Alice"s Adventures in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll
Chapter I
DOWN THE RABBIT-HOLE
Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, “and what is the use of a book,” thought Alice “without pictures or conversation?”
So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.
There was nothing so VERY remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so VERY much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!” (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually TOOK A WATCH OUT OF ITS WAISTCOAT-POCKET, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before see a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.
In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.
The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well.
Перевод на русский:
ГЛАВА I. ВНИЗ ПО КРОЛИЧЬЕЙ НОРЕ
Алисе начинало уже надоедать сидеть с сестрой на берегу без всякого занятия; пару раз она заглянула было в книжку, которую читала сестра, но там не было ни картинок, ни разговоров; «а зачем нужна книжка, - подумала Алиса, - в которой ни картинок, ни разговоров?»
Так что она прикидывала в уме (насколько вообще это было возможно в столь жаркий день, когда клонит в сон и мысли путаются), способно ли удовольствие от плетения гирлянды из маргариток перевесить нежелание вставать и собирать маргаритки, как вдруг мимо нее пробежал белый кролик с розовыми глазами.
В этом, конечно, не было ничего особо примечательного; ничего особо странного не нашла Алиса и в том, что кролик бормотал себе под нос: «Ах, боже мой, боже мой! Я наверняка опоздаю!» (хотя, когда она подумала об этом позже, то решила, что ей следовало бы удивиться, но в тот момент все это показалось ей вполне естественным); но когда кролик достал самые настоящие часы из своего жилетного кармана, и посмотрел на них, и прибавил прыти, Алиса вскочила на ноги, ибо не могла припомнить, чтобы прежде ей доводилось видеть кролика, у которого был бы жилетный карман, не говоря уже о часах, которые можно оттуда достать. Так что Алиса, сгорая от любопытства, побежала по полю вслед за кроликом, и как раз успела увидеть, как тот нырнул в большую нору под изгородью.
В следующий момент Алиса нырнула за ним, ни на миг не озаботившись, как же она будет выбираться обратно.
Поначалу нора шла прямо, подобно туннелю, но затем вдруг резко оборвалась вниз, так что Алиса не успела даже сообразить, что надо остановиться, как уже падала в какой-то очень глубокий колодец.
ALICE"S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND
Down the Rabbit-Hole
Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, - and what is the use of a book, - thought Alice - without pictures or conversation?
So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.
There was nothing so VERY remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so VERY much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, - Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late! - (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually TOOK A WATCH OUT OF ITS WAISTCOATPOCKET, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before see a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.
In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.
The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well.
Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her and to wonder what was going to happen next. First, she tried to look down and make out what she was coming to, but it was too dark to see anything; then she looked at the sides of the well, and noticed that they were filled with cupboards and book-shelves; here and there she saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs. She took down a jar from one of the shelves as she passed; it was labelled - ORANGE MARMALADE - , but to her great disappointment it way empty: she did not like to drop the jar for fear of killing somebody, so managed to put it into one of the cupboards as she fell past it.
Well! - thought Alice to herself, - after such a fall as this, I shall think nothing of tumbling down stairs! How brave they"ll all think me at home! Why, I wouldn"t say anything about it, even if I fell off the top of the house! - (Which was very likely true.)
Down, down, down. Would the fall NEVER come to an end! - I wonder how many miles I"ve fallen by this time? - she said aloud. - I must be getting somewhere near the centre of the earth. Let me see: that would be four thousand miles down, I think - (for, you see, Alice had learnt several things of this sort in her lessons in the schoolroom, and though this was not a VERY good opportunity for showing off her knowledge, as there was no one to listen to her, still it was good practice to say it over) - yes, that"s about the right distance - but then I wonder what Latitude or Longitude I"ve got to? - (Alice had no idea what Latitude was, or Longitude either, but thought they were nice grand words to say.)
Presently she began again. - I wonder if I shall fall right THROUGH the earth! How funny it"ll seem to come out among the people that walk with their heads downward! The Antipathies, I think - (she was rather glad there WAS no one listening, this time, as it didn"t sound at all the right word) - but I shall have to ask them what the name of the country is, you know. Please, Ma"am, is this New Zealand or Australia? - (and she tried to curtsey as she spoke - fancy CURTSEYING as you"re falling through the air! Do you think you could manage it?)
Down, down, down. There was nothing else to do, so Alice soon began talking again. Dinah"ll miss me very much to-night, I should think! (Dinah was the cat.) - I hope they"ll remember her saucer of milk at tea-time. Dinah my dear! I wish you were down here with me! There are no mice in the air, I"m afraid, but you might catch a bat, and that"s very like a mouse, you know. But do cats eat bats, I wonder? - And here Alice began to get rather sleepy, and went on saying to herself, in a dreamy sort of way, - Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? - and sometimes, - Do bats eat cats? - for, you see, as she couldn"t answer either question, it didn"t much matter which way she put it. She felt that she was dozing off, and had just begun to dream that she was walking hand in hand with Dinah, and saying to her very earnestly,- Now, Dinah, tell me the truth: did you ever eat a bat? - when suddenly, thump! thump! down she came upon a heap of stick and dry leaves, and the fall was over.
Alice was not a bit hurt, and she jumped up on to her feet in a moment: she looked up, but it was all dark overhead; before her was another long passage, and the White Rabbit was still in sight, hurrying down it. There was not a moment to be lost: away went Alice like the wind, and was just in time to hear it say, as it turned a corner, - Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it"s getting! - She was close behind it when she turned to corner, but the Rabbit was no longer to be seen: she found herself in a long, low hall, which was lit up by a row of lamps hanging from the roof.
Suddenly she came upon a little three-legged table, all made of solid glass; there was nothing on it except a tiny golden key, and Alice"s first thought was that it might belong to one of the doors of the hall; but, alas! either the locks were too large, or the key was too small, but at any rate it would not open any of them. However, on the second time round, she came upon a low curtain she had not noticed before, and behind it was a little door about fifteen inches high: she tried the little golden key in the lock, and to her great delight it fitted!
Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, not much larger than a rat-hole: she knelt down and looked along the passage into the loveliest garden you ever saw. How she longed to get out of that dark hall, and wander about among those beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains, but she could to even get her head thought he doorway; - and even if my head would go through, - thought poor Alice, - it would be of very little use without my shoulders. Oh, how I wish I could shut up like a telescope! I think I could, if I only know how to begin. - For, you see, so many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible.
There seemed to be no use in waiting by the little door, so she went back to the table, half hoping she might find another key on it, or at any rate a book or rules for shutting people up like telescopes: this time she found a little bottle on it, (- which certainly was not here before, - said Alice,) and round the neck of the bottle was a paper label, with the words - DRINK ME - beautifully printed on it in large letters.
It was all very well to say - Drink me, - but the wise little Alice was not going to do THAT in a hurry. - No, I"ll look first, - she said, - and see whether it"s marked - poison - or not; - for she had read several nice little histories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts and other unpleasant things, all because they WOULD not remember the simple rules their friends had taught them: such as, that a red-hot poker will burn you if your hold it too long; and that if you cut your finger VERY deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds; and she had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a bottle marked - poison, - it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.
However, this bottle was NOT marked - poison, - so Alice ventured to taste it, and finding it very nice, (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast,) she very soon finished it off.
What a curious feeling! - said Alice; - I must be shutting up like a telescope.
And so it was indeed: she was now only ten inches high, and her face brightened up at the thought that she was now the right size for going though the little door into that lovely garden. First, however, she waited for a few minutes to see if she was going to shrink any further: she felt a little nervous about this; - for it might end, you know, - said Alice to herself, - in my going out altogether, like a candle. I wonder what I should be like then? - And she tried to fancy what the flame of a candle is like after the candle is blown out, for she could not remember ever having seen such a thing.
After a while, finding that nothing more happened, she decided on going into the garden at once; but, alas for poor Alice! when she got to the door, she found he had forgotten the little golden key, and when she went back to the table for it, she found she could not possibly reach it: she could see it quite plainly through the glass, and she tried her best to climb up one of the legs of the table, but it was too slippery; and when she had tired herself out with trying, the poor little thing sat down and cried.
Come, there"s no use in crying like that! - said Alice to herself, rather sharply; - I advise you to leave off this minute! - She generally gave herself very good advice, (though she very seldom followed it), and sometimes she scolded herself so severely as to bring tears into her eyes; and once she remembered trying to box her own ears for having cheated herself in a game of croquet she was playing against herself, for this curious child was very fond of pretending to be two people. - But it"s no use now, - thought poor Alice, - to pretend to be two people! Why, there"s hardly enough of me left to make ONE respectable person!
Soon her eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the table: she opened it, and found in it a very small cake, on which the words - EAT ME - were beautifully marked in currants. - Well, I"ll eat it, - said Alive, - and if it makes me grow larger, I can reach the key; and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door; so either way I"ll get into the garden, and I don"t care which happens!
She ate a little bit, and said anxiously to herself, - Which way? Which way?", holding her hand on the top of her head to feel which way it was growing, and she was quite surprised to find that she remained the same size: to be sure, this generally happens when one eats cake, but Alice had got so much into the way of expecting nothing but out-of-the-way things to happen, that it seemed quite dull and stupid for life to go on in the common way.
So she set to work, and very soon finished off the cake.
The Pool of Tears
Curiouser and curiouser! - cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English); - now I"m opening out like the largest telescope that ever was! Good-bye, feet! - (for when she looked down at her feet, they seemed to be almost out of sight, they were getting so far off). - Oh, my poor little feet, I wonder who will put on your shoes and stockings for you now, dears? I"m sure _I_ shan"t be able! I shall be a great deal too far off to trouble myself about you: you must manage the best way you can; - but I must be kind to them, - thought Alice, - or perhaps they won"t walk the way I want to go! Let me see: I"ll give them a new pair of boots every Christmas.
And she went on planning to herself how she would manage it. - They must go by the carrier, - she thought; - and how funny it"ll seem, sending presents to one"s own feet! And how odd the directions will look!
ALICE"S RIGHT FOOT, ESQ.
NEAR THE FENDER,
(WITH ALICE"S LOVE).
Oh dear, what nonsense I"m talking!
Just then her head struck against the roof of the hall: in fact she was now more than nine feet high, and she at once took up the little golden key and hurried off to the garden door.
Poor Alice! It was as much as she could do, lying down on one side, to look through into the garden with one eye; but to get through was more hopeless than ever: she sat down and began to cry again.
You ought to be ashamed of yourself, - said Alice, - a great girl like you, - (she might well say this), - to go on crying in this way! Stop this moment, I tell you! - But she went on all the same, shedding gallons of tears, until there was a large pool all round her, about four inches deep and reaching half down the hall.
After a time she heard a little pattering of feet in the distance, and she hastily dried her eyes to see what was coming. It was the White Rabbit returning, splendidly dressed, with a pair of white kid gloves in one hand and a large fan in the other: he came trotting along in a great hurry, muttering to himself as he came, - Oh! the Duchess, the Duchess! Oh! won"t she be savage if I"ve kept her waiting! - Alice felt so desperate that she was ready to ask help of any one; so, when the Rabbit came near her, she began, in a low, timid voice, - If you please, sir - The Rabbit started violently, dropped the white kid gloves and the fan, and skurried away into the darkness as hard as he could go.
Alice took up the fan and gloves, and, as the hall was very hot, she kept fanning herself all the time she went on talking: - Dear, dear! How queer everything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual. I wonder if I"ve been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I"m not the same, the next question is, Who in the world am I? Ah, THAT"S the great puzzle! - And she began thinking over all the children she knew that were of the same age as herself, to see if she could have been changed for any of them.
I"m sure I"m not Ada, - she said, - for her hair goes in such long ringlets, and mine doesn"t go in ringlets at all; and I"m sure I can"t be Mabel, for I know all sorts of things, and she, oh! she knows such a very little! Besides, SHE"S she, and I"m I, and - oh dear, how puzzling it all is! I"ll try if I know all the things I used to know. Let me see: four times five is twelve, and four times six is thirteen, and four times seven is - oh dear! I shall never get to twenty at that rate! However, the Multiplication Table doesn"t signify: let"s try Geography. London is the capital of Paris, and Paris is the capital of Rome, and Rome - no, THAT"S all wrong, I"m certain! I must have been changed for Mabel! I"ll try and say - How doth the little - and she crossed her hands on her lap as if she were saying lessons, and began to repeat it, but her voice sounded hoarse and strange, and the words did not come the same as they used to do:
How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!
How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spread his claws,
And welcome little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws!
I"m sure those are not the right words, - said poor Alice, and her eyes filled with tears again as she went on, - I must be Mabel after all, and I shall have to go and live in that poky little house, and have next to no toys to play with, and oh! ever so many lessons to learn! No, I"ve made up my mind about it; if I"m Mabel, I"ll stay down here! It"ll be no use their putting their heads down and saying
Come up again, dear! - I shall only look up and say - Who am I then? Tell me that first, and then, if I like being that person, I"ll come up: if not, I"ll stay down here till I"m somebody else - but, oh dear! - cried Alice, with a sudden burst of tears, - I do wish they WOULD put their heads down! I am so VERY tired of being all alone here!
As she said this she looked down at her hands, and was surprised to see that she had put on one of the Rabbit"s little white kid gloves while she was talking. - How CAN I have done that? - she thought. - I must be growing small again. - She got up and went to the table to measure herself by it, and found that, as nearly as she could guess, she was now about two feet high, and was going on shrinking rapidly: she soon found out that the cause of this was the fan she was holding, and she dropped it hastily, just in time to avoid shrinking away altogether.
That WAS a narrow escape! - said Alice, a good deal frightened at the sudden change, but very glad to find herself still in existence;
And now for the garden! - and she ran with all speed back to the little door: but, alas! the little door was shut again, and the little golden key was lying on the glass table as before, - and things are worse than ever, - thought the poor child, - for I never was so small as this before, never! And I declare it"s too bad, that it is!
As she said these words her foot slipped, and in another moment, splash! she was up to her chin in salt water. He first idea was that she had somehow fallen into the sea, - and in that case I can go back by railway, - she said to herself. (Alice had been to the seaside once in her life, and had come to the general conclusion, that wherever you go to on the English coast you find a number of bathing machines in the sea, some children digging in the sand with wooden spades, then a row of lodging houses, and behind them a railway station.) However, she soon made out that she was in the pool of tears which she had wept when she was nine feet high.
I wish I hadn"t cried so much! - said Alice, as she swam about, trying to find her way out. - I shall be punished for it now, I suppose, by being drowned in my own tears! That WILL be a queer thing, to be sure! However, everything is queer to-day.
Just then she heard something splashing about in the pool a little way off, and she swam nearer to make out what it was: at first she thought it must be a walrus or hippopotamus, but then she remembered how small she was now, and she soon made out that it was only a mouse that had slipped in like herself.
Would it be of any use, now, - thought Alice, - to speak to this mouse? Everything is so out-of-the-way down here, that I should think very likely it can talk: at any rate, there"s no harm in trying. - So she began: - O Mouse, do you know the way out of this pool? I am very tired of swimming about here, O Mouse! - (Alice thought this must be the right way of speaking to a mouse: she had never done such a thing before, but she remembered having seen in her brother"s Latin Grammar, - A mouse - of a mouse - to a mouse - a mouse - O mouse! - The Mouse looked at her rather inquisitively, and seemed to her to wink with one of its little eyes, but it said nothing.
Perhaps it doesn"t understand English, - thought Alice; - I daresay it"s a French mouse, come over with William the Conqueror. - (For, with all her knowledge of history, Alice had no very clear notion how long ago anything had happened.) So she began again: - Ou est ma chatte? - which was the first sentence in her French lesson-book. The Mouse gave a sudden leap out of the water, and seemed to quiver all over with fright. - Oh, I beg your pardon! - cried Alice hastily, afraid that she had hurt the poor animal"s feelings. - I quite forgot you didn"t like cats.
Not like cats! - cried the Mouse, in a shrill, passionate voice. - Would YOU like cats if you were me? - Well, perhaps not, - said Alice in a soothing tone: - don"t be angry about it. And yet I wish I could show you our cat Dinah: I think you"d take a fancy to cats if you could only see her. She is such a dear quiet thing, - Alice went on, half to herself, as she swam lazily about in the pool, - and she sits purring so nicely by the fire, licking her paws and washing her face - and she is such a nice soft thing to nurse - and she"s such a capital one for catching mice - oh, I beg your pardon! - cried Alice again, for this time the Mouse was bristling all over, and she felt certain it must be really offended.
We won"t talk about her any more if you"d rather not. - We indeed! - cried the Mouse, who was trembling down to the end of his tail. - As if I would talk on such a subject! Our family always HATED cats: nasty, low, vulgar things! Don"t let me hear the name again!
I won"t indeed! - said Alice, in a great hurry to change the subject of conversation. - Are you - are you fond - of - of dogs? - The Mouse did not answer, so Alice went on eagerly: - There is such a nice little dog near our house I should like to show you! A little bright-eyed terrier, you know, with oh, such long curly brown hair! And it"ll fetch things when you throw them, and it"ll sit up and beg for its dinner, and all sorts of thins - I can"t remember half of them - and it belongs to a farmer, you know, and he says it"s so useful, it"s worth a hundred pounds! He says it kills all the rats and - oh dear! - cried Alice in a sorrowful tone, - I"m afraid I"ve offended it again! - For the Mouse was swimming away from her as hard as it could go, and making quite a commotion in the pool as it went.
So she called softly after it, - Mouse dear! Do come back again, and we won"t talk about cats or dogs either, if you don"t like them! When the Mouse heard this, it turned round and swam slowly back to her: its face was quite pale (with passion, Alice thought), and it said in a low trembling voice, - Let us get to the shore, and then I"ll tell you my history, and you"ll understand why it is I hate cats and dogs.
It was high time to go, for the pool was getting quite crowded with the birds and animals that had fallen into it: there were a Duck and a Dodo, a Lory and an Eaglet, and several other curious creatures. Alice led the way, and the whole party swam to the shore.
A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale
They were indeed a queer-looking party that assembled on the bank - the birds with draggled feathers, the animals with their fur clinging close to them, and all dripping wet, cross, and uncomfortable.
The first question of course was, how to get dry again: they had a consultation about this, and after a few minutes it seemed quite natural to Alice to find herself talking familiarly with them, as if she had known them all her life. Indeed, she had quite a long argument with the Lory, who at last turned sulky, and would only say, - I am older than you, and must know better; - and this Alice would not allow without knowing how old it was, and, as the Lory positively refused to tell its age, there was no more to be said.
At last the Mouse, who seemed to be a person of authority among them, called out, - Sit down, all of you, and listen to me! I"LL soon make you dry enough! - They all sat down at once, in a large ring, with the Mouse in the middle. Alice kept her eyes anxiously fixed on it, for she felt sure she would catch a bad cold if she did not get dry very soon.
Ahem! - said the Mouse with an important air, - are you all ready? This is the driest thing I know. Silence all round, if you please!
William the Conqueror, whose cause was favoured by the pope, was soon submitted to by the English, who wanted leaders, and had been of late much accustomed to usurpation and conquest. Edwin and Morcar, the earls of Mercia and Northumbria-
Ugh! - said the Lory, with a shiver.
I beg your pardon! - said the Mouse, frowning, but very politely: - Did you speak? - Not I! - said the Lory hastily. - I thought you did, - said the Mouse. - I proceed. - Edwin and Morcar, the earls of Mercia and Northumbria, declared for him: and even Stigand, the patriotic archbishop of Canterbury, found it advisable
Found WHAT? - said the Duck.
Found IT, - the Mouse replied rather crossly: - of course you know what - it - means.
I know what - it - means well enough, when I find a thing, - said the Duck: - it"s generally a frog or a worm. The question is, what did the archbishop find?
The Mouse did not notice this question, but hurriedly went on, - - found it advisable to go with Edgar Atheling to meet William and offer him the crown. William"s conduct at first was moderate. But the insolence of his Normans - How are you getting on now, my dear? - it continued, turning to Alice as it spoke.
As wet as ever, - said Alice in a melancholy tone: - it doesn"t seem to dry me at all.
In that case, - said the Dodo solemnly, rising to its feet, - I move that the meeting adjourn, for the immediate adoption of more energetic remedies
Speak English! - said the Eaglet. - I don"t know the meaning of half those long words, and, what"s more, I don"t believe you do either! And the Eaglet bent down its head to hide a smile: some of the other birds tittered audibly.
What I was going to say, - said the Dodo in an offended tone, - was, that the best thing to get us dry would be a Caucus-race.
What IS a Caucus-race? - said Alice; not that she wanted much to know, but the Dodo had paused as if it thought that SOMEBODY ought to speak, and no one else seemed inclined to say anything.
Why, - said the Dodo, - the best way to explain it is to do it. (And, as you might like to try the thing yourself, some winter day, I will tell you how the Dodo managed it.)
First it marked out a race-course, in a sort of circle, (- the exact shape doesn"t matter, - it said,) and then all the party were placed along the course, here and there. There was no - One, two, three, and away, - but they began running when they liked, and left off when they liked, so that it was not easy to know when the race was over. However, when they had been running half an hour or so, and were quite dry again, the Dodo suddenly called out - The race is over! - and they all crowded round it, panting, and asking, - But who has won?
But who is to give the prizes? - quite a chorus of voices asked.
Why, SHE, of course, - said the Dodo, pointing to Alice with one finger; and the whole party at once crowded round her, calling out in a confused way, - Prizes! Prizes!
But she must have a prize herself, you know, - said the Mouse.
Of course, - the Dodo replied very gravely. - What else have you got in your pocket? - he went on, turning to Alice.
Only a thimble, - said Alice sadly.
Hand it over here, - said the Dodo. Then they all crowded round her once more, while the Dodo solemnly presented the thimble, saying - We beg your acceptance of this elegant thimble; - and, when it had finished this short speech, they all cheered.
Alice thought the whole thing very absurd, but they all looked so grave that she did not dare to laugh; and, as she could not think of anything to say, she simply bowed, and took the thimble, looking as solemn as she could.
The next thing was to eat the comfits: this caused some noise and confusion, as the large birds complained that they could not taste theirs, and the small ones choked and had to be patted on the back. However, it was over at last, and they sat down again in a ring, and begged the Mouse to tell them something more.
You promised to tell me your history, you know, - said Alice, - and why it is you hate - C and D, - she added in a whisper, half afraid that it would be offended again.
Mine is a long and a sad tale! - said the Mouse, turning to Alice, and sighing.
It IS a long tail, certainly, - said Alice, looking down with wonder at the Mouse"s tail - - but why do you call it sad? - And she kept on puzzling about it while the Mouse was speaking, so that her idea of the tale was something like this:
Fury said to a mouse, That he met in the house,
Let us both go to law: I will prosecute YOU.
Come, I"ll take no denial; We must have a trial: For really this morning I"ve nothing to do. Said the mouse to the cur,
Such a trial, dear Sir, With no jury or judge, would be wasting our breath.
I"ll be judge, I"ll be jury, Said cunning old Fury:
I"ll try the whole cause, and condemn you to death.
You are not attending! - said the Mouse to Alice severely. - What are you thinking of?
I beg your pardon, - said Alice very humbly: - you had got to the fifth bend, I think?
I had NOT! - cried the Mouse, sharply and very angrily.
A knot! - said Alice, always ready to make herself useful, and looking anxiously about her. - Oh, do let me help to undo it!
I shall do nothing of the sort, - said the Mouse, getting up and walking away. - You insult me by talking such nonsense!
I didn"t mean it! - pleaded poor Alice. -
But you"re so easily offended, you know!
The Mouse only growled in reply. - Please come back and finish your story! - Alice called after it; and the others all joined in chorus, - Yes, please do! - but the Mouse only shook its head impatiently, and walked a little quicker.
What a pity it wouldn"t stay! - sighed the Lory, as soon as it was quite out of sight; and an old Crab took the opportunity of saying to her daughter - Ah, my dear! Let this be a lesson to you never to lose YOUR temper! - - Hold your tongue, Ma! - said the young Crab, a little snappishly. - You"re enough to try the patience of an oyster!
And who is Dinah, if I might venture to ask the question? - said the Lory.
Alice replied eagerly, for she was always ready to talk about her pet: - Dinah"s our cat. And she"s such a capital one for catching mice you can"t think! And oh, I wish you could see her after the birds! Why, she"ll eat a little bird as soon as look at it!
This speech caused a remarkable sensation among the party. Some of the birds hurried off at once: one the old Magpie began wrapping itself up very carefully, remarking, - I really must be getting home; the night-air doesn"t suit my throat! - and a Canary called out in a trembling voice to its children, - Come away, my dears! It"s high time you were all in bed! - On various pretexts they all moved off, and Alice was soon left alone.
I wish I hadn"t mentioned Dinah! - she said to herself in a melancholy tone. - Nobody seems to like her, down here, and I"m sure she"s the best cat in the world! Oh, my dear Dinah! I wonder if I shall ever see you any more! - And here poor Alice began to cry again, for she felt very lonely and low-spirited. In a little while, however, she again heard a little pattering of footsteps in the distance, and she looked up eagerly, half hoping that the Mouse had changed his mind, and was coming back to finish his story.
The Rabbit Sends in a Little Bill
It was the White Rabbit, trotting slowly back again, and looking anxiously about as it went, as if it had lost something; and she heard it muttering to itself - The Duchess! The Duchess! Oh my dear paws! Oh my fur and whiskers! She"ll get me executed, as sure as ferrets are ferrets! Where CAN I have dropped them, I wonder? - Alice guessed in a moment that it was looking for the fan and the pair of white kid gloves, and she very good-naturedly began hunting about for them, but they were nowhere to be seen - everything seemed to have changed since her swim in the pool, and the great hall, with the glass table and the little door, had vanished completely.
Very soon the Rabbit noticed Alice, as she went hunting about, and called out to her in an angry tone, - Why, Mary Ann, what ARE you doing out here? Run home this moment, and fetch me a pair of gloves and a fan! Quick, now! - And Alice was so much frightened that she ran off at once in the direction it pointed to, without trying to explain the mistake it had made.
He took me for his housemaid, - she said to herself as she ran. - How surprised he"ll be when he finds out who I am! But I"d better take him his fan and gloves - that is, if I can find them. - As she said this, she came upon a neat little house, on the door of which was a bright brass plate with the name - W. RABBIT - engraved upon it. She went in without knocking, and hurried upstairs, in great fear lest she should meet the real Mary Ann, and be turned out of the house before she had found the fan and gloves.
How queer it seems, - Alice said to herself, - to be going messages for a rabbit! I suppose Dinah"ll be sending me on messages next! - And she began fancying the sort of thing that would happen: -
Miss Alice! Come here directly, and get ready for your walk! - - Coming in a minute, nurse! But I"ve got to see that the mouse doesn"t get out. Only I don"t think, - Alice went on, - that they"d let Dinah stop in the house if it began ordering people about like that!
By this time she had found her way into a tidy little room with a table in the window, and on it (as she had hoped) a fan and two or three pairs of tiny white kid gloves: she took up the fan and a pair of the gloves, and was just going to leave the room, when her eye fell upon a little bottle that stood near the lookingglass. There was no label this time with the words - DRINK ME, - but nevertheless she uncorked it and put it to her lips. - I know SOMETHING interesting is sure to happen, - she said to herself, - whenever I eat or drink anything; so I"ll just see what this bottle does. I do hope it"ll make me grow large again, for really I"m quite tired of being such a tiny little thing!
It did so indeed, and much sooner than she had expected: before she had drunk half the bottle, she found her head pressing against the ceiling, and had to stoop to save her neck from being broken. She hastily put down the bottle, saying to herself - That"s quite enough - I hope I shan"t grow any more - As it is, I can"t get out at the door - I do wish I hadn"t drunk quite so much!
Alas! it was too late to wish that! She went on growing, and growing, and very soon had to kneel down on the floor: in another minute there was not even room for this, and she tried the effect of lying down with one elbow against the door, and the other arm curled round her head. Still she went on growing, and, as a last resource, she put one arm out of the window, and one foot up the chimney, and said to herself - Now I can do no more, whatever happens. What WILL become of me?
It was much pleasanter at home, - thought poor Alice, - when one wasn"t always growing larger and smaller, and being ordered about by mice and rabbits. I almost wish I hadn"t gone down that rabbit-hole - and yet - and yet - it"s rather curious, you know, this sort of life! I do wonder what CAN have happened to me! When I used to read fairy-tales, I fancied that kind of thing never happened, and now here I am in the middle of one! There ought to be a book written about me, that there ought! And when I grow up, I"ll write one - but I"m grown up now, - she added in a sorrowful tone; - at least there"s no room to grow up any more HERE.
But then, - thought Alice, - shall I NEVER get any older than I am now? That"ll be a comfort, one way - never to be an old woman-but then - always to have lessons to learn! Oh, I shouldn"t like THAT!
And so she went on, taking first one side and then the other, and making quite a conversation of it altogether; but after a few minutes she heard a voice outside, and stopped to listen.
Mary Ann! Mary Ann! - said the voice. - Fetch me my gloves this moment! - Then came a little pattering of feet on the stairs. Alice knew it was the Rabbit coming to look for her, and she trembled till she shook the house, quite forgetting that she was now about a thousand times as large as the Rabbit, and had no reason to be afraid of it.
Presently the Rabbit came up to the door, and tried to open it; but, as the door opened inwards, and Alice"s elbow was pressed hard against it, that attempt proved a failure. Alice heard it say to itself - Then I"ll go round and get in at the window.
THAT you won"t - thought Alice, and, after waiting till she fancied she heard the Rabbit just under the window, she suddenly spread out her hand, and made a snatch in the air. She did not get hold of anything, but she heard a little shriek and a fall, and a crash of broken glass, from which she concluded that it was just possible it had fallen into a cucumber-frame, or something of the sort.
Now tell me, Pat, what"s that in the window?
Sure, it"s an arm, yer honour! - (He pronounced it - arrum.")
An arm, you goose! Who ever saw one that size? Why, it fills the whole window!
Sure, it does, yer honour: but it"s an arm for all that.
Well, it"s got no business there, at any rate: go and take it away! There was a long silence after this, and Alice could only hear whispers now and then; such as, - Sure, I don"t like it, yer honour, at all, at all! - - Do as I tell you, you coward! - and at last she spread out her hand again, and made another snatch in the air. This time there were TWO little shrieks, and more sounds of broken glass.
She waited for some time without hearing anything more: at last came a rumbling of little cartwheels, and the sound of a good many voice all talking together: she made out the words: - Where"s the other ladder? - Why, I hadn"t to bring but one; Bill"s got the other - Bill! fetch it here, lad! - Here, put "em up at this corner - No, tie "em together first - they don"t reach half high enough yet - Oh! they"ll do well enough; don"t be particular-Here, Bill! catch hold of this rope - Will the roof bear? - Mind that loose slate - Oh, it"s coming down! Heads below! - (a loud crash) - Now, who did that? - It was Bill, I fancy - Who"s to go down the chimney? - Nay, I shan"t! YOU do it! - That I won"t, then! - Bill"s to go down - Here, Bill! the master says you"re to go down the chimney!
Oh! So Bill"s got to come down the chimney, has he? - said Alice to herself. - Shy, they seem to put everything upon Bill! I wouldn"t be in Bill"s place for a good deal: this fireplace is narrow, to be sure; but I THINK I can kick a little!
She drew her foot as far down the chimney as she could, and waited till she heard a little animal (she couldn"t guess of what sort it was) scratching and scrambling about in the chimney close above her: then, saying to herself - This is Bill, - she gave one sharp kick, and waited to see what would happen next.
The first thing she heard was a general chorus of - There goes Bill! - then the Rabbit"s voice along - Catch him, you by the hedge! then silence, and then another confusion of voices - Hold up his head - Brandy now - Don"t choke him - How was it, old fellow? What happened to you? Tell us all about it!
Last came a little feeble, squeaking voice, (- That"s Bill, - thought Alice,) - Well, I hardly know - No more, thank ye; I"m better now - but I"m a deal too flustered to tell you - all I know is, something comes at me like a Jack-in-the-box, and up I goes like a sky-rocket!
So you did, old fellow! - said the others.
We must burn the house down! - said the Rabbit"s voice; and Alice called out as loud as she could, - If you do. I"ll set Dinah at you!
There was a dead silence instantly, and Alice thought to herself, - I wonder what they WILL do next! If they had any sense, they"d take the roof off. - After a minute or two, they began moving about again, and Alice heard the Rabbit say, - A barrowful will do, to begin with.
A barrowful of WHAT? - thought Alice; but she had not long to doubt, for the next moment a shower of little pebbles came rattling in at the window, and some of them hit her in the face. - I"ll put a stop to this, - she said to herself, and shouted out, - You"d better not do that again! - which produced another dead silence.
Alice noticed with some surprise that the pebbles were all turning into little cakes as they lay on the floor, and a bright idea came into her head. - If I eat one of these cakes, - she thought, - it"s sure to make SOME change in my size; and as it can"t possibly make me larger, it must make me smaller, I suppose.
So she swallowed one of the cakes, and was delighted to find that she began shrinking directly. As soon as she was small enough to get through the door, she ran out of the house, and found quite a crowd of little animals and birds waiting outside. The poor little Lizard, Bill, was in the middle, being held up by two guinea-pigs, who were giving it something out of a bottle. They all made a rush at Alice the moment she appeared; but she ran off as hard as she could, and soon found herself safe in a thick wood.
The first thing I"ve got to do, - said Alice to herself, as she wandered about in the wood, - is to grow to my right size again; and the second thing is to find my way into that lovely garden. I think that will be the best plan.
It sounded an excellent plan, no doubt, and very neatly and simply arranged; the only difficulty was, that she had not the smallest idea how to set about it; and while she was peering about anxiously among the trees, a little sharp bark just over her head made her look up in a great hurry.
An enormous puppy was looking down at her with large round eyes, and feebly stretching out one paw, trying to touch her. - Poor little thing! - said Alice, in a coaxing tone, and she tried hard to whistle to it; but she was terribly frightened all the time at the thought that it might be hungry, in which case it would be very likely to eat her up in spite of all her coaxing.
Hardly knowing what she did, she picked up a little bit of stick, and held it out to the puppy; whereupon the puppy jumped into the air off all its feet at once, with a yelp of delight, and rushed at the stick, and made believe to worry it; then Alice dodged behind a great thistle, to keep herself from being run over; and the moment she appeared on the other side, the puppy made another rush at the stick, and tumbled head over heels in its hurry to get hold of it; then Alice, thinking it was very like having a game of play with a cart-horse, and expecting every moment to be trampled under its feet, ran round the thistle again; then the puppy began a series of short charges at the stick, running a very little way forwards each time and a long way back, and barking hoarsely all the while, till at last it sat down a good way off, panting, with its tongue hanging out of its mouth, and its great eyes half shut.
This seemed to Alice a good opportunity for making her escape; so she set off at once, and ran till she was quite tired and out of breath, and till the puppy"s bark sounded quite faint in the distance.
And yet what a dear little puppy it was! - said Alice, as she leant against a buttercup to rest herself, and fanned herself with one of the leaves: - I should have liked teaching it tricks very much, if - if I"d only been the right size to do it! Oh dear! I"d nearly forgotten that I"ve got to grow up again! Let me see - how IS it to be managed? I suppose I ought to eat or drink something or other; but the great question is, what? The great question certainly was, what? Alice looked all round her at the flowers and the blades of grass, but she did not see anything that looked like the right thing to eat or drink under the circumstances. There was a large mushroom growing near her, about the same height as herself; and when she had looked under it, and on both sides of it, and behind it, it occurred to her that she might as well look and see what was on the top of it.
She stretched herself up on tiptoe, and peeped over the edge of the mushroom, and her eyes immediately met those of a large caterpillar, that was sitting on the top with its arms folded, quietly smoking a long hookah, and taking not the smallest notice of her or of anything else.
Advice from a Caterpillar
The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice.
Who are YOU? - said the Caterpillar. This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, - I - I hardly know, sir, just at present-at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.
What do you mean by that? - said the Caterpillar sternly. - Explain yourself!
I can"t explain MYSELF, I"m afraid, sir - said Alice, - because I"m not myself, you see.
I don"t see, - said the Caterpillar.
I"m afraid I can"t put it more clearly, - Alice replied very politely, - for I can"t understand it myself to begin with; and being so many different sizes in a day is very confusing.
It isn"t, - said the Caterpillar.
Well, perhaps you haven"t found it so yet, - said Alice; - but when you have to turn into a chrysalis - you will some day, you know - and then after that into a butterfly, I should think you"ll feel it a little queer, won"t you?
Not a bit, - said the Caterpillar.
Well, perhaps your feelings may be different, - said Alice; - all I know is, it would feel very queer to ME.
You! - said the Caterpillar contemptuously. - Who are YOU? Which brought them back again to the beginning of the conversation. Alice felt a little irritated at the Caterpillar"s making such VERY short remarks, and she drew herself up and said, very gravely, - I think, you out to tell me who YOU are, first.
Come back! - the Caterpillar called after her. - I"ve something important to say!
This sounded promising, certainly: Alice turned and came back again.
Keep your temper, - said the Caterpillar. - Is that all? - said Alice, swallowing down her anger as well as she could.
No, - said the Caterpillar. Alice thought she might as well wait, as she had nothing else to do, and perhaps after all it might tell her something worth hearing. For some minutes it puffed away without speaking, but at last it unfolded its arms, took the hookah out of its mouth again, and said,
So you think you"re changed, do you? - I"m afraid I am, sir, - said Alice; - I can"t remember things as I used - and I don"t keep the same size for ten minutes together!
Can"t remember WHAT things? - said the Caterpillar.
Well, I"ve tried to say - HOW DOTH THE LITTLE BUSY BEE, - but it all came different! - Alice replied in a very melancholy voice.
Repeat, - YOU ARE OLD, FATHER WILLIAM, - said the Caterpillar. Alice folded her hands, and began:
You are old, Father William, - the young man said, - And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head
Do you think, at your age, it is right?
In my youth, - Father William replied to his son, - I feared it might injure the brain; But, now that I"m perfectly sure I have none, Why, I do it again and again.
You are old, - said the youth, - as I mentioned before, And have grown most uncommonly fat; Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door
Pray, what is the reason of that?
Are you content now? - said the Caterpillar.
Well, I should like to be a LITTLE larger, sir, if you wouldn"t mind, - said Alice: - three inches is such a wretched height to be.
It is a very good height indeed! - said the Caterpillar angrily, rearing itself upright as it spoke (it was exactly three inches high).
But I"m not used to it! - pleaded poor Alice in a piteous tone. And she thought of herself, - I wish the creatures wouldn"t be so easily offended!
You"ll get used to it in time, - said the Caterpillar; and it put the hookah into its mouth and began smoking again.
This time Alice waited patiently until it chose to speak again. In a minute or two the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth and yawned once or twice, and shook itself. Then it got down off the mushroom, and crawled away in the grass, merely remarking as it went,
One side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter.
One side of WHAT? The other side of WHAT? - thought Alice to herself.
Of the mushroom, - said the Caterpillar, just as if she had asked it aloud; and in another moment it was out of sight.
Alice remained looking thoughtfully at the mushroom for a minute, trying to make out which were the two sides of it; and as it was perfectly round, she found this a very difficult question. However, at last she stretched her arms round it as far as they would go, and broke off a bit of the edge with each hand.
And now which is which? - she said to herself, and nibbled a little of the right-hand bit to try the effect: the next moment she felt a violent blow underneath her chin: it had struck her foot!
She was a good deal frightened by this very sudden change, but she felt that there was no time to be lost, as she was shrinking rapidly; so she set to work at once to eat some of the other bit. Her chin was pressed so closely against her foot, that there was hardly room to open her mouth; but she did it at last, and managed to swallow a morsel of the lefthand bit. * * * * * * *
Come, my head"s free at last! - said Alice in a tone of delight, which changed into alarm in another moment, when she found that her shoulders were nowhere to be found: all she could see, when she looked down, was an immense length of neck, which seemed to rise like a stalk out of a sea of green leaves that lay far below her.
What CAN all that green stuff be? - said Alice. - And where HAVE my shoulders got to? And oh, my poor hands, how is it I can"t see you? She was moving them about as she spoke, but no result seemed to follow, except a little shaking among the distant green leaves.
As there seemed to be no chance of getting her hands up to her head, she tried to get her head down to them, and was delighted to find that her neck would bend about easily in any direction, like a serpent. She had just succeeded in curving it down into a graceful zigzag, and was going to dive in among the leaves, which she found to be nothing but the tops of the trees under which she had been wandering, when a sharp hiss made her draw back in a hurry: a large pigeon had flown into her face, and was beating her violently with its wings.
Serpent! - screamed the Pigeon.
I"m NOT a serpent! - said Alice indignantly. - Let me alone!
Serpent, I say again! - repeated the Pigeon, but in a more subdued tone, and added with a kind of sob, - I"ve tried every way, and nothing seems to suit them!
I haven"t the least idea what you"re talking about, - said Alice.
As if it wasn"t trouble enough hatching the eggs, - said the Pigeon; - but I must be on the look-out for serpents night and day! Why, I haven"t had a wink of sleep these three weeks!
I"m very sorry you"ve been annoyed, - said Alice, who was beginning to see its meaning.
And just as I"d taken the highest tree in the wood, - continued the Pigeon, raising its voice to a shriek, - and just as I was thinking I should be free of them at last, they must needs come wriggling down from the sky! Ugh, Serpent!
But I"m NOT a serpent, I tell you! - said Alice. - I"m a - I"m a
Well! WHAT are you? - said the Pigeon. - I can see you"re trying to invent something!
I - I"m a little girl, - said Alice, rather doubtfully, as she remembered the number of changes she had gone through that day.
A likely story indeed! - said the Pigeon in a tone of the deepest contempt. - I"ve seen a good many little girls in my time, but never ONE with such a neck as that! No, no! You"re a serpent; and there"s no use denying it. I suppose you"ll be telling me next that you never tasted an egg!
I HAVE tasted eggs, certainly, - said Alice, who was a very truthful child; - but little girls eat eggs quite as much as serpents do, you know.
I don"t believe it, - said the Pigeon; - but if they do, why then they"re a kind of serpent, that"s all I can say.
This was such a new idea to Alice, that she was quite silent for a minute or two, which gave the Pigeon the opportunity of adding,
You"re looking for eggs, I know THAT well enough; and what does it matter to me whether you"re a little girl or a serpent?
It matters a good deal to ME, - said Alice hastily; - but I"m not looking for eggs, as it happens; and if I was, I shouldn"t want YOURS: I don"t like them raw.
Well, be off, then! - said the Pigeon in a sulky tone, as it settled down again into its nest. Alice crouched down among the trees as well as she could, for her neck kept getting entangled among the branches, and every now and then she had to stop and untwist it. After a while she remembered that she still held the pieces of mushroom in her hands, and she set to work very carefully, nibbling first at one and then at the other, and growing sometimes taller and sometimes shorter, until she had succeeded in bringing herself down to her usual height.
It was so long since she had been anything near the right size, that it felt quite strange at first; but she got used to it in a few minutes, and began talking to herself, as usual. - Come, there"s half my plan done now! How puzzling all these changes are! I"m never sure what I"m going to be, from one minute to another! However, I"ve got back to my right size: the next thing is, to get into that beautiful garden - how IS
Аудиокнига на английском языке, сказка Льюиса Кэрролла «Приключения Алисы в Стране чудес».
Глава первая - Down the Rabbit Hole.
Был жаркий день. Алиса сидела под деревом в саду вместе с сестрой, читающей книгу. Алиса решила нарвать цветов, но тут она увидела необычного кролика в синем пальто и с часами, проходящего мимо.
Она захотела поймать его. Но кролик скрылся в норе. Алиса последовала за ним, и вдруг стала падать бесконечно долго...
Alice felt too sleepy to play, and there was nobody to play with. It was a hot afternoon, so she was sitting in the garden under a tree.
Her sister was sitting beside her, but she was reading a book. Alice looked at the book. There were no pictures in the book, and Alice didn"t like books without pictures.
"I think I"ll go and pick some flowers," she said to herself.
She began to get up, but she forgot about the flowers at once because she saw a rabbit.
She often saw rabbits in the garden, but this rabbit was different.
He had large, pink ears, like most rabbits, but unlike most rabbits, he was wearing a blue coat and had a watch in his hand. He was looking at his watch and saying, "Oh, dear! Oh, dear! I shall be too late!"
"Oh, what an unusual rabbit!" said Alice to herself, and she jumped up and ran across the field after him. The white rabbit hurried on. He was still looking at his watch.
"I"ll catch him at the fence," thought Alice.
But, when the rabbit came to the fence, he suddenly went down a rabbit hole.
Alice followed him. She was inside a dark hole and she was falling. Either the hole was very deep or she was falling very slowly. She saw lots of things on her way down. There were cupboards on the sides of the hole, and maps and pictures. She fell and fell such a long way! She began to think she was going to fall all the way to Australia! But, after a very long time, her fall suddenly came to an end.
Alice found herself sitting on a heap of dry leaves, and she wasn"t hurt at all. She stood up quickly. She could see the white rabbit in the distance. He was still hurrying and looking at his watch.
"I mustn"t lose him now," thought Alice. She ran after him. As he turned a corner, she heard him say, "Oh, dear! Oh, dear! I"m so late!"
Alice was close behind him, but when she turned the corner, the white rabbit was not there any more.
Alice looked around. She was in a long, dark, empty hall, but some lamps on the ceiling gave it light. There were doors all around the hall. Did the rabbit go out of one of the doors?
She walked right around and tried to open each door, but she couldn"t. There weren"t any keys.
"It isn"t a very good idea to run down rabbit holes after rabbits," she decided.
Suddenly she noticed a small table in the middle of the hall. There was nothing on it except a small gold key. She picked up the key and ran to one of the doors, but the key was too small to open the door. Alice was trying all the doors for a second time when she saw a low curtain. Behind the curtain she found a door about fifteen inches high.
"It"s strange I didn"t notice this one before," she thought as she turned the key.
The door opened, but Alice had to go down on her knees to see what was on the other side. The little door led to a beautiful garden. Alice wanted very much to go into that beautiful garden, but she was too big. She wandered sadly back to the table. Then, as she put the key back, she noticed a bottle on the table.
"That"s funny. This bottle wasn"t here before," she said in surprise. She picked it up. There was a piece of paper on the bottle. Alice read these words: DRINK ME. So she did, and the drink tasted so nice that she drank it all!
"Oh, what"s happening?" cried Alice. "I do feel strange."
She was getting smaller and smaller! Soon she was only ten inches tall.
"Now I can get into the garden!" she cried, but then she remembered the key. It was on top of the table and, of course, she couldn"t reach it now because she was much too small.
"I"ll never get out of this hall," thought Alice sadly. "I can"t climb up that table leg."
Then she noticed a very small cake on the floor beside her. She picked it up and read the words EAT ME on top of the cake.
"Will it make me bigger or smaller?" Alice wondered. "I"m not a very useful size now, so I suppose it doesn"t really matter," she decided. She put the cake in her mouth.
"Ow!" cried Alice as her head hit the ceiling of the hall. She was suddenly nine feet tall! She quickly picked up the little gold key and went to the door to the garden. Now she was so tall that she could only see the garden if she lay down and looked through the door with one eye.
"Oh, what can I do now?" said Alice. "I"ll never get into that garden."
She sat down and began to cry. Her tears were so big that they soon made a small lake which covered half the hall.
Alice stopped crying when she heard footsteps in the distance. She looked up and dried her eyes as the white rabbit came into the hall.
He was carrying white gloves in one hand and a pink fan in the other. He was still talking to himself, but Alice needed help badly, so she began, "Excuse me, sir."
The sound of Alice"s voice took the rabbit by surprise. He dropped his gloves and fan, and turned and ran away.
Chapter 7 – A Mad Tea-Party
There was a table set out under a tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it: a Dormouse was sitting between them, fast asleep, and the other two were using it as a cushion, resting their elbows on it, and the talking over its head. Very uncomfortable for the Dormouse, thought Alice; only, as it s asleep, I suppose it doesn t mind.
The table was a large one, but the three were all crowded together at one corner of it: No room! No room! they cried out when they saw Alice coming. There s PLENTY of room! said Alice indignantly, and she sat down in a large arm-chair at one end of the table.
Have some wine, the March Hare said in an encouraging tone.
Alice looked all round the table, but there was nothing on it but tea. I don t see any wine, she remarked.
There isn t any, said the March Hare.
Then it wasn t very civil of you to offer it, said Alice angrily.
It wasn t very civil of you to sit down without being invited, said the March Hare.
I didn t know it was YOUR table, said Alice; it s laid for a great many more than three.
Your hair wants cutting, said the Hatter. He had been looking at Alice for some time with great curiosity, and this was his first speech.
You should learn not to make personal remarks, Alice said with some severity; it s very rude.
The Hatter opened his eyes very wide on hearing this; but all he SAID was, Why is a raven like a writing-desk?
Come, we shall have some fun now! thought Alice. I m glad they ve begun asking riddles.–I believe I can guess that, she added aloud.
Do you mean that you think you can find out the answer to it? said the March Hare.
Exactly so, said Alice.
Then you should say what you mean, the March Hare went on.
I do, Alice hastily replied; at least–at least I mean what I say–that s the same thing, you know.
Not the same thing a bit! said the Hatter. You might just as well say that “I see what I eat” is the same thing as “I eat what I see”!
You might just as well say, added the March Hare, that “I like what I get” is the same thing as “I get what I like”!
You might just as well say, added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, that “I breathe when I sleep” is the same thing as “I sleep when I breathe”!
It IS the same thing with you, said the Hatter, and here the conversation dropped, and the party sat silent for a minute, while Alice thought over all she could remember about ravens and writing-desks, which wasn t much.
The Hatter was the first to break the silence. What day of the month is it? he said, turning to Alice: he had taken his watch out of his pocket, and was looking at it uneasily, shaking it every now and then, and holding it to his ear.
Alice considered a little, and then said The fourth.
Two days wrong! sighed the Hatter. I told you butter wouldn t suit the works! he added looking angrily at the March Hare.
It was the BEST butter, the March Hare meekly replied.
Yes, but some crumbs must have got in as well, the Hatter grumbled: you shouldn t have put it in with the bread-knife.
The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: then he dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: but he could think of nothing better to say than his first remark, It was the BEST butter, you know.
Alice had been looking over his shoulder with some curiosity. What a funny watch! she remarked. It tells the day of the month, and doesn t tell what o clock it is!
Why should it? muttered the Hatter. Does YOUR watch tell you what year it is?
Of course not, Alice replied very readily: but that s because it stays the same year for such a long time together.
Which is just the case with MINE, said the Hatter.
Alice felt dreadfully puzzled. The Hatter s remark seemed to have no sort of meaning in it, and yet it was certainly English. I don t quite understand you, she said, as politely as she could.
The Dormouse is asleep again, said the Hatter, and he poured a little hot tea upon its nose.
The Dormouse shook its head impatiently, and said, without opening its eyes, Of course, of course; just what I was going to remark myself.
Have you guessed the riddle yet? the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.
No, I give it up, Alice replied: what s the answer?
I haven t the slightest idea, said the Hatter.
Nor I, said the March Hare.
Alice sighed wearily. I think you might do something better with the time, she said, than waste it in asking riddles that have no answers.
If you knew Time as well as I do, said the Hatter, you wouldn t talk about wasting IT. It s HIM.
I don t know what you mean, said Alice.
Of course you don t! the Hatter said, tossing his head contemptuously. I dare say you never even spoke to Time!
Perhaps not, Alice cautiously replied: but I know I have to beat time when I learn music.
Ah! that accounts for it, said the Hatter. He won t stand beating. Now, if you only kept on good terms with him, he d do almost anything you liked with the clock. For instance, suppose it were nine o clock in the morning, just time to begin lessons: you d only have to whisper a hint to Time, and round goes the clock in a twinkling! Half-past one, time for dinner!
(I only wish it was, the March Hare said to itself in a whisper.)
That would be grand, certainly, said Alice thoughtfully: but then–I shouldn t be hungry for it, you know.
Not at first, perhaps, said the Hatter: but you could keep it to half-past one as long as you liked.
Is that the way YOU manage? Alice asked.
The Hatter shook his head mournfully. Not I! he replied. We quarrelled last March–just before HE went mad, you know– (pointing with his tea spoon at the March Hare,) –it was at the great concert given by the Queen of Hearts, and I had to sing
“Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! How I wonder what you re at!”
You know the song, perhaps?
I ve heard something like it, said Alice.
It goes on, you know, the Hatter continued, in this way:–
“Up above the world you fly, Like a tea-tray in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle–”‘
Here the Dormouse shook itself, and began singing in its sleep Twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle– and went on so long that they had to pinch it to make it stop.
Well, I d hardly finished the first verse, said the Hatter, when the Queen jumped up and bawled out, “He s murdering the time! Off with his head!”‘
How dreadfully savage! exclaimed Alice.
And ever since that, the Hatter went on in a mournful tone, he won t do a thing I ask! It s always six o clock now.
A bright idea came into Alice s head. Is that the reason so many tea-things are put out here? she asked.
Yes, that s it, said the Hatter with a sigh: it s always tea-time, and we ve no time to wash the things between whiles.
Then you keep moving round, I suppose? said Alice.
Exactly so, said the Hatter: as the things get used up.
But what happens when you come to the beginning again? Alice ventured to ask.
Suppose we change the subject, the March Hare interrupted, yawning. I m getting tired of this. I vote the young lady tells us a story.
I m afraid I don t know one, said Alice, rather alarmed at the proposal.
Then the Dormouse shall! they both cried. Wake up, Dormouse! And they pinched it on both sides at once.
The Dormouse slowly opened his eyes. I wasn t asleep, he said in a hoarse, feeble voice: I heard every word you fellows were saying.
Tell us a story! said the March Hare.
Yes, please do! pleaded Alice.
And be quick about it, added the Hatter, or you ll be asleep again before it s done.
Once upon a time there were three little sisters, the Dormouse began in a great hurry; and their names were Elsie, Lacie, and Tillie; and they lived at the bottom of a well–
What did they live on? said Alice, who always took a great interest in questions of eating and drinking.
They lived on treacle, said the Dormouse, after thinking a minute or two.
They couldn t have done that, you know, Alice gently remarked; they d have been ill.
So they were, said the Dormouse; VERY ill.
Alice tried to fancy to herself what such an extraordinary ways of living would be like, but it puzzled her too much, so she went on: But why did they live at the bottom of a well?
Take some more tea, the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
I ve had nothing yet, Alice replied in an offended tone, so I can t take more.
You mean you can t take LESS, said the Hatter: it s very easy to take MORE than nothing.
Nobody asked YOUR opinion, said Alice.
Who s making personal remarks now? the Hatter asked triumphantly.
Alice did not quite know what to say to this: so she helped herself to some tea and bread-and-butter, and then turned to the Dormouse, and repeated her question. Why did they live at the bottom of a well?
The Dormouse again took a minute or two to think about it, and then said, It was a treacle-well.
There s no such thing! Alice was beginning very angrily, but the Hatter and the March Hare went Sh! sh! and the Dormouse sulkily remarked, If you can t be civil, you d better finish the story for yourself.
No, please go on! Alice said very humbly; I won t interrupt again. I dare say there may be ONE.
One, indeed! said the Dormouse indignantly. However, he consented to go on. And so these three little sisters–they were learning to draw, you know–
What did they draw? said Alice, quite forgetting her promise.
Treacle, said the Dormouse, without considering at all this time.
I want a clean cup, interrupted the Hatter: let s all move one place on.
He moved on as he spoke, and the Dormouse followed him: the March Hare moved into the Dormouse s place, and Alice rather unwillingly took the place of the March Hare. The Hatter was the only one who got any advantage from the change: and Alice was a good deal worse off than before, as the March Hare had just upset the milk-jug into his plate.
Alice did not wish to offend the Dormouse again, so she began very cautiously: But I don t understand. Where did they draw the treacle from?
You can draw water out of a water-well, said the Hatter; so I should think you could draw treacle out of a treacle-well–eh, stupid?
But they were IN the well, Alice said to the Dormouse, not choosing to notice this last remark.
Of course they were , said the Dormouse; –well in.
This answer so confused poor Alice, that she let the Dormouse go on for some time without interrupting it.
They were learning to draw, the Dormouse went on, yawning and rubbing its eyes, for it was getting very sleepy; and they drew all manner of things–everything that begins with an M–
Why with an M? said Alice.
Why not? said the March Hare.
Alice was silent.
The Dormouse had closed its eyes by this time, and was going off into a doze; but, on being pinched by the Hatter, it woke up again with a little shriek, and went on: –that begins with an M, such as mouse-traps, and the moon, and memory, and muchness– you know you say things are “much of a muchness”–did you ever see such a thing as a drawing of a muchness?
Really, now you ask me, said Alice, very much confused, I don t think–
Then you shouldn t talk, said the Hatter.
This piece of rudeness was more than Alice could bear: she got up in great disgust, and walked off; the Dormouse fell asleep instantly, and neither of the others took the least notice of her going, though she looked back once or twice, half hoping that they would call after her: the last time she saw them, they were trying to put the Dormouse into the teapot.
At any rate I ll never go THERE again! said Alice as she picked her way through the wood. It s the stupidest tea-party I ever was at in all my life!
Just as she said this, she noticed that one of the trees had a door leading right into it. That s very curious! she thought. But everything s curious today. I think I may as well go in at once. And in she went.
Once more she found herself in the long hall, and close to the little glass table. Now, I ll manage better this time, she said to herself, and began by taking the little golden key, and unlocking the door that led into the garden. Then she went to work nibbling at the mushroom (she had kept a piece of it in her pocked) till she was about a foot high: then she walked down the little passage: and THEN–she found herself at last in the beautiful garden, among the bright flower-beds and the cool fountains.