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 -LRB- about six feet of European measure -RRB- . 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 XXXXX the middle about thirty yards , till I felt ground , and thus arrived at the fleet in less than half an hour .
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