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Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland
Kapitel 12:
Alice's evidence, Lewis Carroll, Seite 4 ( von 4 )
At this the whole pack rose up into the air, and came flying down upon her; she
gave a little scream, half of fright and half of anger, and tried to beat them
off, and found herself lying on the bank, with her head in the lap of her
sister, who was gently brushing away some dead leaves that had fluttered down
from the trees upon her face.
"Wake up, Alice dear!" said her sister; "why, what a long sleep
you've had!"
"Oh, I've had such a curious dream!" said Alice, and she told her
sister, as well as she could remember them, all these strange Adventures of
hers that you have just been reading about; and when she had finished, her
sister kissed her, and said, "It
was a curious
dream, dear, certainly: but now run in to your tea; it's getting late." So
Alice got up and ran off, thinking while she ran, as well she might, what a
wonderful dream it had been.
But her sister sat still just as she left her, leaning her head on her head,
watching the setting sun, and thinking of little Alice and all her wonderful
Adventures, till she too began dreaming after a fashion, and this was her
dream: -
First, she dreamed of little Alice herself, and once again the tiny hands were
clasped upon her knee, and the bright eager eyes were looking up into hers -
she could hear the very tones of her voice, and see that queer little toss of
her head to keep back the wandering hair that
would always get
into her eyes - and still as she listened, or seemed to listen, the whole place
round her became alive with the strange creatures of her little sister's dream.
The long grass rustled at her feet as the White Rabbit hurried by - the
frightened Mouse splashed his way through the neighbouring pool - she could
hear the rattle of the teacups as the March Hare and his friends shared their
never-ending meal, and the shrill voice of the Queen ordering off her
unfortunate guests to execution - once more the pig-baby was sneezing on the
Duchess' knee, while plates and dishes crashed around it - once more the shriek
of the Gryphon, the squeaking of the Lizard's slatepencil, and the choking of
the suppressed guinea-pigs, filled the air, mixed up with the distant sob of
the miserable Mock Turtle.
So she sat on, with closed eyes, and half believed herself in Wonderland,
though she knew she had but to open them again, and all would change to dull
reality - the grass would be only rustling in the wind, and the pool rippling
to the waving of the reeds - the rattling teacups would change to tinkling
sheep-bells, and the Queen's shrill cries to the voice of the shepherd boy -
and the sneeze of the baby, the shriek of the Gryphon, and all the other queer
noises, would change (she knew) to the confused clamour of the busy farm-yard -
while the lowing of the cattle in the distance would take the place of the Mock
Turtle's heavy sobs.
Lastly, she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers would, in
the after-time, be herself a grown woman; and how she would keep, through all
her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her childhood: and how she
would gather about her other little children, and make
their eyes
bright and eager with many a strange tale, perhaps even with the dream of
Wonderland of long ago: and how she would feel with all their simple sorrows,
and find a pleasure in all their simple joys, remembering her own child-life,
and the happy summer days.
The End
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