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Through the Looking-Glass, Chapter 9. Queen Alice

Chapter 9. Queen Alice

Chapter 9. Queen Alice

'WELL, this is grand!' said Alice.

'I never expected I should be a Queen so soon—and I'll tell you what it is, your Majesty,' she went on, in a severe tone (she was always rather fond of scolding herself), 'It'll never do for you to be lolling about on the grass like that! Queens have to be dignified, you know!' So she got up and walked about—rather stiffly just at first, as she was afraid that the crown might come off: but she comforted herself with the thought that there was nobody to see her, 'and if I really am a Queen,' she said as she sat down again, 'I shall be able to manage it quite well in time.' Everything was happening so oddly that she didn't feel a bit surprised at finding the Red Queen and the White Queen sitting close to her, one on each side: she would have liked very much to ask them how they came there, but she feared it would not be quite civil. However, there would be no harm, she thought, in asking if the game was over. 'Please, would you tell me—' she began, looking timidly at the Red Queen. 'Speak when you're spoken to!' the Queen sharply interrupted her.

'But if everybody obeyed that rule,' said Alice, who was always ready for a little argument, 'and if you only spoke when you were spoken to, and the other person always waited for you to begin, you see nobody would ever say anything, so that—' 'Ridiculous!' cried the Queen. 'Why, don't you see, child—' here she broke off with a frown, and, after thinking for a minute, suddenly changed the subject of the conversation. 'What do you mean by "If you really are a Queen"? What right have you to call yourself so? You can't be a Queen, you know, till you've passed the proper examination. And the sooner we begin it, the better.' 'I only said "if"!' poor Alice pleaded in a piteous tone.

The two Queens looked at each other, and the Red Queen remarked, with a little shudder, 'She says she only said "if"—' 'But she said a great deal more than that!' the White Queen moaned, wringing her hands. 'Oh, ever so much more than that!' 'So you did, you know,' the Red Queen said to Alice. 'Always speak the truth—think before you speak—and write it down afterwards.' 'I'm sure I didn't mean—' Alice was beginning, but the Red Queen interrupted her impatiently. 'That's just what I complain of! You should have meant! What do you suppose is the use of a child without any meaning? Even a joke should have some meaning—and a child's more important than a joke, I hope. You couldn't deny that, even if you tried with both hands.' 'I don't deny things with my hands, ' Alice objected. 'Nobody said you did,' said the Red Queen. 'I said you couldn't if you tried.' 'She's in that state of mind', said the White Queen 'that she wants to deny something —only she doesn't know what to deny!' 'A nasty, vicious temper,' the Red Queen remarked; and then there was an uncomfortable silence for a minute or two. The Red Queen broke the silence by saying, to the White Queen, 'I invite you to Alice's dinner-party this afternoon.' The White Queen smiled feebly, and said 'And I invite you. ' 'I didn't know I was to have a party at all,' said Alice; 'but, if there is to be one, I think I ought to invite the guests.' 'We gave you the opportunity of doing it,' the Red Queen remarked; 'but I daresay you've not had many lessons in manners yet.' 'Manners are not taught in lessons,' said Alice. 'Lessons teach you to do sums, and things of that sort.' 'Can you do Addition?' the White Queen asked. 'What's one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one?' 'I don't know,' said Alice. 'I lost count.' 'She can't do Addition,' the Red Queen interrupted, 'Can you do Subtraction? Take nine from eight.' 'Nine from eight I can't, you know,' Alice replied very readily: 'but—' 'She can't do Subtraction,' said the White Queen. 'Can you do Division? Divide a loaf by a knife—what's the answer to that ?' 'I suppose—' Alice was beginning, but the Red Queen answered for her. 'Bread-and-butter, of course. Try another Subtraction sum. Take a bone from a dog: what remains?' Alice considered. 'The bone wouldn't remain, of course, if I took it—and the dog wouldn't remain: it would come to bite me—and I'm sure I shouldn't remain!' 'Then you think nothing would remain?' said the Red Queen.

'I think that's the answer.' 'Wrong, as usual,' said the Red Queen: 'the dog's temper would remain.' 'But I don't see how—' 'Why, look here!' the Red Queen cried. 'The dog would lose its temper, wouldn't it?' 'Perhaps it would,' Alice replied cautiously. 'Then if the dog went away, its temper would remain!' the Queen exclaimed triumphantly.

Alice said, as gravely as she could, 'They might go different ways.' But she couldn't help thinking to herself 'What dreadful nonsense we are talking!' 'She can't do sums a bit! ' the Queens said together, with great emphasis.

'Can you do sums?' Alice said, turning suddenly on the White Queen, for she didn't like being found fault with so much. The Queen gasped and shut her eyes. 'I can do Addition,' she said, 'if you give me time—but I can't do Subtraction under any circumstances!' 'Of course you know your ABC?' said the Red Queen.

'To be sure, I do,' said Alice. 'So do I,' the White Queen whispered: 'we'll often say it over together, dear. And I'll tell you a secret—I can read words of one letter! Isn't that grand? However, don't be discouraged. You'll come to it in time.' Here the Red Queen began again. 'Can you answer useful questions?' she said.

'How is bread made?' 'I know that! ' Alice cried eagerly. 'You take some flour—' 'Where do you pick the flower?' the White Queen asked: 'In a garden or in the hedges?' 'Well, it isn't picked at all,' Alice explained: 'it's ground —' 'How many acres of ground?' said the White Queen. 'You mustn't leave out so many things.' 'Fan her head!' the Red Queen anxiously interrupted. 'She'll be feverish after so much thinking.' So they set to work and fanned her with bunches of leaves, till she had to beg them to leave off, it blew her hair about so.

'She's all right again now,' said the Red Queen. 'Do you know Languages? What's the French for fiddle-de-dee?' 'Fiddle-de-dee's not English,' Alice replied gravely. 'Who ever said it was?' said the Red Queen.

Alice thought she saw a way out of the difficulty, this time. 'If you'll tell me what language "fiddle-de-dee" is, I'll tell you the French for it!' she exclaimed triumphantly.

But the Red Queen drew herself up rather stiffly, and said, 'Queens never make bargains.' 'I wish Queens never asked questions,' Alice thought to herself. 'Don't let us quarrel,' the White Queen said in an anxious tone. 'What is the cause of lightning?' 'The cause of lightning,' Alice said very decidedly, for she felt quite certain about this, 'is the thunder—no, no!' she hastily corrected herself. 'I meant the other way.' 'It's too late to correct it,' said the Red Queen: 'when you've once said a thing, that fixes it, and you must take the consequences.' 'Which reminds me—' the White Queen said, looking down and nervously clasping and unclasping her hands, 'we had such a thunderstorm last Tuesday—I mean one of the last set of Tuesdays, you know.' Alice was puzzled. 'In our country,' she remarked, 'there's only one day at a time.' The Red Queen said 'That's a poor thin way of doing things. Now here, we mostly have days and nights two or three at a time, and sometimes in the winter we take as many as five nights together—for warmth, you know.' 'Are five nights warmer than one night, then?' Alice ventured to ask.

'Five times as warm, of course.' 'But they should be five times as cold, by the same rule—' 'Just so!' cried the Red Queen. 'Five times as warm, and five times as cold—just as I'm five times as rich as you are, and five times as clever!' Alice sighed and gave it up. 'It's exactly like a riddle with no answer!' she thought.

'Humpty Dumpty saw it too,' the White Queen went on in a low voice, more as if she were talking to herself. 'He came to the door with a corkscrew in his hand—' 'What did he want?' said the Red Queen.

'He said he would come in,' the White Queen went on, 'because he was looking for a hippopotamus. Now, as it happened, there wasn't such a thing in the house, that morning.' 'Is there generally?' Alice asked in an astonished tone.

'Well, only on Thursdays,' said the Queen. 'I know what he came for,' said Alice: 'he wanted to punish the fish, because—' Here the White Queen began again. 'It was such a thunderstorm, you can't think!' ('She never could, you know,' said the Red Queen.) 'And part of the roof came off, and ever so much thunder got in—and it went rolling round the room in great lumps—and knocking over the tables and things—till I was so frightened, I couldn't remember my own name!' Alice thought to herself 'I never should try to remember my name in the middle of an accident! Where would be the use of it?' but she did not say this aloud, for fear of hurting the poor Queen's feelings. 'Your Majesty must excuse her,' the Red Queen said to Alice, taking one of the White Queen's hands in her own, and gently stroking it: 'she means well, but she can't help saying foolish things as a general rule.' The White Queen looked timidly at Alice, who felt she ought to say something kind, but really couldn't think of anything at the moment. 'She never was really well brought up,' the Red Queen went on: 'but it's amazing how good-tempered she is! Pat her on the head, and see how pleased she'll be!' But this was more than Alice had courage to do.

'A little kindness—and putting her hair in papers—would do wonders with her—' The White Queen gave a deep sigh, and laid her head on Alice's shoulder. 'I am so sleepy!' she moaned.

'She's tired, poor thing!' said the Red Queen.

'Smooth her hair—lend her your nightcap—and sing her a soothing lullaby.' 'I haven't got a nightcap with me,' said Alice, as she tried to obey the first direction: 'and I don't know any soothing lullabies.' 'I must do it myself, then,' said the Red Queen, and she began: ' Hush-a-by lady, in Alice's lap! Till the feast's ready, we've time for a nap. When the feast's over, we'll go to the ball— Red Queen, and White Queen, and Alice, and all! 'And now you know the words,' she added, as she put her head down on Alice's other shoulder, 'just sing it through to me . I'm getting sleepy, too.' In another moment both Queens were fast asleep, and snoring loud.

'What am I to do?' exclaimed Alice, looking about in great perplexity, as first one round head, and then the other, rolled down from her shoulder, and lay like a heavy lump in her lap. 'I don't think it ever happened before, that any one had to take care of two Queens asleep at once! No, not in all the History of England—it couldn't, you know, because there never was more than one Queen at a time. Do wake up, you heavy things!' she went on in an impatient tone; but there was no answer but a gentle snoring.

The snoring got more distinct every minute, and sounded more like a tune: at last she could even make out words, and she listened so eagerly that, when the two great heads suddenly vanished from her lap, she hardly missed them.

She was standing before an arched doorway, over which were the words 'QUEEN ALICE' in large letters, and on each side of the arch there was a bell-handle; one was marked 'Visitors' Bell', and the other 'Servants' Bell'. 'I'll wait till the song's over,' thought Alice, 'and then I'll ring the—the— which bell must I ring?' she went on, very much puzzled by the names.

'I'm not a visitor, and I'm not a servant. There ought to be one marked "Queen", you know—' Just then the door opened a little way, and a creature with a long beak put its head out for a moment and said 'No admittance till the week after next!' and shut the door again with a bang.

Alice knocked and rang in vain for a long time; but at last a very old Frog, who was sitting under a tree, got up and hobbled slowly towards her: he was dressed in bright yellow, and had enormous boots on.

'What is it, now?' the Frog said in a deep hoarse whisper.

Alice turned round, ready to find fault with anybody. 'Where's the servant whose business it is to answer the door?' she began angrily.

'Which door?' said the Frog.

Alice almost stamped with irritation at the slow drawl in which he spoke. ' This door, of course!' The Frog looked at the door with his large dull eyes for a minute: then he went nearer and rubbed it with his thumb, as if he were trying whether the paint would come off: then he looked at Alice.

'To answer the door?' he said.

'What's it been asking of?' He was so hoarse that Alice could scarcely hear him.

'I don't know what you mean,' she said. 'I speaks English, doesn't I?' the Frog went on. 'Or are you deaf? What did it ask you?' 'Nothing!' Alice said impatiently. 'I've been knocking at it!' 'Shouldn't do that—shouldn't do that—' the Frog muttered. 'Wexes it, you know.' Then he went up and gave the door a kick with one of his great feet. 'You let it alone,' he panted out, as he hobbled back to his tree, 'and it'll let you alone, you know.' At this moment the door was flung open, and a shrill voice was heard singing:

' To the Looking-Glass world it was Alice that said " I've a sceptre in hand, I've a crown on my head . Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be Come and dine with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me !"' And hundreds of voices joined in the chorus:

' Then fill up the glasses as quick as you can , And sprinkle the table with buttons and bran : Put cats in the coffee, and mice in the tea — And welcome Queen Alice with thirty-times-three !' Then followed a confused noise of cheering, and Alice thought to herself 'Thirty times three makes ninety. I wonder if any one's counting?' In a minute there was silence again, and the same shrill voice sang another verse:

'" O Looking-Glass creatures," quoth Alice, "draw near ! ' Tis an honour to see me, a favour to hear : ' Tis a privilege high to have dinner and tea Along with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me !"' Then came the chorus again:

' Then fill up the glasses with treacle and ink , Or anything else that is pleasant to drink : Mix sand with the cider, and wool with the wine — And welcome Queen Alice with ninety-times-nine !' 'Ninety times nine!' Alice repeated in despair. 'Oh, that'll never be done! I'd better go in at once—' and in she went, and there was a dead silence the moment she appeared. Alice glanced nervously along the table, as she walked up the large hall, and noticed that there were about fifty guests, of all kinds: some were animals, some birds, and there were even a few flowers among them. 'I'm glad they've come without waiting to be asked,' she thought: 'I should never have known who were the right people to invite!' There were three chairs at the head of the table: the Red and White Queens had already taken two of them, but the middle one was empty. Alice sat down in it, rather uncomfortable at the silence, and longing for some one to speak.

At last the Red Queen began. 'You've missed the soup and fish,' she said. 'Put on the joint!' And the waiters set a leg of mutton before Alice, who looked at it rather anxiously, as she had never had to carve a joint before.

'You look a little shy: let me introduce you to that leg of mutton,' said the Red Queen. 'Alice—Mutton: Mutton—Alice.' The leg of mutton got up in the dish and made a little bow to Alice; and Alice returned the bow, not knowing whether to be frightened or amused.

'May I give you a slice?' she said, taking up the knife and fork, and looking from one Queen to the other.

'Certainly not,' the Red Queen said, very decidedly: 'it isn't etiquette to cut anyone you've been introduced to. Remove the joint!' And the waiters carried it off, and brought a large plum-pudding in its place.

'I won't be introduced to the pudding, please,' Alice said, rather hastily, 'or we shall get no dinner at all. May I give you some?' But the Red Queen looked sulky, and growled 'Pudding—Alice: Alice—Pudding. Remove the pudding!' and the waiters took it away so quickly that Alice couldn't return its bow. However, she didn't see why the Red Queen should be the only one to give orders; so, as an experiment, she called out 'Waiter! Bring back the pudding!' and there it was again in a moment, like a conjuring trick. It was so large that she couldn't help feeling a little shy with it, as she had been with the mutton; however, she conquered her shyness by a great effort, and cut a slice and handed it to the Red Queen. 'What impertinence!' said the Pudding. 'I wonder how you'd like it, if I were to cut a slice out of you , you creature!' It spoke in a thick, suety sort of voice, and Alice hadn't a word to say in reply: she could only sit and look at it and gasp. 'Make a remark,' said the Red Queen: 'it's ridiculous to leave all the conversation to the pudding!' 'Do you know, I've had such a quantity of poetry repeated to me to-day,' Alice began, a little frightened at finding that, the moment she opened her lips, there was dead silence, and all eyes were fixed upon her; 'and it's a very curious thing, I think—every poem was about fishes in some way. Do you know why they're so fond of fishes, all about here?' She spoke to the Red Queen, whose answer was a little wide of the mark. 'As to fishes,' she said, very slowly and solemnly, putting her mouth close to Alice's ear, 'her White Majesty knows alovely riddle—all in poetry—all about fishes. Shall she repeat it?' Her Red Majesty's very kind to mention it,' the White Queen murmured into Alice's other ear, in a voice like the cooing of a pigeon. 'It would be such a treat! May I?' 'Please do,' Alice said very politely. The White Queen laughed with delight, and stroked Alice's cheek. Then she began:

'" First, the fish must be caught ." That is easy: a baby, I think, could have caught it . " Next, the fish must be bought ." That is easy: a penny, I think, would have bought it .

" Now cook me the fish !" That is easy, and will not take more than a minute . " Let it lie in a dish !" That is easy, because it already is in it .

" Bring it here! Let me sup !" It is easy to set such a dish on the table . " Take the dish-cover up !" Ah , that is so hard that I fear I'm unable ! For it holds it like glue — Holds the lid to the dish, while it lies in the middle : Which is easiest to do , Un-dish-cover the fish, or dishcover the riddle ?' 'Take a minute to think about it, and then guess,' said the Red Queen. 'Meanwhile, we'll drink your health—Queen Alice's health!' she screamed at the top of her voice, and all the guests began drinking it directly, and very queerly they managed it: some of them put their glasses upon their heads like extinguishers, and drank all that trickled down their faces—others upset the decanters, and drank the wine as it ran off the edges of the table—and three of them (who looked like kangaroos) scrambled into the dish of roast mutton, and began eagerly lapping up the gravy, 'just like pigs in a trough!' thought Alice.

'You ought to return thanks in a neat speech, 'the Red Queen said, frowning at Alice as she spoke. We must support you, you know,' the White Queen whispered, as Alice got up to do it, very obediently, but a little frightened. 'Thank you very much,' she whispered in reply, 'but I can do quite well without.' 'That wouldn't be at all the thing,' the Red Queen said very decidedly: so Alice tried to submit to it with a good grace. ('And they did push so!' she said afterwards, when she was telling her sister the history of the feast. 'You would have thought they wanted to squeeze me flat!') In fact it was rather difficult for her to keep in her place while she made her speech: the two Queens pushed her so, one on each side, that they nearly lifted her up into the air. 'I rise to return thanks—' Alice began: and she really did rise as she spoke, several inches; but she got hold of the edge of the table, and managed to pull herself down again. 'Take care of yourself!' screamed the White Queen, seizing Alice's hair with both her hands. 'Something's going to happen!' And then (as Alice afterwards described it) all sorts of things happened in a moment. The candles all grew up to the ceiling, looking something like a bed of rushes with fireworks at the top. As to the bottles, they each took a pair of plates, which they hastily fitted on as wings, and so, with forks for legs, went fluttering about in all directions: 'and very like birds they look,' Alice thought to herself, as well as she could in the dreadful confusion that was beginning. At this moment she heard a hoarse laugh at her side, and turned to see what was the matter with the White Queen; but, instead of the Queen, there was the leg of mutton sitting in the chair. 'Here I am!' cried a voice from the souptureen, and Alice turned again, just in time to see the Queen's broad good-natured face grinning at her for a moment over the edge of the tureen, before she disappeared into the soup. There was not a moment to be lost. Already several of the guests were lying down in the dishes, and the soup-ladle was walking up the table towards Alice's chair, and beckoning to her impatiently to get out of its way. 'I can't stand this any longer!' she cried, as she jumped up and seized the tablecloth with both hands: one good pull, and plates, dishes, guests and candles came crashing down together in a heap on the floor.

'And as for you ,' she went on, turning fiercely upon the Red Queen, whom she considered as the cause of all the mischief—but the Queen was no longer at her side—she had suddenly dwindled down to the size of a little doll, and was now on the table, merrily running round and round after her own shawl, which was trailing behind her. At any other time, Alice would have felt surprised at this, but she was far too much excited to be surprised at anything now . 'As for you ,' she repeated, catching hold of the little creature in the very act of jumping over a bottle which had just lighted upon the table, 'I'll shake you into a kitten, that I will!'


Chapter 9. Queen Alice Kapitel 9. Königin Alice Capítulo 9. A Rainha Alice Глава 9. Королева Алиса

Chapter 9. Queen Alice

'WELL, this is grand!' "О, це чудово! said Alice.

'I never expected I should be a Queen so soon—and I'll tell you what it is, your Majesty,' she went on, in a severe tone (she was always rather fond of scolding herself), 'It'll never do for you to be lolling about on the grass like that! "Я ніколи не очікувала, що стану королевою так скоро - і ось що я вам скажу, ваша величносте, - продовжувала вона суворим тоном (вона завжди дуже любила сварити себе), - вам не годиться отак валятися на траві! Queens have to be dignified, you know!' So she got up and walked about—rather stiffly just at first, as she was afraid that the crown might come off: but she comforted herself with the thought that there was nobody to see her, 'and if I really am a Queen,' she said as she sat down again, 'I shall be able to manage it quite well in time.' Вона підвелася і пішла - спочатку досить важко, бо боялася, що корона може злетіти, але втішала себе думкою, що її ніхто не бачить, "і якщо я справді королева, - сказала вона, коли знову сіла, - то з часом я зможу впоратися з цим. Everything was happening so oddly that she didn't feel a bit surprised at finding the Red Queen and the White Queen sitting close to her, one on each side: she would have liked very much to ask them how they came there, but she feared it would not be quite civil. Усе відбувалося так дивно, що вона анітрохи не здивувалася, побачивши Червону Королеву та Білу Королеву, які сиділи поруч, по одній з кожного боку: їй дуже хотілося запитати їх, як вони тут опинилися, але вона побоювалася, що це буде не зовсім чемно. However, there would be no harm, she thought, in asking if the game was over. 'Please, would you tell me—' she began, looking timidly at the Red Queen. 'Speak when you're spoken to!' "Говоріть, коли до вас звертаються! the Queen sharply interrupted her. різко перебила її королева.

'But if everybody obeyed that rule,' said Alice, who was always ready for a little argument, 'and if you only spoke when you were spoken to, and the other person always waited for you to begin, you see nobody would ever say anything, so that—' 'Ridiculous!' "Смішно! cried the Queen. вигукнула королева. 'Why, don't you see, child—' here she broke off with a frown, and, after thinking for a minute, suddenly changed the subject of the conversation. "Хіба ти не розумієш, дитино..." - тут вона урвала, насупившись, і, подумавши хвилину, раптом змінила тему розмови. 'What do you mean by "If you really are a Queen"? What right have you to call yourself so? Яке право ви маєте так себе називати? You can't be a Queen, you know, till you've passed the proper examination. Ти не можеш бути королевою, поки не пройдеш відповідний іспит. And the sooner we begin it, the better.' І чим раніше ми почнемо, тим краще". 'I only said "if"!' poor Alice pleaded in a piteous tone. жалобно попросила бедная Алиса. бідолашна Аліса благала жалісливим тоном.

The two Queens looked at each other, and the Red Queen remarked, with a little shudder, 'She says she only said "if"—' 'But she said a great deal more than that!' the White Queen moaned, wringing her hands. 'Oh, ever so much more than that!' 'So you did, you know,' the Red Queen said to Alice. 'Always speak the truth—think before you speak—and write it down afterwards.' 'I'm sure I didn't mean—' Alice was beginning, but the Red Queen interrupted her impatiently. 'That's just what I complain of! You should have meant! What do you suppose is the use of a child without any meaning? Even a joke should have some meaning—and a child's more important than a joke, I hope. Навіть жарт повинен мати якийсь сенс, а дитина, я сподіваюся, важливіша за жарт. You couldn't deny that, even if you tried with both hands.' 'I don't deny things with my hands, ' Alice objected. "Я не заперечую речі руками", - заперечила Аліса. 'Nobody said you did,' said the Red Queen. 'I said you couldn't if you tried.' 'She's in that state of mind', said the White Queen 'that she wants to deny something —only she doesn't know what to deny!' 'A nasty, vicious temper,' the Red Queen remarked; and then there was an uncomfortable silence for a minute or two. The Red Queen broke the silence by saying, to the White Queen, 'I invite you to Alice's dinner-party this afternoon.' Червона Королева порушила мовчанку, звернувшись до Білої Королеви: "Я запрошую тебе на званий обід до Аліси сьогодні вдень". The White Queen smiled feebly, and said 'And I invite you. ' 'I didn't know I was to have a party at all,' said Alice; 'but, if there is to be one, I think I ought to invite the guests.' "Я взагалі не знала, що влаштовуватиму вечірку, - сказала Аліса, - але якщо вже вона буде, то, гадаю, треба запросити гостей". 'We gave you the opportunity of doing it,' the Red Queen remarked; 'but I daresay you've not had many lessons in manners yet.' "Ми дали тобі можливість зробити це, - зауважила Червона Королева, - але, гадаю, ти ще не отримала достатньо уроків гарних манер". 'Manners are not taught in lessons,' said Alice. 'Lessons teach you to do sums, and things of that sort.' "Уроки вчать рахувати суми і тому подібні речі". 'Can you do Addition?' the White Queen asked. 'What's one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one?' "Що таке один і один, і один, і один, і один, і один, і один, і один, і один, і один? 'I don't know,' said Alice. 'I lost count.' 'She can't do Addition,' the Red Queen interrupted, 'Can you do Subtraction? Take nine from eight.' 'Nine from eight I can't, you know,' Alice replied very readily: 'but—' "Дев'ять з восьми я не можу, знаєте, - з готовністю відповіла Аліса, - але... 'She can't do Subtraction,' said the White Queen. 'Can you do Division? Divide a loaf by a knife—what's the answer to that ?' Розділити буханку ножем - яка на це відповідь? 'I suppose—' Alice was beginning, but the Red Queen answered for her. 'Bread-and-butter, of course. Try another Subtraction sum. Take a bone from a dog: what remains?' Візьміть кістку у собаки: що залишиться? Alice considered. 'The bone wouldn't remain, of course, if I took it—and the dog wouldn't remain: it would come to bite me—and I'm sure I shouldn't remain!' "Кістка, звичайно, не залишиться, якщо я візьму її, і собака не залишиться: він прийде і вкусить мене, і я впевнений, що не повинен залишатися! 'Then you think nothing would remain?' said the Red Queen.

'I think that's the answer.' 'Wrong, as usual,' said the Red Queen: 'the dog's temper would remain.' "Неправильно, як завжди", - сказала Червона Королева: "собача вдача залишиться". 'But I don't see how—' 'Why, look here!' the Red Queen cried. 'The dog would lose its temper, wouldn't it?' "Собака може втратити самовладання, чи не так? 'Perhaps it would,' Alice replied cautiously. 'Then if the dog went away, its temper would remain!' the Queen exclaimed triumphantly.

Alice said, as gravely as she could, 'They might go different ways.' Аліса сказала якомога серйозніше: "Вони можуть піти різними шляхами". But she couldn't help thinking to herself 'What dreadful nonsense we are talking!' Але вона не могла не думати про себе: "Яку жахливу нісенітницю ми говоримо! 'She can't do sums a bit! ' the Queens said together, with great emphasis.

'Can you do sums?' Alice said, turning suddenly on the White Queen, for she didn't like being found fault with so much. сказала Аліса, несподівано обернувшись до Білої Королеви, бо вона не любила, коли їй так часто дорікали. The Queen gasped and shut her eyes. 'I can do Addition,' she said, 'if you give me time—but I can't do Subtraction under any circumstances!' "Я можу додавати, - сказала вона, - якщо ви дасте мені час, але я не можу віднімати за жодних обставин! 'Of course you know your ABC?' said the Red Queen.

'To be sure, I do,' said Alice. 'So do I,' the White Queen whispered: 'we'll often say it over together, dear. Я теж, - прошепотіла Біла Королева, - ми будемо часто повторювати це разом, дорогенька. And I'll tell you a secret—I can read words of one letter! І скажу вам по секрету - я можу читати слова з однієї літери! Isn't that grand? However, don't be discouraged. You'll come to it in time.' Here the Red Queen began again. 'Can you answer useful questions?' she said.

'How is bread made?' 'I know that! ' Alice cried eagerly. 'You take some flour—' 'Where do you pick the flower?' the White Queen asked: 'In a garden or in the hedges?' 'Well, it isn't picked at all,' Alice explained: 'it's ground —' 'How many acres of ground?' said the White Queen. 'You mustn't leave out so many things.' "Ти не можеш пропустити так багато речей". 'Fan her head!' "Помахайте їй головою! the Red Queen anxiously interrupted. 'She'll be feverish after so much thinking.' So they set to work and fanned her with bunches of leaves, till she had to beg them to leave off, it blew her hair about so. Тож вони взялися до роботи і обдували її пучками листя, аж поки вона не почала благати їх припинити, бо це так розвіювало її волосся.

'She's all right again now,' said the Red Queen. 'Do you know Languages? What's the French for fiddle-de-dee?' 'Fiddle-de-dee's not English,' Alice replied gravely. 'Who ever said it was?' "Хто сказав, що це так? said the Red Queen.

Alice thought she saw a way out of the difficulty, this time. Алісі здавалося, що цього разу вона знайшла вихід із труднощів. 'If you'll tell me what language "fiddle-de-dee" is, I'll tell you the French for it!' "Якщо ви скажете мені, якою мовою звучить "фідель-де-ді", я скажу вам, що це по-французьки! she exclaimed triumphantly.

But the Red Queen drew herself up rather stiffly, and said, 'Queens never make bargains.' Але Червона Королева взяла себе в руки і сказала: "Королеви ніколи не укладають угод". 'I wish Queens never asked questions,' Alice thought to herself. "Якби ж то Квінс ніколи не ставив запитань", - подумала Аліса. 'Don't let us quarrel,' the White Queen said in an anxious tone. Не дозволяй нам сваритися, - сказала Біла Королева тривожним тоном. 'What is the cause of lightning?' "Що є причиною блискавки? 'The cause of lightning,' Alice said very decidedly, for she felt quite certain about this, 'is the thunder—no, no!' "Причиною блискавки, - сказала Аліса дуже рішуче, бо була цілком упевнена в цьому, - є грім - ні, ні! she hastily corrected herself. 'I meant the other way.' 'It's too late to correct it,' said the Red Queen: 'when you've once said a thing, that fixes it, and you must take the consequences.' "Вже пізно щось виправляти, - сказала Червона Королева, - коли ти вже щось сказав, то це вже все вирішує, і ти повинен прийняти наслідки". 'Which reminds me—' the White Queen said, looking down and nervously clasping and unclasping her hands, 'we had such a thunderstorm last Tuesday—I mean one of the last set of Tuesdays, you know.' "Це нагадало мені, - сказала Біла Королева, дивлячись вниз і нервово стискаючи і розтискаючи руки, - що минулого вівторка у нас була така гроза - тобто один з останніх вівторків, знаєте". Alice was puzzled. 'In our country,' she remarked, 'there's only one day at a time.' The Red Queen said 'That's a poor thin way of doing things. Червона Королева сказала: "Це поганий тонкий спосіб робити справи. Now here, we mostly have days and nights two or three at a time, and sometimes in the winter we take as many as five nights together—for warmth, you know.' 'Are five nights warmer than one night, then?' Alice ventured to ask.

'Five times as warm, of course.' 'But they should be five times as cold, by the same rule—' 'Just so!' "Саме так! cried the Red Queen. 'Five times as warm, and five times as cold—just as I'm five times as rich as you are, and five times as clever!' "У п'ять разів тепліше і в п'ять разів холодніше - так само, як я в п'ять разів багатший за тебе і в п'ять разів розумніший! Alice sighed and gave it up. Аліса зітхнула і здалася. 'It's exactly like a riddle with no answer!' "Це як загадка без відповіді! she thought.

'Humpty Dumpty saw it too,' the White Queen went on in a low voice, more as if she were talking to herself. Шалтай-Болтай теж це бачив, - продовжила Біла Королева тихим голосом, ніби розмовляючи сама з собою. 'He came to the door with a corkscrew in his hand—' 'What did he want?' said the Red Queen.

'He said he would come in,' the White Queen went on, 'because he was looking for a hippopotamus. Now, as it happened, there wasn't such a thing in the house, that morning.' Так сталося, що того ранку в будинку нічого такого не було". 'Is there generally?' "А взагалі є? Alice asked in an astonished tone.

'Well, only on Thursdays,' said the Queen. 'I know what he came for,' said Alice: 'he wanted to punish the fish, because—' "Я знаю, навіщо він прийшов, - сказала Аліса, - він хотів покарати рибку, тому що... Here the White Queen began again. 'It was such a thunderstorm, you can't think!' ('She never could, you know,' said the Red Queen.) 'And part of the roof came off, and ever so much thunder got in—and it went rolling round the room in great lumps—and knocking over the tables and things—till I was so frightened, I couldn't remember my own name!' "І частина даху відвалилася, і так сильно гримів грім, і він котився по кімнаті великими грудками, і перекидав столи та речі, аж я так злякалася, що не могла згадати свого імені! Alice thought to herself 'I never should try to remember my name in the middle of an accident! Аліса подумала: "Ніколи не варто намагатися згадати своє ім'я під час аварії! Where would be the use of it?' but she did not say this aloud, for fear of hurting the poor Queen's feelings. Але вона не сказала цього вголос, боячись образити почуття бідної королеви. 'Your Majesty must excuse her,' the Red Queen said to Alice, taking one of the White Queen's hands in her own, and gently stroking it: 'she means well, but she can't help saying foolish things as a general rule.' "Ваша Величносте, пробачте їй, - сказала Червона Королева Алісі, беручи одну з рук Білої Королеви у свою і ніжно погладжуючи її: "Вона хоче як краще, але, як правило, вона не може не говорити дурниць". The White Queen looked timidly at Alice, who felt she ought to say something kind, but really couldn't think of anything at the moment. Біла Королева несміливо подивилася на Алісу, яка відчувала, що має сказати щось добре, але насправді не могла нічого придумати. 'She never was really well brought up,' the Red Queen went on: 'but it's amazing how good-tempered she is! Вона ніколи не була добре вихована, - продовжувала Червона Королева: "але дивно, яка вона доброзичлива! Pat her on the head, and see how pleased she'll be!' Погладьте її по голові, і побачите, як вона зрадіє! But this was more than Alice had courage to do. Але це було більше, ніж Аліса мала сміливість зробити.

'A little kindness—and putting her hair in papers—would do wonders with her—' "Трохи доброти - і загорнути її волосся в папір - зробить з нею чудеса... The White Queen gave a deep sigh, and laid her head on Alice's shoulder. Біла Королева глибоко зітхнула і поклала голову на плече Аліси. 'I am so sleepy!' she moaned.

'She's tired, poor thing!' said the Red Queen.

'Smooth her hair—lend her your nightcap—and sing her a soothing lullaby.' 'I haven't got a nightcap with me,' said Alice, as she tried to obey the first direction: 'and I don't know any soothing lullabies.' 'I must do it myself, then,' said the Red Queen, and she began: "Тоді я повинна зробити це сама", - сказала Червона Королева і почала: ' Hush-a-by lady, in Alice's lap! Till the feast's ready, we've time for a nap. When the feast's over, we'll go to the ball— Red Queen, and White Queen, and Alice, and all! Коли бенкет закінчиться, ми підемо на бал - Червона Королева, і Біла Королева, і Аліса, і всі! 'And now you know the words,' she added, as she put her head down on Alice's other shoulder, 'just sing it through to me . Тепер ти знаєш слова, - додала вона, опустивши голову на друге плече Аліси, - просто заспівай їх мені. I'm getting sleepy, too.' In another moment both Queens were fast asleep, and snoring loud.

'What am I to do?' exclaimed Alice, looking about in great perplexity, as first one round head, and then the other, rolled down from her shoulder, and lay like a heavy lump in her lap. вигукнула Аліса, розгублено озираючись навколо, коли спочатку одна кругла голова, а потім і друга, скотилися з її плеча і важкою грудкою лягли їй на коліна. 'I don't think it ever happened before, that any one had to take care of two Queens asleep at once! "Я не думаю, що коли-небудь раніше траплялося, щоб комусь доводилося піклуватися про двох сплячих королев одночасно! No, not in all the History of England—it couldn't, you know, because there never was more than one Queen at a time. Do wake up, you heavy things!' Прокидайтеся, важкі речі! she went on in an impatient tone; but there was no answer but a gentle snoring. нетерплячим тоном продовжила вона, але відповіді не було, окрім легкого хропіння.

The snoring got more distinct every minute, and sounded more like a tune: at last she could even make out words, and she listened so eagerly that, when the two great heads suddenly vanished from her lap, she hardly missed them. Хропіння з кожною хвилиною ставало все виразнішим і більше нагадувало мелодію: нарешті вона навіть змогла розібрати слова і так жадібно прислухалася, що, коли дві великі голови раптом зникли з її колін, вона ледве встигла їх розгледіти.

She was standing before an arched doorway, over which were the words 'QUEEN ALICE' in large letters, and on each side of the arch there was a bell-handle; one was marked 'Visitors' Bell', and the other 'Servants' Bell'. Вона стояла перед арковими дверима, над якими великими літерами було написано "КОРОЛЕВА АЛІСА", а по обидва боки арки - ручки дзвоників: на одному з них було написано "Дзвінок для відвідувачів", а на іншому - "Дзвінок для слуг". 'I'll wait till the song's over,' thought Alice, 'and then I'll ring the—the— which bell must I ring?' she went on, very much puzzled by the names.

'I'm not a visitor, and I'm not a servant. There ought to be one marked "Queen", you know—' Там має бути одна з написом "Королева", знаєте... Just then the door opened a little way, and a creature with a long beak put its head out for a moment and said 'No admittance till the week after next!' Саме тоді двері трохи відчинилися, і істота з довгим дзьобом на мить висунула голову і сказала: "До наступного тижня вхід заборонено! and shut the door again with a bang. і знову грюкнула дверима.

Alice knocked and rang in vain for a long time; but at last a very old Frog, who was sitting under a tree, got up and hobbled slowly towards her: he was dressed in bright yellow, and had enormous boots on. Аліса довго і марно стукала і дзвонила, але нарешті дуже стара Жаба, яка сиділа під деревом, підвелася і повільно пошкутильгала до неї: вона була одягнена в яскраво-жовте вбрання і взута у величезні чоботи.

'What is it, now?' the Frog said in a deep hoarse whisper. промовила Жаба глибоким хрипким шепотом.

Alice turned round, ready to find fault with anybody. Аліса обернулася, готова причепитися до будь-кого. 'Where's the servant whose business it is to answer the door?' "Де слуга, чия робота - відчиняти двері? she began angrily.

'Which door?' said the Frog.

Alice almost stamped with irritation at the slow drawl in which he spoke. ' Аліса ледь не роздратувалася від повільного темпу, яким він говорив. ' This door, of course!' The Frog looked at the door with his large dull eyes for a minute: then he went nearer and rubbed it with his thumb, as if he were trying whether the paint would come off: then he looked at Alice. Жабеня хвилину дивилося на двері своїми великими тьмяними очима, потім підійшло ближче і потерло їх великим пальцем, ніби перевіряючи, чи не зійде фарба, а потім подивилося на Алісу.

'To answer the door?' he said.

'What's it been asking of?' He was so hoarse that Alice could scarcely hear him. Він був такий хрипкий, що Аліса ледве чула його.

'I don't know what you mean,' she said. "Я не знаю, що ви маєте на увазі", - сказала вона. 'I speaks English, doesn't I?' the Frog went on. 'Or are you deaf? "Чи ти глухий? What did it ask you?' 'Nothing!' Alice said impatiently. 'I've been knocking at it!' "Я стукав у нього! 'Shouldn't do that—shouldn't do that—' the Frog muttered. "Не можна так робити, не можна так робити", - бурмотіло Жабеня. 'Wexes it, you know.' "Векс", знаєте. Then he went up and gave the door a kick with one of his great feet. Потім він піднявся і штовхнув двері однією зі своїх великих ніг. 'You let it alone,' he panted out, as he hobbled back to his tree, 'and it'll let you alone, you know.' "Ти залишиш його в спокої, - захекано промовив він, шкутильгаючи назад до свого дерева, - і воно залишить тебе в спокої, ти ж знаєш". At this moment the door was flung open, and a shrill voice was heard singing: У цей момент двері відчинилися, і почувся пронизливий голос, що співав:

' To the Looking-Glass world it was Alice that said " I've a sceptre in hand, I've a crown on my head . У Задзеркаллі саме Аліса сказала: "У мене скіпетр у руці, на голові корона. Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be Come and dine with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me !"' Нехай Задзеркалля, ким би воно не було, прийде на обід до Червоної Королеви, Білої Королеви та мене!"". And hundreds of voices joined in the chorus:

' Then fill up the glasses as quick as you can , And sprinkle the table with buttons and bran : Put cats in the coffee, and mice in the tea — And welcome Queen Alice with thirty-times-three !' "Тоді наповніть келихи якнайшвидше, І посипте стіл ґудзиками та висівками: В каву покладіть котів, а в чай мишей - І вітайте королеву Алісу з тридцятьма тричі по три! Then followed a confused noise of cheering, and Alice thought to herself 'Thirty times three makes ninety. Потім пролунав розгублений радісний гомін, і Аліса подумала: "Тридцять помножити на три буде дев'яносто". I wonder if any one's counting?' In a minute there was silence again, and the same shrill voice sang another verse:

'" O Looking-Glass creatures," quoth Alice, "draw near ! ' '" "О, Задзеркалля, - вигукнула Аліса, - наближайтеся! ' Tis an honour to see me, a favour to hear : ' Tis a privilege high to have dinner and tea Along with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me !"' Це честь бачити мене, честь чути: "Це привілей висока - вечеряти і пити чай разом з Червоною Королевою, Білою Королевою і зі мною!" Then came the chorus again:

' Then fill up the glasses with treacle and ink , Or anything else that is pleasant to drink : Mix sand with the cider, and wool with the wine — And welcome Queen Alice with ninety-times-nine !' ' Затем наполните бокалы патокой и чернилами, или чем-нибудь еще, что приятно пить: Смешайте песок с сидром, а шерсть с вином - И приветствуйте королеву Алису девяносто раз по девять! 'Ninety times nine!' Alice repeated in despair. у відчаї повторила Аліса. 'Oh, that'll never be done! I'd better go in at once—' and in she went, and there was a dead silence the moment she appeared. Я краще зайду, - і вона зайшла, і в кімнаті запанувала мертва тиша, щойно вона з'явилася. Alice glanced nervously along the table, as she walked up the large hall, and noticed that there were about fifty guests, of all kinds: some were animals, some birds, and there were even a few flowers among them. 'I'm glad they've come without waiting to be asked,' she thought: 'I should never have known who were the right people to invite!' There were three chairs at the head of the table: the Red and White Queens had already taken two of them, but the middle one was empty. Alice sat down in it, rather uncomfortable at the silence, and longing for some one to speak.

At last the Red Queen began. 'You've missed the soup and fish,' she said. "Ти пропустив суп і рибу", - сказала вона. 'Put on the joint!' "Вдягай косяк! And the waiters set a leg of mutton before Alice, who looked at it rather anxiously, as she had never had to carve a joint before.

'You look a little shy: let me introduce you to that leg of mutton,' said the Red Queen. "Ти виглядаєш трохи сором'язливим, дозволь мені познайомити тебе з баранячою ніжкою", - сказала Червона Королева. 'Alice—Mutton: Mutton—Alice.' The leg of mutton got up in the dish and made a little bow to Alice; and Alice returned the bow, not knowing whether to be frightened or amused. Бараняча нога піднялася з тарілки і вклонилася Алісі, а Аліса відповіла їй поклоном, не знаючи, чи то злякатися, чи то розвеселитися.

'May I give you a slice?' she said, taking up the knife and fork, and looking from one Queen to the other.

'Certainly not,' the Red Queen said, very decidedly: 'it isn't etiquette to cut anyone you've been introduced to. "Звичайно, ні, - рішуче сказала Червона Королева, - це не етикет - різати когось, з ким тебе познайомили". Remove the joint!' Прибери суглоб! And the waiters carried it off, and brought a large plum-pudding in its place.

'I won't be introduced to the pudding, please,' Alice said, rather hastily, 'or we shall get no dinner at all. "Будь ласка, не показуйте мені пудинг, - поспішно сказала Аліса, - інакше ми взагалі не повечеряємо". May I give you some?' But the Red Queen looked sulky, and growled 'Pudding—Alice: Alice—Pudding. Але Червона Королева похмуро подивилася на нього і пробурчала: "Пудинг-Аліса: Аліса-пудинг. Remove the pudding!' and the waiters took it away so quickly that Alice couldn't return its bow. However, she didn't see why the Red Queen should be the only one to give orders; so, as an experiment, she called out 'Waiter! Bring back the pudding!' and there it was again in a moment, like a conjuring trick. і за мить вона з'явилася знову, як за помахом чарівної палички. It was so large that she couldn't help feeling a little shy with it, as she had been with the mutton; however, she conquered her shyness by a great effort, and cut a slice and handed it to the Red Queen. Він був такий великий, що вона не могла не соромитися його, як і баранину, але з великим зусиллям подолала свою сором'язливість, відрізала шматок і простягнула Червоній Королеві. 'What impertinence!' "Яке нахабство! said the Pudding. 'I wonder how you'd like it, if I were to cut a slice out of you , you creature!' "Цікаво, як би тобі сподобалося, якби я відрізав від тебе шматок, тварюко! It spoke in a thick, suety sort of voice, and Alice hadn't a word to say in reply: she could only sit and look at it and gasp. Воно говорило густим, солодкуватим голосом, і Аліса не могла нічого сказати у відповідь: вона могла лише сидіти, дивитися на нього і дихати. 'Make a remark,' said the Red Queen: 'it's ridiculous to leave all the conversation to the pudding!' "Зауважте, - сказала Червона Королева, - безглуздо зводити всю розмову до пудингу! 'Do you know, I've had such a quantity of poetry repeated to me to-day,' Alice began, a little frightened at finding that, the moment she opened her lips, there was dead silence, and all eyes were fixed upon her; 'and it's a very curious thing, I think—every poem was about fishes in some way. Знаєш, я сьогодні прочитала стільки віршів, - почала Аліса, трохи злякавшись того, що як тільки вона відкрила губи, настала мертва тиша, і всі погляди були прикуті до неї, - і це дуже цікава річ, як на мене - у кожному вірші так чи інакше йшлося про рибок. Do you know why they're so fond of fishes, all about here?' Знаєте, чому вони так люблять риб, що живуть тут? She spoke to the Red Queen, whose answer was a little wide of the mark. Вона поговорила з Червоною Королевою, чия відповідь була трохи не в тему. 'As to fishes,' she said, very slowly and solemnly, putting her mouth close to Alice's ear, 'her White Majesty knows alovely riddle—all in poetry—all about fishes. Щодо риб, - сказала вона дуже повільно й урочисто, притуливши вуста до Алісиного вуха, - то її Біла Величність знає чудові загадки - всі у віршах - про риб. Shall she repeat it?' Her Red Majesty's very kind to mention it,' the White Queen murmured into Alice's other ear, in a voice like the cooing of a pigeon. Її Червона Величність дуже люб'язно згадала про це, - прошепотіла Біла Королева в інше вухо Аліси голосом, схожим на воркування голуба. 'It would be such a treat! May I?' 'Please do,' Alice said very politely. The White Queen laughed with delight, and stroked Alice's cheek. Біла Королева засміялася від захвату і погладила Алісу по щоці. Then she began:

'" First, the fish must be caught ." '" "Спочатку рибу треба зловити". That is easy: a baby, I think, could have caught it . " Це просто: дитина, я думаю, могла б підхопити його . " Next, the fish must be bought ." Далі треба купити рибу". That is easy: a penny, I think, would have bought it . Це просто: за копійки, я думаю, купив би його .

" Now cook me the fish !" " "А тепер приготуй мені рибу!" That is easy, and will not take more than a minute . " Це легко, і не займе більше хвилини. " Let it lie in a dish !" Нехай лежить у тарілці!" That is easy, because it already is in it . Це легко, тому що це вже є в ньому.

" Bring it here! Let me sup !" Дайте мені поїсти!" It is easy to set such a dish on the table . " Таку страву легко поставити на стіл. " Take the dish-cover up !" Підніміть кришку тарілки!" Ah , that is so hard that I fear I'm unable ! Ах, це так важко, що я боюся, що не зможу! For it holds it like glue — Holds the lid to the dish, while it lies in the middle : Which is easiest to do , Un-dish-cover the fish, or dishcover the riddle ?' Бо він тримає її, як клей, - Тримає кришку на тарілці, а вона лежить посередині: Що легше зробити: рибу зняти з тарілки, чи загадку розгадати?". 'Take a minute to think about it, and then guess,' said the Red Queen. 'Meanwhile, we'll drink your health—Queen Alice's health!' she screamed at the top of her voice, and all the guests began drinking it directly, and very queerly they managed it: some of them put their glasses upon their heads like extinguishers, and drank all that trickled down their faces—others upset the decanters, and drank the wine as it ran off the edges of the table—and three of them (who looked like kangaroos) scrambled into the dish of roast mutton, and began eagerly lapping up the gravy, 'just like pigs in a trough!' закричала она во весь голос, и все гости тут же принялись пить, причем делали это очень странно: одни ставили бокалы на голову, как огнетушители, и пили все, что стекало по лицу, другие расстроили графины и пили вино, стекая с краев стола, а трое (похожие на кенгуру) забрались на блюдо с жареной бараниной и стали жадно поглощать подливку, "как свиньи в корыте!". закричала вона на весь голос, і всі гості почали пити прямо з неї, і дуже дивно їм це вдавалося: дехто приставляв келихи до голови, як вогнегасники, і випивав усе, що стікало по обличчю, інші перехиляли графини і пили вино, що стікало по краях столу, а троє (схожі на кенгуру) залізли в тарілку зі смаженою бараниною і почали жадібно облизуватися підливою, "як свині в кориті!". thought Alice.

'You ought to return thanks in a neat speech, 'the Red Queen said, frowning at Alice as she spoke. Ти повинна віддячити за це гарною промовою, - сказала Червона Королева, насупившись на Алісу, коли вона говорила. We must support you, you know,' the White Queen whispered, as Alice got up to do it, very obediently, but a little frightened. Ми повинні підтримати тебе, ти ж знаєш, - прошепотіла Біла Королева, коли Аліса дуже слухняно, але трохи налякано підвелася, щоб зробити це. 'Thank you very much,' she whispered in reply, 'but I can do quite well without.' "Дуже дякую, - прошепотіла вона у відповідь, - але я цілком можу обійтися без нього". 'That wouldn't be at all the thing,' the Red Queen said very decidedly: so Alice tried to submit to it with a good grace. Это совсем не то", - решительно заявила Красная Королева, и Алиса постаралась подчиниться ей с благосклонностью. "Це було б зовсім не те", - рішуче заявила Червона Королева, і Аліса спробувала підкоритися їй з усією можливою милістю. ('And they did push so!' ("І вони так штовхнули!") she said afterwards, when she was telling her sister the history of the feast. сказала вона згодом, коли розповідала сестрі історію свята. 'You would have thought they wanted to squeeze me flat!') "Можна подумати, що вони хотіли мене розчавити!") In fact it was rather difficult for her to keep in her place while she made her speech: the two Queens pushed her so, one on each side, that they nearly lifted her up into the air. Насправді їй було досить важко втриматися на місці під час промови: дві королеви так штовхали її, по одній з кожного боку, що ледь не підняли в повітря. 'I rise to return thanks—' Alice began: and she really did rise as she spoke, several inches; but she got hold of the edge of the table, and managed to pull herself down again. Я підводжуся, щоб подякувати... - почала Аліса, і вона справді піднялася на кілька дюймів, але встигла вхопитися за край столу і знову спуститися вниз. 'Take care of yourself!' screamed the White Queen, seizing Alice's hair with both her hands. закричала Біла Королева, схопивши Алісу за волосся обома руками. 'Something's going to happen!' "Щось станеться! And then (as Alice afterwards described it) all sorts of things happened in a moment. А потім (як згодом описала Аліса) в одну мить сталося багато всього. The candles all grew up to the ceiling, looking something like a bed of rushes with fireworks at the top. Свічки виросли до самої стелі, нагадуючи щось на кшталт грядки калини з феєрверком на верхівці. As to the bottles, they each took a pair of plates, which they hastily fitted on as wings, and so, with forks for legs, went fluttering about in all directions: 'and very like birds they look,' Alice thought to herself, as well as she could in the dreadful confusion that was beginning. Что касается бутылок, то каждая из них взяла по паре тарелок, которые они поспешно прикрепили к крыльям, и так, с вилками вместо ног, порхали во все стороны: "И очень похожи на птиц", - подумала про себя Алиса, насколько это было возможно в начинающейся страшной неразберихе. Щодо пляшок, то вони взяли по парі тарілок, які нашвидкуруч прилаштували собі як крила, і так, з виделками замість ніг, пурхали на всі боки: "І дуже схожі на птахів", - подумала Аліса, наскільки це було можливо в жахливій плутанині, що починалася. At this moment she heard a hoarse laugh at her side, and turned to see what was the matter with the White Queen; but, instead of the Queen, there was the leg of mutton sitting in the chair. У цей момент вона почула хрипкий сміх збоку і обернулася, щоб подивитися, що сталося з Білою Королевою; але замість Королеви в кріслі сиділа бараняча нога. 'Here I am!' cried a voice from the souptureen, and Alice turned again, just in time to see the Queen's broad good-natured face grinning at her for a moment over the edge of the tureen, before she disappeared into the soup. вигукнув голос з супниці, і Аліса знову обернулася, якраз вчасно, щоб побачити широке добродушне обличчя Королеви, яке на мить посміхнулося до неї через край супниці, перш ніж зникнути в супі. There was not a moment to be lost. Не можна було втрачати ні хвилини. Already several of the guests were lying down in the dishes, and the soup-ladle was walking up the table towards Alice's chair, and beckoning to her impatiently to get out of its way. Кілька гостей уже лежали в тарілках, а ополоник піднімався по столу до Алісиного стільця і нетерпляче махав їй рукою, щоб вона забралася з його шляху. 'I can't stand this any longer!' "Я більше не можу цього терпіти! she cried, as she jumped up and seized the tablecloth with both hands: one good pull, and plates, dishes, guests and candles came crashing down together in a heap on the floor. вигукнула вона, підхопившись і схопивши скатертину обома руками: один сильний поштовх - і тарілки, страви, гості та свічки посипалися купою на підлогу.

'And as for you ,' she went on, turning fiercely upon the Red Queen, whom she considered as the cause of all the mischief—but the Queen was no longer at her side—she had suddenly dwindled down to the size of a little doll, and was now on the table, merrily running round and round after her own shawl, which was trailing behind her. А ти, - продовжувала вона, люто поглядаючи на Червону Королеву, яку вважала причиною всіх негараздів, - але Королеви вже не було поруч - вона раптом зменшилася до розміру маленької ляльки і тепер сиділа на столі, весело бігаючи за власною хусткою, яка тягнулася позаду неї. At any other time, Alice would have felt surprised at this, but she was far too much excited to be surprised at anything now . У будь-який інший час Аліса здивувалася б цьому, але зараз вона була надто схвильована, щоб чомусь дивуватися. 'As for you ,' she repeated, catching hold of the little creature in the very act of jumping over a bottle which had just lighted upon the table, 'I'll shake you into a kitten, that I will!' "Щодо тебе, - повторила вона, схопивши маленьке створіння, коли воно перестрибувало через пляшку, яка щойно спалахнула на столі, - я перетворю тебе на кошеня, ось що я зроблю!