In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the

world she was to get out again.


The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped

suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping

herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well.


Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of

time as she went down to look about her and to wonder what was going to happen

next. First, she tried to look down and make out what she was coming to, but it

was too dark to see anything; then she looked at the sides of the well, and

noticed that they were filled with cupboards and book-shelves; here and there

she saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs. She took down a jar from one of the

shelves as she passed; it was labelled “ORANGE MARMALADE”, but to

her great disappointment it was empty: she did not like to drop the jar for

fear of killing somebody underneath, so managed to put it into one of the

cupboards as she fell past it.


“Well!” thought Alice to herself, “after such a fall as this,

I shall think nothing of tumbling down stairs! How brave they’ll all

think me at home! Why, I wouldn’t say anything about it, even if I fell

off the top of the house!” (Which was very likely true.)


Down, down, down. Would the fall never come to an end? “I wonder

how many miles I’ve fallen by this time?” she said aloud. “I

must be getting somewhere near the centre of the earth. Let me see: that would

be four thousand miles down, I think—” (for, you see, Alice had

learnt several things of this sort in her lessons in the schoolroom, and though

this was not a very good opportunity for showing off her knowledge, as

there was no one to listen to her, still it was good practice to say it over)

“—yes, that’s about the right distance—but then I

wonder what Latitude or Longitude I’ve got to?” (Alice had no idea