A Voyage To Lilliput

My father had a small farm in Nottinghamshire, and I was the third of four sons. He sent me to Cambridge when I was fourteen, and after studying there for three years I became an apprentice to Mr. Bates, a famous doctor in London. My father sometimes sent me small amounts of money, and I spent them learning about sailing and other useful things for travelers, because I always believed that one day I would travel the world.

Three years after I left Mr. Bates, he recommended me as a ship's doctor on the "Swallow," where I sailed for three years. When I came back I settled in London, and renting part of a small house, I married Miss Mary Burton, the daughter of Mr. Edmund Burton, a sock maker.

But my good master Bates died two years later, and since I had few friends my work began to dry up, so I decided to go to sea again. After several trips, I accepted an offer from Captain W. Pritchard, master of the "Antelope," who was sailing to the South Sea. We set sail from Bristol on May 4, 1699, and at first our voyage went very well.

But as we sailed to the East Indies, a violent storm drove us northwest of Van Diemen's Land. Twelve of our crew died from hard work and bad food, and the rest were very weak.

On November 5, the weather was very foggy, and the sailors spotted a rock within 120 yards of the ship. But the wind was so strong that we were driven straight onto it, and the ship split apart immediately. Six of us lowered the boat and got away from the ship.

We rowed about three leagues until we couldn't row any longer. So we trusted ourselves to the mercy of the waves, and in about half an hour the boat was overturned by a sudden gust of wind.

I don't know what happened to my companions in the boat, or those who escaped onto the rock or stayed on the ship, but I think they all died. As for me, I swam wherever luck took me, pushed forward by wind and tide.

When I could struggle no more, I found I could touch the bottom. By then the storm had calmed down a lot. I finally reached the shore around eight o'clock in the evening and walked nearly half a mile inland, but I couldn't see any signs of people.

I was extremely tired, and because of the warm weather I felt very sleepy. I lay down on the grass, which was very short and soft, and slept more deeply than I ever had in my life, for about nine hours. When I woke up, it was just daylight.

I tried to get up, but I couldn't, because I was lying on my back and found my arms and legs tied to the ground on each side. My long, thick hair was also tied down the same way. I could only look upward.

The sun began to grow hot, and the light hurt my eyes. I heard a confused noise around me, but I could see nothing except the sky. After a little while, I felt something alive moving on my left leg.

It gently advanced over my chest and came almost up to my chin. I looked down and saw it was a tiny person, not six inches tall, with a bow and arrow in his hands and a quiver on his back.

At the same time, I felt at least forty more following the first. I was completely amazed and roared so loudly that they all ran back in fright. Some of them were hurt when they jumped off my sides onto the ground.

But they soon returned, and one of them, who dared to come close enough to see my face fully, lifted up his hands in wonder. I was very uncomfortable all this time, but finally I struggled to get free and managed to break the strings holding my left arm to the ground.

At the same time, with a violent pull that hurt me a lot, I loosened the strings tying my hair, so I could turn my head about two inches. But the little creatures ran away a second time before I could grab them.

Then there was a great shout, and instantly I felt more than a hundred arrows hit my left hand, pricking me like so many needles. They also shot another volley into the air, and some fell on my face, which I covered with my left hand.

When the shower of arrows was over, I groaned with pain and grief. When I tried again to get free, they shot another flight of arrows, larger than the first, and some tried to stab me with their spears. But luckily I was wearing a leather jacket, which they couldn't pierce.