Аліса в Задзеркаллі
Wool and Water
‘Ionlyhopetheboatwon’ttippleover!’shesaidtoherself.Oh,whatalovelyone!OnlyIcouldn’tquitereachit.’‘Anditcertainlydidseemalittleprovoking(‘almostasifithappenedonpurpose,’shethought)that,thoughshemanagedtopickplentyofbeautifulrushesastheboatglidedby,therewasalwaysamorelovelyonethatshecouldn’treach.
‘Theprettiestarealwaysfurther!’shesaidatlast,withasighattheobstinacyoftherushesingrowingsofaroff,as,withflushedcheeksanddrippinghairandhands,shescrambledbackintoherplace,andbegantoarrangehernew-foundtreasures.
Whatmatteredittoherjustthanthattherusheshadbeguntofade,andtolosealltheirscentandbeauty,fromtheverymomentthatshepickedthem?Evenrealscentedrushes,youknow,lastonlyaverylittlewhile—andthese,beingdream-rushes,meltedawayalmostlikesnow,astheylayinheapsatherfeet—butAlicehardlynoticedthis,thereweresomanyothercuriousthingstothinkabout.
Theyhadn’tgonemuchfartherbeforethebladeofoneoftheoarsgotfastinthewaterandwouldn’tcomeoutagain(soAliceexplaineditafterwards),andtheconsequencewasthatthehandleofitcaughtherunderthechin,and,inspiteofaseriesoflittleshrieksof‘Oh,oh,oh!’frompoorAlice,itsweptherstraightofftheseat,anddownamongtheheapofrushes.
However,shewasn’thurt,andwassoonupagain:theSheepwentonwithherknittingallthewhile,justasifnothinghadhappened.
