7 The Lion and the Unicorn

　　The next moment soldiers came running through thewood，at first in twos and threes，then ten or twentytogether，and at last in great crowds that seemed to fill theforest．Alice got behind a tree and watched them go past．

　　They were very strange soldiers，she thought．They werealways falling over something or other， and when one soldierwent down，several more always fell over him．Soon theground was covered with fallen men．

　　Then came the horses．With four feet，they managed betterthan the foot-soldiers， but even they fell more often than not．And when a horse fell， the rider always fell off at once． It wasalmost like a battle in itself，and Alice decided it would besafer to move on．Soon she came to an open place， where shefound the White King sitting on the ground， busily writing inhis notebook．

　　‘I've sent them all！’the King cried happily when he sawAlice．‘Did you happen to meet any soldiers， my dear， as youcame through the wood？’

　　‘Yes，I did，’said Alice．‘Several thousand，I think．’

　　‘Four thousand two hundred and seven，’ the King said，looking at his book．‘I couldn't send all the horses，becausetwo of them are wanted in the game．And I haven't sent theMessengers， Haigha and Hatta．I need them myself， of course-to come and go．One to come，and one to go．’

　　‘I don't think I understand，’ said Alice．‘Why one to comeand one to go？’

　　‘I've told you，’the King said crossly．‘I must have two-to fetch and carry．One to fetch， and one to carry．’

　　At that moment Haigha，one of the Messengers，arrived．He had very large hands and great eyes，which were alwaysmoving wildly from side to side．

　　‘What's the news from town？’ said the King．

　　‘I'll whisper it，’said Haigha， putting his mouth close tothe King's ear．

　　Alice was sorry about this，because she wanted to hear thenews too．But，instead of whispering，Haigha shouted at thetop of his voice，‘They're at it again！’

　　‘Do you call that a whisper？’ cried the poor King， jumpingup and shaking himself．‘Don't do that again！’

　　‘Who are at it again？’ Alice asked．

　　‘The Lion and the Unicorn，of course，’said the King．

　　‘Fighting for the crown？’

　　‘Yes， and it's my crown that they're fighting about！’saidthe King．‘Amusing， isn't it？ Let's run and see them．’

　　They began to run，and as they went，Alice repeated to her-self the words of the old song．

　　The Lion and the Unicorn

　　were fighting for the crown；

　　The Lion beat the Unicorn

　　all round the town．

　　Some gave them white bread

　　and some gave them brown；

　　Some gave them plum-cake

　　and drummed them out of town．

　　Soon they saw a great crowd in front of them， and in themiddle the Lion and the Unicorn were fighting． Hatta， theother Messenger， was standing at the edge of the crowd，witha cup of tea in one hand and a piece of bread and butter in theother．He looked very unhappy．

　　‘He's only just come out of prison，’ Haigha whispered inAlice's ear，‘so he's very hungry and thirsty，you see．Howare you，dear child？’ he said to Hatta，in a friendly voice．

　　Hatta looked round， but went on eating his bread and butterand drinking his tea．

　　‘Come，tell us the news！’ cried the King．‘How are theygetting on with the fight？’

　　‘They're getting on very well，’Hatta said through amouthful of bread and butter．‘Each of them has been down about eighty-seven times．’

　　‘Then I suppose they'll soon bring the white bread and thebrown，’ Alice said．

　　‘It's waiting for them now，’said Hatta．‘I'm eating a bitof it myself．’

　　The fight stopped just then，and the Lion and the Unicornsat down，looking tired．

　　The King called out，‘Ten minutes for tea！’，and Haighaand Hatta began to carry round plates of white and brownbread．Alice took a piece to taste， but it was very dry.

　　‘I don't think they'll fight any more today，’the King saidto Hatta．‘Go and order the drums to begin．’

　　As Alice watched him go，she suddenly saw somebody run-ning out of the wood．

　　‘Look！’she cried excitedly．‘There's the White Queen！She came flying out of the wood．How fast those Queens canrun！’

　　‘There's probably an enemy after her，’said the King， notlooking round．‘That wood's full of them. ’

　　‘But aren't you going to help her？’asked Alice，very sur-prised．

　　‘No use， no use！’said the King．‘She runs so terriblyquickly．You can't catch a Queen when she's running．’

　　At that moment the Unicorn came past，with his hands inhis pockets．When he saw Alice，he stopped and looked at herfor some minutes．He did not seem to like what he saw．

　　‘What- is- this？’ he said at last．

　　‘This is a child！’Haigha said helpfully，coming forward tointroduce Alice．‘We only found it today．It's as large as life，and twice as natural！’

　　‘I always thought they were fantastic monsters，’said theUnicorn．‘Is it alive？’

　　‘It can talk，’said Haigha．

　　The Unicorn looked dreamily at Alice．‘Talk， child．’

　　Alice smiled．‘I always thought that Unicorns were fantas-tic monsters，too！ I never saw one alive before．’

　　‘Well， we have now met and spoken，so we can believe ineach other， yes？’The Unicorn turned to the King．‘Fetchout the plum-cake，old man. I'm tried of brown bread！’

　　‘Certainly，certainly，’said the King，sounding a littlefrightened．‘Quick，Haigha， open the bag．’

　　Haigha was carrying a big bag round his neck， and now hetook ont of it a very large cake，a plate and a knife．He gavethem to Alice to hold．

　　The Lion had joined them while this was going on． Helooked very tired and sleepy，and his eyes were half shut．‘What's this？’ he said，looking at Alice．

　　‘An， what is it， then？’the Unicorn cried．‘You'll neverguess！I couldn't．’

　　The Lion looked at Alice without interest．‘Are you a veg-etable or an animal？’he asked tiredly．

　　‘It's a fantastic monster！’ the Unicorn cried，before Alicecould reply．

　　‘Then pass round the plum-cake，Monster，’the Lion said，lying down on the ground．‘And you two sit down，’he said tothe King and the Unicorn．

　　The King looked very uncomforable when he had to sit be-tween the Lion and the Unicorn，but there was no other placefor him．His crown nearly fell off because he was shaking somuch. The Unicorn looked amused，and then tried to arguewith the Lion about who was winning the fight.

　　‘I beat you all round the town，’ said the Lion angrily.‘And why is the Monster taking so long to cut up the cake？’

　　‘It's very difficult，’said Alice．‘I've cut off several piecesalready，but then they join up again immediately！’

　　‘You don't know how to manage looking-glass cakes，’saidthe Unicorn. ‘Pass it round first，and cut it up afterwards. ’

　　This sounded nonsense，but Alice got up and carried theplate round. At once the cake cut itself into three pieces， andthen Alice returned to her place with the empty plate.

　　‘Look at my piece of cake！’cried the Unicorn．‘The Mon-ster has given the Lion twice as much as me！’

　　‘She hasn't kept any for herself，’said the Lion. ‘Do youlike plum-cake， Monster？’

　　But before Alice could answer，the drums began．The airseemed full of the noise，and it rang and rang through herhead．Frightened， Alice began to run and jumped over the brook．

　　* * * * *

　　* * * *

　　* * * * *

　　Then she fell to the ground and put her hands over her ears，trying to shut out the terrible noise．

　　‘If that doesn't drum the Lion and the Unicorn out oftown，’she thought to herself，‘nothing ever will！’

　　7．狮子与独角兽

　　稍后，士兵跑步穿过树林，起先是三三两两的，随后是十个二十个，最后是成群成群的，似乎把整个森林都塞满了。爱丽丝躲在树后看着他们过去。

　　她想这些士兵真够奇特。他们总是跌倒在什么东西上。一个士兵倒下，更多的士兵就倒在他上面。片刻之间，地面上到处是倒下的人了。

　　后来马过来了。马有四条腿，因此跑得比步兵平稳，但即使这样也经常摔倒。马一摔倒，骑士总是马上掉下来。这种局面几乎本身就像一场战斗。爱丽丝拿定主意，离开此地会更安全。不久，她来到了一个开阔地。在那儿，她看见白方国王坐在地上，忙着在笔记本上写东西。

　　国王一看见爱丽丝就高兴地叫嚷道：“我把士兵都派出去了，小宝贝，你走过树林时，碰见他们了吗？”

　　“碰上了，我想有好几千。”爱丽丝答道。

　　国王看了看本子，说：“共4207位。我不能把马匹都派出去，因为象棋里需要两枚马。而且我也没把黑格与哈特两位信使派去。当然，我需要他们来回穿梭送信。一个来，一个去。”

　　爱丽丝说：“我想我还是不明白。干吗一个来，一个去？”

　　国王面有愠色，说：“我告诉过你，我得有两个帮手--一个取信，一个送信。”

　　这时，叫黑格的那个信使来了。他长着巨手、大眼，眼珠老是左右乱转。

　　国王问：“城里有什么消息？”

　　“我悄声告诉你。”黑格凑近国王的耳朵说话。

　　爱丽丝也想听听城里的消息。于是心里有点遗憾。但突然黑格转而大叫一声：“他们又斗起来了！”

　　“你把这称作悄悄话？不允许再这样大嚷大叫了！”可怜的国王吓得跳了起来，浑身颤抖。

　　爱丽丝问：“谁又斗起来了？”

　　“当然是狮子与独角兽。”国王说。

　　“为了争夺王冠？”

　　“是的，他们为争夺我的王冠斗了起来！太有趣了，是不是？我们赶紧去瞧瞧！”国王说。

　　他们开始跑起来，一边跑着，爱丽丝一边背着一首古老的歌词：

　　狮子与独角兽

　　为王冠而格斗；

　　狮子打败了独角兽，

　　把他满城追逐。

　　有些人给他们白面包

　　有些人却布施黑面包；

　　有些人送上了葡萄干蛋糕

　　击鼓把他们送出城。

　　不久他们就看见前面聚集了一大群人，狮子与独角兽在圈中打斗。另一个叫哈特的信使站在人群的外围，一只手端着一杯茶，另一只手拿着黄油面包。他看上去很不高兴。

　　黑格凑着爱丽丝的耳朵轻声说：“他刚从监狱里出来，所以又饿又渴。你好吗，亲爱的孩子？”随后他非常友好地对哈特讲话。

　　哈特看了看周围，又继续吃他的黄油面包，喝他的茶。

　　国王喊道：“好了，告诉我们他们打斗得怎么样？”

　　“他们打得很顺利，每人都已被打倒了大约八十七次。”哈特说着，满嘴是黄油面包。

　　爱丽丝说：“那么我想他们不久就会带来白面包和黑面包的。”

　　“面包都在等着他们呢。我自己先吃点儿。”哈特说。

　　就在这时，打斗告一段落，狮子与独角兽坐了下来，显得疲惫不堪。

　　国王喊叫着：“喝10分钟茶！”黑格与哈特开始分发白面包和黑面包。爱丽丝拿了一片尝尝，但太干了。

　　“我想今天他们不会再打了。去叫人击鼓。”国王对哈特说。

　　在爱丽丝看着他走的当儿，她突然瞧见有人跑出树林。

　　她激动地说：“看呀！那是白方王后！她正飞奔出树林，那些王后跑得可真快！”

　　“可能有敌人追她，那树林里面多的是。”国王头也不转地说。

　　爱丽丝非常惊奇地问：“可是你不打算去救她？”

　　“没用了，没用了！她跑得太快了，王后跑起来你是追不上的。”国王说。

　　这时，独角兽路过这里，双手插在口袋里。他看见了爱丽丝，就停了下来，端详了她好几分钟。他似乎并不喜欢他所看见的这个东西。

　　最后他问：“这--是--什么？”

　　“这是个孩子！”黑格自告奋勇地上前将爱丽丝做了介绍，并说：“我们也是今天刚碰上的。她跟真小孩一样大，但比一般小孩自然大方得多！”

　　“我一向认为他们是些奇异的怪物。它活着吗？”独角兽问。

　　黑格说：“它能讲话。”

　　独角兽蒙眬地看着爱丽丝说：“孩子，讲吧。”

　　爱丽丝笑了。“我也向来认为独角兽是种奇异的怪物。以前我从未看见过活的。”

　　“我们见了面，又讲了话，我们可以互相信任了，是吗？”独角兽转向国王说：“老头子，拿出葡萄干蛋糕。黑面包我吃厌了！”

　　国王有点怕了，忙说：“当然，当然。黑格，赶快把袋子打开。”

　　黑格脖子上挂一个大袋子，他从里面拿出一个很大的糕，一个盘子，一把刀。他给爱丽丝递过去，要她拿着。

　　这时狮子来到了他们中间。他很疲劳，睡意蒙眬，双眼半睁半闭着。“这是什么？”他看看爱丽丝问。

　　独角兽叫道：“啊，这是什么？你永远猜不出的！我刚才也猜不出。”

　　狮子毫无兴趣地看着爱丽丝，无精打采地问：“你是植物，还是动物？”

　　没等爱丽丝回答，独角兽就叫道：“这是只奇异的怪物。”

　　“那就把葡萄干蛋糕给大家递过去，怪物。”狮子说着，躺了下来。“你们两位也坐下来吧。”他又对国王与独角兽说。

　　国王坐在狮子与独角兽之间非常不自在，但确实没有其他地方让他坐。他全身颤抖得厉害，王冠也差点掉了下来。独角兽显得很高兴，然后他便与狮子争论谁会赢得这场打斗。

　　狮子愤怒地问：“我满城追着你打。这怪物怎么这样久还没把葡萄干蛋糕切开？”

　　“切糕不容易。我已切下好几块了，但它们又粘在一起了。”爱丽丝说。

　　独角兽说：“你不懂切镜子屋蛋糕的方法。要先递给大家，然后再切开。”

　　这听起来荒唐，但爱丽丝还是站起来，端着盘子转一圈，蛋糕马上把自己切成三块，然后，爱丽丝拿着空盘子回到自己的位置上。

　　独角兽叫道：“看看我这块糕。这怪物给狮子的那块比我的大一倍。”

　　“她一点没给自己留。怪物，你喜欢葡萄干蛋糕吗？”狮子问。

　　爱丽丝还没来得及答话，鼓声就响了起来。空中满是噪音，她的头好像要被吵炸了。爱丽丝心惊胆颤，赶紧跑开，跳过了小河。然后她倒在地上，用双手捂住耳朵，试图挡住那震耳欲聋的噪音。