1
00:00:12,134 --> 00:00:20,369
In 1674, I was born on my father's small estate in Nottinghamshire, England.

2
00:00:20,370 --> 00:00:24,003
"What a fine, strong boy!" said my father.

3
00:00:24,004 --> 00:00:28,419
"I think he will be a clever and good man like his grandfather."

4
00:00:28,420 --> 00:00:31,032
"I agree," said my mother.

5
00:00:31,033 --> 00:00:34,523
"Let's name him 'Lemuel' after your father."

6
00:00:34,524 --> 00:00:36,956
My childhood was very happy.

7
00:00:36,957 --> 00:00:40,633
I liked going to school and learning new things.

8
00:00:40,634 --> 00:00:44,291
But I often used to daydream about going to sea.

9
00:00:44,292 --> 00:00:49,466
One day, Father asked, "Lemuel, have you thought about your future?

10
00:00:49,467 --> 00:00:52,586
I think you would be a good doctor."

11
00:00:52,587 --> 00:00:56,420
I wanted to please him, so I said, "Yes, Father.

12
00:00:56,421 --> 00:00:59,913
I'll go to Cambridge University and study medicine."

13
00:00:59,914 --> 00:01:02,511
But as I spoke I was thinking,

14
00:01:02,512 --> 00:01:07,583
"At university I can also learn things that will be useful to a sailor."

15
00:01:07,584 --> 00:01:11,420
After several years of study, I became a doctor.

16
00:01:11,421 --> 00:01:16,308
Not long after, I asked my sweetheart, Mary, to marry me.

17
00:01:16,309 --> 00:01:21,347
"Lemuel," she replied, "I would be very happy to marry you."

18
00:01:21,348 --> 00:01:26,498
Before long, we had children─a boy and a girl.

19
00:01:26,499 --> 00:01:28,580
They gave us great joy.

20
00:01:28,581 --> 00:01:32,187
I enjoyed being a doctor for the first few years.

21
00:01:32,188 --> 00:01:37,421
But then I became bored, and ideas of travel filled my mind.

22
00:01:37,422 --> 00:01:43,336
I imagined wandering to far-off places and seeing wonderful new things.

23
00:01:43,337 --> 00:01:48,147
"Mary," I said one day, "I need more adventure in my life.

24
00:01:48,148 --> 00:01:53,488
The captain of a ship about to sail has offered me a job as the ship's doctor."

25
00:01:53,489 --> 00:01:56,343
"Oh dear!" Mary replied.

26
00:01:56,344 --> 00:02:01,056
"The children and I will miss you very much, and I'll worry about you.

27
00:02:01,057 --> 00:02:03,568
When will you come back?"

28
00:02:03,569 --> 00:02:07,227
"I don't know how long the journey will take," I told her.

29
00:02:07,228 --> 00:02:09,773
"But I promise I will return.

30
00:02:09,774 --> 00:02:14,693
And when I do, I'll tell you and the children all about my adventures."

31
00:02:14,694 --> 00:02:20,462
So in 1699, I set sail on the <font color="#ffff00"><i>Antelope</i></font> from Bristol.

32
00:02:20,463 --> 00:02:25,764
That city is a large and very old port in the southwest of England.

33
00:02:25,765 --> 00:02:27,885
From the dock, Mary called out,

34
00:02:27,886 --> 00:02:30,914
"Good-bye, and please be careful!

35
00:02:30,915 --> 00:02:33,007
Come back to us soon!"

36
00:02:33,008 --> 00:02:36,981
The children waved to me, and I waved back.

37
00:02:36,982 --> 00:02:40,764
The captain was a good man and had sailed a great deal.

38
00:02:40,765 --> 00:02:43,785
"Welcome aboard, Doctor Gulliver," he said.

39
00:02:43,786 --> 00:02:48,458
"First we'll be sailing down the Atlantic Ocean and around the coast of Africa.

40
00:02:48,459 --> 00:02:52,813
Then we'll sail through the Indian Ocean to the South Seas."

41
00:02:52,814 --> 00:02:59,970
Our journey went well until one morning, somewhere near Tasmania in the South Pacific Ocean.

42
00:02:59,971 --> 00:03:03,906
"I don't like the look of those clouds," the captain said.

43
00:03:03,907 --> 00:03:05,937
"I think a storm is coming."

44
00:03:05,938 --> 00:03:10,024
Within an hour, a violent storm began.

45
00:03:10,025 --> 00:03:15,305
The sea rose in great, angry waves much taller than the <font color="#ffff00"><i>Antelope.</i></font>

46
00:03:15,306 --> 00:03:20,500
The wind─now as strong as a hurricane─made a terrible sound.

47
00:03:20,501 --> 00:03:25,407
"The wind is blowing the ship off course!" shouted the captain. "Look out!"

48
00:03:25,408 --> 00:03:31,957
Suddenly, with a loud crack, the <font color="#ffff00"><i>Antelope</i></font> hit some rocks and broke in half.

49
00:03:31,958 --> 00:03:34,322
The sailors fell into the sea.

50
00:03:34,323 --> 00:03:36,852
Many of them could not swim.

51
00:03:36,853 --> 00:03:42,630
The ship sank quickly, and I suppose everyone but me drowned.

52
00:03:42,631 --> 00:03:46,967
I am an excellent swimmer and swam with all my strength.

53
00:03:46,968 --> 00:03:49,058
My life depended on it.

54
00:03:49,059 --> 00:03:53,648
But after a while I was too tired to swim anymore.

55
00:03:53,649 --> 00:04:00,423
Just as I was thinking, "I'm going to die too," my feet touched the ocean floor.

56
00:04:00,424 --> 00:04:03,154
Slowly I struggled out of the sea.

57
00:04:03,155 --> 00:04:07,438
There were no signs of people on the beach and no houses.

58
00:04:07,439 --> 00:04:11,511
I could barely walk, so I lay down on the sand.

59
00:04:11,512 --> 00:04:19,908
Within minutes, I fell into a deep sleep.