Alice In Wonderland Alice's Evidence

Alice in Wonderland CHAPTER XII. Alice 's Evidence

'Here! ' cried Alice, quite forgetting in the flurry of the moment how large she had grown in the last few minutes, and she jumped up in such a hurry that she tipped over the jury-box with the edge of her skirt, upsetting all the jurymen on to the heads of the crowd below, and there they lay sprawling about, reminding her very much of a globe of goldfish she had accidentally upset the week before.

'Oh, I BEG your pardon! ' she exclaimed in a tone of great dismay, and began picking them up again as quickly as she could, for the accident of the goldfish kept running in her head, and she had a vague sort of idea that they must be collected at once and put back into the jury-box, or they

You MUST have meant some mischief, or else you 'd have signed your name like an honest man. '

There was a general clapping of hands at this: it was the first really clever thing the King had said that day.

'That PROVES his guilt, ' said the Queen.

'It proves nothing of the sort! ' said Alice. 'Why, you don 't even know what they 're about! '

'Read them, ' said the King.

The White Rabbit put on his spectacles. 'Where shall I begin, please your Majesty? ' he asked.

'Begin at the beginning, ' the King said gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop. '

These were the verses the White Rabbit read:--

'They told me you had been to her, And mentioned me to him: She gave me a good character, But said I could not swim.

He sent them word I had not gone (We know it to be true): If she should push the matter on, What would become of you?

I gave her one, they gave him two, You gave us three or more; They all returned from him to you, Though they were mine before.

If I or she should chance to be Involved in this affair, He trusts to you to set them free, Exactly as we were.

My notion was that you had been (Before she had this fit) An obstacle that came between Him, and

' the Queen shouted at the top of her voice. Nobody moved.

'Who cares for you? ' said Alice, (she had grown to her full size by this time.) 'You 're nothing but a pack of cards! '

At this the whole pack rose up into the air, and came flying down upon her: she gave a little scream, half of fright and half of anger, and tried to beat them off, and found herself lying on the bank, with her head in the lap of her sister, who was gently brushing away some dead leaves that had fluttered down from the trees upon her face.

'Wake up, Alice dear! ' said her sister; 'Why, what a long sleep you 've had! '

'Oh, I 've had such a curious dream! ' said Alice, and she told her sister, as well as she could remember them, all these strange Adventures of hers that you have just been reading about; and when she had finished, her sister kissed her, and said, 'It WAS a curious dream, dear, certainly: but now run in to your tea; it 's getting late. ' So Alice got up and ran off, thinking while she ran, as well she might, what a wonderful dream it had been.

But her sister sat