- If there's no meaning in it, - said the King, - that saves a world
of trouble, you know, as we needn't try to find any. And yet I don't know,
- he went on, spreading out the verses on his knee, and looking at them
with one eye; - I seem to see some meaning in them, after all.
- SAID I COULD NOT SWIM - you can't swim, can you? - he added,
turning to the Knave.
The Knave shook his head sadly. - Do I look like it? - he said.
(Which he certainly did NOT, being made entirely of cardboard.)
- All right, so far, - said the King, and he went on muttering over
the verses to himself: - WE KNOW IT TO BE TRUE - that's the jury, of
course - - I GAVE HER ONE, THEY GAVE HIM TWO - why, that must be what he
did with the tarts, you know
- But, it goes on - THEY ALL RETURNED FROM HIM TO YOU, - said Alice.
- Why, there they are! - said the King triumphantly, pointing to the
tarts on the table. - Nothing can be clearer than THAT. Then again -
BEFORE SHE HAD THIS FIT - you never had fits, my dear, I think? - he said
to the Queen.
- Never! - said the Queen furiously, throwing an inkstand at the
Lizard as she spoke. (The unfortunate little Bill had left off writing on
his slate with one finger, as he found it made no mark; but he now hastily
began again, using the ink, that was trickling down his face, as long as
it lasted.)
- Then the words don't FIT you, - said the King, looking round the
court with a smile. There was a dead silence.
- It's a pun! - the King added in an offended tone, and everybody
laughed, - Let the jury consider their verdict, - the King said, for about
the twentieth time that day.
- No, no! - said the Queen. - Sentence first - verdict afterwards.
- Stuff and nonsense! - said Alice loudly. - The idea of having the
sentence first!
- Hold your tongue! - said the Queen, turning purple.
- I won't! - said Alice.
- Off with her head! - the Queen shouted at the top of her voice.
Nobody moved.
- Who cares for you? - said Alice, (she had grown to her full size by
this time.) - You're nothing but a pack of cards!
At this the whole pack rose up into the air, and came flying down
upon her: she gave a little scream, half of fright and half of anger, and
tried to beat them off, and found herself lying on the bank, with her head
in the lap of her sister, who was gently brushing away some dead leaves
that had fluttered down from the trees upon her face.
- Wake up, Alice dear! - said her sister; - Why, what a long sleep
you've had!
- Oh, I've had such a curious dream! - said Alice, and she told her
sister, as well as she could remember them, all these strange Adventures
of hers that you have just been reading about; and when she had finished,
her sister kissed her, and said, - It WAS a curious dream, dear,
certainly: but now run in to your tea; it's getting late.
So Alice got up and ran off, thinking while she ran, as well she
might, what a wonderful dream it had been.
But her sister sat still just as she left her, leaning her head on
her hand, watching the setting sun, and thinking of little Alice and all
her wonderful Adventures, till she too began dreaming after a fashion, and
this was her dream:
First, she dreamed of little Alice herself, and once again the tiny
hands were clasped upon her knee, and the bright eager eyes were looking
up into hers - she could hear the very tones of her voice, and see that
queer little toss of her head to keep back the wandering hair that WOULD
always get into her eyes - and still as she listened, or seemed to listen,
the whole place around her became alive the strange creatures of her
little sister's dream.
The long grass rustled at her feet as the White Rabbit hurried by -
the frightened Mouse splashed his way through the neighbouring pool - she
could hear the rattle of the teacups as the March Hare and his friends
shared their never-ending meal, and the shrill voice of the Queen ordering
off her unfortunate guests to execution - once more the pig-baby was
sneezing on the Duchess's knee, while plates and dishes crashed around it
- once more the shriek of the Gryphon, the squeaking of the Lizard's
slate-pencil, and the choking of the suppressed guinea-pigs, filled the
air, mixed up with the distant sobs of the miserable Mock Turtle.
So she sat on, with closed eyes, and half believed herself in
Wonderland, though she knew she had but to open them again, and all would
change to dull reality - the grass would be only rustling in the wind, and
the pool rippling to the waving of the reeds - the rattling teacups would
change to tinkling sheepbells, and the Queen's shrill cries to the voice
of the shepherd boy - and the sneeze of the baby, the shriek of the
Gryphon, and all thy other queer noises, would change (she knew) to the
confused clamour of the busy farm-yard - while the lowing of the cattle in
the distance would take the place of the Mock Turtle's heavy sobs.
Lastly, she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers
would, in the after-time, be herself a grown woman; and how she would
keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her
childhood: and how she would gather about her other little children, and
make THEIR eyes bright and eager with many a strange tale, perhaps even
with the dream of Wonderland of long ago: and how she would feel with all
their simple sorrows, and find a pleasure in all their simple joys,
remembering her own child-life, and the happy summer days.

THE END

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