+

+ CHAPTER I. Down the Rabbit-Hole +

+

+ Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the + bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the + book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in + it, 'and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice 'without pictures or + conversations?' +

+

+ So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot + day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making + a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the + daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her. +

+

+ There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so + very much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, 'Oh dear! Oh + dear! I shall be late!' (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred + to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all + seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of + its waistcoat-pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started + to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen + a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and + burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately + was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge. +

+

+ In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in + the world she was to get out again. +

+

+ The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then + dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think + about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep + well. +

+

+ Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty + of time as she went down to look about her and to wonder what was going to + happen next. First, she tried to look down and make out what she was + coming to, but it was too dark to see anything; then she looked at the + sides of the well, and noticed that they were filled with cupboards and + book-shelves; here and there she saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs. She + took down a jar from one of the shelves as she passed; it was labelled + 'ORANGE MARMALADE', but to her great disappointment it was empty: she did + not like to drop the jar for fear of killing somebody, so managed to put + it into one of the cupboards as she fell past it. +

+

+ 'Well!' thought Alice to herself, 'after such a fall as this, I shall + think nothing of tumbling down stairs! How brave they'll all think me at + home! Why, I wouldn't say anything about it, even if I fell off the top of + the house!' (Which was very likely true.) +

+

+ Down, down, down. Would the fall never come to an end! 'I wonder how many + miles I've fallen by this time?' she said aloud. 'I must be getting + somewhere near the centre of the earth. Let me see: that would be four + thousand miles down, I think—' (for, you see, Alice had learnt + several things of this sort in her lessons in the schoolroom, and though + this was not a very good opportunity for showing off her knowledge, as + there was no one to listen to her, still it was good practice to say it + over) '—yes, that's about the right distance—but then I wonder + what Latitude or Longitude I've got to?' (Alice had no idea what Latitude + was, or Longitude either, but thought they were nice grand words to say.) +

+

+ Presently she began again. 'I wonder if I shall fall right through the + earth! How funny it'll seem to come out among the people that walk with + their heads downward! The Antipathies, I think—' (she was rather + glad there was no one listening, this time, as it didn't sound at all the + right word) '—but I shall have to ask them what the name of the + country is, you know. Please, Ma'am, is this New Zealand or Australia?' + (and she tried to curtsey as she spoke—fancy curtseying as you're + falling through the air! Do you think you could manage it?) 'And what an + ignorant little girl she'll think me for asking! No, it'll never do to + ask: perhaps I shall see it written up somewhere.' +

+

+ Down, down, down. There was nothing else to do, so Alice soon began + talking again. 'Dinah'll miss me very much to-night, I should think!' + (Dinah was the cat.) 'I hope they'll remember her saucer of milk at + tea-time. Dinah my dear! I wish you were down here with me! There are no + mice in the air, I'm afraid, but you might catch a bat, and that's very + like a mouse, you know. But do cats eat bats, I wonder?' And here Alice + began to get rather sleepy, and went on saying to herself, in a dreamy + sort of way, 'Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?' and sometimes, 'Do bats + eat cats?' for, you see, as she couldn't answer either question, it didn't + much matter which way she put it. She felt that she was dozing off, and + had just begun to dream that she was walking hand in hand with Dinah, and + saying to her very earnestly, 'Now, Dinah, tell me the truth: did you ever + eat a bat?' when suddenly, thump! thump! down she came upon a heap of + sticks and dry leaves, and the fall was over. +

+

+ Alice was not a bit hurt, and she jumped up on to her feet in a moment: + she looked up, but it was all dark overhead; before her was another long + passage, and the White Rabbit was still in sight, hurrying down it. There + was not a moment to be lost: away went Alice like the wind, and was just + in time to hear it say, as it turned a corner, 'Oh my ears and whiskers, + how late it's getting!' She was close behind it when she turned the + corner, but the Rabbit was no longer to be seen: she found herself in a + long, low hall, which was lit up by a row of lamps hanging from the roof. +

+

+ There were doors all round the hall, but they were all locked; and when + Alice had been all the way down one side and up the other, trying every + door, she walked sadly down the middle, wondering how she was ever to get + out again. +

+

+ Suddenly she came upon a little three-legged table, all made of solid + glass; there was nothing on it except a tiny golden key, and Alice's first + thought was that it might belong to one of the doors of the hall; but, + alas! either the locks were too large, or the key was too small, but at + any rate it would not open any of them. However, on the second time round, + she came upon a low curtain she had not noticed before, and behind it was + a little door about fifteen inches high: she tried the little golden key + in the lock, and to her great delight it fitted! +

+

+ Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, not much + larger than a rat-hole: she knelt down and looked along the passage into + the loveliest garden you ever saw. How she longed to get out of that dark + hall, and wander about among those beds of bright flowers and those cool + fountains, but she could not even get her head through the doorway; 'and + even if my head would go through,' thought poor Alice, 'it would be of + very little use without my shoulders. Oh, how I wish I could shut up like + a telescope! I think I could, if I only knew how to begin.' For, you see, + so many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to + think that very few things indeed were really impossible. +

+

+ There seemed to be no use in waiting by the little door, so she went back + to the table, half hoping she might find another key on it, or at any rate + a book of rules for shutting people up like telescopes: this time she + found a little bottle on it, ('which certainly was not here before,' said + Alice,) and round the neck of the bottle was a paper label, with the words + 'DRINK ME' beautifully printed on it in large letters. +

+

+ It was all very well to say 'Drink me,' but the wise little Alice was not + going to do that in a hurry. 'No, I'll look first,' she said, 'and see + whether it's marked "poison" or not'; for she had read several nice little + histories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts + and other unpleasant things, all because they would not remember the + simple rules their friends had taught them: such as, that a red-hot poker + will burn you if you hold it too long; and that if you cut your finger + very deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds; and she had never forgotten + that, if you drink much from a bottle marked 'poison,' it is almost + certain to disagree with you, sooner or later. +

+

+ However, this bottle was not marked 'poison,' so Alice ventured to taste + it, and finding it very nice, (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavour of + cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered + toast,) she very soon finished it off. +

+