I wo n't indeed ! ' said Alice , in a great hurry to change the subject of conversation . ` Are you -- are you fond -- of -- of dogs ? ' The Mouse did not answer , so Alice went on eagerly : ` There is such a nice little dog near our house I should like to show you ! A little bright-eyed terrier , you know , with oh , such long curly brown hair ! And it 'll fetch things when you throw them , and it 'll sit up and beg for its dinner , and all sorts of things -- I ca n't remember half of them -- and it belongs to a farmer , you know , and he says it 's so useful , it 's worth a hundred pounds ! He says it kills all the rats and -- oh dear ! ' cried Alice in a sorrowful tone , ` I 'm afraid I 've offended it again ! ' For the Mouse was swimming away from her as hard as it could go , and making quite a commotion in the pool as it went . So she called softly after it , ` Mouse dear ! Do come back again , and we wo n't talk about cats or dogs either , if you do n't like them ! ' When the Mouse heard this , it turned round and swam slowly back to her : its face was quite pale -LRB- with passion , Alice thought -RRB- , and it said in a low trembling voice , ` Let us get to the shore , and then I 'll tell you my history , and you 'll understand why it is I hate cats and dogs . ' It was high time to go , for the pool was getting quite crowded with the birds and animals that had fallen into it : there were a Duck and a Dodo , a Lory and an Eaglet , and several other curious creatures . Alice led the way , and the whole party swam to the shore . CHAPTER III . A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale They were indeed a queer-looking party that assembled on the bank -- the birds with draggled feathers , the animals with their fur clinging close to them , and all dripping wet , cross , and uncomfortable . The first question of course was , how to get dry again : they had a consultation about this , and after a few minutes it seemed quite natural to Alice to find herself talking familiarly with them , as if she had known them all her life . Indeed , she had quite a long argument with the Lory , who at last turned sulky , and would only say , ' I am older than you , and must know better ' ; and this Alice would not allow without knowing how old it was , and , as the Lory positively refused to tell its age , there was no more to be said . At last the Mouse , who seemed to be a person of authority among them , called out , ` Sit down , all of you , and listen to me ! I 'LL soon make you dry enough ! '
They all sat down XXXXX once , in a large ring , with the Mouse in the middle .
For So after at if in near on than with