Alice in Wonderland Chapter 8

Books at bedtime, Alice in Wonderland, chapter 8, The Queen's Croquet Garden..

A large rose tree stood near the entrance of the garden. The roses growing on it were white, but there were three gardeners at it, the busily painting them red. Alice thought this was a very curious thing, and she went near to watch them. Just as she came up to them, she heard one of them say, "Look out now, five, don't go splashing your paint all over me like that."

I couldn't help it, said five, in a silky tone. Seven joked my elbow. On which seven looked up and said, "That's right, five, always lame the blame on I'meth." "You bet it not, talk, said five, I heard the Queen say only yesterday, you deserve to be beheaded."

"What for?" said the one who had spoken first. "That's none of your business, too," said seven. "Yes, it is his business, said five, and I'll tell him, it was for bringing the cook choulet roots instead of onions." Seven flung down his brush and had just begun well of all the unjust things, when his eye chanced to fall upon Alice as she stood watching them and he checked himself suddenly, the others looked all so around and all of them bowed low.

"Would you tell me," said Alice, "a littered timidity." "Why are you painting those roses?" Two and five said nothing but looked at seven. Seven began in a low voice.

"Why, the fact is you see Miss, this here ought to have been a red rose tree and we put a white one in by mistake, and if the Queen was to find it down, we should all have our heads cut off, you know. So you see Miss, we're doing our best before she comes too." At this moment, five, who had been anxiously looking across the garden, cooled out, the queen, the Queen and all the three carateners instantly threw themselves flat upon their faces.

There was a sound of many footsteps and Alice looked around eager to see the Queen. First came in ten soldiers carrying clubs. They were all shaped like the three gardeners, oblong and flat with their hands and feet to the corners. Next, the ten courtyers.

These were ornamented all over with diamonds and walked two by two as the soldiers did. After these came the royal children and they were ten of them and the little deers came jumping merrily along hand in hand in couples. They were all ornamented with hearts. Then the king came the guests, mostly kings and queens and among them Alice recognised the white rabbit.

He was talking in a hurried nervous manner, smiling at everything that was said and went by without noticing her. Then followed the name of hearts, carrying the king's crown on a crimson velvet cushion and last of all of this grand possession came the king and queen of hearts.

Alice was rather doubtful whether she ought not to lie down on her face like the three gardeners but she could not remember ever having heard of such rolling possessions. And behind what would be the use of a possession thought she had people had to all lie down upon their faces so that they couldn't see it. So she stood still where she was and waited. When the procession came opposite to Alice they all stopped and looked at her and the queen said severely, "Who is this?"

She addressed the name of hearts who only bowed and smiled and replied, "Idiot," said the queen, tossing her head impatiently and turning to Alice she went on. "What's your name, child?" My name is Alice so please your majesty," said Alice very politely but she added to herself, "Why? They're only a pack of cards after all.

I'd needn't be afraid of them." "And who are these?" said the queen, pointing to the three gardeners who were lying around at Roe's tree, thought you see as they were lying on their faces and the pattern on their backs was the same as the rest of the pack. She could not tell whether they were gardeners or soldiers or courtiers or even three of her own children. "How should I know?" said Alice, surprised at her own carriage.

It's no business of mine. The queen turned crimson with fury and after glaring at her for a moment like a wild bee screamed off with her head off nonsense said Alice very loudly and acidally and the queen was silent. The king laid his hand upon her arm and said gently, "Consider my dear, she is only a child, the queen turned angrily away from him and said to the nave, turn them over. The nave did so very carefully with one foot.

Get up, set the queen in a shrill, loud voice and the three gardeners instantly jumped up and began bowing to the king and the queen, the royal children and everybody else. With all that, screamed the queen, you make me giddy and then turned to the rose tree she went on. What have you been doing here?" "May it please your majesty," said two in a very humble tone, going down on one knee as he spoke.

We were trying, "I see," said the queen, who had been examining the roses, off with her heads and the procession moved on. Three of the soldiers remaining behind to execute the unfortunate gardeners who ran to Alice for protection. "You shalt be be beheaded," said Alice and put them into a large flower pot that stood near. The three soldiers wandered about for a minute or two, looking for them and then quietly marched off after the others.

Other heads off shouted the queen. Their heads are gone, if please your majesty, the soldiers shouted in reply. "That's right," shouted the queen. "Can you play croquet?"

The soldiers were silent and looked at Alice as a question was evidently meant for her. "Yes," shouted Alice. "Come on then," roared the queen. Alice joined the procession, wondering very much what would happen next.

"It's a very fine day," said a tim of voice at her side. She was walking by the white rabbit who was peeping anxiously into her face. "Very," said Alice. "Where's the Duchess?"

"Hush, hush," said the rabbit in a low, hurried tone. She looked anxiously over his shoulder as he spoke and then raised himself upon tiptoe, put his mouth close to her ear and whispered. She's under sentence of execution. "What for?" asked Alice.

"Did you say what a pity a rabbit are?" "No, I didn't," said Alice. "I didn't think it was a tall a pity," I said, "what for?" She boxed the queens ears, the rabbit began.

Alice gave a little scream of laughter. "Oh, hush," the rabbit whispered in a frightened tone. "The queen will hear you. You see, she came rather late and the queen said, "Get your places," shouted the queen, in a voice of thunder.

And people began running about in all directions, tumbling up against each other. However, they did get settled down in a minute or two, and the game began. Alice thought she had never seen such curious croquet-ground in her life. It was all riches and furrows.

The balls were live hedgehogs, the mallets live for the mingos, and the soldiers had to double themselves up and stand on their head and feet to make the arches. The chief difficulty Alice found at first was managing her for mingos. She succeeded in getting its body tucked away, comfortably enough under her arm, with its legs hanging down. She had got its neck nicely straightened out and was going to give the hedgehog a blow with its head.

It would twist itself around and look up into her face. It's such a puzzled expression that she could not help bursting out laughing. And when she had got its head down, it was going to begin again. It was very provoking to find that the hedgehog had unrolled itself.

One was in fact crawling away. Besides all of this, there was generally a ridge or a burrow in the way whenever she wanted to send the hedgehog to, and as the doubled up soldiers were always getting up and walking to other parts of the ground, Alice soon came to the conclusion that this was a very difficult game indeed.