1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
|
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:epub="http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops">
<head>
<title>Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="css/stylesheet.css" type="text/css"/>
<meta charset="utf-8"/>
</head>
<body>
<section epub:type="chapter">
<h2 id="pgepubid00010"><a id="VII_A_MAD_TEA-PARTY"></a>A Mad Tea-Party</h2>
<p>There was a table set out under a tree in front of the
house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it; a Dormouse was sitting
between them, fast asleep.</p>
<p>The table was a large one, but the three were all crowded together at one corner of
it. "No room! No room!" they cried out when they saw Alice coming. "There's
<i>plenty</i> of room!" said Alice indignantly, and she sat down in a large arm-chair
at one end of the table.</p>
<p>The Hatter opened his eyes very wide on hearing this, but all he said was "Why is a
raven like a writing-desk?"</p>
<p>"I'm glad they've begun asking riddles—I believe I can guess that," she added
aloud.</p>
<p>"Do you mean that you think you can find out the answer to it?" said the March
Hare.</p>
<p>"Exactly so," said Alice.</p>
<p>"Then you should say what you mean," the March Hare went on.</p>
<p>"I do," Alice hastily replied; "at least—at least I mean what I
say—that's the same thing, you know."</p>
<p>"You might just as well say," added the Dormouse, which seemed to be talking in its
sleep, "that 'I breathe when I sleep' is the same thing as 'I sleep when I
breathe!'"<a id="Page_36" class="pageno" title="[Pg36]"></a></p>
<p>"It <i>is</i> the same thing with you," said the Hatter, and he poured a little hot
tea upon its nose. The Dormouse shook its head impatiently and said, without opening
its eyes,"Ofcourse, of course; just what I was going to remark myself."</p>
<figure class="small">
<img src="images/i017_th.jpg" alt="Illo17" />
</figure>
<p>"Have you guessed the riddle yet?" the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.</p>
<p>"No, I give it up," Alice replied. "What's theanswer?"</p>
<p>"I haven't the slightest idea," said the Hatter.</p>
<p>"Nor I,"said the March Hare.</p>
<p>Alice gave a weary sigh. "I think you might do something better with the time," she
said, "than wasting it in asking riddles that have no answers."</p>
<p>"Take some more tea," the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.</p>
<p>"I've had nothing yet," Alice replied in an offended tone, "so I can't take
more."</p>
<p>"You mean you can't take <i>less</i>," said the Hatter; "it's very easy to take
<i>more</i> than nothing."</p>
<p>At this, Alice got up and walked off. The Dormouse fell asleep instantly and neither
of the others took the least notice of her going, thoughshe looked <a id="Page_37"
class="pageno" title="[Pg 37]"></a>back once or twice; the last time she saw them, they
were trying to put the Dormouse into the tea-pot.</p>
<figure class="full">
<img src="images/plate04_th.jpg" alt="The Trial of the Knave of Hearts." title="The Trial of the Knave of Hearts." />
<figcaption>
<p>The Trial of the Knave of Hearts.</p>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>"At any rate, I'll never go <i>there</i> again!" said Alice, as she picked her way
through the wood. "It's the stupidest tea-party I ever was at in all my life!" Just as
she said this, she noticed that one of the trees had a door leading right into it.
"That's very curious!" she thought. "I think I may as well go in at once." And in she
went.</p>
<p>Once more she foundherself in the long hall and close to the little glass table.
Taking the little golden key, she unlocked the door that led into the garden. Then she
set to work nibbling at the mushroom (she had kept a piece of it in her pocket) till
she was about a foot high; then she walked down the little passage; and
<i>then</i>—she found herself at last in the beautiful garden, among the bright
flower-beds and the cool fountains.</p>
</section>
</body>
</html>
|
