One day, the king and queen came to visit me.
Soon a large, noisy crowd gathered, because people were very curious about me.
Some people pushed others out of the way to get a better look.
They wanted to see me and hear what the king said to me.
The king was taller than most Lilliputians and moved gracefully.
He and the queen wore magnificent clothes.
I lay down on my side so that the king and I could observe each other more easily.
He spoke to me for a long time, but I couldn't understand his words.
Then the king and queen returned to the palace.
He left his guards to watch me and control the crowd.
Some men in the crowd shouted and shot arrows at me.
The chief guard ordered six of them to be caught and tied up.
To punish them, the guard gave them to me.
"Yum, you'll make a delicious snack," I said.
I put five of the troublemakers in my pocket and picked up the sixth man between my finger and thumb.
He struggled, and I moved my hand toward my mouth. He screamed.
I took out my pocketknife, and he thought I was going to cut him up.
Instead, I cut the strings that he was tied with and put the man carefully on the ground.
Then I took the other men out of my pocket.
"Don't ever shoot at me again,"
I said as I set them free.
Soon everyone in Lilliput knew about me, but people had trouble pronouncing my name.
To make things easy, they called me "Enormous One" in their language.
The king ordered his best scholars to teach me the Lilliputian language.
I learn languages easily, because I'm interested in people from other countries.
In about three weeks I knew enough Lilliputian to talk with the king.
He came to visit me often.
Each time, I asked him the same thing:
"Please, Your Majesty, take the chains off my ankle."
"First I must consult with my advisors," the king replied.
"Also, you must show my officers what is in your pockets."
"Your officers may inspect all my possessions," I said.
I took everything out of my pockets, and the officers examined my things with great interest.
Later I read the report they wrote about my things.
My handkerchief and my pocketknife were noted in the report.
But "the most interesting thing," the report said, "is the large shiny engine.
It makes a sound again and again.
The Enormous One often looks at this engine."
Lilliput has no clocks, so the officers didn't know what my gold watch was for.
"The Enormous One has another metal thing," continued the report.
"It is bent, and part of it is a long tube."
My gun had been discovered.
"What is this thing for?" asked the king.
"I will show you, but it will make a loud noise," I explained.
"Order your people to move away from that tree.
I don't want anyone to get hurt."
I pointed my gun at the tree and fired.
Many people fell down or ran away or hid.
The noise terrified everyone, including the king.
But he calmed down quickly.
"You may keep your things," he told me.
"But I will keep the metal one that makes the big noise."
"It is my gift to you," I said.
"Please be very careful with it, and keep it locked up."