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effect, and she grew no larger: still it was very uncomfortable, `
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and, as there seemed to be no sort of chance of her ever getting `
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out of the room again, no wonder she felt unhappy. `
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`
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`It was much pleasanter at home,' thought poor Alice, `when one `
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wasn't always growing larger and smaller, and being ordered about `
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by mice and rabbits. I almost wish I hadn't gone down that `
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rabbit-hole--and yet--and yet--it's rather curious, you know, `
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this sort of life! I do wonder what CAN have happened to me! `
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When I used to read fairy-tales, I fancied that kind of thing `
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never happened, and now here I am in the middle of one! There `
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ought to be a book written about me, that there ought! And when `
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I grow up, I'll write one--but I'm grown up now,' she added in a `
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sorrowful tone; `at least there's no room to grow up any more `
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HERE.' `
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`But then,' thought Alice, `shall I NEVER get any older than I `
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am now? That'll be a comfort, one way--never to be an old woman-- `
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but then--always to have lessons to learn! Oh, I shouldn't like THAT!' `
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`
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`Oh, you foolish Alice!' she answered herself. `How can you `
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learn lessons in here? Why, there's hardly room for YOU, and no `
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room at all for any lesson-books!' `
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And so she went on, taking first one side and then the other, `
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and making quite a conversation of it altogether; but after a few `
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minutes she heard a voice outside, and stopped to listen. `
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`
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`Mary Ann! Mary Ann!' said the voice. `Fetch me my gloves `
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this moment!' Then came a little pattering of feet on the `
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stairs. Alice knew it was the Rabbit coming to look for her, and `
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she trembled till she shook the house, quite forgetting that she `
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was now about a thousand times as large as the Rabbit, and had no `
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reason to be afraid of it. `
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`
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Presently the Rabbit came up to the door, and tried to open it; `
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but, as the door opened inwards, and Alice's elbow was pressed `
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hard against it, that attempt proved a failure. Alice heard it `
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say to itself `Then I'll go round and get in at the window.' `
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`
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`THAT you won't' thought Alice, and, after waiting till she `
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fancied she heard the Rabbit just under the window, she suddenly `
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spread out her hand, and made a snatch in the air. She did not `
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get hold of anything, but she heard a little shriek and a fall, `
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and a crash of broken glass, from which she concluded that it was `
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just possible it had fallen into a cucumber-frame, or something `
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of the sort. `
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`
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Next came an angry voice--the Rabbit's--`Pat! Pat! Where are `
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you?' And then a voice she had never heard before, `Sure then `
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I'm here! Digging for apples, yer honour!' `
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`Digging for apples, indeed!' said the Rabbit angrily. `Here! `
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Come and help me out of THIS!' (Sounds of more broken glass.) `
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`Now tell me, Pat, what's that in the window?' `
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`Sure, it's an arm, yer honour!' (He pronounced it `arrum.') `
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`An arm, you goose! Who ever saw one that size? Why, it `
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fills the whole window!' `
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`Sure, it does, yer honour: but it's an arm for all that.' `
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`Well, it's got no business there, at any rate: go and take it `
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away!' `
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There was a long silence after this, and Alice could only hear `
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whispers now and then; such as, `Sure, I don't like it, yer `
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honour, at all, at all!' `Do as I tell you, you coward!' and at `
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last she spread out her hand again, and made another snatch in `
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the air. This time there were TWO little shrieks, and more `
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sounds of broken glass. `What a number of cucumber-frames there `
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must be!' thought Alice. `I wonder what they'll do next! As for `
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pulling me out of the window, I only wish they COULD! I'm sure I `
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don't want to stay in here any longer!' `
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`
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She waited for some time without hearing anything more: at `
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last came a rumbling of little cartwheels, and the sound of a `
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good many voices all talking together: she made out the words: `
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`Where's the other ladder?--Why, I hadn't to bring but one; `
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Bill's got the other--Bill! fetch it here, lad!--Here, put 'em up `
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at this corner--No, tie 'em together first--they don't reach half `
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high enough yet--Oh! they'll do well enough; don't be particular-- `
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Here, Bill! catch hold of this rope--Will the roof bear?--Mind `
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that loose slate--Oh, it's coming down! Heads below!' (a loud `
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crash)--`Now, who did that?--It was Bill, I fancy--Who's to go `
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down the chimney?--Nay, I shan't! YOU do it!--That I won't, `
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then!--Bill's to go down--Here, Bill! the master says you're to `
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go down the chimney!' `
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`Oh! So Bill's got to come down the chimney, has he?' said `
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Alice to herself. `Shy, they seem to put everything upon Bill! `
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I wouldn't be in Bill's place for a good deal: this fireplace is `
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narrow, to be sure; but I THINK I can kick a little!' `
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`
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She drew her foot as far down the chimney as she could, and `
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waited till she heard a little animal (she couldn't guess of what `
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sort it was) scratching and scrambling about in the chimney close `
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above her: then, saying to herself `This is Bill,' she gave one `
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sharp kick, and waited to see what would happen next. `
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`
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The first thing she heard was a general chorus of `There goes `
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Bill!' then the Rabbit's voice along--`Catch him, you by the `
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hedge!' then silence, and then another confusion of voices--`Hold `
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up his head--Brandy now--Don't choke him--How was it, old fellow? `
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What happened to you? Tell us all about it!' `
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Last came a little feeble, squeaking voice, (`That's Bill,' `
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thought Alice,) `Well, I hardly know--No more, thank ye; I'm `
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better now--but I'm a deal too flustered to tell you--all I know `
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is, something comes at me like a Jack-in-the-box, and up I goes `
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like a sky-rocket!' `
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`So you did, old fellow!' said the others. `
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`
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`We must burn the house down!' said the Rabbit's voice; and `
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Alice called out as loud as she could, `If you do. I'll set `
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Dinah at you!' `
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There was a dead silence instantly, and Alice thought to `
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herself, `I wonder what they WILL do next! If they had any `
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sense, they'd take the roof off.' After a minute or two, they `
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began moving about again, and Alice heard the Rabbit say, `A `
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barrowful will do, to begin with.' `
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`
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`A barrowful of WHAT?' thought Alice; but she had not long to `
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doubt, for the next moment a shower of little pebbles came `
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rattling in at the window, and some of them hit her in the face. `
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`I'll put a stop to this,' she said to herself, and shouted out, `
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`You'd better not do that again!' which produced another dead `
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silence. `
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`
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Alice noticed with some surprise that the pebbles were all `
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turning into little cakes as they lay on the floor, and a bright `
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idea came into her head. `If I eat one of these cakes,' she `
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thought, `it's sure to make SOME change in my size; and as it `
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can't possibly make me larger, it must make me smaller, I `
`
suppose.' `
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`
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So she swallowed one of the cakes, and was delighted to find `
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that she began shrinking directly. As soon as she was small `
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enough to get through the door, she ran out of the house, and `
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found quite a crowd of little animals and birds waiting outside. `
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The poor little Lizard, Bill, was in the middle, being held up by `
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two guinea-pigs, who were giving it something out of a bottle. `
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They all made a rush at Alice the moment she appeared; but she `
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ran off as hard as she could, and soon found herself safe in a `
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thick wood. `
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`
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`The first thing I've got to do,' said Alice to herself, as she `
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wandered about in the wood, `is to grow to my right size again; `
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and the second thing is to find my way into that lovely garden. `
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I think that will be the best plan.' `
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`
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It sounded an excellent plan, no doubt, and very neatly and `
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simply arranged; the only difficulty was, that she had not the `
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smallest idea how to set about it; and while she was peering `
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about anxiously among the trees, a little sharp bark just over `
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her head made her look up in a great hurry. `
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`
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An enormous puppy was looking down at her with large round `
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eyes, and feebly stretching out one paw, trying to touch her. `
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`Poor little thing!' said Alice, in a coaxing tone, and she tried `
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hard to whistle to it; but she was terribly frightened all the `
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time at the thought that it might be hungry, in which case it `
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would be very likely to eat her up in spite of all her coaxing. `
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`
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Hardly knowing what she did, she picked up a little bit of `
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stick, and held it out to the puppy; whereupon the puppy jumped `
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into the air off all its feet at once, with a yelp of delight, `
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and rushed at the stick, and made believe to worry it; then Alice `
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dodged behind a great thistle, to keep herself from being run `
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over; and the moment she appeared on the other side, the puppy `
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made another rush at the stick, and tumbled head over heels in `
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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 `
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moment to be trampled under its feet, ran round the thistle `
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again; then the puppy began a series of short charges at the `
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stick, running a very little way forwards each time and a long `
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way back, and barking hoarsely all the while, till at last it sat `
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down a good way off, panting, with its tongue hanging out of its `
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mouth, and its great eyes half shut. `
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`
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This seemed to Alice a good opportunity for making her escape; `
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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 `
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distance. `
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`
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`And yet what a dear little puppy it was!' said Alice, as she `
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leant against a buttercup to rest herself, and fanned herself `
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with one of the leaves: `I should have liked teaching it tricks `
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very much, if--if I'd only been the right size to do it! Oh `
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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?' `
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`
`
The great question certainly was, what? Alice looked all round `
`
her at the flowers and the blades of grass, but she did not see `
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anything that looked like the right thing to eat or drink under `
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the circumstances. There was a large mushroom growing near her, `
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