Alice In Wonderland Chapter 1

CHAPTER I

Down the Rabbit-Hole

Alice was first to get very tired of sitting past her sister on the banking company, and of having zero to practice: one time or twice she had peeped into the volume her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, `and what is the apply of a book,' thought Alice `without pictures or conversation?'

So she was considering in her own mind (as well equally she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasance of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting upward and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pinkish eyes ran close past her.

There was nothing and so very remarkable in that; nor did Alice recollect it and then very much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, `Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall exist late!' (when she thought it over after, 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 really took a spotter out of its waistcoat-pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her anxiety, for it flashed beyond her listen that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a scout to take out of it, and called-for with curiosity, she ran beyond the field later on it, and fortunately was simply in fourth dimension to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.

White Rabbit checking watch

In some other moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to go out again.

The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some fashion, and and so dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had non a moment to think nigh stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well.

Either the well was very deep, or she brutal very slowly, for she had enough of fourth dimension as she went down to look nearly her and to wonder what was going to happen adjacent. Offset, she tried to look down and make out what she was coming to, merely it was too dark to see annihilation; then she looked at the sides of the well, and noticed that they were filled with cupboards and book-shelves; here and at that place 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', simply to her great disappointment it was empty: she did non like to drop the jar for fear of killing somebody, and then managed to put it into ane of the cupboards equally she fell past information technology.

`Well!' thought Alice to herself, `after such a fall as this, I shall recollect nothing of tumbling down stairs! How dauntless they'll all think me at dwelling! Why, I wouldn't say annihilation well-nigh it, fifty-fifty if I fell off the elevation of the business firm!' (Which was very probable true.)

Down, downward, downwards. Would the autumn never come to an stop! `I wonder how many miles I've fallen past this time?' she said aloud. `I must be getting somewhere near the centre of the world. Let me see: that would exist four thousand miles downwardly, I call back--' (for, y'all 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, equally in that location was no one to listen to her, nonetheless information technology was good practice to say information technology over) `--yes, that'south most 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 idea they were squeamish grand words to say.)

Shortly she began again. `I wonder if I shall autumn right through the earth! How funny it'll seem to come out among the people that walk with their heads down! The Antipathies, I think--' (she was rather glad there was no one listening, this fourth dimension, as information technology didn't sound at all the right word) `--but I shall have to inquire them what the name of the country is, you know. Delight, Ma'am, is this New Zealand or Australia?' (and she tried to curtsey as she spoke--fancy curtseying every bit you're falling through the air! Do you recollect yous could manage it?) `And what an ignorant little girl she'll think me for asking! No, it'll never do to ask: peradventure I shall encounter it written up somewhere.'

Down, down, down. There was nothing else to practice, so Alice soon began talking again. `Dinah'll miss me very much to-dark, I should think!' (Dinah was the cat.) `I hope they'll recall her saucer of milk at tea-fourth dimension. Dinah my love! I wish yous were down here with me! There are no mice in the air, I'chiliad agape, merely you might catch a bat, and that'due south very like a mouse, you know. But practice cats eat bats, I wonder?' And here Alice began to go rather sleepy, and went on saying to herself, in a dreamy sort of way, `Do cats consume bats? Do cats consume bats?' and sometimes, `Do bats swallow cats?' for, you encounter, as she couldn't answer either question, information technology didn't much matter which way she put it. She felt that she was dozing off, and had only begun to dream that she was walking hand in paw with Dinah, and saying to her very earnestly, `Now, Dinah, tell me the truth: did y'all ever eat a bat?' when suddenly, thump! thump! down she came upon a heap of sticks and dry leaves, and the autumn was over.

Alice was not a bit injure, and she jumped up on to her feet in a moment: she looked upward, but it was all dark overhead; before her was another long passage, and the White Rabbit was still in sight, hurrying down information technology. In that location was not a moment to be lost: abroad went Alice similar the current of air, and was merely in fourth dimension to hear information technology say, as information technology turned a corner, `Oh my ears and whiskers, how late information technology'southward getting!' She was close behind information technology when she turned the corner, but the Rabbit was no longer to exist 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 circular the hall, only they were all locked; and when Alice had been all the way downwardly one side and up the other, trying every door, she walked sadly down the middle, wondering how she was ever to exit once more.

Of a sudden she came upon a little iii-legged table, all fabricated of solid glass; there was nil on it except a tiny golden key, and Alice's get-go 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 also small, but at any rate it would not open whatever of them. However, on the second fourth dimension round, she came upon a low pall she had non noticed before, and behind it was a piddling door well-nigh fifteen inches high: she tried the little gilt key in the lock, and to her great delight it fitted!

Alice finding tiny door backside drapery

Alice opened the door and constitute that it led into a small passage, not much larger than a rat-pigsty: she knelt down and looked forth the passage into the loveliest garden you lot ever saw. How she longed to go out of that night hall, and wander nigh among those beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains, but she could not even go her head though the doorway; `and even if my caput would get through,' thought poor Alice, `it would be of very fiddling apply without my shoulders. Oh, how I wish I could shut up like a telescope! I think I could, if I merely know how to begin.' For, you see, so many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to call back that very few things indeed were actually incommunicable.

There seemed to be no utilize in waiting by the little door, and then she went back to the tabular array, half hoping she might find another key on it, or at any charge per unit a book of rules for shutting people upwardly like telescopes: this fourth dimension she found a niggling bottle on it, (`which certainly was non here before,' said Alice,) and round the neck of the bottle was a newspaper label, with the words `Potable ME' beautifully printed on it in large letters.

Alice taking "Drink Me" canteen

It was all very well to say `Drink me,' but the wise little Alice was not going to practice that in a hurry. `No, I'll look offset,' she said, `and run into whether it's marked "toxicant" or not'; for she had read several nice petty histories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts and other unpleasant things, all considering they would not call up the simple rules their friends had taught them: such every bit, that a red-hot poker volition burn you if you hold information technology too long; and that if yous cut your finger very deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds; and she had never forgotten that, if you lot drink much from a bottle marked `poison,' it is well-nigh certain to disagree with you, sooner or afterward.

However, this bottle was not marked `poison,' then Alice ventured to taste information technology, and finding it very nice, (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavour of scarlet-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 at present simply ten inches high, and her face brightened up at the thought that she was at present the right size for going through the little door into that lovely garden. Beginning, however, she waited for a few minutes to see if she was going to shrink whatever further: she felt a little nervous near this; `for it might terminate, you know,' said Alice to herself, `in my going out birthday, similar a candle. I wonder what I should exist like so?' 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.

Afterwards a while, finding that nothing more happened, she decided on going into the garden at one time; only, alas for poor Alice! when she got to the door, she constitute she had forgotten the little golden cardinal, and when she went back to the table for it, she found she could not possibly reach it: she could run across it quite obviously through the glass, and she tried her best to climb upwards i of the legs of the table, simply it was too slippery; and when she had tired herself out with trying, the poor fiddling thing sat downwards and cried.

`Come up, at that place'south no utilise in crying like that!' said Alice to herself, rather sharply; `I advise you to leave off this infinitesimal!' She mostly gave herself very expert advice, (though she very seldom followed it), and sometimes she scolded herself then severely every bit to bring tears into her eyes; and one time she remembered trying to box her ain ears for having cheated herself in a game of croquet she was playing confronting herself, for this curious child was very fond of pretending to be two people. `But information technology's no use now,' thought poor Alice, `to pretend to be two people! Why, at that place'southward hardly plenty of me left to make one respectable person!'

Soon her eye vicious on a little drinking glass box that was lying under the table: she opened information technology, and found in it a very modest cake, on which the words `Consume ME' were beautifully marked in currants. `Well, I'll consume it,' said Alice, `and if it makes me grow larger, I can achieve the fundamental; and if it makes me abound 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 mode? Which way?', holding her paw on the top of her head to experience which way it was growing, and she was quite surprised to discover that she remained the same size: to be sure, this mostly happens when one eats cake, but Alice had got and then much into the style of expecting nothing but out-of-the-way things to happen, that it seemed quite tedious and stupid for life to get on in the common way.

So she set to piece of work, and very soon finished off the block.

        *       *       *       *       *       *       *           *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *

Adjacent chapter: The Pool of Tears