I assume you are referring to Part II of Gullier's Travel's since that is the first mention of a king; the land of Lilliput in Part I is ruled by an emperor. The king thinks Gulliver, at first glance, is a splacknuck - described in chapter 2 as "an animal in that country very finely shaped, about six foot long". Then, when the king saw Gulliver stand upright and heard him speak, considered Gulliver to be a clockwork toy of great design. Gulliver, very adept at languages and having learned a little of the Brobdingnagian language at this point, communicated to the king that he was not a toy. The king then had three scholars study Gulliver. They finally concluded that he was a "lusus naturae", or, "a freak of nature".
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