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Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland
Kapitel 10:
The lobster quadrille, Lewis Carroll, Seite 2 ( von 4 )
"Will you walk
a little faster?" said a whiting to a snail,
"There's a porpoise close behind us, and he's treading on my tail.
See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!
They are waiting on the shingle - will you come and join the dance?
Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?
Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?
"You can really
have no notion how delightful it will be
When they take us up and throw us, with the lobsters, out to sea!"
But the snail replied, "Too far, too far!" and gave a look askance -
Said he thanked the whiting kindly, but he would not join the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, could not join the dance.
"What matters
it how far we go?" his scaly friend replied,
"There is another shore, you know, upon the other side.
The further off from England the nearer is to France -
Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the dance.
Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?
Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?
"Thank you, it's a very interesting dance to watch," said Alice,
feeling very glad that it was over at last: "and I do so like that curious
song about the whiting!"
"Oh, as to the whiting," said the Mock Turtle, "they - you've
seen them, of course?"
"Yes," said Alice, "I've often seen them at dinn-" she
checked herself hastily.
"I don't know where Dinn may be," said the Mock Turtle, "but if
you've seen them so often, of course you know what they're like."
"I believe so," Alice replied thoughtfully. "They have their
tails in their mouths; - and they're all over crumbs."
"You're wrong about the crumbs," said the Mock Turtle: "crumbs
would all wash off in the sea. But they
have their tails
in their mouths; and the reason is -" here the Mock Turtle yawned and shut
his eyes. - "Tell her about the reason and all that," he said to the
Gryphon.
"The reason is," said the Gryphon, "that they
would go with
the lobsters to the dance. So they got thrown out to sea. So they had to fall a
long way. So they got their tails fast in their mouths. So they couldn't get
them out again. That's all."
"Thank you," said Alice, "it's very interesting. I never knew so
much about a whiting before."
"I can tell you more than that, if you like," said the Gryphon.
"Do you know why it's called a whiting?"
"I never thought about it," said Alice. "Why?"
"It does the
boots and shoes," the Gryphon replied very solemnly.
Alice was thoroughly puzzled. "Does the boots and shoes!" she
repeated in a wondering tone.
"Why, what are your shoes done
with?" said the Gryphon. "I mean, what makes them so shiny?"
Alice looked down at them, and considered a little before she gave her answer.
"They're done with blacking, I believe."
"Boots and shoes under the sea," the Gryphon went on in a deep voice,
"are done with whiting. Now you know."
"And what are they made of?" Alice asked in a tone of great
curiosity.
"Soles and eels, of course," the Gryphon replied rather impatiently:
"any shrimp could have told you that."
"If I'd been the whiting," said Alice, whose thoughts were still
running on the song, "I'd have said to the porpoise, 'Keep back, please:
we don't want you with us!'"
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