Stories for kids Alice in wonderland - Chapter one: Down the rabbit hole

Nội dung text: Stories for kids Alice in wonderland - Chapter one: Down the rabbit hole

1. 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 By Lewis Carroll 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 CHAPTER ONE to look about her and to wonder what was going to happen next. DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE 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 Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on of the well, and noticed that they were filled with cupboards and the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had book-shelves; here and there she saw maps and pictures hung upon peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures pegs. She took down a jar from one of the shelves as she passed; it or conversations in it, ‘and what is the use of a book,’ thought was labelled ‘ORANGE MARMALADE’, but to her great Alice ‘without pictures or conversation?’ disappointment it was empty: she did not like to drop the jar for So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, fear of killing somebody, so managed to put it into one of the for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the cupboards as she fell past it. pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of ‘Well!’ thought Alice to herself, ‘after such a fall as this, I shall getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit think nothing of tumbling downstairs! How brave they’ll all think with pink eyes ran close by her. me at home! Why, I wouldn’t say anything about it, even if I fell There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did Alice think off the top of the house!’ (Which was very likely true.) Down, it so very much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, ‘Oh down, down. Would the fall never come to an end! ‘I wonder how dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!’ (when she thought it over many miles I’ve fallen by this time?’ she said aloud. ‘I must be afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at getting somewhere near the centre of the earth. Let me see: that this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the would be four thousand miles down, I think—’ (for, you see, Alice Rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, and had learnt several things of this sort in her lessons in the looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it schoolroom, and though this was not a very good opportunity for flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit showing off her knowledge, as there was no one to listen to her, with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and still it was good practice to say it over) ‘—yes, that’s about the burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and right distance—but then I wonder what Latitude or Longitude I’ve fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole got to?’ (Alice had no idea what Latitude was, or Longitude either, under the hedge. but thought they were nice grand words to say.) Thẩm Tâm Vy’s Archives LEWIS CARROLL ALICE IN WODERLAND ~ CHAPTER ONE
2. Presently she began again. ‘I wonder if I shall fall right through close behind it when she turned the corner, but the Rabbit was no the earth! How funny it’ll seem to come out among the people that longer to be seen: she found herself in a long, low hall, which was walk with their heads downward! The Antipathies, I think—’ (she lit up by a row of lamps hanging from the roof. was rather glad there was no one listening, this time, as it didn’t There were doors all round the hall, but they were all locked; and sound at all the right word) ‘—but I shall have to ask them what when Alice had been all the way down one side and up the other, the name of the country is, you know. Please, Ma’am, is this New trying every door, she walked sadly down the middle, wondering Zealand or Australia?’ (and she tried to curtsey as she spoke— how she was ever to get out again. fancy curtseying as you’re falling through the air! Do you think Suddenly she came upon a little three-legged table, all made of you could manage it?) ‘And what an ignorant little girl she’ll think solid glass; there was nothing on it except a tiny golden key, and me for asking! No, it’ll never do to ask: perhaps I shall see it Alice’s first thought was that it might belong to one of the doors of written up somewhere.’ the hall; but, alas! either the locks were too large, or the key was Down, down, down. There was nothing else to do, so Alice soon too small, but at any rate it would not open any of them. However, began talking again. ‘Dinah’ll miss me very much to-night, I on the second time round, she came upon a low curtain she had not should think!’ (Dinah was the cat.) ‘I hope they’ll remember her noticed before, and behind it was a little door about fifteen inches saucer of milk at tea-time. Dinah my dear! I wish you were down high: she tried the little golden key in the lock, and to her great here with me! There are no mice in the air, I’m afraid, but you delight it fitted! might catch a bat, and that’s very like a mouse, you know. But do Alice finding tiny door behind curtain. cats eat bats, I wonder?’ And here Alice began to get rather sleepy, Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, and went on saying to herself, in a dreamy sort of way, ‘Do cats not much larger than a rat-hole: she knelt down and looked along eat bats? Do cats eat bats?’ and sometimes, ‘Do bats eat cats?’ for, the passage into the loveliest garden you ever saw. How she you see, as she couldn’t answer either question, it didn’t much longed to get out of that dark hall, and wander about among those matter which way she put it. She felt that she was dozing off, and beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains, but she could not had just begun to dream that she was walking hand in hand with even get her head though the doorway; ‘and even if my head Dinah, and saying to her very earnestly, ‘Now, Dinah, tell me the would go through,’ thought poor Alice, ‘it would be of very little truth: did you ever eat a bat?’ when suddenly, thump! thump! use without my shoulders. Oh, how I wish I could shut up like a down she came upon a heap of sticks and dry leaves, and the fall telescope! I think I could, if I only know how to begin.’ For, you was over. see, so many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice Alice was not a bit hurt, and she jumped up on to her feet in a had begun to think that very few things indeed were really moment: she looked up, but it was all dark overhead; before her impossible. was another long passage, and the White Rabbit was still in sight, There seemed to be no use in waiting by the little door, so she hurrying down it. There was not a moment to be lost: away went went back to the table, half hoping she might find another key on Alice like the wind, and was just in time to hear it say, as it turned it, or at any rate a book of rules for shutting people up like a corner, ‘Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it’s getting!’ She was telescopes: this time she found a little bottle on it, (‘which Thẩm Tâm Vy’s Archives LEWIS CARROLL ALICE IN WODERLAND ~ CHAPTER ONE
3. certainly was not here before,’ said Alice,) and round the neck of key, and when she went back to the table for it, she found she the bottle was a paper label, with the words ‘DRINK ME’ could not possibly reach it: she could see it quite plainly through beautifully printed on it in large letters. the glass, and she tried her best to climb up one of the legs of the Alice taking “Drink Me” bottle table, but it was too slippery; and when she had tired herself out It was all very well to say ‘Drink me,’ but the wise little Alice was with trying, the poor little thing sat down and cried. not going to do that in a hurry. ‘No, I’ll look first,’ she said, ‘and ‘Come on, there’s no use in crying like that!’ said Alice to herself, see whether it’s marked “poison” or not’; for she had read several rather sharply; nice little histories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up ‘I advise you to leave off this minute!’ She generally gave herself by wild beasts and other unpleasant things, all because they would very good advice, (though she very seldom followed it), and not remember the simple rules their friends had taught them: such sometimes she scolded herself so severely as to bring tears into her as, that a red-hot poker will burn you if you hold it too long; and eyes; and once she remembered trying to box her own ears for that if you cut your finger very deeply with a knife, it usually having cheated herself in a game of croquet she was playing bleeds; and she had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a against herself, for this curious child was very fond of pretending bottle marked ‘poison,’ it is almost certain to disagree with you, to be two people. ‘But it’s no use now,’ thought poor Alice, ‘to sooner or later. However, this bottle was not marked ‘poison,’ so pretend to be two people! Why, there’s hardly enough of me left to Alice ventured to taste it, and finding it very nice, (it had, in fact, a make one respectable person!’ sort of mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard, pineapple, roast Soon her eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast,) she very soon finished it off. table: she opened it, and found in it a very small cake, on which * * * * * * * the words ‘EAT ME’ were beautifully marked in currants. ‘Well, ‘What a curious feeling!’ said Alice; ‘I must be shutting up like a I’ll eat it,’ said Alice, ‘and if it makes me grow larger, I can reach telescope.’ And so it was indeed: she was now only ten inches the key; and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the high, and her face brightened up at the thought that she was now door; so either way I’ll get into the garden, and I don’t care which the right size for going through the little door into that lovely happens!’ garden. First, however, she waited for a few minutes to see if she She ate a little bit, and said anxiously to herself, ‘Which way? was going to shrink any further: she felt a little nervous about this; Which way?’, holding her hand on the top of her head to feel ‘for it might end, you know,’ said Alice to herself, ‘in my going which way it was growing, and she was quite surprised to find that out altogether, like a candle. I wonder what I should be like then?’ she remained the same size: to be sure, this generally happens And she tried to fancy what the flame of a candle is like after the when one eats cake, but Alice had got so much into the way of candle is blown out, for she could not remember ever having seen expecting nothing but out-of-the-way things to happen, that it such a thing. seemed quite dull and stupid for life to go on in the common way. After a while, finding that nothing more happened, she decided So she set to work, and very soon finished off the cake. on going into the garden at once; but, alas for poor Alice! when she got to the door, she found she had forgotten the little golden Chapter Two Thẩm Tâm Vy’s Archives LEWIS CARROLL ALICE IN WODERLAND ~ CHAPTER ONE