cried the Mouse , who was trembling down to the end of his tail . ` As if I would talk on such a subject ! Our family always HATED cats : nasty , low , vulgar things ! Do n't let me hear the name again ! ' ' 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 XXXXX 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 .
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