Gulliver’s travels
On the 16th of June 1730 we discovered land. Our captain sent a dozen men with vessels for water, if any could be found. When we came to land we saw no river or spring nor any inhabitants. I went on to explore. The country was barren and rocky. I turned back to join the crew, only to see them getting into the boat and rowing for life to get to the ship. Before I could reach them I observed a huge creature walking after them in the sea as fast as he could. The water of the ocean reached only till his knees! However, the monster was unable to overtake the speeding boat. I turned back quickly and climbed up a steep hill with fields of barley on either side and the corn rising upto forty feet.There was a fence to pass from one field to the other.
It was impossible for me to climb because every step was six feet high. I was trying to find a gap in the hedge when I discovered one of the inhabitants in the next field walking towards the fence. He was of the same size as the creature chasing the boat. I was struck with utmost fear and astonishment and ran to hide myself. He called in a voice much louder than a trumpet. It sounded like thunder ! Seven monsters like him came towards the field ready to reap the corn. They carried a reaping hook which was very big. When one of the reapers approached where I lay I screamed as loud as I could. The creature stopped reaping, picked me up between his thumb and forefinger and brought me close to his eyes, sixty feet above the ground. He looked at me with curiosity and blew my hair aside to get a better view of my face.He called his friends and gently placed me on the ground.They all sat on the ground to take a good look at me. I walked slowly backward and forward, pulled off my hat and made a low bow towards the farmers. I tried to speak to them loudly in several languages. Each time I did so the farmer who picked me up held his ear very close to me but in vain. The farmer took me to his house and placed me at some distance on the dining table which was thirty feet high from the floor. Dinner was brought for the farmer in a dish which was ten feet in diameter. The farmer's wife crumbled some bread and placed it before me. In the middle of the dinner I heard a noise behind me. It was the purring of a cat that was ten times larger than an ox. The farmer's wife was stroking him. Then entered the farmer's one year-old son in the arms of a lady. On seeing me the child grabbed me from the table and put my head into his mouth. I shouted so loudly that the baby dropped me. I would have broken my neck if the mother had not held her apron under me. Later she put me on her own bed and covered me with a clean white handkerchief.I slept dreaming of my home, my wife and my children.
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Handkerchief (noun) – A small square of cloth used especially for wiping the mouth
रूमाल
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Crew (noun) – team, company, unit, party, working party, force
चालक दल
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In vain (phrase) – To no avail; fruitless, uselessly, futile
व्यर्थ
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Fence (noun) – a structure of wood or wire forming a wall around a house or a piece of land, often to keep people or animals from coming in or going out
बाड़, घेरा
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Thunder (noun) – roar, boom, rumble, bellow, resound
गड़गड़ाहट
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Vessel (noun) – pot, container, pitcher
बरतन
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Spring (noun) – a place where water wells up from an underground source, or the basin or flow formed in such a way.
जल-स्रोत
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Inhabitant (noun) – occupant, resident, dweller
निवासी
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Explore (verb) – to search and discover (about something)
पता लगाना, खोजना
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Barren (adjective) – infertile, unproductive, bare, sterile, arid
बंजर
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Rocky (adjective) – Abounding in rocks or stones; rough, unsteady
चट्टान वाला
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Row (verb) – to move a boat through the water using long thin pieces of wood with flat parts at the end (oars)
चप्पुओं से नाव खेना
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Creature (noun) – an animal, as distinct from a human being.
जीव
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Monster (noun) – An imaginary creature usually having various human and animal parts
राक्षस
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Overtake (verb) – pass, overhaul, reach, exceed, go beyond
आगे निकलना
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Speeding (adjective) – Fast-moving, speedy, fast
तेज गति वाली
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Climb (verb) – rise, ascend, go up, mount, scale
चढ़ना
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Steep (adjective) – Having a sharp inclination
सीधी चढ़ाई/ ढलानवाला
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Barley (noun) – Barley is primarily a cereal grain popularly known as jau
जौ, जई
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Corn (noun) – maize, grain
मकई, मक्का
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Hedge (noun) – A fence formed by a row of closely planted shrubs or bushes
बाड़ा
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Chase (verb) –pursuing, hunting, dogging, following
पीछा करना
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Utmost (adjective) – maximum, extreme, greatest, highest
अत्यंत
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Astonishment (noun) –surprise, amazement, wonder
विस्मय, अचंभा
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Trumpet (noun) – A brass musical instrument consisting of a metal tube with one narrow end, into which the player blows, and one wide end.
तुरही
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Reap (verb) – to cut a grain crop
काटना
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Reaping hook (noun) – a curved cutting tool with a sharp edge, used in the cutting or harvesting of crops
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Reaper (noun) – harvester, cropper, cultivator
काटनेवाला
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Approach (verb) – Come near, contact, accost, move toward
नजदीक आना
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Scream (verb) – Yell, shout, screech, holler, cry
चीखना
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Forefinger (noun) – the finger next to the thumb; index finger
अंगुली
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Curiosity (noun) – willing to know; wonder, oddity, interest, curio, rarity
उत्सुकता
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Blow (verb) – expel air through pursed lips
फूंक मारना
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Gently (adverb) –softly, mildly, delicately, lightly, gradually
धीरे से/आहिस्ता से
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Pull off (phrasal verb) – to remove by pulling
उतारना
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Hat (noun) – Headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown
टोपी
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Make a bow (phrase) – To incline the body or head or bend the knee in greeting, consent, courtesy, acknowledgment, submission, or veneration
झुक जाना
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Crumble (verb) –disintegrate, collapse, break down, smash, fall apart
टुकड़े टुकड़े करना
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Purring (noun) – a low vibrating sound typical of a contented cat
म्याऊँ
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Stroke (verb) – caress, touch, fondle, blow, apoplexy
सहलाना
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Grab (verb) – catch, seize, take, grasp
पकड़ना
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Drop (verb) – fall, go down,
गिराना
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Apron (noun) – A garment of cloth that is tied about the waist and worn to protect your clothing