Chapter-5
I tried to show the people that I was a good, kind man. I let the children play hide and seek in my hair. Sometimes I picked up five or six people and let them dance on my hand. The king brought dancers, singers and acrobats for me to watch. I liked the rope dancers best. They ran and jumped along a thin rope high above the ground. The rope dance was an exam for people who worked in the government. The dancers who jumped the highest got the best jobs. People with important jobs in the government often had to do the rope dance as well. They had to do well in the dance to keep their jobs.
People were no longer afraid of me. Every time His Majesty visited me, I requested him to free me from my imprisonment. At last, he placed the matter before the court. All the members, except one, named Skyresh Bolgolam, agreed that I could be set free. I never understood why that man had a grudge against me. I always found him bitter towards me. At last, after a lot of persuasions, he agreed but on the condition that I should be made to abide by certain rules and regulations. He himself framed the rules and placed them before the court. All the members agreed and the king asked him to convey the decision to me. He came to me along with two of his secretaries. There was a condition that I should be made to abide by certain rules and regulations. The rules were read out to me. I was asked to swear that I would abide by them. The rules were as follows:
1. The Man-Mountain will ask before he leaves our country.
2. He will ask before he goes into our city. When he goes to the city, all the people will go inside their houses.
3. He must walk only on our roads. He must not walk or lie in the fields.
4. While walking, he shall take care not to step on any person, horse and carriage. He must not pick up and put on his hand anyone who doesn’t want him to do so.
5. When we want to send letters quickly, the Man-Mountain will carry the postman and his horse in his pocket.
6. The Man-Mountain will help us fight against our enemy, the kingdom of Blefuscu. He shall try his best to destroy the warships of the enemy.
7. He will help our workmen build a wall around our park by lifting the biggest stones onto the wall.
8. He will help us measure our country. He will walk around the outside of the country and count his steps.
Last but not the least, he shall be given a daily allowance of meat and drink enough for 1,724 of our people.
I agreed to obey the list of rules even though I did not like some of these conditions. Then, the soldiers took off the chains and I was set free at last. I lay down and touched His Majesty’s feet. He asked me to rise and expressed the hope that I should prove to be a useful and sincere servant.
A few days later, I asked a friend from the court how they had calculated and fixed my daily diet. I was totally amazed to know that His Majesty’s mathematicians had measured my body with the help of a quadrant and had calculated that it might contain 1,724 bodies of their people.
The first thing I did after being set free was that I should be allowed to see Mildendo, the capital-city. My visit was announced in the city well in advance. People were strictly ordered to remain indoors.
The great wall surrounding the city was two-and-a-half feet high and eleven inches broad.
As I was too big to enter through the main gate, I stepped over the wall and entered the city, which was only as high as my knees.
The city was an exact square, each side of the wall being five hundred feet long. The great highways were five feet wide. I walked very carefully along the street. The people went to the top of their houses in order to watch me.
I had left my coat behind for the fear of damaging the houses with its skirts. I could not enter the small roads and streets. I saw that they were twelve to eighteen inches wide. I was told that the population of that great city was five hundred thousand.
The king’s palace was in the centre of the city. It was surrounded by a wall two feet high. I got His Majesty’s permission to step over this wall. The buildings of the palace were twenty feet away from the wall on all sides. I could not enter any building. However, the king desired that I should see all the buildings of the palace, at least from outside. I thought of a solution to the problem and returned.
Away from the city was a Royal Park. After getting due permission, I went there and cut down some big trees with my knife. I used the wood of these trees to make two stools, each about three feet high. They were strong enough to bear my weight. After making these stools in three days, I again went to the palace. I stood upon one stool and gently placed the other between the outer and the inner buildings. Then, I stepped from the first onto the second and picked up the first with a hooked stick. I was extremely careful while doing all that. I repeated the same exercise and was able to reach the innermost building of the palace where the king and the queen lived with their children. The doors and the windows had been kept open for me to see inside. I saw beautifully decorated rooms. The queen was very pleased to see me. She smiled graciously at me. She gave me her hand to kiss.