3.Gulliver Among the Little People
JKBOSE Solutions class 5th Tulip Series
Once a ship called The Antelope was on its way to the South Seas. There were thirty sailors in it with a captain and a doctor. The ship was sailing near a rock.
All of a sudden there was a storm with rain and thunder. The sea roared, the wind blew and the waves rose high. The ship struck the rock and broke in two.
The sailors jumped into the sea. Only one man reached the shore and saved himself. He was the ship's doctor, Lemuel Gulliver. Gulliver found himself all alone on an island.
He left the seashore and walked for some time across open fields. Then he lay down on the soft grass. He was very tired and soon fell asleep. He woke up early in the morning. He wanted to get up but he could not move his arms or legs. They were tied to the ground with strings.
He said to himself, "Oh! I can't move my arms or legs. They are tied, and some animal is moving on my body. It is walking to my face. What animal can it be?” It was a tiny man, only six inches tall! In a short time there were dozens of little men on Gulliver's body and there were many more around him. Some among them carried bows and arrows. Gulliver was in Lilliput, the country of tiny men.
He wanted to get up. He said to himself, ''These strings are not thicker than threads. I can easily break them and free myself."
Gulliver 's Travels recounts the story of Lemuel Gulliver, an Englishman trained as a surgeon who narrates the adventures that befall him on his sea voyages. The story is set in early eighteenth century England. His ship called the Antelope witnesses a fierce storm. He,
however, swims safely to a shore and soon falls asleep. He wakes up to find himself tied to the ground with small pieces of thread. Read out the story to find out what happens next.
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He broke one or two strings and was able to move his left arm a little. He tried to catch some of the little men, but they all slipped through his fingers and ran away.
Then there was a loud shout and little arrows came and hit Gulliver all over his body.
They were sharp and painful.
Gulliver said to himself, “These arrows are very painful and I won't try to break any more strings. But how can I free myself?"
Gulliver lay there quietly and did not move for a long time. Now the tiny men did not shoot any more arrows at him. They made a platform near his head. Several of them climbed on the platform and one of them spoke. But Gulliver did not understand the tiny man's words.
Gulliver was very hungry and thirsty. He made some signs for food and drink. They understood his signs and brought him baskets full of tiny loaves of bread and tiny fruit. Gulliver ate two or three loaves at a time. Then they brought him water in tiny tubs. He drank it and then went to sleep again.
The men then went to their king and said, "There is a giant near the seashore. He was sleeping and we tied him to the ground. What shall we do with him?"
The king wanted to see the giant for himself. He said, "Make a very big cart, put the giant on it and bring him here."
The tiny men soon made a wooden cart. It was two metres long and one metre wide and it had twenty-two wheels. The wheels were also made of wood. Hundreds of tiny horses pulled the
cart and hundreds of tiny men joined together to tie Gulliver to it.
Then the horses pulled the cart with Gulliver on it. The next day they reached the gate of the city. Then the King of Lilliput came and saw Gulliver. He was very surprised and said to himself, "Oh! This man is very big. His arms and legs are like tall trees."
Gulliver was taken to an old temple and put there. The king’s men tied one of his legs with strong chains to a pillar. Crowds of people came and saw him. Some of them shot arrows at his face, but the king stopped this. Gulliver did some funny tricks and pleased the king and the people.
Then one day Gulliver said to the king, "Please take away my chains. I want to walk about."
The king said. "That will be dangerous. You will walk on people's bodies and kill them."
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English Textbook Tulip Series Book V
J&K State Board of School Education Page 26
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"No, I will be careful. I will not kill anyone. Your people will be quite safe,” Gulliver
said.
The king said to his men, "Take his chains away. He is not a dangerous giant."
Then Gulliver was free and he lived among the people of Lilliput for several months.
(Adapted from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels)
New Words
sailor, roar, struck, lay, tie, strings, tiny, loaf, giant
Glossary
sailor: a person who works on a ship
roar: make a long, loud, deep sound
struck: past tense of ‘strike’ which means hit
lay: put something in a horizontal position
tie: bind together
strings: pieces of strong thin cord used for fastening and tying things
tiny: very small
loaf: bread which is shaped and baked in a single piece and can be sliced for eating
giant: a tall and strong imaginary creature
Summary
Gulliver’s adventure begins, when he goes to the sea as a surgeon on a merchant ship, Antelope. The ship is destroyed during a heavy windstorm, and the Gulliver, the only survivor, swims to a nearby Island, Lilliput. Being nearly exhausted from the ordeal, he falls asleep. Upon wakening, he finds that the island’s inhabitants, who are no larger than six inches tall, have captured him. After the inhabitants examine Gulliver and provide him with food, the Emperor of this country orders his subjects to move Gulliver to a less used temple, the only place large enough to house him. When he wakes after his shipwreck to find himself bound by innumerable tiny threads and addressed by tiny captors who are in awe of him but fiercely protective of their kingdom. They are not afraid to use violence against Gulliver, though their arrows are little more than pinpricks. Gulliver, however, wins their confidence by his friendly nature.
JKBOSE Solutions class 5th Tulip Series
Thinking about the Text
Questions and Answers
1. What happened to the ship on the way to the South Sea?
Ans. On the way to the South Sea, the ship was caught in the fierce storm caused by rain and thunder. It struck the rock and split into two.
2. What happened to the captain and the sailors?
Ans. The captain and the sailors dived into the sea and drowned as the storm was strong.
3. How did Gulliver save himself?
Ans. Gulliver swam ashore and saved himself.
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J&K State Board of School Education Page 27
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4. Where did Gulliver find himself?
Ans. Lemuel Gulliver found himself all alone on an island. The island was inhabited by a tiny race of people.
5. Why was Gulliver unable to get up in the morning?
Ans. Gulliver was unable to get up in the morning because his legs and arms were firmly tied up to the ground with strings.
6. How was Gulliver taken to the city gate?
And. Gulliver was tied down to a kind of stretcher. He was carried to the city gates in a wooden cart driven by hundreds and hundreds of tiny horses. Hundreds of tiny men tied Gulliver to the cart.
7. How did Gulliver please the king and the people?
Ans. Gulliver pleased the king and the people with his artistic skills and funny tricks. He also won then by his gentleness and good behaviour.He showed his artistic skills by preparing a comb for himself from the strands of the king’s hair. With this, his mind thought of a suitable recreation. He wove the strands of queen’s hair to make two chairs and presented them to the queen.
8. What did Gulliver ask the king? What did the king say?
Ans. Gulliver asked the king to unlock his chains so that he walk around. The king was afraid that he would trample his tiny people under his feet.
Language work
A) Match the words from Column A with their opposites in Column B:
Solution Column A with their opposites in Column B
B) Fill in the blanks using the following phrasal verbs:
jumped into, lay down, wake up, got up,
slipped through, ran away, shoot at, take away
i) The king said to his men, “————– his chains ————–”.
Ans. The king said to his men, “Take his chains away”.
ii) Don’t ————– birds.
Ans. Don’t shoot at birds.
iii) I usually ————– early in the morning.
Ans. I usually wake up early in the morning.
iv) Gulliver————– and found himself tied to the ground with strings.
Ans. Gulliver got up and found himself tied to the ground with strings.
v) The thief ————– when he saw the police coming.
Ans. The thief ran away when he saw the police coming.
vi) The foolish goat ————– the well.
Ans. The foolish goat jumped into the well.
vii) Gulliver ————– and fell asleep.
Ans. Gulliver lay down and fell asleep.
viii) Gulliver tried to catch some of the Lilliputians, but they all ————– fingers and ran away.
Ans. Gulliver tried to catch some of the Lilliputians, but they all slipped through fingers and ran away.
C) Create your own comparisons:
i) as tiny as an ant.
ii) as tall as a giraffe.
iii) as soft as cotton.
iv) as sharp as a knife.
v) as beautiful as a flower.
Grammar Work
Look at these sentences:
a) We washed ourselves and sat down.
b) He said to himself, “It is very late.”
The underlined words are reflexive pronouns.
Reflexive pronouns are formed by adding ‘–self’ (in singular) and ‘–selves’ (in plural) to personal pronouns.
Here is a list of reflexive pronouns:
I ————– myself
We ———– ourselves
You ———- yourself (singular)
You ———- yourselves ( plural)
He ———- himself
She ———- herself
They ———- Themselves
It ———— itself
Now fill in the blanks with reflexive pronouns given below:
1. Gulliver swam in the sea and saved ———-.
Ans. Gulliver swam in the sea and saved himself.
2. The rat found ———- in the trap.
Ans. The rat found itself in the trap.
3. The girl wanted all the toys for ———–.
Ans. The girl wanted all the toys for herself.
4. I do not think of ———- alone. I think of others too.
Ans. I do not think of myself alone. I think of others too.
5. Look in the mirror and see ———-.
Ans. Look in the mirror and see yourself.
JKBOSE Solutions
class 5th Tulip Series
6. Muskan and Munazah dressed ———- in their new frocks and went out.
Ans. Muskan and Munazah dressed themselves in their new frocks and went out.
7. The host said to the guests, “Help ———-.”
Ans. The host said to the guests, “Help yourselves.”
