Mad Tea-Party:an Alice in Wonderland Blog: Chapter Four

3.15.2009

Chapter Four

Once again Alice meets the White Rabbit who, thinking she is his maid, sends her to his house to fetch him his gloves and a fan. Without correcting him Alice hurries to W. Rabbit's house to fetch his things. Once there she finds an unmarked bottle which she unwisely chooses to drink from. Soon Alice has grown to a size larger than the house and must stick her arms and legs out of it's openings (aka doors and windows) to fit. Meanwhile, the rabbit returns to his house and is given a severe fright by the giant that he finds inside it. Mr. Rabbit enlists his friend Pat to help him find a way to get "it" out. Eventually, they decide to send the lizard Bill down the chimney, a plan which proves to be a failure when Alice kicks him back out. Again they come up with a plan, this time to burn the house down. Soon rocks are coming down the chimney (fuel for fire?) in an effort to remove Alice. These rocks begin to turn into cakes (for no apparent reason) and Alice promptly eats one hoping it will shrink her. This it does, once she has grown small enough Alice runs out of the house into the woods. Here she encounters a (to her) giant dog that she must play fetch with to get past. Continuing onward Alice notices a large mushroom on top of which rests a blue caterpillar.

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Twas brilling, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

'You are old, Father William', the young man said, 'And your hair has become very white; And yet you incessantly stand on your head -- Do you think, at your age, it is right?' 'In my youth', Father William replied to his son, 'I feared it might injure the brain; But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none, Why, I do it again and again.' 'You are old', said the youth, 'as I mentioned before, And have grown most uncommonly fat; Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door -- Pray, what is the reason of that?' 'In my youth', said the sage, as he shook his grey locks, 'I kept all my limbs very supple By the use of this ointment - one shilling the box - Allow me to sell you a couple?' 'You are old', said the youth, 'and your jaws are too weak For anything tougher than suet; Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak - Pray, how did you manage to do it?' 'In my youth', said his father, 'I took to the law, And argued each case with my wife; And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw, Has lasted the rest of my life.' 'You are old', said the youth, 'one would hardly suppose That your eye was as steady as ever; Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose - What made you so awfully clever?' 'I have answered three questions, and that is enough,' Said his father, 'don't give yourself airs! Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? Be off, or I'll kick you downstairs!'

"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "otherwise you wouldn't have come here."
Alice didn't think that proved it at all: however she went on. "And how do you know that you're mad?"
"To begin with," said the Cat, "a dog's not mad. You grant that?"
"I suppose so," said Alice.
"Well, then, " the Cat went on, "you see a dog growls when it's angry, and wags its tail when it's pleased. Now I growl when I'm pleased, and wag my tail when I'm angry. Therefore I'm mad."