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


CHAPTER V

Advice from a Caterpillar

The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in
silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and
addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice.
- Who are YOU? - said the Caterpillar. This was not an encouraging
opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, - I - I hardly
know, sir, just at present-at least I know who I WAS when I got up this
morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13