Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Chapter 12

Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Chapter 12

Episode Transcript

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This is a LibriVox recording. AllLibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information, please visit LibriVoxdot org. To day's reading, Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter twelve,read by Chris Gorange. Alice's evidence here,

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cried Alice, quite forgetting in theflurry 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 jurybox with the edge of her skirt,
upsetting all the jurymen on to theheads of the crowd below. And there
they lay sprawling about, reminding hervery much of a globe of goldfish she

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had accidentally upset the week before.Oh, I beg your pardon, she
exclaimed, in a tone of greatdismay, and began picking them up again
as quickly as she could, forthe accident of the goldfish kept running in
her head, and she had avague sort of idea that they must be
collected at once and put back intothe jury box, or they would die.
The trial cannot proceed, said theKing in a very grave voice until

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all the jurymen are back in theirproper places. All he repeated with great
emphasis, looking hard at Alice ashe said so. Alice looked at the
jury box and saw that in herhaste she had put the lizard in head
downwards, and the poor little thingwas waving its tail about in a melancholy

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way, being quite unable to move. She soon got it out again and
put it right. Not that itsignifies much, she said to herself,
I should think it be quite asmuch use in the trial one way up
as the other. As soon asthe jury had a little recovered from the
shock of being upset, and theirslates and pencils had been found and handed

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back to them, they set towork very diligently to write out a history
of the accident, all except thelizard, who seemed too much overcome to
do anything but sit with its mouthopen, gazing up into the roof of
the court. What do you knowabout this business, the King said to
Alice. Nothing, said Alice,Nothing whatever, persisted the king. Nothing

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whatever, said Alice. That's veryimportant, the king said, turning to
the jury. They were just beginningto write this down on their slates when
the white rabbit interrupted, unimportant,your majesty means, of course, he
said, in a very respectful tone, but frowning and making faces at him
as he spoke. Unimportant, ofcourse, I meant, the king hastily

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said, and went on to himselfin an undertone. Important, unimportant,
unimportant, important, as if hewas trying which word sounded best. Some
of the jury wrote it down importantand some unimportant. Alice could see this,
as she was near enough to lookover their slates. But it doesn't

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matter a bit, she thought toherself. At this moment, the King,
who had been for some time busilywriting in his note cackled out silence
and read out from his book ruleforty two, all persons more than a
mile high to leave the court.Everybody looked at Alice. I'm not a

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mile high, said Alice. Youare, said the king. Nearly two
miles high, added the Queen.Well, I shan't go at any rate,
said Alice. Beside, that's nota regular rule. You invented it
just now. It's the oldest rulein the book, said the king.
Then it ought to be number one, said Alice. The King turned pale
and shut his notebook. Hastily,consider your verdict, he said to the

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jury, in a low trembling voice. There's more evidence to come yet,
Please, your majesty, said theWhite rabbit, jumping up in a great
hurry. This paper has just beenpicked up. What's in it, said
the Queen. I haven't opened ityet, said the white Rabbit. But
it seems to be a letter writtenby the prisoner too, to somebody.

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It must have been that, saidthe King, unless it was written to
nobody, which isn't usual. Youknow who is it directed to, said
one of the jurymen. It isn'tdirected at all, said the white letter.
In fact, there's nothing written onthe outside. He unfolded the paper
as he spoke and added, itisn't a letter, after all. It's
a set of verses. Are theyin the prisoner's handwriting, asked another of

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the jurymen. No, they're not, said the White rabbit, And that's
the queerest thing about it. Thejury all looked puzzled. He must have
imitated somebody else's hand, said theKing. The jury all brightened up again.
Please, your majesty, said theknave. I didn't write it,
and they can't prove I did.There's no name signed at the end.

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If you didn't sign it, saidthe King, that only makes the matter
worse. You must have meant somemischief, or else you'd have signed your
name like an honest man. Therewas a general clapping of hands at this.
It was the first really clever thingthe king had said that day that
proves his guilt, said the Queen. It proves nothing of the sort,

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said Alice. Why you don't evenknow what they're abouts? Read them,
said the king. The white rabbitput on his spectacles. Where shall I
begin, Please, your majesty,he asked, Begin at the beginning,
the King said, gravely, andgo on till you come to the end.
Then stop. These were the versesthe White Rabbit read. They told

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me you had been to her andmentioned me to him. She gave me
a good character, but said Icould not swim. He sent them word
I had not gone. We knowit to be true. If she would
push the matter on, what wouldbecome of you. I gave her one,
They gave him two. You gaveus three or more. They all

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returned from him to you, thoughthey were mine before. If I or
she should chance to be involved inthis 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 obstaclethat came between him and ourselves, and

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it don't let him know she likedthem best, for this must ever be
a secret kept from all the rest, between yourself and me. That's the
most important piece of evidence we've heardyet, said the King, rubbing his
hands. And now let the jury, if any one of them can explain
it, said Alice. She hadgrown so large in the last few minutes

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that she wasn't a bit afraid ofinterrupting him. I'll give him sixpence.
I don't believe there's an atom ofmeaning in it. The jury all wrote
this down on their slates. Shedoesn't believe there's an atom of meaning in
it. But none of them attemptedto explain the paper. If there's no
meaning in it, said the king. That saves a world of trouble,
you know, as we needn't tryto find any And yet I don't know.

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He went on, spreading out theverses on his knee and looking at
them all with one eye. Iseem to see some meaning in them,
after all, said I could notswim. You can't swim, can you,
he added, turning to the knave. The knave shook his head.
Sadly, do I look like it, he said, which he certainly did

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not, being made entirely of cardboard. All right, so far, said
the King, and he went onmuttering over the verses to himself. We
know it to be true. That'sthe jury. Of course, I gave
her one, they gave him two. Why that must be what he did
with the tarts, you know.But it goes on. They all returned

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from him to you, said Alice. Why there they are, said the
King, triumphantly, pointing to thetarts on the table. Nothing can be
clearer than that. Then again,before she had this fit, you never
had fits, I think, hesaid to the queen. Never, said
the queen, furiously, throwing aninkstand at the lizard as she spoke.

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The unfortunate little bill had left offwriting on his slate with one finger,
as he found it made no mark, But he now hastily began again,
using the ink that was trickling downhis face. As long as it lasted.
Then the words don't fit you,said the King, looking round the
court with a smile. There wasa dead silence. It's upon, the

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King added, in an offended tone, and everybody laughed. Let the jury
consider their verdict, the king said, for about the twentieth time that day.
No, No, said the queen. Sentence first, verdict afterwards,
stuff and nonsense, said Alice loudly. The idea of having the sentence first,
hold your tongue, said the queen, turning purple. I won't,

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said Alice. Off with her head, the queen shouted at the top of
her voice. Nobody moved. Whocares for you, said Alice. She
had grown to her full size bythis time. You're nothing but a pack
of cards. At this the wholepack rose up into the air and came
flying down upon her. She gavea little scream, half of fright and

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half of anger, and tried tobeat them off, and found herself lying
on the bank with her head inthe lap of her sister, who was
gently brushing away some dead leaves thathad fluttered down from the tree 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 hersister as well as she could remember them,

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all these strange adventures of hers thatyou've just been reading about. And
when she had finished, her sisterkissed her and said it was a curious
dream, dear, certainly, butnow run into your tea. It's getting
late. So Alice got up andran off, thinking while she ran,
as well she might, what awonderful dream it had been. But her

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sister sat still just as she lefther, leaning her head on her hand,
watching the setting sun and thinking oflittle Alice and all her wonderful adventures,
till she too began dreaming, aftera fashion, and this was her
dream. First, she dreamed oflittle Alice herself, And once again the

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tiny hands were clasped upon her knee, and the bright, eager eyes were
looking up into hers, and shecould hear the very tones of her voice,
and see that queer little toss ofher head to keep back the wandering
hair that would always get into hereyes. And still as she listened,
or seemed to listen, the wholeplace around her became alive the strange creatures

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of her little sister's dream. Thelong grass rustled at her feet, as
the white rabbit, hurried by thefrightened mouse, splashed his way through the
neighboring pool. She could hear therat of the teacups as the march hare
and his friends shared their never endingmeal, and the shrill voice of the
Queen ordering off her unfortunate guests toexecution. Once more, the pig baby

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was sneezing on the Duchess's knee whileplates and dishes crashed around it. Once
more, the shriek of the griffin, the squealing of the lizard's slate pencil,
and the choking of the suppressed guineapigs filled the air, mixed up
with the distant sobs of the miserablemock turtle. So she sat on with
closed eyes and half believed herself inwonderland, though she knew she had but

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to open them again, and allwould change to dull reality. The grass
would be only rustling in the wind, and the pool rippling to the waving
of the reeds. The rattling teacupswould change to tinkling sheep bells, and
the Queen's shrill cries to the voiceof the shepherd boy, and the sneeze
of the baby. The shriek ofthe griffin, and all the other queer

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noises would change, she knew,to the confused clamor of the busy farm
yard, while the lowing of thecattle in the distance would take the place
of the mock turtle's heavy sobs.Lastly, she pictured to herself how this
same little sister of hers would,in the after time be herself a grown
woman, and how she would keepthrough all her riper years the simple and

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loving heart of her childhood. Andhow she would gather about her other little
children and make their eyes bright andeager with many a strange tale, perhaps
even with the dream of Wonderland oflong ago, And how she would feel
with all their simple sorrows, andfind a pleasure in all their simple joys,

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remembering her own child life and thehappy summer days. This is the
end of Alice's adventures in Wonderland.