“Mine is a long and a sad tale!” said the Mouse, turning to Alice,

and sighing.


“It is a long tail, certainly,” said Alice, looking down

with wonder at the Mouse’s tail; “but why do you call it

sad?” And she kept on puzzling about it while the Mouse was speaking, so

that her idea of the tale was something like this:—


“You are not attending!” said the Mouse to Alice severely.

“What are you thinking of?”


“I beg your pardon,” said Alice very humbly: “you had got to

the fifth bend, I think?”


“I had not!” cried the Mouse, sharply and very angrily.


“A knot!” said Alice, always ready to make herself useful, and

looking anxiously about her. “Oh, do let me help to undo it!”


“I shall do nothing of the sort,” said the Mouse, getting up and

walking away. “You insult me by talking such nonsense!”


“I didn’t mean it!” pleaded poor Alice. “But

you’re so easily offended, you know!”


The Mouse only growled in reply.


“Please come back and finish your story!” Alice called after it;

and the others all joined in chorus, “Yes, please do!” but the

Mouse only shook its head impatiently, and walked a little quicker.


“What a pity it wouldn’t stay!” sighed the Lory, as soon as

it was quite out of sight; and an old Crab took the opportunity of saying to

her daughter “Ah, my dear! Let this be a lesson to you never to lose

your temper!” “Hold your tongue, Ma!” said the young

Crab, a little snappishly. “You’re enough to try the patience of an

oyster!”


“I wish I had our Dinah here, I know I do!” said Alice aloud,

addressing nobody in particular. “She’d soon fetch it back!”


“And who is Dinah, if I might venture to ask the question?” said

the Lory.


Alice replied eagerly, for she was always ready to talk about her pet:

“Dinah’s our cat. And she’s such a capital one for catching

mice you can’t think! And oh, I wish you could see her after the birds!

Why, she’ll eat a little bird as soon as look at it!”