Back to: CBSE Class 5th English Guide and Notes
Introduction
This tale was taken from the well-known book “Gulliver’s Travels.” Gulliver undertakes different journeys throughout his life. Gulliver was once stranded in a land populated by giants. In this excerpt from his autobiography, Gulliver describes his experiences.
Land of Giants!
Gulliver undertook a number of voyages, and this one describes his second journey. Together with his fellow travellers, he arrives in a particular country during this sea adventure. A couple of them follow their captain’s orders and visit the island to see whether there is any water around. However, they were unable to find any water. Gulliver and his friends came across a gigantic beast all of a sudden. People that lived in this country had incredibly large bodies. It nearly appeared as though they were gigantic. Luckily, they manage to escape, but Gulliver ended up stranded on the island by himself. He instantly begins to cross a steep slope with forty-foot-high maize and barley fields.
Gulliver notices a field with a six-feet-high fence that he is unable to climb. Then he notices a huge figure in the field. That giant is a farmer, and there are seven more giants like him who were also at work in the fields. Gulliver is terrified and yells loudly since he believes them to be monsters.
He was surprised to find that the people he believed to be huge monsters were really rather nice to him. He was scooped up by one giant, who put him on the ground. The others approach him to have a peek at him. Now Gulliver tries to speak to them in various languages but is unable to do so. Gulliver is so little that the farmer misidentifies him as an animal. The farmer brings Gulliver home because he believes that his kids would find him amusing.
The farmer also owned a cat that was 10 times the size of an ox. The farmer, being the generous man he is, crumbled some bread and gave it to Gulliver to eat. On seeing Gulliver, the farmer’s one-year-old son grabs him and attempts to devour him. The infant drops Gulliver when he yells loudly, but the farmer’s wife catches him. She tucks Gulliver in and covers him with a napkin and demonstrates what gentle beings they are.
