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Several of the king's officials did not like me.

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One, whose name was Flimnap, hated me for some reason.

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Flimnap and his supporters had convinced the king that I was dangerous.

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They thought I was a threat to him and their country.

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Luckily, I had a friend who was a lord in the court of the king.

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Late one night, my friend visited me secretly.

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"Enormous One," he said, "you know that you have enemies in Lilliput.

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Many of them are jealous of you.

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Flimnap tells lies about you.

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He says that you have done very bad things that are against the law.

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The punishment for these bad things is death!"

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"I have always tried to help the king," I said.

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I felt upset and began to shout.

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"I took the Blefuscans' ships for him!

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I saved the palace!

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I helped end the war!"

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"Talk quietly—Flimnap's spies may be listening,"

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said the lord, with fear in his voice.

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"Flimnap will kill me if he finds out I've told you this."

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"What are my enemies saying about me?" I asked nervously.

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"They keep telling the king that you are against him," replied my friend.

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"You did not return to Blefuscu and steal the rest of the ships.

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You did not help destroy all the Big-Endians.

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Your enemies here say that you are an enemy of Lilliput."

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"They are twisting the truth," I said.

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"My actions were good."

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"The king of Lilliput reminded the bad officials that you had helped him," the lord went on.

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"But your enemies are very powerful.

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They suggested setting your house on fire while you are asleep in it.

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Then you would die in the fire."

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"What!" I exclaimed. I was very angry.

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"Flimnap and the others are evil men."

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"But the king decided that you will not be killed," said my friend.

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"Reldresal helped make things better for you."

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"Reldresal! What did he do?"

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"He said you had made mistakes, but you had been a big help sometimes.

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He asked the king to be generous.

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He said that instead of being killed you should lose your sight."

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"But that's horrible!" I was shocked.

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"Then you would still be strong enough to work for the king," explained the lord.

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"But you would not be a threat to him or to Lilliput."

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"I thought Reldresal was a friend."

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I put my hands over my eyes.

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"Reldresal will visit you in a few days to tell you about this.

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Then the king will order his men to shoot arrows into your eyes.

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You will be blind."

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"I can't believe anyone would do such a terrible thing!" I exclaimed.

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"But thank you for warning me about this awful plan."

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"Think about what to do," said my friend, "and make a decision soon."

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The lord left and went back to the palace.

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I stayed up all night and thought about what to do.

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I could kill the king and all the bad men.

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I did not like that idea.

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The king had been kind to me in the past.

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But because he was weak, he listened to Flimnap and the other bad men.

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It did not take me very long to decide that I must escape from Lilliput.

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"This is a very good time," I said to myself, "to go to Blefuscu!"