Аліса в Задзеркаллі
Queen Alice
‘Whatdoyoumeanby"IfyoureallyareaQueen"?Whatrighthaveyoutocallyourselfso?Youcan’tbeaQueen,youknow,tillyou’vepassedtheproperexamination.Andthesoonerwebeginit,thebetter.’
‘Ionlysaid"if"!’poorAlicepleadedinapiteoustone.
ThetwoQueenslookedateachother,andtheRedQueenremarked,withalittleshudder,‘Shesayssheonlysaid"if"—’
‘Butshesaidagreatdealmorethanthat!’theWhiteQueenmoaned,wringingherhands.‘Oh,eversomuchmorethanthat!’
‘Soyoudid,youknow,’theRedQueensaidtoAlice.‘Alwaysspeakthetruth—thinkbeforeyouspeak—andwriteitdownafterwards.’
‘I’msureIdidn’tmean—’Alicewasbeginning,buttheRedQueeninterruptedherimpatiently.
‘That’sjustwhatIcomplainof!Youshouldhavemeant!Whatdoyousupposeistheuseofchildwithoutanymeaning?Evenajokeshouldhavesomemeaning—andachild’smoreimportantthanajoke,Ihope.Youcouldn’tdenythat,evenifyoutriedwithbothhands.’
‘Idon’tdenythingswithmyhands,’Aliceobjected.
‘Nobodysaidyoudid,’saidtheRedQueen.‘Isaidyoucouldn’tifyoutried.’
‘She’sinthatstateofmind,’saidtheWhiteQueen,‘thatshewantstodenysomething—onlyshedoesn’tknowwhattodeny!’
‘Anasty,vicioustemper,’theRedQueenremarked;andthentherewasanuncomfortablesilenceforaminuteortwo.