04-02-04-格列佛游记 [3]
，and he receives a blue ribbon to wear round his waist．The second best receives a red ribbon，and the third best gets a green one．Many of the Lil－liput lords wear their ribbons proudly at all times．I had cer－tainly never seen entertainment like this in any of the countries I had visited before．
Some days later a strange black thing was seen on the beach where I had first arrived in Lilliput．When the people realized it was not alive，they decided that it must belong to the Man- Mountain，and the King ordered them to bring it to me． I thought I knew what it was．When it arrived，it was rather dirty because it had been pulled along the ground by horses．But I was delighted to see that it was in fact my hat．I had lost it in the sea when swimming away from the ship．
I begged the King so often for my freedom that at last he and his lords agreed that I need not be a prisoner any longer．However，I had to promise certain things：
·to help the Lilliputians in war and peace
·to give two hours’warning before a visit to their capital，so that people could stay indoors
·to be careful not to step on any Lilliputians or their animals
·to carry important messages for the King if necessary
·to help the King's workmen carry heavy stones
·to stay in Lilliput until the King allowed me to leave．
On his side the King promised I would receive food and drink，enough for 1，724 Lilliputians．I agreed to everything at once．My chains were broken，and I was free at last！
The first thing I did was visit the capital city．The people were warned，so that they would not be in danger．I stepped carefully over the city wall，which was less than a metre high，and walked slowly through the two main streets．It is usually a very busy city，with shops and markets full of people， but to-day the streets were empty．There were crowds watching me from every window．In the middle of the city is the King's palace．The King had invited me to enter it，so I stepped over the surrounding wall into the palace garden．But unfortunately the palace itself has walls a metre and a half high around it．I did not want to damage these walls by trying to climb over them．So I walked carefully back out of the city and into the King's park．Here I cut down several of the largest trees with my knife，and made two wooden boxes．When I returned to the palace with my boxes， I was able to stand on one box on one side of the wall and step on to the other box on the other side．I lay down on the ground and looked through the win－dows，right into the King's rooms．You cannot imagine a more beautiful place to live in．The rooms and furniture are perfect in every detail．As I was looking in， I could see the Queen，surrounded by her lords and ladies．She kindly put her hand ont of the window for me to kiss．
I think I should give you some general information about Lilliput．Most Lilliputians are about fifteen centimetres tall．The birds and animals are，of course，much smaller than the people，and the tallest trees are only a little taller than I am．
All crimes here are punished．But if someone is accused of a crime and then it is proved that the accuser is lying，the accus-er is immediately killed．Lilliputians believe that there are two sides to the law．Criminals must be punished，but people of good character must be rewarded．So if a man can prove that he has obeyed every law for six years，he receives a present of money from the King．They also believe that any man who is honest，truthful，and good can serve his King and country．It is more important to have a good character than to be clever or intelligent．However，only those who believe in God are al- lowed to be the King’ s officials．
Many of their laws and customs are very different from ours，but human nature is the same in every country．The Lil－liputians，like us，have learnt bad ways—choosing officials because they are able to dance on a rope is just one example．
Now I shall return to my adventures in Lilliput．About two weeks after my first visit to the capital，I was visited by one of the King’ s most important officials． His name was Reldresal，
Some days later a strange black thing was seen on the beach where I had first arrived in Lilliput．When the people realized it was not alive，they decided that it must belong to the Man- Mountain，and the King ordered them to bring it to me． I thought I knew what it was．When it arrived，it was rather dirty because it had been pulled along the ground by horses．But I was delighted to see that it was in fact my hat．I had lost it in the sea when swimming away from the ship．
I begged the King so often for my freedom that at last he and his lords agreed that I need not be a prisoner any longer．However，I had to promise certain things：
·to help the Lilliputians in war and peace
·to give two hours’warning before a visit to their capital，so that people could stay indoors
·to be careful not to step on any Lilliputians or their animals
·to carry important messages for the King if necessary
·to help the King's workmen carry heavy stones
·to stay in Lilliput until the King allowed me to leave．
On his side the King promised I would receive food and drink，enough for 1，724 Lilliputians．I agreed to everything at once．My chains were broken，and I was free at last！
The first thing I did was visit the capital city．The people were warned，so that they would not be in danger．I stepped carefully over the city wall，which was less than a metre high，and walked slowly through the two main streets．It is usually a very busy city，with shops and markets full of people， but to-day the streets were empty．There were crowds watching me from every window．In the middle of the city is the King's palace．The King had invited me to enter it，so I stepped over the surrounding wall into the palace garden．But unfortunately the palace itself has walls a metre and a half high around it．I did not want to damage these walls by trying to climb over them．So I walked carefully back out of the city and into the King's park．Here I cut down several of the largest trees with my knife，and made two wooden boxes．When I returned to the palace with my boxes， I was able to stand on one box on one side of the wall and step on to the other box on the other side．I lay down on the ground and looked through the win－dows，right into the King's rooms．You cannot imagine a more beautiful place to live in．The rooms and furniture are perfect in every detail．As I was looking in， I could see the Queen，surrounded by her lords and ladies．She kindly put her hand ont of the window for me to kiss．
I think I should give you some general information about Lilliput．Most Lilliputians are about fifteen centimetres tall．The birds and animals are，of course，much smaller than the people，and the tallest trees are only a little taller than I am．
All crimes here are punished．But if someone is accused of a crime and then it is proved that the accuser is lying，the accus-er is immediately killed．Lilliputians believe that there are two sides to the law．Criminals must be punished，but people of good character must be rewarded．So if a man can prove that he has obeyed every law for six years，he receives a present of money from the King．They also believe that any man who is honest，truthful，and good can serve his King and country．It is more important to have a good character than to be clever or intelligent．However，only those who believe in God are al- lowed to be the King’ s officials．
Many of their laws and customs are very different from ours，but human nature is the same in every country．The Lil－liputians，like us，have learnt bad ways—choosing officials because they are able to dance on a rope is just one example．
Now I shall return to my adventures in Lilliput．About two weeks after my first visit to the capital，I was visited by one of the King’ s most important officials． His name was Reldresal，