Алиса в зазеркалье

           Iwonderifanyone’scounting?’Inaminutetherewassilenceagain,andthesameshrillvoicesanganotherverse;

           ‘"OLooking-Glasscreatures,"quotheAlice,"drawnear!

           ’Tisanhonourtoseeme,afavourtohear:

           ’Tisaprivilegehightohavedinnerandtea

           AlongwiththeRedQueen,theWhiteQueen,andme!"’

           Thencamethechorusagain:—

           ‘Thenfilluptheglasseswithtreacleandink,

           Oranythingelsethatispleasanttodrink:

           Mixsandwiththecider,andwoolwiththewine—

           AndwelcomeQueenAlicewithninety-times-nine!’

           ‘Ninetytimesnine!’Alicerepeatedindespair,‘Oh,that’llneverbedone!I’dbettergoinatonce—’andtherewasadeadsilencethemomentsheappeared.

           Aliceglancednervouslyalongthetable,asshewalkedupthelargehall,andnoticedthattherewereaboutfiftyguests,ofallkinds:somewereanimals,somebirds,andtherewereevenafewflowersamongthem.‘I’mgladthey’vecomewithoutwaitingtobeasked,’shethought:‘Ishouldneverhaveknownwhoweretherightpeopletoinvite!’

           Therewerethreechairsattheheadofthetable;theRedandWhiteQueenshadalreadytakentwoofthem,butthemiddleonewasempty.Alicesatdowninit,ratheruncomfortableinthesilence,andlongingforsomeonetospeak.

           AtlasttheRedQueenbegan.‘You’vemissedthesoupandfish,’shesaid.‘Putonthejoint!’AndthewaiterssetalegofmuttonbeforeAlice,wholookedatitratheranxiously,asshehadneverhadtocarveajointbefore.