if I know all the things I used to know. Let me see: four times five is twelve,

and four times six is thirteen, and four times seven is—oh dear! I shall

never get to twenty at that rate! However, the Multiplication Table

doesn’t signify: let’s try Geography. London is the capital of

Paris, and Paris is the capital of Rome, and Rome—no, that’s

all wrong, I’m certain! I must have been changed for Mabel! I’ll

try and say ‘How doth the little—’” and she

crossed her hands on her lap as if she were saying lessons, and began to repeat

it, but her voice sounded hoarse and strange, and the words did not come the

same as they used to do:—


“How doth the little crocodile

    Improve his shining tail,

And pour the waters of the Nile

    On every golden scale!


“How cheerfully he seems to grin,

    How neatly spread his claws,

And welcome little fishes in

    With gently smiling jaws!”


“I’m sure those are not the right words,” said poor Alice,

and her eyes filled with tears again as she went on, “I must be Mabel

after all, and I shall have to go and live in that poky little house, and have

next to no toys to play with, and oh! ever so many lessons to learn! No,

I’ve made up my mind about it; if I’m Mabel, I’ll stay down

here! It’ll be no use their putting their heads down and saying

‘Come up again, dear!’ I shall only look up and say ‘Who am I

then? Tell me that first, and then, if I like being that person, I’ll

come up: if not, I’ll stay down here till I’m somebody

else’—but, oh dear!” cried Alice, with a sudden burst of

tears, “I do wish they would put their heads down! I am so

very tired of being all alone here!”


As she said this she looked down at her hands, and was surprised to see that

she had put on one of the Rabbit’s little white kid gloves while she was

talking. “How can I have done that?” she thought. “I

must be growing small again.” She got up and went to the table to measure