Chapter 6 The Duchess and the Cheshire Cat

Inside, a large, ugly woman sat with a baby in her arms. There was a cook by the fire and there was food on the table. Near the fire, there was a large cat with a big smile. This smile went from ear to ear on its face.

'I think that woman is the Duchess,' thought Alice.' Can girls speak to Duchesses ?' she wondered.

But the Duchess did not say anything to her, so Alice asked, ' Please, why is your cat smiling ?'

' Because it's a Cheshire Cat, that's why,' said the Duchess.

' So Cheshire Cats can smile. I didn't know that,' said Alice.

' You don't know much,' said the Duchess.

' That's not very polite,' thought Alice.

She started to say something. Suddenly, the cook threw a plate at the Duchess. The Duchess didn't move. The cook threw more things - plates, cups, spoons. Some of them hit the Duchess and the baby. The Duchess did nothing, but the baby started to cry. ' Oh, don't throw things at the baby!' cried Alice.' You'll hit its pretty nose!'

' You be quiet, it isn't your baby!' the Duchess shouted. She began to sing to it. These were the words of the song:

Be angry with your little boy, And hit him when he cries: He has to know that he's a child, He's really not your size!

The cook sang the song too. When they finished, they sang it again. The Duchess started to throw the baby up and down. At the end of the song, she threw the baby to Alice.

'Here, you can have it now,' she said. 'I have to get ready. I'm going to see the Queen.'

The cook threw another plate at the Duchess. It didn't hit her, but she left the room quickly.

♦

Alice looked at the baby. It was a strange little thing and not very pretty. She took it outside.' I'll have to take this child away from here, or they'll kill it!' she thought. The baby made a strange little sound and she looked at it again.

' Its nose is changing!' she cried. She looked at it very carefully. ' Its face is changing, everything is changing! Oh! It's not a baby any more, it's a pig!'

It was very strange, but the baby was now a pig.

' What am I going to do with it ?' Alice thought. The pig made another, louder sound. Alice put the little animal down and it ran happily away into the wood.

'It wasn't a pretty baby, but it's quite a pretty pig,' thought Alice.

♦

She looked round her and jumped. The Cheshire Cat was up in one of the trees. The Cat smiled at Alice.

' It looks kind, but perhaps it will get angry. They all get angry in this place,' thought Alice. So she spoke to it very politely. ' Cheshire Cat, dear,' she said.

The Cat's smile got bigger.

'Please, can you help me? I want to go somewhere new,' said Alice.

'Where do you want to go ?' asked the Cat.

' Somewhere different,' Alice said.

'Somewhere different,' repeated the Cat. It thought for a minute or two. Then it said, 'Walk that way and you'll come to a house. A man lives there. He makes hats and he's very strange. We call him the "Mad Hatter".'

' But I don't want to meet a strange man,' said Alice.

The cat didn't answer her. It said,' Walk this way and you'll find the March Hare. He's strange too.'

'But I told you, I don't want to meet strange animals.'

'Oh, you can't help that,' said the cat. 'We're all strange here. I'm strange. You're strange.'

' How do you know I'm strange ?' asked Alice.

' Of course you are,' the Cat said. 'Everybody's strange here. I'm very strange. I laugh when I'm sad, and I cry when I'm happy. That's strange. Are you going to see the Queen today?She's quite strange too.'

'I'd like to see the Queen,'Alice said, 'but I haven't got an invitation.'

'You'll see me in the Queen's garden,' said the Cheshire Cat, and vanished.

♦

'That's strange, but not very strange,' thought Alice. She waited for two minutes, and the Cat came back again.

' What happened to the baby ?' it asked.

' It changed into a pig,' Alice said.

' I knew it!' said the Cat and vanished again.

Alice stayed under the tree for a short time. ' Perhaps it will come back again,' she thought. But it didn't.

' I think I'll go and visit the March Hare,' said Alice. She started to walk to his home. After some minutes, she heard a sound. She looked up, and there was the Cheshire Cat in a tree — a different tree.

' Did you say " pig " ?' asked the Cat.

'Yes,' Alice answered. Then she said, 'Cheshire Cat, one minute you vanish and the next minute you're there again. I don't like it.'

' I know,' said the cat. And this time it vanished quite slowly. First its body went, then its legs. Then all of it vanished, and there was only its smile.

' There are a lot of cats without a smile, but a smile without a cat! Now that's very strange!'Alice said. Slowly, the Cheshire Cat's smile vanished too, and Alice began to walk again. She saw the March Hare's house through the trees. It was bigger than the Duchess's house.

Alice ate some of the white mushrooms. She got bigger again. In a short time she was about 60 centimetres high. She felt afraid, but walked to the house.

' I hope the March Hare isn't too strange,' she thought.

Chapter 7 A Tea Party

There was a tree in front of the house. Under the tree was a big table with a lot of chairs round it. But there were only three at the table: the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and a large brown mouse. The Mouse sat between the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. It was asleep, so they talked over its head.

When they saw Alice, they cried,' No, no, you can't sit here! There isn't a place for you!'

'There are a lot of places,'Alice said. She sat down in a chair at one end of the table.

' Have some wine,' the Mad Hatter said politely.

Alice looked round the table but there was only tea.

' I don't see any wine,' she answered.

' There isn't any,' said the March Hare.

'Then why did you say, "Have some wine"? It wasn't very polite of you,' Alice said angrily.

' We didn't invite you to tea, but you came. That wasn't very polite of you,' said the March Hare.

'No, it wasn't. Cut your hair!' said the Mad Hatter.

' Oh, be quiet,' said Alice.

The Mad Hatter opened his eyes very wide, but he said nothing. Then he took out his watch and looked at it. 'What day is it?'he asked.

Alice thought for a little.' Wednesday, I think,' she said.

' My watch says Monday,' the Mad Hatter said.' You see, I was right. Butter isn't good for a watch.' He looked angrily at the March Hare.

' But it was the best butter,' answered the March Hare.

'Yes, but you put it in with the bread knife. Perhaps some bread got in.'

The March Hare took the watch from the Mad Hatter and looked at it sadly. Then he put it in his tea. He took it out and looked at it again.' It was the best butter, you know,' he repeated.

Alice looked at the watch.' It's a strange watch!' she said.' It
tells you the day, but it doesn't tell you the time.' '

' So ? Does your watch tell you the year ?' asked the Mad Hatter.

' No,'Alice answered,' but it's the same year for a very long time.'

'And my watch doesn't tell the time because it's always
tea-time.'Alice thought about that.' I don't really understand you,' she said politely. She looked round the table. There were a lot of teacups on the table.

'We move from place to place,' said the Mad Hatter.

' Don't you wash the cups ?' asked Alice.

' No, we don't have time,' said the Mad Hatter.

' Why not ?' asked Alice.

' It's a long story,' said the Mad Hatter.' Time was my friend, you see. But he and I aren't friends now. So he doesn't do anything for me. And I don't have time for anything.'

'I see,' said Alice and smiled politely. But she didn't really understand.

♦

' Oh, look! The Mouse is asleep again,' said the Mad Hatter. He took his teacup and put a little hot tea on the Mouse's nose. It woke up and started to sing.

' Be quiet!' the Mad Hatter said very loudly, and the Mouse stopped singing.

' Have some more tea,' the March Hare said to Alice.

' Thank you, but I haven't got any tea. So how can I have some more ?'

' You can have more,' the Mad Hatter said.' You can have more than nothing.'

' I don't think — ' Alice began.

' Then don't speak,' the Mad Hatter said.

Alice got up angrily and walked away from the table into the woods.

' Perhaps they'll call me back,' she thought. 'And then they'll be nice to me and give me some tea and bread-and-butter.'

But they didn't say anything.

When she looked back, the Mouse was asleep with its head on its plate.

'I'll never go there again,' Alice said. 'That was a stupid - tea party!'

♦

She looked round and saw a door in one of the trees. 'A door in a tree ? That's strange!' she thought. And she opened the door and went inside.

' Oh, good!' she cried. She was back in the long room, near the little table! 'I'm small now. I can get through the little door into the garden.'

The key was on the table. She took it and opened the little door. Then she ate some of the brown mushroom. She started to get smaller. When she was about 30 centimetres high, she walked through the door into the garden.

Date: 2015-02-03; view: 1123