But  our  joy  was  not  of  long  duration,  for some  hours  afterwards  we  found  ourselves  surrounded  by  whales and  other  fish  equally  vast  in  size ;  there  was  one  of  such  prodigious length  that  we  could  not  see  the  end  of  him,  even  with a  telescope.  By  ill  luck  we  did  not  see  the  monster  till  he  was close  to  us:  he  swallowed  at  one  gulp  our  ship  at  full  sail. When  we  had  been  some  time  in  his  throat,  he  opened  his jaws  to  take  in  a  great  gulp  of  water ;  our  vessel,  floating  on this  current,  was  drawn  into  the  monster's  stomach,  where  we were  as  quiet  as  though  we  had  been  at  anchor  in  a  dead  calm. The  air,  I  must  admit,  was  heated  and  heavy.  We  saw  in  his stomach  anchors,  cables,  barges,  and  a  good  number  of  vessels, some  with  their  cargoes  on  board,  others  empty,  which  had  fallen into  the  same  plight  as  ourselves.    We  were  obliged  to  exist  by torch-light ;  we  could  see  nothing  of  the  sun,  the  moon,  or  the stars.  It  usually  happened  that  twice  a  day  we  were  left  high and  dry,  and  twice  we  floated.  When  the  monster  drank  we floated,  and  when  he  poured  the  water  out  we  were  left  dry. We  made  an  exact  estimate  of  the  quantity  of  water  he  drank, and  found  that  it  would  be  sufficient  to  fill  the  Lake  of  Geneva, which  is  thirty  miles  in  circumference.

[...]

When  the  fish  opened  his  mouth  again,  and  poured  the water  out,  we  assembled  afresh,  and  I  was  chosen  president.  I proposed  to  them  to  fasten  two  of  our  tallest  masts  together, end  to  end ;  and  when  the  monster  opened  his  jaws,  to  plant them  in  such  a  manner  as  should  prevent  his  shutting  his  mouth again.  This  plan  was  passed  by  acclamation,  and  a  hundred  of the  strongest  men  among  us  were  selected  to  put  it  into  execution. The  two  masts  had  scarcely  been  arranged  according  to  my directions,  before  a  favourable  moment  presented  itself.  The monster  began  to  yawn;  we  planted  our  two  masts  in  such  a way  that  their  lower  end  was  fixed  in  his  tongue,  while  the Upper  pierced  the  roof  of  his  palate,  so  that  he  would  be  unable, for  ever  after,  to  make  his  jaws  meet.

As  soon  as  we  found  ourselves  afloat,  we  manned  the  boats, in  which  we  rowed  ourselves  out,  and  came  back  into  the  world. It  was  with  joy  inexpressible  that  we  saw  once  more  the  light  of the  sun,  of  which  we  had  been  deprived  during  our  fortnight's imprisonment.  When  every  one  had  left  the  vast  stomach  of the  monster,  we  found  we  were  a  fleet  of  thirty-five  ships  of all  nations.  We  .left  our  two  masts  fixed  in  the  monster's  throat, to  preserve  from  an  accident  similar  to  ours  those  who  should find  themselves  drawn  towards  that  abyss.

- Chapter 17