At the Tea Table
There was a tree in front of the house. A big table under the tree had places for a lot of people, but there were only three at it: the Hatter, the March Hare, and a dormouse. The Dormouse was asleep, and the other two were sitting very near to it, one on each side, and speaking over its head.
When they saw Alice, the Hatter and the March Hare cried out, "No, no! There isn't a place for you!""There are a lot of places," Alice said, and she sat down in a big chair.
The Hatter looked at her and took a watch out of his pocket. "What day is it?" he asked.
Alice thought. Then she said, " Wednesday, I think.""It's Friday by my watch," the Hatter said to the March Hare, looking unhappy. "I told you that butter wasn't good for a watch.""It was the best butter," the March Hare said.
" Yes, but you put it in with the bread knife. Some bread got in, perhaps."The March Hare took the watch and looked at it sadly. Then he put it in his tea; took it out; looked at it sadly again; and said again, " It was the best butter."Alice looked at the watch. "It tells the day," she said, "but it doesn't tell you the time of day.""Why should it?" the Hatter asked. "Does your watch tell you what year it is?"" No," Alice answered, " but that's because 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 wondered about that, but she said nothing.
"Take some more tea," the March Hare said to her.
Alice said. "Thank you. But I haven't had any yet, so I can't take more.""Yes, you can," the Hatter said. "Anybody can take more than nothing."Alice did not like the way the Hatter spoke to her. "I don't think he should speak to me like that," she thought. And she began to tell him: " I don't think--""Then you shouldn't speak," the Hatter said.
Alice was angry. She walked away from the table. " 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 did not say anything. She looked back once. The Dormouse was still asleep, and the Hatter and the March Hare were trying to put it into the teapot.
"I'll never go there again," Alice said. And she tried to tell herself, " I didn't want any tea or bread-and-butter."Just as she said that, she saw a door in one of the trees.
I have never seen a door in a tree before," she thought. "I wonder where it goes." And she went in. She found herself in the long hall, near the little glass table.
"I'll get through the little door into the garden this time," she said to herself. She took the little golden key and opened the little door. Then she took very small bites from the bit of mushroom that made her smaller. When she was not too big and not too small, she walked through the door. At last she was in the beautiful garden. |