Gulliver's Travels

Author: (English) Jonathan Swift
Translator: Li Jun
Country: United Kingdom
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-07-01
Features: This novel is one of Swift's masterpieces, translated into dozens of languages, and is one of the most widely read and enduring classics in the world. It was selected by Life magazine in the United States as one of the best books of all time. Like Robinson Crusoe, the novel describes a story of overcoming various dangers and difficulties to achieve success, divided into four parts: "Lilliput," "Brobdingnag," "Laputa," and "Houyhnhnms." The stories set in the fantastical world depicted in the book can deeply touch the pure hearts of children, bringing them joyous fantasies and unforgettable emotions. At the same time, they can also help them understand the satirical nature and profound thoughts hidden beneath the entertaining stories, without realizing it. This book is part of the World Young Adult Literature Classics Series, a collection of young adult classics that enrich beautiful lives! Throughout the history of young adult literature, the classic works of these masters have continuously influenced young readers across generations. This series primarily selects and republishes influential world young adult literary masterpieces that have been long-standing. The main purpose is to provide young readers with better literary reading materials, allowing them to gain more from these young adult classics while reading and appreciating them. This helps broaden their horizons, refine their character, enrich their imagination, and make their lives more colorful and meaningful.
My father had a small estate in Nottinghamshire. There were five brothers in the family, and I was the third child. At the age of fourteen, my father sent me to Emmanuel College at the University of Cambridge, where I studied for three years, devoted entirely to my academics. Although I lived on very little, it was still too expensive for a poor family to support my education at school. So I went to London and became an apprentice to the famous surgeon Dr. James Bates. I stayed with him for four years. During my apprenticeship, my father occasionally sent me some pocket money, which I spent on studying navigation and mathematics. These skills were very useful for someone who aspired to travel, as I believed that one day I would have good fortune to go on voyages. After leaving Bates, I returned home to find my father. With his help and that of my uncle John and other relatives, I managed to get forty pounds, and they also promised to give me thirty pounds a year to study at Leiden.2 I studied medicine at Leiden for two years and seven months, knowing that medical knowledge would be useful for long-distance voyages.
Not long after I returned from Leiden, my mentor Dr. Bates recommended me as a surgeon on the merchant ship The Swallow. The ship was commanded by Captain Abraham Paine. I served under him for three and a half years, making several voyages to the Levant and other places. After returning from my voyages, encouraged by my mentor, I decided to stay in London. With his help, I gained a few patients. I rented rooms in a small house on Old Jewry Street. At the time, people advised me to change my circumstances, so I married Mary Burton, the second daughter of a merchant named Edmund Burton from Newgate Street, who did socks. This gave me a dowry of four hundred pounds. However, two years later, my good teacher Dr. Bates passed away. With no friends to rely on and unwilling to compromise my conscience to follow the bad practices of many colleagues, my business gradually declined. After discussing with my wife and a few acquaintances, I decided to set sail again. I served as a surgeon on two ships and made several voyages to the East Indies and the West Indies over six years. Through these voyages, my wealth increased.
I always carried many books with me during my voyages and read the best works of all time in my free time. Whenever I landed, I observed the local customs and cultures, and also learned their languages. With my strong memory, I found it very easy to learn languages. In my later voyages, things did not go smoothly, and I also grew tired of the life at sea, so I longed to stay home with my wife and children. I moved from Old Jewry Street to Fetter Lane, then to Whippingham, hoping to find some business among the sailors, but there was no change at all.
Thus, I waited for three years, but there was no sign of things turning around. I accepted an offer from Captain William Prichard, the owner of the ship The Goat, who was going to sail in the South Pacific. On May 4, 1699, we set sail from Bristol. The early part of the voyage was smooth. For some reasons, it might not be appropriate to reveal all the details of our in this area to the readers, but the following information is sufficient. On our way to the East Indies, a storm blew us off course to the northwest of Van Diemen's Land. According to an observation, we found ourselves at latitude 30° 2' south. Twelve crew members had died from exhaustion and poor diet, and the rest were very weak. On November 5, which was the beginning of summer in that region, the fog was thick, and the sailors spotted a reef less than half a cable's length away—about 300 feet—from the ship. However, the wind was fierce, and our ship was blown directly toward the reef. The hull immediately struck the reef and broke apart. Six crew members, including myself, managed to launch a lifeboat and struggled to free ourselves from the ship and the reef. According to my calculations, we rowed about three miles before we could no longer move, as we were already exhausted on the ship.
With this, we had no choice but to let the waves carry us. After about half an hour, a sudden north wind came, capsizing our small boat. What happened to my companions on the boat, as well as those who escaped to the reef or stayed on the ship, I do not know, but I am certain they all perished. As for myself, I swam at the mercy of the waves. I kept stretching my legs, but they never reached the bottom. Just when I was about to give up and had no more strength to struggle, I suddenly felt that the water was no longer reaching my head. The storm had already weakened significantly. The slope of the seabed was not steep, and it took me nearly a mile to reach the shore. I think it must have been about eight o'clock at night. I walked nearly half a mile further on the shore without seeing any houses or people, at least not at that moment, because my body was too weak. At that moment, I was very tired, and the weather was hot, plus I had drunk half a pint of brandy before leaving the ship, so I felt very sleepy. I lay down on a short but very soft patch of grass and slept soundly, the best sleep of my life. I estimated I slept for more than nine hours, because I woke up exactly when it was dawn. I tried to get up but could not move at all. Lying on my back, I noticed that my arms and legs were tightly bound to the ground. My long, thick hair was also tied to the ground. I felt that several thin ropes were tied across my body from my armpits to my thighs. I could only look up.
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