Alice glanced rather anxiously at the cook , to see if she meant to take the hint ; but the cook was busily stirring the soup , and seemed not to be listening , so she went on again : ` Twenty-four hours , I THINK ; or is it twelve ? I -- ' ` Oh , do n't bother ME , ' said the Duchess ; ' I never could abide figures ! ' And with that she began nursing her child again , singing a sort of lullaby to it as she did so , and giving it a violent shake at the end of every line : ` Speak roughly to your little boy , And beat him when he sneezes : He only does it to annoy , Because he knows it teases . ' CHORUS . -LRB- In which the cook and the baby joined -RRB- : -- ` Wow ! wow ! wow ! ' While the Duchess sang the second verse of the song , she kept tossing the baby violently up and down , and the poor little thing howled so , that Alice could hardly hear the words : -- ' I speak severely to my boy , I beat him when he sneezes ; For he can thoroughly enjoy The pepper when he pleases ! ' CHORUS . ` Wow ! wow ! wow ! ' ` Here ! you may nurse it a bit , if you like ! ' the Duchess said to Alice , flinging the baby at her as she spoke . ' I must go and get ready to play croquet with the Queen , ' and she hurried out of the room . The cook threw a frying-pan after her as she went out , but it just missed her . Alice caught the baby with some difficulty , as it was a queer-shaped little creature , and held out its arms and legs in all directions , ` just like a star-fish , ' thought Alice . The poor little thing was snorting like a steam-engine when she caught it , and kept doubling itself up and straightening itself out again , so that altogether , for the first minute or two , it was as much as she could do to hold it . As soon as she had made out the proper way of nursing it , -LRB- which was to twist it up into a sort of knot , and then keep tight hold of its right ear and left foot , so as to prevent its undoing itself , -RRB- she carried it out into the open air .
` IF I do n't take this child away with me , ' thought Alice , ` they 're sure to kill it in a day or two : would n't it be murder XXXXX leave it behind ? '
In While after as at if like of that to