My master wanted to get as much money as he could from showing me.
He decided to take me and Glumdalclitch to the capital of Brobdingnag.
"We'll stop at every town along the way,"
I heard him say to his wife.
He was greedy, and I had begun to dislike him.
One August morning, we set off for the capital city.
We stopped often, and Glumdalclitch took me out of my traveling box to let me stretch and see the countryside.
Our trip lasted ten weeks, and I performed in 18 large towns and many villages.
Finally, we reached the capital.
Again my master rented a meeting room in a hotel and made me perform at least ten times every day.
Crowds lined up to see me.
As the weeks passed I became more and more exhausted and lost a lot of weight.
I looked so terrible that my master began to think that I would die soon.
"I might as well get rid of you," he said unkindly.
"You will be no use to me when you are dead."
One day, a messenger arrived from the palace nearby.
"You are ordered to come to the palace with your creature," said the messenger to my master.
"The queen and her ladies want to be entertained."
We went to the palace immediately.
A servant showed us into the room where the queen and her ladies were waiting.
I kneeled down in front of the queen, and asked for the honor of kissing her foot.
Instead, the queen held out her little finger to me.
"You may kiss my finger," she said.
I bowed, kissed her finger, and said,
"It is a great honor to meet you, Your Majesty."
"Tell me about your country and your travels," she said.
She showed great interest as I talked, and then she asked me a surprising question:
"Would you like to live here in the palace?"
I bowed again and replied,
"That is not for me to decide.
I must serve my master."
"Will you sell your creature?" she asked my master.
Since he thought I was dying anyway, he was happy to accept a thousand pieces of gold in exchange for me.
"Your Majesty," I said politely to the queen, "Glumdalclitch looks after me and teaches me well.
Could she stay here too?"
"Will you allow this, farmer?" the queen asked my master.
"She may stay if she wants to," he replied.
Glumdalclitch could hardly hide her joy.
My master said good-bye to me and his daughter.
As he was leaving, I bowed to him slightly.
"You seem cold toward your master," the queen observed.
"Tell me why."
With some hesitation, I said, "Your Majesty, he has worked me hard."
And I explained what my master had made me do so that he could get rich.
My story interested her, and she carried me to see the king.
He seemed a serious and intelligent man.
At first he thought I might be some sort of machine.
He did not believe that someone of my size could be human.
When I began to speak, however, the king could not hide his amazement.
The queen asked me to tell my story all over again.
The king was so impressed that he sent for his three best scholars.
They asked me many questions and discussed my answers at length.
They decided that I could not be a human.
"There are millions of people my size in England," I explained, "but no one of your size."
The scholars just smiled in disbelief.
After they left, the king asked me and Glumdalclitch many questions.
Finally, he decided that my story must be true.