Ch. 12: Which Dreamed it?

by Lewis Carroll

　　'Your majesty shouldn't purr so loud,' Alice said, rubbing hereyes, and addressing the kitten, respectfully, yet with someseverity. 'You woke me out of oh! such a nice dream! And you'vebeen along with me, Kitty--all through the Looking-Glass world.Did you know it, dear?'It is a very inconvenient habit of kittens (Alice had once madethe remark) that, whatever you say to them, they ALWAYS purr.'If they would only purr for "yes" and mew for "no," or any ruleof that sort,' she had said, 'so that one could keep up aconversation! But how CAN you talk with a person if they alwayssay the same thing?'On this occasion the kitten only purred: and it was impossibleto guess whether it meant 'yes' or 'no.'So Alice hunted among the chessmen on the table till she hadfound the Red Queen: then she went down on her knees on thehearth-rug, and put the kitten and the Queen to look at eachother. 'Now, Kitty!' she cried, clapping her hands triumphantly.'Confess that was what you turned into!'('But it wouldn't look at it,' she said, when she wasexplaining the thing afterwards to her sister: 'it turned awayits head, and pretended not to see it: but it looked a LITTLEashamed of itself, so I think it MUST have been the Red Queen.')'Sit up a little more stiffly, dear!' Alice cried with a merrylaugh. 'And curtsey while you're thinking what to--what topurr. It saves time, remember!' And she caught it up and gaveit one little kiss, 'just in honour of having been a Red Queen.''Snowdrop, my pet!' she went on, looking over her shoulder atthe White Kitten, which was still patiently undergoing itstoilet, 'when WILL Dinah have finished with your White Majesty, Iwonder? That must be the reason you were so untidy in my dream--Dinah! do you know that you're scrubbing a White Queen?Really, it's most disrespectful of you!'And what did DINAH turn to, I wonder?' she prattled on, as shesettled comfortably down, with one elbow in the rug, and her chinin her hand, to watch the kittens. 'Tell me, Dinah, did you turnto Humpty Dumpty? I THINK you did--however, you'd better notmention it to your friends just yet, for I'm not sure.'By the way, Kitty, if only you'd been really with me in mydream, there was one thing you WOULD have enjoyed--I had such aquantity of poetry said to me, all about fishes! To-morrowmorning you shall have a real treat. All the time you're eatingyour breakfast, I'll repeat "The Walrus and the Carpenter" toyou; and then you can make believe it's oysters, dear!'Now, Kitty, let's consider who it was that dreamed it all.This is a serious question, my dear, and you should NOT go onlicking your paw like that--as if Dinah hadn't washed you thismorning! You see, Kitty, it MUST have been either me or the RedKing. He was part of my dream, of course--but then I was partof his dream, too! WAS it the Red King, Kitty? You were hiswife, my dear, so you ought to know--Oh, Kitty, DO help tosettle it! I'm sure your paw can wait!' But the provokingkitten only began on the other paw, and pretended it hadn't heardthe question.Which do YOU think it was?

　　--- A boat beneath a sunny sky, Lingering onward dreamily In an evening of July-- Children three that nestle near, Eager eye and willing ear, Pleased a simple tale to hear-- Long has paled that sunny sky: Echoes fade and memories die. Autumn frosts have slain July. Still she haunts me, phantomwise, Alice moving under skies Never seen by waking eyes. Children yet, the tale to hear, Eager eye and willing ear, Lovingly shall nestle near. In a Wonderland they lie, Dreaming as the days go by, Dreaming as the summers die: Ever drifting down the stream-- Lingering in the golden gleam-- Life, what is it but a dream? THE END. * * * * * * *