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Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland
Kapitel 9:
The mock turtle's story, Lewis Carroll, Seite 2 ( von 4 )
"I quite agree with you," said the Duchess, "and the moral of
that is - 'Be what you would seem to be' - or if you'd like it put more simply
- 'Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to
others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you
had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise.'"
"I think I should understand that better," Alice said very politely,
"if I had it written down: but I can't quite follow it as you say
it."
"That's nothing to what I could say if I chose," the Duchess replied,
in a pleases tone.
"Pray don't trouble yourself to say it any longer than that," said
Alice.
"Oh, don't talk about trouble!" said the Duchess. "I make you a
present of everything I've said as yet."
"A cheap sort of present!" thought Alice. "I'm glad they don't
give birthday presents like that!" But she did not venture to say it out
loud.
"Thinking again?" the Duchess asked, with another dig of her sharp
little chin.
"I've a right to think," said Alice sharply, for she was beginning to
feel a little worried.
"Just about as much right," said the Duchess, "as pigs have to
fly; and the m-"
But here, to Alice's great surprise, the Duchess's voice died away, even in the
middle of her favourite word 'moral', and the arm that was linked into hers
began to tremble. Alice looked up, and there stood the Queen in front of them,
with her arms folded, frowning like a thunderstorm.
"A fine day, your Majesty!" the Duchess began in a low, weak voice.
"Now, I give you fair warning," shouted the Queen, stamping on the
ground as she spoke; "either you or your head must be off, and that in
about half no time! Take your choice!"
The Duchess took her choice, and was gone in a moment.
"Let's go on with the game," the Queen said to Alice; and Alice was
too much frightened to say a word, but slowly followed her back to the
croquet-ground.
The other guests had taken advantage of the Queen's absence, and were resting
in the shade: however, the moment they saw her, they hurried back to the game,
the Queen merely remarking that a moment's delay would cost them their lives.
All the time they were playing the Queen never left off quarrelling with the
other players, and shouting "Off with his head!" or "Off with
her head!" Those whom she sentenced were taken into custody by the
soldiers, who of course had to leave off being archers to do this, so that by
the end of half an hour or so there were no archers left, and all the players,
except the King, the Queen, and Alice, were in custody and under sentence of
execution.
Then the Queen left off, quite out of breath, and said to Alice, "Have you
seen the Mock Turtle yet?"
"No," said Alice. "I don't even know what a Mock Turtle
is."
"It's the thing Mock Turtle Soup is made from," said the Queen.
"I never saw one, or heard of one," said Alice.
"Come on, then," said the Queen, "and he shall tell you his
history."
As they walked off together, Alice heard the King say in a low voice, to the
company generally, "You are all pardoned." "Come,
that's a good
thing!" she said to herself, for she had felt quite unhappy at the number
of executions the Queen had ordered.
They very soon came upon a Gryphon, lying fast asleep in the sun. (If you don't
know what a Gryphon is, look at the picture.) "Up, lazy thing!" said
the Queen, "and take this young lady to see the Mock Turtle, and to hear
his history.
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