-LRB- Alice had no idea what Longitude was , or Latitude either , but she thought they were nice grand words to say . -RRB- Presently she began again : `` I wonder if I shall fall right through the earth ! How funny it 'll be to come out among the people that walk with their heads downwards ! But I shall have to ask them what the name of the country is , you know . Please , Ma'am , is this New Zealand or Australia ? '' -- and she tried to curtsey as she spoke -LRB- fancy curtseying as you 're falling through the air ! do you think you could manage it ? -RRB- `` and what an ignorant little girl she 'll think me for asking ! No , it 'll never do to ask : perhaps I shall see it written up somewhere . '' Down , down , down : there was nothing else to do , so Alice soon began talking again . `` Dinah will miss me very much tonight , I should think ! '' -LRB- Dinah was the cat . -RRB- `` I hope they 'll remember her saucer of milk at tea-time ! Oh , dear Dinah , I wish I had you here ! There are no mice in the air , I 'm afraid , but you might catch a bat , and that 's very like a mouse , you know , my dear . But do cats eat bats , I wonder ? '' And here Alice began to get rather sleepy , and kept on saying to herself , in a dreamy sort of way `` do cats eat bats ? do cats eat bats ? '' and sometimes , `` do bats eat cats ? '' for , as she could n't answer either question , it did n't much matter which way she put it .
She felt that she was dozing off , and had just begun to dream that she was walking hand in hand with Dinah , and was saying to her very earnestly , `` Now , XXXXX , my dear , tell me the truth .
Alice Australia Dinah Longitude Zealand downwards heads question right tea-time