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 seen
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 was 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?) `And what
an ignorant little girl she'll
think me for asking! No, it'll
never do to ask: perhaps I shall
see it written up somewhere.'
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 sticks 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 the
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.
There were doors all round the
hall, but they were all locked;
and when Alice had been all the
way down one side and up the
other, trying every door, she
walked sadly down the middle,
wondering how she was ever to
get out again.
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 not even get her head
though the 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
of 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 you 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 Alice,
`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.
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