- 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.
CHAPTER III
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?
This question the Dodo could not answer without a great deal of
thought, and it sat for a long time with one finger pressed upon its
forehead (the position in which you usually see Shakespeare, in the
pictures of him), while the rest waited in silence. At last the Dodo said,
- EVERYBODY has won, and all must have prizes.
- 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!
Alice had no idea what to do, and in despair she put her hand in her
pocket, and pulled out a box of comfits, (luckily the salt water had not
got into it), and handed them round as prizes. There was exactly one
a-piece all round.
- 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!
- I wish I had our Dinah here, I know I do! - said Alice aloud,
addressing nobody in particular. - She'd soon fetch it back!
- 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!
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
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.
CHAPTER III
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?
This question the Dodo could not answer without a great deal of
thought, and it sat for a long time with one finger pressed upon its
forehead (the position in which you usually see Shakespeare, in the
pictures of him), while the rest waited in silence. At last the Dodo said,
- EVERYBODY has won, and all must have prizes.
- 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!
Alice had no idea what to do, and in despair she put her hand in her
pocket, and pulled out a box of comfits, (luckily the salt water had not
got into it), and handed them round as prizes. There was exactly one
a-piece all round.
- 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!
- I wish I had our Dinah here, I know I do! - said Alice aloud,
addressing nobody in particular. - She'd soon fetch it back!
- 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!
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14