Queen’s hedgehog just now, only it ran away when it saw mine

coming!”


“How do you like the Queen?” said the Cat in a low voice.


“Not at all,” said Alice: “she’s so

extremely—” Just then she noticed that the Queen was close behind

her, listening: so she went on, “—likely to win, that it’s

hardly worth while finishing the game.”


The Queen smiled and passed on.


“Who are you talking to?” said the King, going up to Alice,

and looking at the Cat’s head with great curiosity.


“It’s a friend of mine—a Cheshire Cat,” said Alice:

“allow me to introduce it.”


“I don’t like the look of it at all,” said the King:

“however, it may kiss my hand if it likes.”


“I’d rather not,” the Cat remarked.


“Don’t be impertinent,” said the King, “and don’t

look at me like that!” He got behind Alice as he spoke.


“A cat may look at a king,” said Alice. “I’ve read that

in some book, but I don’t remember where.”


“Well, it must be removed,” said the King very decidedly, and he

called the Queen, who was passing at the moment, “My dear! I wish you

would have this cat removed!”


The Queen had only one way of settling all difficulties, great or small.

“Off with his head!” she said, without even looking round.


“I’ll fetch the executioner myself,” said the King eagerly,

and he hurried off.


Alice thought she might as well go back, and see how the game was going on, as

she heard the Queen’s voice in the distance, screaming with passion. She

had already heard her sentence three of the players to be executed for having

missed their turns, and she did not like the look of things at all, as the game

was in such confusion that she never knew whether it was her turn or not. So

she went in search of her hedgehog.


The hedgehog was engaged in a fight with another hedgehog, which seemed to

Alice an excellent opportunity for croqueting one of them with the other: the