Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll

At the two-yard peg she faced round, and said, “A pawn goes two squares in its first move So you’ll go very quickly through the Third Square — by railway, I should think — and you’ll find yourself in the Fourth Square in no time. Well, that square belongs to Tweedledum and Tweedledee — the Fifth is mostly water — the Sixth belongs to Humpty Dumpty — but you make no remark?” “I — I didn’t know I had to make one — just then ” Alice faltered out.

“You should have said,” the Queen went on in a tone of grave reproof, ” “It’s extremely kind of you to tell me all this’ — however, we’ll suppose it said — the Seventh Square is all forest — however, one of the Knights will show you the way — and in the Eighth Square we shall be Queens together, and it’s all feasting and fun!” Alice got up and curtseyed, and sat down again.

At the next peg the Queen turned again, and said, “Speak in French when you can’t think of the English for a thing — turn out your toes as you walk — and remember who you are!” She did not wait for Alice to curtsey this time, but walked on quickly to the next peg, where she turned to say “good-bye,” and then hurried on to the last.

How it happened, Allce never knew, but exactly as she came to the last peg, she was gone. Whether she vainshed into the air, or ran quickly into the wood (“and she can run very fast!” thought Alice), there was no way of guessing, but she was gone, and Alice began to remember that she was a Pawn, and that it would soon be time to move.

“Looking-glass Insects”

OF course the first thing to do was make a grand survey of the country she was going to travel through. “It’s something very like learning geography,” thought Alice, as she stood on tiptoe in hopes of being able to see a little further. “Principal rivers — there are none. Principal mountains — I’m on the only one, but I don’t think it’s got any name. Principal towns — why, what are those creatures, making honey down there? They can’t be bees — nobody ever saw bees a mile off you know — -” and for some minutes she stood silent, watching one of them that was bustling about among the flowers, poking its proboscis into them, “just as if it was a regular bee,” thought Alice.

However, this was anything but a regular bee: in fact, it was an elephant — as Alice soon found out, though the idea quite took her breath away at first. “And what enomous flowers they must be!” was her next idea. “Something like cottages with the roofs taken off, and stalks put to them — and what quantities of honey they must make! I think I’ll go down and — no, I won’t go just yet,” she went on, checking herself just as she was beginning to run down the hill, and trying to find some excuse for turning shy so suddenly. “It’ll never do to go down among them without a good long branch to brush them away — and what fun it’ll be when they ask me how I liked my walk. I shall say — “Oh, I liked it well enough — -’ (here came the favourite little toss of the head), “only it was so dusty and hot, and the elephants did tease so!’ ”

“I think I’ll go down the other way,” she said after a pause: “and perhaps I may visit the elephants later on. Besides, I do so want to get into the Third Square!”

So with this excuse she ran down the hill and jumped over the first six little brooks.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Tickets, please!” said the Guard, putting his head in at the window. In a moment everybody was holding out a ticket : they were about the same size as the people, and quite seemed to fill the carriage.

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