Alice's Adventure in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
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Alice's Adventures in wonderland

by Lewis Carroll

Contents

chapter I: down the rabbit hole
chapter II: the pool of Tears
chapter III: a caucus- race and a long tale
chapter IV: the rabbit Sends in a little bill
chapter V: advice from a caterpillar
chapter VI: Pig and pepper
chapter VII: a mad tea- party
chapter VIII: the queen's croquet- ground
chapter IX: the mock turtle's story
chapter X: the lobster quadrille
chapter XI: who stole the Tarts ?
chapter XII: Alice's evidence

chapter I: down the rabbit hole

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 to 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 your 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 .

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' 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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chapter II: the pool of Tears

'Curiouser and curiouser ! ' cried Alice ( she was so_much surprised, that for_the moment she quite forgot how to_speak good English); ' now I'm opening out like the largest telescope that ever was ! good-bye, feet ! ' ( for when she looked down at her feet, they seemed to_be almost out of sight, they were getting so_far off) .'Oh, my poor little feet, I wonder who_will put on_your shoes and stockings for_you now, dears ? I'm sure I shan't be_able ! I_shall_be a great deal too far off to trouble myself about you: you_must manage the best way you_can; -- but I_must_be kind to_them,' thought Alice, ' or perhaps they won't walk the way i_want to_go ! let me see: I'll give them a new pair of boots every Christmas .'

and she went on planning to herself how she_would manage it .' they_must go by_the carrier,' she thought; ' and how funny it'll seem, sending presents to one's own feet ! and how odd the directions will look !

ALICE'S right foot, ESQ .HEARTHRUG, near the fender, ( with ALICE'S love) .

Oh dear, what nonsense I'm talking ! '

just then her head struck against the roof of_the hall: in_fact she was now more than nine feet high, and she at once took up

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