CHAPTER SEVEN

War and Troubles

The island of Blefuscu was only 800 yards north of Lilliput, but I had not yet had a chance to see this country. While preparing for war with the people of Blefuscu, I stayed away from the north side of Lilliput, so that none of the Blefuscudians' ships would see me. The king told me that the Blefuscudians had 50 war ships that could hold about 30,000 people.

After learning these things about the people of Blefuscu, I made a plan of attack and asked the king's best officers to help me. I had been told that the water was eight feet in the deepest part, and four feet in the shallowest part. I gave an order for fifty strong ropes to be made. Then I asked people to put fifty large hooks at the ends of these ropes.

On the day of the attack, I was the first to see the Blefuscudians' ships coming to Lilliput. I walked out into the water to meet the ships. I did this easily, because the water was not very deep at that point. When the Blefuscudians saw me coming towards them in the water, I am sure they thought I was some kind of horrible sea monster. Many men jumped out of their boats, screaming loudly, and swam towards the beach of Lilliput. I took my ropes and attached one to each warship. The men who had stayed on the ships shot arrows and fired their cannons, but I had worn my thickest clothes so that none of their weapons would hurt me.

At this point, I did something that the Lilliputians did not expect. The Lilliputians had expected me to tie the Blefuscudians' ships together and then push them out to sea. Instead, I turned towards Lilliput and began to pull the ships onto their land. This was easy for me to do, because the Lilliputians' ropes and hooks were strong. However, when the water became deep, the Lilliputians who were watching me pull the ships could not see me any longer. Many people on the beach said, "Oh, no! Man-mountain has drowned! And look! Now our enemy's ships are coming to attack us!" I was too busy pulling the ships to tell them that everything was all right.

However, in a few moments the water became less deep, and my head rose out of the water again. When the people saw me pulling the Blefuscudian ships with the ropes, everyone shouted and cheered joyfully. I held up the ropes high in the air and said loudly, "The enemy has been captured! Long live the king of Lilliput!"

The king of Lilliput ran forward and said to the people on the beach, "Great Man-mountain, for capturing some of our enemies, the Blefuscudians, I now give you a special name, the name of Nardac. This is the highest honor in our kingdom!" I felt very proud and grateful, and everyone cheered.

But the king had not yet finished speaking. "Good Man-mountain, now that you have helped my country win our battle with Blefuscu, there are some other things I would like you to do," he said quickly. "You have captured many of the enemy's ships today, but there are still more. I want you to find all the Blefuscudians' ships and bring them to me. This way, the Blefuscudians cannot attack us anymore, and I will be able to rule Blefuscu!" he cried, "Then, we can go to that terrible island and destroy all the people who break their eggs at the large end. I will send one of my best officers to govern Blefuscu. All the Blefuscudians will obey me, and I will be the most powerful king in the world!"

All the Lilliputians were more excited than ever, and everyone shouted and clapped. However, I did not know what to think. The king's ideas bothered me very much. It did not seem fair to kill or hurt the Blefuscudian people, just because they believed differently than the Lilliputian king. I knew I could never kill anyone, and I told the king so.

When the king realized that the "Man-mountain" would not help him rule Blefuscu, he was extremely angry. "You are a traitor, Man-mountain! You are not grateful for everything I have done for you!" he shouted. Then he turned and walked away with all his officers around him. I could not believe that the king was so angry with me. Hadn't I helped his people?

From that time on, there were certain officers, especially Skyresh Bolgolam, who spoke badly about me to the king whenever they could. Because the king was angry with me, he believed everything these people said. "I have done so much for Lilliput, yet the king treats me terribly!" I thought angrily. However, I did not say anything, because I hoped that soon the king would change his mind.

About three weeks after I had captured the ships, some officers from Blefuscu came to Lilliput to see the king. The Blefuscudians wanted peace with Lilliput because they knew that the Lilliputian king was much stronger than they were. I am sure that greedy king was very happy about that!

Although the king was angry with me, I was still allowed to come to the castle and talk to people. The Blefuscudian officers saw me and were very interested in speaking to me. I was very friendly to them. They asked me to show them how strong I was, so I gave them some examples. I think that the Lilliputians who were still friendly to me must have told the Blefuscudian officers that I was on their side, because one of the Blefuscudian officers said to me, "Good Man-mountain, we would like to invite you to visit our country as our friend. The Blefuscudian king would like to meet you."

"I would love to visit your country, friends," I said, "I have heard that your king is very famous, and his country is beautiful." So we agreed that I would come to Blefuscu as soon as I could.

(end of section)