the fire immediately. The Lilliputians cheered and the King thanked him for his resourcefulness. Suddenly, a canon-blast rented the air! The neighbouring kingdom of Bleuse had brought over its fleet to invade Lilliput. A war was declared!
“Have courage, my people! We must stand and defend our homeland! Follow me into battle!” said the King. The King attempted to rally the Lilliputians, but they were so frightened that they wouldn’t stop running.
Seeing the situation, Gulliver came up with a plan. He waded out into the sea and began to grab the invaders’ ships one by one and tossed them aside. He pulled the ships the whole day, until the army of Bleuse was tired and was in no position to fight. After some time, it retreated. Gulliver was declared a hero.
“To reward you for your heroic act, I will grant you any wish you may name!” the King declared.
Gulliver considered for a moment, trying to decide what he really wanted. He then said, “Please build me a ship large enough to sail back home.”
Gulliver wished he could stay with the friendly Lilliputians forever, but there were so many more lands to see and adventures to experience.
“Farewell, Gulliver! We will never forget you!”
“Goodbye! Good luck to all of you! May Lilliput prosper and thrive!” Gulliver knew that he would always remember the people of Lilliput.
