CHAPTER THREE

I Begin to Work

For the first few weeks in the farmer's house, life was difficult. Everything around me was so big, and I was unable to do anything for myself. The giants had to help me with simple things, like eating food and moving around the enormous house. Luckily, the farmer's daughter, who was a nine-year-old girl named Glumdalclitch, was a kind and sweet young girl. She and I became very good friends, and Glumdalclitch was always happy to help me. Glumdalclitch's mother had taught her many useful skills, so she was able to make me new clothes. Glumdalclitch had a house for her dolls and toys that was the perfect size for me to live in. In this dollhouse, I was able to sleep and live comfortably. She called me "Grildrig" which in the giants' language means "the tiny man".

In the next few weeks, Glumdalclitch became my teacher. She taught me much of the giants' language. I learned that this land was called "Brobdingnag".

I felt that the farmer and his family were very kind to me, and I was thankful for all their help and protection in this land of giants. Although I was small, I tried to help the family in any way I could. If the farmer asked me to do something, I was always happy to do it. One day, some other giants came to visit the family. The farmer asked me to entertain his guests by showing them my skill with a sword. I was happy to do this, because I knew that the other giants would be interested to see a "tiny man". I put on a show for the farmers' guests and even was able to speak to them a little in their language. The other giants were very pleased with me. After I had entertained the guests, one of the giants told the farmer that the people of Brobdingnag would pay lots of money to see me and watch me perform. The farmer thought that this was a wonderful idea.

The next day was the day that all the giants went to the market to buy and sell fruits and vegetables. The farmer decided to take me to the market so that I could entertain people while they bought things. He woke me up early that morning and I saw that he had prepared a small box for me to sit in. He had cut small holes in the top of the box so that I could breathe. I did not like the idea of sitting in a small, dark box, but I wanted to be polite to the farmer. Glumdalclitch was worried that the giants in town might be too rough with me and hurt me in some way. She cried as her father closed the box with me inside it. She told her father that she was coming with us whether he liked it or not! The farmer agreed, and all three of us got on his horse and rode into town.

The giant horse's quick movements made me feel as though I was on a ship in a terrible storm. I began to feel very sick in the small box. Luckily, Glumdalclitch asked her father to stop every few minutes so I could rest a little.

When we arrived at the market, the farmer asked some boys to tell everyone that he had found a tiny man and that the man would perform for everyone at the town's inn.

Once we were in the inn, the farmer let me out of my box. I stood on a large table with Glumdalclitch sitting next to me. She explained to me what the farmer wanted me to do. She told me that I should first greet each visitor in their language and then drink a toast to their health from a tiny glass. Next I should show everyone my skills with a sword. The farmer sold tickets to this performance at the door of the inn. Because the room was small, he would only allow about thirty people to see me at one time. After my first performance, the news of a "tiny man" in Brobdingnag spread quickly through the town. Everyone was excited and was willing to stand in long lines just to be able to look at me. The farmer made me do twelve performances that day, he did not allow me any rest or time to eat! After eight hours of this work, I was extremely tired and hungry. The farmer's actions made me angry. I was not an animal or a toy and I wanted to be treated with respect.

The farmer made so much money that day that he decided to bring me to the inn the next day as well. Also, many people had heard of my performance and went to the farmer's house, wanting to see me. When the farmer realized that he could make money just sitting in his house, he made me perform for people every day. For the next two months I did ten performances every day and was tired and hungry much of the time. All my good feelings for the farmer disappeared, but I did not know what else to do. I certainly could not escape, because I could not feed or care for myself alone. Luckily, Glumdalclitch was still my good friend. She cared for me every evening after I was finished working. Her friendship helped me to tolerate all the long, boring performances.

One day, the farmer decided that he would become even richer if he took me to perform in the capital city of Brobdingnag. This city, called Lorbrulgrud, was hundreds of miles away. During our journey, the farmer wanted to stop at many towns and villages so that I could perform for the local people. Glumdalclitch prepared a new box for me to travel in. This box was like a little house, filled with a small bed and some other furniture. On October 12, we began our journey to Lorbrulgrud. Each day we would stop in one or two towns and I would perform many times for the townspeople.

After two weeks, we finally arrived in Lorbrulgrud. The farmer rented a room in the largest inn in the city and decided to use this inn for my performances each day. Like before, I performed ten times a day. The city people were richer than the townspeople and they paid a lot more money to see me. Of course, this made the greedy farmer extremely happy. I began to think that I would become seriously ill, or even die from hunger and tiredness, because I was given only a little time each day to eat and sleep.

When the farmer saw that I had become thin and weak, he began to worry that I would soon die. Still, he would not let me rest. The richer he became, the crueler and greedier he became. He wanted to make the most money he could from my performances before I died. I did not know when my work would finally end and I was afraid that I would not live much longer!

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