an invasion from the island of Blefuscu, which is the other great empire
of the universe, almost as large and powerful as this of his majesty.
For, as to what we have heard you affirm, that there are other kingdoms
and states in the world, inhabited by human creatures as large as
yourself, our philosophers are in much doubt, and would rather
conjecture that you dropped from the moon or one of the stars; because
it is certain that an hundred mortals of your bulk would in a short time
destroy all the fruits and cattle of his majesty's dominions; besides,
our histories of six thousand moons make no mention of any other regions
than the two great empires of Lilliput and Blefuscu; which two mighty
powers have, as I was going to tell you, been engaged in a most
obstinate war for thirty-six moons past. It began upon the following
occasion:

"It is allowed on all hands that the primitive way of breaking eggs,
before we eat them, was upon the larger end; but his present majesty's
grandfather, while he was a boy, going to eat an egg, and breaking it
according to the ancient practice, happened to cut one of his fingers;
whereupon, the emperor, his father, published an edict, commanding all
his subjects, upon great penalties, to break the smaller end of their
eggs. The people so highly resented this law that our histories tell us
there have been six rebellions raised on that account; wherein one
emperor lost his life, and another his crown.

"These civil commotions were constantly fomented by the monarchs of
Blefuscu; and when they were quelled the exiles always fled for refuge
to that empire. It is computed that eleven thousand persons have at
several times suffered death rather than submit to break their eggs at
the smaller end. Many hundred large volumes have been published upon
this controversy; but the books of the Big-endians have been long