it doesn’t understand English,” thought Alice; “Maybe it’s a French mouse.” So she began again: “Où est ma chatte?[17]” It was the first sentence in her French lesson-book. The Mouse was in terror.
“Oh, I beg your pardon!” cried Alice hastily. “I quite forgot you didn’t like cats.”
“Didn’t like cats!” cried the Mouse, in a shrill, passionate voice. “I am a mouse, can’t you see?”
“Yes, yes,” said Alice: “don’t be angry. But there are good cats, for example, our cat Dinah. She is very clever and beautiful. And she likes to catch mice… Oh, I beg your pardon!” cried Alice again. “We won’t talk about Dinah anymore.”
“We indeed![18]” cried the Mouse. “Our family always hated cats: nasty, low, vulgar animals! Don’t talk about cats again!”
“I won’t!” said Alice. “Do you—do you—like—dogs?” The Mouse did not answer.
“There is such a nice little dog near our house! A little bright-eyed terrier, you know, with oh, such long curly brown hair! It can do everything—and it belongs to a farmer, you know, and he says it’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 sorry!”
The Mouse was swimming away from her very fast. Alice called softly after it, “Mouse dear! Come back again, and we won’t talk about cats or dogs, if you don’t like them!”
When the Mouse heard this, it turned round and swam slowly back to her: its face was quite pale, and it said in a low voice[19], “Let us get to the shore, and then I’ll tell you my story, and you’ll understand why it is I hate cats and dogs.”
The pool was overcrowded with the birds and animals. Everybody swam to the shore.
Chapter III
A Caucus-Race[20] and a Long Tale
The Mouse said, “Sit down, all of you, and listen to me!” They all sat down at once, in a large ring, with the Mouse in the middle.
“Ahem![21]” said the Mouse, “are you all ready? Silence, if you please!”
And it began to talk about William the Conqueror[22].
“Ugh!” said the Lory[23], with a shiver.
“I beg your pardon!” said the Mouse, frowning, but very politely: “Did you speak?”
“Not I!” said the Lory hastily.
“I proceed,” said the Mouse. “Edwin and Morcar, the earls of Mercia and Northumbria[24], found it—”
“Found WHAT?” said the Duck.
“Found IT,” the Mouse replied: “of course you know what ‘it’ means.”
“I know what ‘it’ means well enough, when I find a thing,” said the Duck, “it’s generally a frog or a worm. The question is, what did those gentlemen find?”
The Mouse did not notice this question. “How are you, my dear?” it asked Alice.
“I’m wet,” said Alice.
How to get dry? They had a long talk about this, but it was hard to tell what was best.
“I think,” said the Dodo[25], “that the best thing to become dry is a Caucus-race.”
“What is a Caucus-race?” said Alice.
“Oh,” said the Dodo, “the best way to explain it is to do it.”
First it painted a circle, and then everybody began to run. Soon they were quite dry again, and the Dodo said “The race is over!”
The birds and animals began to ask, “But who is the winner?”
Dodo said, “Everybody is a winner, and will have prizes.”
“But who will give the prizes?” they asked.
“She, of course,” said the Dodo, and pointed to Alice with the long claw. And everybody at once crowded round her and cried, “A prize, a prize!”
Alice had no idea what to do, and in despair she put her hand in her pocket, and pulled out a box of comfits, and handed them round as prizes.
“But she must have a prize herself, you know,” said the Mouse.
“Of course,” the Dodo replied very gravely. “What else have you got in your pocket?” he turned to Alice.
“Only a thimble,” said Alice sadly.
“Give it to me,” said the Dodo.
The Dodo solemnly presented the thimble, “Please accept this elegant thimble”; and they all cheered. Alice simply bowed, and took the thimble.
The next thing was to eat the comfits: this caused some noise. It was over at last and they sat down in a ring and begged the Mouse to tell them a tale.
“You promised to tell me your story, you know,” said Alice to the Mouse, “why do you hate cats and dogs,” she added in a whisper.
“It’s a long and a sad tale!” said the Mouse. And it began:
“Fury[26] said to a
$$$$$$$$$mouse, That he
$$$$$$$met in the
$$$$$house,
$$$‘Let us
$$$$$both go to
$$$$$$$law: I will
$$$$$$$$$prosecute
$$$$$$$$$$$YOU. —Come,
$$$$$$$$$$$I’ll take no
$$$$$$$$$$$denial; We
$$$$$$$$$must have a
$$$$$$$trial: For
$$$$$really this
$$$morning I’ve
$$$nothing
$$$to do.’
$$$$$Said the
$$$$$mouse to the
$$$$$$$cur[27], ‘Such
$$$$$$$$$a trial,
$$$$$$$$$$$dear Sir,
$$$$$$$$$$$$$With
$$$$$$$$$$$no jury
$$$$$$$$$or judge,
$$$$$$$would be
$$$$$wasting
$$$$$our
$$$$$breath.’
$$$$$$$‘I’ll be
$$$$$$$judge, I’ll
$$$$$$$$$be jury,’
$$$$$$$$$$$Said
$$$$$$$$$cunning
$$$$$$$$$$old Fury:
$$$$$$$$$$‘I’ll
$$$$$$$$$$try the
$$$$$$$$$$$whole
$$$$$$$$$$$cause,
$$$$$$$$$$$$$and
$$$$$$$$$$$condemn
$$$$$$$$$$$you
$$$$$$$$$$to
$$$$$$$$$$$death.’”
“It