Аліса в Задзеркаллі
Queen Alice
"Letitlieinadish!"
Thatiseasy,becauseitalreadyisinit.
"Bringithere!Letmesup!"
Itiseasytosetsuchadishonthetable.
"Takethedish-coverup!"
Ah,thatissohardthatIfearI’munable!
Foritholdsitlikeglue—
Holdsthelidtothedish,whileitliesinthemiddle:
Whichiseasiesttodo,
Un-dish-coverthefish,ordishcovertheriddle?’
‘Takeaminutetothinkaboutit,andthenguess,’saidtheRedQueen.‘Meanwhile,we’lldrinkyourhealth—QueenAlice’shealth!’shescreamedatthetopofhervoice,andalltheguestsbegandrinkingitdirectly,andveryqueerlytheymanagedit:someofthemputtheirglassesupontheirheadslikeextinguishers,anddrankallthattrickleddowntheirfaces—othersupsetthedecanters,anddrankthewineasitranofftheedgesofthetable—andthreeofthem(wholookedlikekangaroos)scrambledintothedishofroastmutton,andbeganeagerlylappingupthegravy,‘justlikepigsinatrough!’thoughtAlice.
‘Yououghttoreturnthanksinaneatspeech,’theRedQueensaid,frowningatAliceasshespoke.
‘Wemustsupportyou,youknow,’theWhiteQueenwhispered,asAlicegotuptodoit,veryobediently,butalittlefrightened.
‘Thankyouverymuch,’shewhisperedinreply,‘butIcandoquitewellwithout.’
‘Thatwouldn’tbeatallthething,’theRedQueensaidverydecidedly:soAlicetriedtosubmittoitwithagoodgrace.
(‘Andtheydidpushso!’shesaidafterwards,whenshewastellinghersisterthehistoryofthefeast.