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Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland
Kapitel 10:
The lobster quadrille, Lewis Carroll, Seite 1 ( von 4 )
The Mock Turtle sighed deeply, and drew the back of one flapper across his
eyes. He looked at Alice and tried to speak, but for a minute or two sobs
choked his voice. "Same as if he had a bone in his throat," said the
Gryphon, and it set to work shaking him and punching him in the back. At last
the Mock Turtle recovered his voice, and, with tears running down his cheeks,
he went on again: -
"You may not have lived much under the sea -" ("I haven't,"
said Alice) - "and perhaps you were never even introduced to a lobster
-" (Alice began to say, "I once tasted -" but checked herself
hastily, and said, "No, never") - "so you can have no idea what
a delightful thing a Lobster Quadrille is!"
"No, indeed," said Alice. "What sort of a dance is it?"
"Why," said the Gryphon, "you first form into a line along the
sea-shore -"
"Two lines!" cried the Mock Turtle. "Seals, turtles, salmon, and
so on; then, when you've cleared all the jelly-fish out of the way -"
"That
generally takes some time," interrupted the Gryphon.
"- you advance twice -"
"Each with a lobster as a partner!" cried the Gryphon.
"Of course," the Mock Turtle said: "advance twice, set to
partners -"
"- change lobsters, and retire in same order," continued the Gryphon.
"Then, you know," the Mock Turtle went on, "you throw the
-"
"The lobsters!" shouted the Gryphon, with a bound into the air.
"- as far out to sea as you can -"
"Swim after them!" screamed the Gryphon.
"Turn a somersault in the sea!" cried the Mock Turtle, capering
wildly about.
"Change lobsters again!" yelled the Gryphon at the top of its voice.
"Back to land again, and that's all the first figure," said the Mock
Turtle, suddenly dropping his voice; and the two creatures, who had been
jumping about like mad things all this time, sat down again very sadly and
quietly, and looked at Alice.
"It must be a very pretty dance," said Alice timidly.
"Would you like to see a little of it?" said the Mock Turtle.
"Very much indeed," said Alice.
"Come, let's try the first figure!" said the Mock Turtle to the
Gryphon. "We can do it without lobsters, you know. Which shall sing?"
"Oh, you sing," said the Gryphon. "I've forgotten the
words."
So they began solemnly dancing round and round Alice, every now and then
treading on her toes when they passed too close, and waving their fore-paws to
mark the time, while the Mock Turtle sang this, very slowly and sadly: -
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