Of course the first thing to
do was to make a grand survey
of the country she was going
to travel through. `It's something
very like learning geography,'
thought Alice, as she stood on
tiptoe in hopes of being able
to see a little further. `Principal
rivers -- there are none.
Principal mountains -- I'm on
the only one, but I don't think
it's got any name. Principal
towns -- why, what are those
creatures, making honey down
there? They can't be bees --
nobody ever saw bees a mile off,
you know - - ' and for some time
she stood silent, watching one
of them that was bustling about
among the flowers, poking its
proboscis into them, `just as
if it was a regular bee,' thought
Alice.
However, this was anything
but a regular bee: in fact it
was an elephant -- as Alice soon
found out, though the idea quite
took her breath away at first.
`And what enormous flowers they
must be!' was her next idea.
`Something like cottages with
the roofs taken off, and stalks
put to them -- and what quantities
of honey they must make! I think
I'll go down and -- no, I won't just yet,
' she went on, checking herself
just as she was beginning to
run down the hill, and trying
to find some excuse for turning
shy so suddenly. `It'll never
do to go down among them without
a good long branch to brush them
away -- and what fun it'll be
when they ask me how I like my
walk. I shall say -- "Oh, I like
it well enough -- "' (here came
the favourite little toss of
the head), `"only it was so dusty
and hot, and the elephants did
tease so!"'
`I think I'll go down the other
way,' she said after a pause:
`and perhaps I may visit the
elephants later on. Besides,
I do so want to get into the
Third Square!'
So with this excuse she ran
down the hill and jumped over
the first of the six little brooks.
* * * * * * *
* * * * * *
* * * * * * *
`Tickets, please!' said the
Guard, putting his head in at
the window. In a moment everybody
was holding out a ticket: they
were about the same size as the
people, and quite seemed to fill
the carriage.
`Now then! Show your ticket,
child!' the Guard went on, looking
angrily at Alice. And a great
many voices all said together
(`like the chorus of a song,'
thought Alice), `Don't keep him
waiting, child! Why, his time
is worth a thousand pounds a
minute!'
`I'm afraid
I haven't got one,' Alice said
in a frightened tone:
`there wasn't a ticket-office
where I came from." And again
the chorus of voices went on.
`There wasn't room for one where
she came from. The land there
is worth a thousand pounds an
inch!'
`Don't make excuses,' said
the Guard: `you should have bought
one from the engine-driver.'
And once more the chorus of voices
went on with `The man that drives
the engine. Why, the smoke alone
is worth a thousand pounds a
puff!'
Alice thought
to herself, `Then there's no
use in speaking." The
voices didn't join in this time,
as she hadn't spoken, but to
her great surprise, they all thought in
chorus (I hope you understand
what thinking in chorus means
-- for I must confess that I don't),
`Better say nothing at all. Language
is worth a thousand pounds a
word!'
`I shall dream about a thousand
pounds tonight, I know I shall!'
thought Alice.
All this time the Guard was
looking at her, first through
a telescope, then through a microscope,
and then through an opera- glass.
At last he said, `You're travelling
the wrong way,' and shut up the
window and went away.
`So young a child,' said the
gentleman sitting opposite to
her (he was dressed in white
paper), `ought to know which
way she's going, even if she
doesn't know her own name!'
A Goat, that was sitting next
to the gentleman in white, shut
his eyes and said in a loud voice,
`She ought to know her way to
the ticket-office, even if she
doesn't know her alphabet!'
There was a Beetle sitting
next to the Goat (it was a very
queer carriage-full of passengers
altogether), and, as the rule
seemed to be that they should
all speak in turn, he went
on with `She'll have to go back
from here as luggage!'
Alice couldn't see who was
sitting beyond the Beetle, but
a hoarse voice spoke next. `Change
engines -- ' it said, and was
obliged to leave off.
`It sounds
like a horse,' Alice thought
to herself. And an extremely
small voice, close to her ear,
said, `You might make a joke
on that -- something about "horse" and "hoarse," you
know.'
Then a very
gentle voice in the distance
said, `She must
be labelled "Lass, with care," you
know -- '
And after that other voices
went on (What a number of people
there are in the carriage!' thought
Alice), saying, `She must go
by post, as she's got a head
on her -- ' `She must be sent
as a message by the telegraph
-- ' `She must draw the train
herself the rest of the way --
' and so on.
But the gentleman
dressed in white paper leaned
forwards and
whispered in her ear, `Never
mind what they all say, my dear,
but take a return-ticket every
time the train stops."
`Indeed I shan't!' Alice said
rather impatiently. `I don't
belong to this railway journey
at all -- I was in a wood just
now -- and I wish I could get
back there.'
`You might make a joke on that,
said the little voice close to
her ear: `something about "you would if
you could," you know.'
`Don't tease so,' said Alice,
looking about in vain to see
where the voice came from; `if
you're so anxious to have a joke
made, why don't you make one
yourself?'
The little voice sighed deeply:
it was very unhappy, evidently,
and Alice would have said something
pitying to comfort it, `If it
would only sigh like other people!'
she thought. But this was such
a wonderfully small sigh, that
she wouldn't have heard it at
all, if it hadn't come quite close
to her ear. The consequence of
this was that it tickled her
ear very much, and quite took
off her thoughts from the unhappiness
of the poor little creature.
`I know you are a friend, the
little voice went on; `a dear
friend, and an old friend. And
you won't hurt me, though I am an
insect.'
`What kind of insect?' Alice
inquired a little anxiously.
What she really wanted to know
was, whether it could sting or
not, but she thought this wouldn't
be quite a civil question to
ask.
`What, then you don't -- '
the little voice began, when
it was drowned by a shrill scream
from the engine, and everybody
jumped up in alarm, Alice among
the rest.
The Horse, who had put his
head out of the window, quietly
drew it in and said, `It's only
a brook we have to jump over.'
Everybody seemed satisfied with
this, though Alice felt a little
nervous at the idea of trains
jumped at all. `However, it'll
take us into the Fourth Square,
that's some comfort!' she said
to herself. In another moment
she felt the carriage rise straight
up into the air, and in her fright
she caught at the thing nearest
to her hand. which happened to
be the Goat's beard.
* * * * * * *
* * * * * *
* * * * * * *
But the beard seemed to melt
away as she touched it, and she
found herself sitting quietly
under a tree -- while the Gnat
(for that was the insect she
had been talking to) was balancing
itself on a twig just over her
head, and fanning her with its
wings.
It certainly was a very large
Gnat: `about the size of a chicken,'
Alice thought. Still, she couldn't
feel nervous with it, after they
had been talking together so
long.
` -- then you don't like all
insects?' the Gnat went on, as
quietly as if nothing had happened.
`I like them when they can
talk,' Alice said. `None of them
ever talk, where I come
from.'
`What sort of insects do you
rejoice in, where you come
from?' the Gnat inquired.
`I don't rejoice in
insects at all,' Alice explained,
`because I'm rather afraid of
them -- at least the large kinds.
But I can tell you the names
of some of them."
`Of course they answer to their
names?' the Gnat remarked carelessly.
`I never knew them do it.'
`What's the use of their having
names the Gnat said, `if they
won't answer to them?'
`No use to them,' said
Alice; `but it's useful to the
people who name them, I suppose.
If not, why do things have names
at all?'
`I can't say,' the Gnat replied.
`Further on, in the wood down
there, they've got no names --
however, go on with your list
of insects: you're wasting time.'
`Well, there's the Horse-fly,'
Alice began, counting off the
names on her fingers.
`All right,' said the Gnat:
`half way up that bush, you'll
see a Rocking-horse-fly, if you
look. It's made entirely of wood,
and gets about by swinging itself
from branch to branch.'
`What does it live on?' Alice
asked, with great curiosity.
`Sap and sawdust,' said the
Gnat. `Go on with the list.'
Alice looked up at the Rocking-horse-fly
with great interest, and made
up her mind that it must have
been just repainted, it looked
so bright and sticky; and then
she went on.
`And there's the Dragon-fly.'
`Look on the branch above your
head,' said the Gnat, `and there
you'll find a snap-dragon-fly.
Its body is made of plum-pudding,
its wings of holly-leaves, and
its head is a raisin burning
in brandy.'
`And what does it live on?'
`Frumenty and mince pie,' the
Gnat replied; `and it makes is
nest in a Christmas box.'
`And then there's the Butterfly,'
Alice went on, after she had
taken a good look at the insect
with its head on fire, and had
thought to herself, `I wonder
if that's the reason insects
are so fond of flying into candles
-- because they want to turn
into Snap-dragon-flies!'
`Crawling at your feet,' said
the Gnat (Alice drew her feet
back in some alarm), `you may
observe a Bread-and-Butterfly.
Its wings are thin slices of
Bread-and-butter, its body is
a crust, and its head is a lump
of sugar.'
`And what does it live
on?'
`Weak tea with cream in it.'
A new difficulty came into
Alice's head. `Supposing it couldn't
find any?' she suggested.
`Then it would die, of course.'
`But that must happen very
often,' Alice remarked thoughtfully.
`It always happens,' said the
Gnat.
After this, Alice was silent
for a minute or two, pondering.
The Gnat amused itself meanwhile
by humming round and round her
head: at last it settled again
and remarked, `I suppose you
don't want to lose your name?'
`No, indeed,' Alice said, a
little anxiously.
`And yet I
don't know,' the Gnat went
on in a careless tone:
`only think how convenient it
would be if you could manage
to go home without it! For instance,
if the governess wanted to call
you to your lessons, she would
call out "come here -- ," and
there she would have to leave
off, because there wouldn't be
any name for her to all, and
of course you wouldn't have to
go, you know.'
`That would
never do, I'm sure,' said Alice:
`the governess would
never think of excusing me lessons
for that. If she couldn't remember
my name, she'd call me "Miss!" as
the servants do.'
`Well. if she
said "Miss," and
didn't say anything more,' the
Gnat remarked, `of course you'd
miss your lessons. That's a joke.
I wish you had made it.'
`Why do you wish I had
made it?' Alice asked. `It's
a very bad one.'
But the Gnat only sighed deeply,
while two large tears came rolling
down its cheeks.
`You shouldn't make jokes,'
Alice said, `if it makes you
so unhappy.'
Then came another of those
melancholy little sighs, and
this time the poor Gnat really
seemed to have sighed itself
away, for, when Alice looked
up, there was nothing whatever
to be seen on the twig, and,
as she was getting quite chilly
with sitting still so, long she
got up and walked on.
She very soon came to an open
field, with a wood on the other
side of it: it looked much darker
than the last wood, and Alice
felt a little timid about
going into it. However, on second
thoughts, she made up her mind
to go on: `for I certainly won't
go back,' she thought
to herself, and this was the
only way to the Eighth Square.
`This must be the wood, she
said thoughtfully to herself,
`where things have no names.
I wonder what'll become of my name
when I go in? I shouldn't like
to lose it at all -- because
they'd have to give me another,
and it would be almost certain
to be an ugly one. But then the
fun would be, trying to find
the creature that had got my
old name! That's just like the
advertisements, you know, when
people lose dogs -- "answers
to the name of `Dash:' had on
a brass collar" -- just fancy
calling everything you met "Alice," till
one of them answered! Only they
wouldn't answer at all, if they
were wise.'
She was rambling on in this
way when she reached the wood:
it looked very cool and shady.
`Well, at any rate it's a great
comfort,' she said as she stepped
under the trees, `after being
so hot, to get into the -- into what?'
she went on, rather surprised
at not being able to think of
the word. `I mean to get under
the -- under the -- under this,
you know!' putting her hand on
the trunk of the tree. `What does it
call itself, I wonder? I do believe
it's got no name -- why, to be
sure it hasn't!'
She stood silent for a minute,
thinking: then she suddenly began
again. `Then it really has happened,
after all! And how, who am I?
I will remember, if I
can! I'm determined to do it!'
But being determined didn't help
much, and all she could say,
after a great deal of puzzling,
was,`L, I know it begins
with L!'
Just then a Fawn came wandering
by: it looked at Alice with its
large gentle eyes, but didn't
seem at all frightened. `Here
then! Here then!' Alice said,
as he held out her hand and tried
to stroke it; but it only started
back a little, and then stood
looking at her again.
`What do you call yourself?'
the Fawn said at last. Such a
soft sweet voice it had!
`I wish I knew!' thought poor
Alice. She answered, rather sadly,
`Nothing, just now.'
`Think again,' it said: `that
won't do.'
Alice thought, but nothing
came of it. `Please, would you
tell me what you call
yourself?' she said timidly.
`I think that might help a little.'
`I'll tell you, of you'll move
a little further on,' the Fawn
said. `I can't remember here.'
So they walked on together
though the wood, Alice with her
arms clasped lovingly round the
soft neck of the Fawn, till they
came out into another open field,
and here the Fawn gave a sudden
bound into the air, and shook
itself free from Alice's arms.
`I'm a Fawn!' it cried out in
a voice of delight, `and, dear
me! you're a human child!' A
sudden look of alarm came into
its beautiful brown eyes, and
in another moment it had darted
away a full speed.
Alice stood looking after it,
almost ready to cry with vexation
at having lost her dear little
fellow-traveller so suddenly.
`However, I know my name now.'
she said, `that's some comfort.
Alice -- Alice -- I won't forget
it again. And now, which of these
finger-posts ought I to follow,
I wonder?'
It was not a very difficult
question to answer, as there
was only one road through the
wood, and the two finger-posts
both pointed along it. `I'll
settle it,' Alice said to herself,
`when the road divides and they
point different ways.'
But this did not seem likely
to happen. She went on and on,
a long way, but wherever the
road divided there were sure
to be two finger-posts pointing
the same way, one marked `TO
TWEEDLEDUM'S HOUSE' and the other
`TO THE HOUSE OF TWEEDLEDEE.'
`I do believe,'
said Alice at last, `that they
live in the
same house! I wonder I never
thought of that before -- But
I can't stay there long. I'll
just call and say "how d'you
do?" and ask them the way out
of the wood. If I could only
get the Eighth Square before
it gets dark!' So she wandered
on, talking to herself as she
went, till, on turning a sharp
corner, she came upon two fat
little men, so suddenly that
she could not help starting back,
but in another moment she recovered
herself, feeling sure that they
must be
|