The Story of Alice in Wonderland

A wise and cross old caterpillar who sat on a mush room smoking a long pipe talked to her in a most unpleasant way, asking a great many foolish questions that she couldn't answer. As he left, in a bad temper, he called out: " One side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter." " One side of what? The other side of what?" thought Alice to herself.

" Of the mushroom," said the caterpillar, just as if she had asked it aloud.

Now the mushroom was perfectly round, but Alice broke two pieces off on opposite sides. She had just nibbled one when she shrank so suddenly that her head struck her foot. Then she bit the other piece, and her neck stretched up and up until she could only see the trees of the forest as a carpet of green, 'way below her. By taking the tiniest bites from one and then the other piece, she finally made herself about the size of a fairy, which is just the right size, as every child knows.

From the forest Alice saw a little house. She knocked timidly on the door, but there were such extraordinary noises of howling, sneezing, and smash ing things, from the inside, that nobody heard her.

Opening the door she found herself in a large smoke filled kitchen.

The Duchess was sitting on a stool holding a baby who was howling and sneezing because the air was filled with pepper. Every now and then the cook turned from peppering the soup and hurled a plate or a kettle in the general direction of the Duchess. That lady paid no attention, but sang a lullaby: Speak roughly to your little boy, And beat him when he sneezes; He only does it to annoy, Because he knows it teases.

When she had finished singing she threw the baby to Alice. " Here! You may nurse it a bit, if you like!" and left the bewildered little girl with a baby that very soon turned into a pig. When Alice put it down it trotted happily away.

And Here is the Famous Tea Party She next came to a house before which a long table was spread for a tea party. Crowded around one corner were the March Hare, the Mad Hatter, and the Dormouse. They were very rude and cried out " No room!" as soon as they saw Mice coming.

"There's plenty of room!" she said indignantly, and sat down.

" Take some more tea," said the March Hare with mock politeness.

" I haven't had any, so I can't take more." They had neither sense nor manners, so Alice left the mad tea party just as the rest began to stuff the sleepy Dormouse into the teapot.

When she found her way back to the hall with the little glass table, she took the golden key, and nib bling at her bits of mushroom until she was about a foot high, she ran through the tiny door into the garden.

The Duchess, the White Rabbit, and the King and Queen of Hearts were playing croquet. Alice joined them, but the Queen cried "Off with his head" so often that there were soon no players left. The Queen then took Mice to visit the Mock Turtle and the Gryphon, who sang songs and danced, and told amusing stories about when they were young.

"The trial, the trial !" the Gryphon cried in sudden excitement, and ran very fast, pulling Alice after him.

The Knave of Hearts was accused of having stolen some tarts that the Queen had made. The trial was so foolish and unfair that Alice became quite angry. Feeling herself grown to her natural size, and suddenly realizing that these were not real people after all, she jumped up crying: " You're nothing but a pack of cards!" and she scattered them all about.

At that she woke up. Her head was in her sister's lap, as it had been when she first saw the White Rabbit, and her sister was smiling and telling her it was tea-time.