天天读书网（www.book.d78i.com）整理CHAPTER I Down the Rabbit-HoleAlice 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 bookher sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, `andwhat 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 hotday made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of makinga daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking thedaisies, 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 soVERY much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, `Oh dear! Ohdear! I shall be late!' (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred toher that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemedquite natural); but when the Rabbit actually TOOK A WATCH OUT OF ITSWAISTCOAT- POCKET, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice startedto her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen arabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, andburning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately wasjust 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 inthe world she was to get out again.The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and thendipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to thinkabout stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deepwell.Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty oftime as she went down to look about her and to wonder what was going tohappen next. First, she tried to look down and make out what she wascoming to, but it was too dark to see anything; then she looked at the sidesof the well, and noticed that they were filled with cupboards and book-shelves; here and there she saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs. Shetook down a jar from one of the shelves as she passed; it was labelled`ORANGE MARMALADE', but to her great disappointment it was empty: shedid not like to drop the jar for fear of killing somebody, so managed to putit into one of the cupboards as she fell past it.`Well!' thought Alice to herself, `after such a fall as this, I shall thinknothing 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 thehouse!' (Which was very likely true.)Down, down, down. Would the fall NEVER come to an end! `I wonder howmany miles I've fallen by this time?' she said aloud. `I must be gettingsomewhere near the centre of the earth. Let me see: that would be fourthousand miles down, I think--' (for, you see, Alice had learnt several thingsof this sort in her lessons in the schoolroom, and though this was not aVERY good opportunity for showing off her knowledge, as there was no oneto listen to her, still it was good practice to say it over) `--yes, that's aboutthe right distance--but then I wonder what Latitude or Longitude I've gotto?' (Alice had no idea what Latitude was, or Longitude either, but thoughtthey were nice grand words to say.)Presently she began again. `I wonder if I shall fall right THROUGH theearth! How funny it'll seem to come out among the people that walk withtheir heads downward! The Antipathies, I think--' (she was rather gladthere WAS no one listening, this time, as it didn't sound at all the rightword) `--but I shall have to ask them what the name of the country is, youknow. Please, Ma'am, is this New Zealand or Australia?' (and she tried tocurtsey 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'llthink me for asking! No, it'll never do to ask: perhaps I shall see it writtenup somewhere.'Down, down, down. There was nothing else to do, so Alice soon begantalking again. `Dinah'll miss me very much to-night, I should think!' (Dinahwas 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 inthe 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 getrather sleepy, and went on saying to herself, in a dreamy sort of way, `Docats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?' and sometimes, `Do bats eat cats?' for, yousee, as she couldn't answer either question, it didn't much matter whichway she put it. She felt that she was dozing off, and had just begun todream that she was walking hand in hand with Dinah, and saying to hervery 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 anddry 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 longpassage, and the White Rabbit was still in sight, hurrying down it. Therewas not a moment to be lost: away went Alice like the wind, and was justin time to hear it say, as it turned a corner, `Oh my ears and whiskers, howlate it's getting!' She was close behind it when she turned the corner, butthe 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 whenAlice had been all the way down one side and up the other, trying everydoor, she walked sadly down the middle, wondering how she was ever toget 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 thoughtwas that it might belong to one of the doors of the hall; but, alas! either thelocks were too large, or the key was too small, but at any rate it would notopen any of them. However, on the second time round, she came upon alow curtain she had not noticed before, and behind it was a little doorabout fifteen inches high: she tried the little golden key in the lock, and toher great delight it fitted!Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, not muchlarger than a rat-hole: she knelt down and looked along the passage intothe loveliest garden you ever saw. How she longed to get out of that darkhall, and wander about among those beds of bright flowers and those coolfountains, but she could not even get her head though the doorway; `andeven if my head would go through,' thought poor Alice, `it would be of verylittle use without my shoulders. Oh, how I wish I could shut up like atelescope! I think I could, if I only know how to begin.' For, you see, somany out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun tothink that very few things indeed were really impossible.There seemed to be no use in waiting by the little door, so she went backto the table, half hoping she might find another key on it, or at any rate abook of rules for shutting people up like telescopes: this time she found alittle bottle on it, (`which certainly was not here before,' said Alice,) andround 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 goingto do THAT in a hurry. `No, I'll look first,' she said, `and see whether it'smarked "poison" or not'; for she had read several nice little histories aboutchildren who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts and otherunpleasant things, all because they WOULD not remember the simple rulestheir friends had taught them: such as, that a red-hot poker will burn you ifyou hold it too long; and that if you cut your finger VERY deeply with aknife, it usually bleeds; and she had never forgotten that, if you drink muchfrom 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,) shevery soon finished it off.* * * * * *`What a curious feeling!' said Alice; `I must be shutting up like atelescope.'And so it was indeed: she was now only ten inches high, and her facebrightened up at the thought that she was now the right size for goingthrough the little door into that lovely garden. First, however, she waited fora few minutes to see if she was going to shrink any further: she felt a littlenervous about this; `for it might end, you know,' said Alice to herself, `inmy going out altogether, like a candle. I wonder what I should be likethen?' And she tried to fancy what the flame of a candle is like after thecandle is blown out, for she could not remember ever having seen such athing.After a while, finding that nothing more happened, she decided on goinginto the garden at once; but, alas for poor Alice! when she got to the door,she found she had forgotten the little golden key, and when she went backto the table for it, she found she could not possibly reach it: she could see itquite plainly through the glass, and she tried her best to climb up one ofthe legs of the table, but it was too slippery; and when she had tiredherself out with trying, the poor little thing sat down and cried.`Come, there's no use in crying like that!' said Alice to herself, rathersharply; `I advise you to leave off this minute!' She generally gave herselfvery good advice, (though she very seldom followed it), and sometimes shescolded herself so severely as to bring tears into her eyes; and once sheremembered trying to box her own ears for having cheated herself in agame of croquet she was playing against herself, for this curious child wasvery fond of pretending to be two people. `But it's no use now,' thoughtpoor Alice, `to pretend to be two people! Why, there's hardly enough of meleft to make ONE respectable person!'Soon her eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the table: sheopened 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 itmakes me grow larger, I can reach the key; and if it makes me growsmaller, 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 besure, this generally happens when one eats cake, but Alice had got so muchinto the way of expecting nothing but out-of-the-way things to happen, thatit 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.CHAPTER II The Pool of Tears`Curiouser and curiouser!' cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that forthe moment she quite forgot how to speak good English); `now I'mopening out like the largest telescope that ever was! Good-bye, feet!' (forwhen 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 puton your shoes and stockings for you now, dears? I'm sure _I_ shan't beable! I shall be a great deal too far off to trouble myself about you: youmust manage the best way you can; --but I must be kind to them,' thoughtAlice, `or perhaps they won't walk the way I want to go! Let me see: I'llgive them a new pair of boots every Christmas.'And she went on planning to herself how she would manage it. `They mustgo by the carrier,' she thought; `and how funny it'll seem, sending presentsto 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 nowmore than nine feet high, and she at once took up the little golden key andhurried off to the garden door.Poor Alice! It was as much as she could do, lying down on one side, to lookthrough into the garden with one eye; but to get through was morehopeless than ever: she sat down and began to cry again.`You ought to be ashamed of yourself,' said Alice, `a great girl like you,'(she might well say this), `to go on crying in this way! Stop this moment, Itell you!' But she went on all the same, shedding gallons of tears, untilthere was a large pool all round her, about four inches deep and reachinghalf down the hall.After a time she heard a little pattering of feet in the distance, and shehastily dried her eyes to see what was coming. It was the White Rabbitreturning, splendidly dressed, with a pair of white kid gloves in one handand a large fan in the other: he came trotting along in a great hurry,muttering to himself as he came, `Oh! the Duchess, the Duchess! Oh! won'tshe be savage if I've kept her waiting!' Alice felt so desperate that she wasready to ask help of any one; so, when the Rabbit came near her, shebegan, in a low, timid voice, `If you please, sir--' The Rabbit startedviolently, dropped the white kid gloves and the fan, and skurried away intothe darkness as hard as he could go.Alice took up the fan and gloves, and, as the hall was very hot, she keptfanning herself all the time she went on talking: `Dear, dear! How queereverything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual. I wonderif I've been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I gotup this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different.But if I'm not the same, the next question is, Who in the world am I? Ah,THAT'S the great puzzle!' And she began thinking over all the children sheknew that were of the same age as herself, to see if she could have beenchanged for any of them.`I'm sure I'm not Ada,' she said, `for her hair goes in such long ringlets,and mine doesn't go in ringlets at all; and I'm sure I can't be Mabel, for Iknow all sorts of things, and she, oh! she knows such a very little! Besides,SHE'S she, and I'm I, and--oh dear, how puzzling it all is! I'll try if I knowall the things I used to know. Let me see: four times five is twelve, and fourtimes six is thirteen, and four times seven is--oh dear! I shall never get totwenty at that rate! However, the Multiplication Table doesn't signify: let'stry Geography. London is the capital of Paris, and Paris is the capital ofRome, and Rome--no, THAT'S all wrong, I'm certain! I must have beenchanged for Mabel! I'll try and say "How doth the little--"' and she crossedher hands on her lap as if she were saying lessons, and began to repeat it,but her voice sounded hoarse and strange, and the words did not come thesame as they used to do:--`How doth the little crocodileImprove his shining tail,And pour the waters of the NileOn every golden scale!`How cheerfully he seems to grin,How neatly spread his claws,And welcome little fishes inWith gently smiling jaws!'`I'm sure those are not the right words,' said poor Alice, and her eyes filledwith tears again as she went on, `I must be Mabel after all, and I shallhave to go and live in that poky little house, and have next to no toys toplay with, and oh! ever so many lessons to learn! No, I've made up mymind about it; if I'm Mabel, I'll stay down here! It'll be no use their puttingtheir heads down and saying "Come up again, dear!" I shall only look upand say "Who am I then? Tell me that first, and then, if I like being thatperson, I'll come up: if not, I'll stay down here till I'm somebody else"--but,oh dear!' cried Alice, with a sudden burst of tears, `I do wish they WOULDput their heads down! I am so VERY tired of being all alone here!'As she said this she looked down at her hands, and was surprised to seethat she had put on one of the Rabbit's little white kid gloves while she wastalking. `How CAN I have done that?' she thought. `I must be growingsmall again.' She got up and went to the table to measure herself by it, andfound that, as nearly as she could guess, she was now about two feet high,and was going on shrinking rapidly: she soon found out that the cause ofthis was the fan she was holding, and she dropped it hastily, just in time toavoid shrinking away altogether.`That WAS a narrow escape!' said Alice, a good deal frightened at thesudden change, but very glad to find herself still in existence; `and now forthe garden!' and she ran with all speed back to the little door: but, alas! thelittle door was shut again, and the little golden key was lying on the glasstable as before, `and things are worse than ever,' thought the poor child,`for I never was so small as this before, never! And I declare it's too bad,that it is!'As she said these words her foot slipped, and in another moment, splash!she was up to her chin in salt water. Her first idea was that she hadsomehow fallen into the sea, `and in that case I can go back by railway,'she said to herself. (Alice had been to the seaside once in her life, and hadcome to the general conclusion, that wherever you go to on the Englishcoast you find a number of bathing machines in the sea, some childrendigging in the sand with wooden spades, then a row of lodging houses, andbehind them a railway station.) However, she soon made out that she wasin the pool of tears which she had wept when she was nine feet high.`I wish I hadn't cried so much!' said Alice, as she swam about, trying tofind her way out. `I shall be punished for it now, I suppose, by beingdrowned in my own tears! That WILL be a queer thing, to be sure!However, everything is queer to-day.'Just then she heard something splashing about in the pool a little way off,and she swam nearer to make out what it was: at first she thought it mustbe a walrus or hippopotamus, but then she remembered how small she wasnow, and she soon made out that it was only a mouse that had slipped inlike herself.`Would it be of any use, now,' thought Alice, `to speak to this mouse?Everything is so out-of-the-way down here, that I should think very likely itcan talk: at any rate, there's no harm in trying.' So she began: `O Mouse,do you know the way out of this pool? I am very tired of swimming abouthere, O Mouse!' (Alice thought this must be the right way of speaking to amouse: she had never done such a thing before, but she rememberedhaving seen in her brother's Latin Grammar, `A mouse--of a mouse--to amouse--a mouse--O mouse!' The Mouse looked at her rather inquisitively,and seemed to her to wink with one of its little eyes, but it said nothing.`Perhaps it doesn't understand English,' thought Alice; `I daresay it's aFrench mouse, come over with William the Conqueror.' (For, with all herknowledge of history, Alice had no very clear notion how long ago anythinghad happened.) So she began again: `Ou est ma chatte?' which was thefirst sentence in her French lesson-book. The Mouse gave a sudden leap outof the water, and seemed to quiver all over with fright. `Oh, I beg yourpardon!' cried Alice hastily, afraid that she had hurt the poor animal'sfeelings. `I quite forgot you didn't like cats.'`Not like cats!' cried the Mouse, in a shrill, passionate voice. `Would YOUlike cats if you were me?'`Well, perhaps not,' said Alice in a soothing tone: `don't be angry about it.And yet I wish I could show you our cat Dinah: I think you'd take a fancy tocats if you could only see her. She is such a dear quiet thing,' Alice wenton, half to herself, as she swam lazily about in the pool, `and she sitspurring so nicely by the fire, licking her paws and washing her face--andshe is such a nice soft thing to nurse--and she's such a capital one forcatching mice--oh, I beg your pardon!' cried Alice again, for this time theMouse was bristling all over, and she felt certain it must be really offended.`We won't talk about her any more if you'd rather not.'`We indeed!' cried the Mouse, who was trembling down to the end of histail. `As if I would talk on such a subject! Our family always HATED cats:nasty, low, vulgar things! Don't let me hear the name again!'`I won't indeed!' said Alice, in a great hurry to change the subject ofconversation. `Are you--are you fond--of--of dogs?' The Mouse did notanswer, so Alice went on eagerly: `There is such a nice little dog near ourhouse I should like to show you! A little bright-eyed terrier, you know, withoh, such long curly brown hair! And it'll fetch things when you throw them,and it'll sit up and beg for its dinner, and all sorts of things--I can'tremember half of them--and it belongs to a farmer, you know, and he saysit's so useful, it's worth a hundred pounds! He says it kills all the rats and--oh dear!' cried Alice in a sorrowful tone, `I'm afraid I've offended it again!'For the Mouse was swimming away from her as hard as it could go, andmaking quite a commotion in the pool as it went.So she called softly after it, `Mouse dear! Do come back again, and wewon't talk about cats or dogs either, if you don't like them!' When theMouse heard this, it turned round and swam slowly back to her: its facewas quite pale (with passion, Alice thought), and it said in a low tremblingvoice, `Let us get to the shore, and then I'll tell you my history, and you'llunderstand why it is I hate cats and dogs.'