I love "Alice Through the Looking Glass" much more than "Alice in Wonderland." I don't know what the reason is. Maybe because she is even crazier and more logical at the same time.
This time I read Demurova’s translation, which contains not just 50 pages of comments, but also a dozen pages of comments on comments. And here these comments are not for children, and some are not even for a wide range of readers, but for enthusiastic researchers delving into the work with the tenacity of a mole. Sometimes these numerous interpretations were useful and interesting, but several times they almost caused irritation and thoughts: “Oh God! Why can’t you just read a book and enjoy it, why search for deep philosophical subtext in every line, often found with a stretch and in deadly disputes with other researchers?"
Maybe “Alice Through the Looking Glass” appeals to me in its form. This is a real forerunner of postmodernism, a not very elegant, but funny game of chess, played out on the pages of a children's book. But is it a child's? This fairy tale has two levels, an absurdly playful one (which, nevertheless, is very much loved by children) and a philosophical and logical adult one (which is really very deep and symbolic, so delving into it is difficult and not always interesting). Streams are horizontal, hedges are vertical, the girl Alice walks through a strange world where everything is topsy-turvy... And I really like that this is determined by the “looking glass”, and not “it just happened that way”, as it was in Alice . The logic of the looking glass can be traced, or rather, the anti-logic. And it’s a lot of fun, like all children’s games that are based on the rejection of some unshakable logical principle.
However, there are a lot of connections with “Alice in Wonderland” - also Kings and Queens, although completely different, the same characters (the Hare and the Hatter, well, the Hatter, although I really don’t like that word). Thank God, there is no constant chopping off of heads and various “grows”, “shrinks”, and disappears somewhere. All disappearances and appearances are due to transitions to other cells of the game, immediately changing characters and scenery, simply and elegantly. Although the very first cage that Alice passed on the train always horrified me. Almost all the characters (except the White Knight) are not very kind to Alice, but the creatures on the train are irrationally terrible, rude and evil. Brrrrr. I also really like the cage where Alice and the doe started to forget their names and everything else. Do you know what reminded me? The film "Cube", especially its second part, where inside a giant puzzle labyrinth, each cell of the cube had its own physical, temporal and other properties. So Alice wanders through such a puzzle, sometimes stumbling upon traps like memory lapses, and sometimes encountering Black pieces, since, do not forget, she is participating in a game of chess that is much more sophisticated than in Harry Potter.
And in this part the feeling of sleep is stronger than in Wonderland. Objects and people flow from one to another not just behind the scenes or when you don’t notice, but right before your eyes. Distances and space are distorted, everything around is unsteady and unreliable, you run in place, not moving anywhere. But for some reason I couldn’t perceive the poems normally at all. But this book has incredibly beautiful illustrations by John Tenniel. Not just incredibly beautiful, but also stunningly accurate, reflecting not only the external, but also the internal side of the fairy tale, universal.
I love such things: nonsense, absurdity, surrealism. I wouldn’t mind wandering through the Looking Glass or at least seeing the same wonderful dreams.
Lewis Carroll
Alice Through the Looking Glass (with Color Illustrations)
Looking Glass House
One thing was absolutely clear: white the kitten has nothing to do with it; It's all the black's fault and no one else's. For half an hour now, the cat’s mother washed Snowflake’s face (and she steadfastly endured this torment) - so that, with all her desire, Snowflake did nothing could do.
Do you know how Dina washed her kittens? With one paw she grabbed the poor thing by the ear and pressed it to the floor, and with the other she rubbed her entire face, starting from the nose, against the fur. As I already said, at this time she was working on Snowflake, and she lay quietly, did not resist, and even tried to purr - apparently, she understood that all this was being done for her own good.
Dinah had finished with little black Kitty earlier, and now, while Alice sat curled up on the corner of the spacious armchair, muttering something to herself half asleep, Kitty was having a lot of fun playing with the ball of wool that Alice had shaken in the morning; she happily chased it around the floor and, of course, unraveled it and completely tangled it. The threads were now lying on the rug in front of the fireplace, so tangled that it was scary to look at them, and Kitty was jumping on them, trying to catch her own tail.
Oh, Kitty, how disgusting you are! - said Alice, catching her and lightly kissing her on the face, in order, apparently, so that she would better understand that the mistress was angry with her. - Didn’t Dina explain to you how to behave?
She looked reproachfully at Dina and added as sternly as possible:
- Not good, Dina, not good.
And then she climbed back into the chair, taking the wool and the kitten with her, and began to work on the ball again. But things went slowly for Alice, because she was distracted all the time - either talking to Kitty or muttering something under her breath. Kitty sat quietly on her lap, pretending to carefully watch Alice flail her wool; from time to time she extended her paw and quietly touched the ball, as if wanting to say that she would gladly help if she could.
Do you know what will happen tomorrow? - said Alice. “You would have guessed it yourself if you had sat with me in the window this morning.” Only you were busy - Dina washed you. And I watched the boys collect wood chips for the fire. You need a lot of wood for a fire, Kitty. It was terribly cold, and then it started snowing - they had to go home! But don't worry, Kitty! Tomorrow we'll go watch the fire!
Then Alice wrapped a little of Kitty's wool around her neck, just to see if it would suit her; Kitty began to struggle - the ball rolled onto the floor and unraveled again.
You know,” Alice continued as they settled back into the chair, “I was so angry with you, Kitty, when I saw what you had done. I almost opened the window and sat you down in the snow! You deserve it, minx! What can you say in your defense? Now listen and don't interrupt me! (Here she shook her finger at Kitty.) I'll tell you everything! First of all, you squeaked when you were washed this morning. Yes, you have nothing to object to, I heard it with my own ears! What are you saying there? (Alice fell silent, pretending to listen to Kitty.) Did she hit you in the eye with her paw? It's your own fault, there was no need for you to open your eyes! If you had closed your eyes tighter, this wouldn't have happened! Don't make excuses, please! Better listen! Secondly, you pulled Snowflake away from the saucer by the tail when I poured her milk. Oh, that's it, are you thirsty? Haven't you thought about her? And thirdly, as soon as I turned away, you immediately unwound all the wool. Three whole offenses, Kitty, and you haven’t paid for one yet! Well, wait, I’ll punish you for everything at once - in a week!
What would happen if me did they also begin to punish for everything at once? (She thought aloud, more to herself than to Kitty.) What would happen then? end of the year? I should be in jail, no other way! What if I were left without lunch for every offense? Then one fine day I would be left without a hundred lunches at once! Well, This not so scary yet! It would be worse if you had to eat all a hundred lunches at once!
Do you hear the snow rustling against the glass, Kitty? How fluffy and soft he is! How he caresses towards the windows! Snow, that's right loves fields and trees, since he is so gentle with them! He covers them with a white feather bed so that they are warm and comfortable, and says: “Sleep, dear ones, sleep until summer comes.” And having risen from their winter sleep, Kitty, they will put on a green outfit and start dancing in the wind. Oh, how beautiful it is! - Here Alice clapped her hands and dropped the ball again. - It would be nice to have all this and really it was! After all, in the fall the forest really is so sleepy. The leaves of the trees turn yellow and he falls asleep.
Listen, Kitty, can you play chess? Don't laugh, honey, I'm asking you seriously. When we played today, you looked at the board as if you understood all the moves: and when I said “Check!”, you purred! Oh, Kitty, what a time it was. good move! And I, of course, would have won if it weren’t for that nasty horse! How did he get close to my figures! Kitty, honey, let's play as if we...
I can’t even tell you how often Alice repeated this phrase! Just yesterday she had a long argument with her sister; Alice told her: “Let's play as if we were kings and queens,” and her sister, who loves precision in everything, said that this was impossible, because there were only two of them. In the end, Alice had to give in. “Okay,” she said, “ You you will be one king and queen, and I all the other kings and queens at once!” And one day she scared her old nanny to death by shouting right in her ear: “Nanny, let’s play as if I’m a hungry hyena and you’re a bone!”
But we digress. So Alice said to Kitty:
Kitty, honey, let's play like you're the Black Queen! You know, if you sit on your hind legs and press your front legs to your chest, you will look just like the Black Queen. Come on, try it, darling!
And Alice took the Red Queen off the table and put it in front of Kitty so that she could see who to imitate. But nothing came of this idea - mainly because, according to Alice, Kitty never wanted to raise her paws properly. Then, as punishment, Alice brought her to the Mirror over the fireplace - so that she could see how gloomy she looked.
If you don’t correct yourself this very minute, I’ll put you there, in the Looking-Glass House. Well, what are you on This will you say?
You know, Kitty, if you’ll be silent for just a minute,” Alice continued, “and listen to me, I’ll tell you everything I know about the Looking-Glass House. First of all, there is this room that starts right behind the glass. It's exactly the same as our living room, Kitty, only it's the other way around! When I climb onto a chair and look in the Mirror, I can see all of her except the fireplace. Oh, how I wish his see! I'm so interested to know whether they have a fireplace in the winter or not. But no matter how you look at this Mirror, the fireplace will not see, unless our fireplace starts smoking - then smoke will appear there too. Only this, it’s true, they did it on purpose - so that we would think that they also have a fire in the fireplace. And the books there are very similar to ours - only the words are written backwards. I am this exactly I know, because one day I showed them our book, and they showed me theirs!
Well, Kitty, do you want to live in the House of Mirrors? I wonder if they will give you milk there? However, I don’t know if you can drink mirror milk? Won't it hurt you, Kitty... And then there is a corridor. If you open the door wide in our living room, you can see a piece corridor in that house, it is exactly the same as ours. But, who knows, suddenly, where he is not visible, he is completely different? Oh, Kitty, how I would like to go through the Looking Glass! There must be so many miracles there! Let's play like we can get there! Suddenly the glass will become thin as a spider's web, and we will step through it! Look, it really does melt away like fog. It’s not at all difficult to get through it now...
Lewis Carroll's novel "Alice Through the Looking Glass" is completely filled with all kinds of puzzles, fantasy images, it is worth noting how well the author controls imaginary heroes and how deeply the reader understands them, as if he himself had been in this fairyland. In this part, the author again sends the little traveler to mysterious worlds, Alice, in search of adventure.
Read the summary of Carroll's Alice Through the Looking Glass
This time, Alice, just like in the first part, thanks to her nosy, curious kitten, finds herself in the world of Through the Looking Glass. The girl finds herself in a completely mirrored room, with the same decoration and furnishings, but to her great surprise there was everything alive here: the wall clock smiled widely, thereby welcoming her, the paintings introduced mysterious and stormy conversations, completely ignoring Alice, small chess the figures turned out to be alive and also had an interesting conversation among themselves, while walking importantly on the chessboard.
As always, fearless and curious Alice really wanted to explore this place, but to her great regret she couldn’t climb the hill, and every time she ended up in the original place. Then the girl decided to talk to the flowers that grew near her, they were quite talkative and happily answered Alice’s questions, the flowers suggested that she should go in the opposite direction.
After Alice was shown the right direction, she finds herself close to the Black Queen, at that same hill. Looking around, the girl sees that everything is divided into straight and even sectors, so similar to the squares of a chessboard. She is incredibly eager to take part in this exciting game, and despite the fact that she is just a pawn here, Alice certainly dreams of becoming the queen of Through the Looking Glass.
The girl confidently goes in search of adventure and discovers more and more interesting things for herself. So, for example, instead of yellow bees, a flock of miniature elephants circles above her. And the passengers on the train were a goat, a beetle and a horse, who provided tickets for the journey with the size of their own height. The controller studied Alice very carefully, looking at her through a variety of devices, and then concluded that the girl was moving in the wrong direction.
Life in this place was completely different and sometimes incomprehensible to Alice. So, having met the White Queen, she still wanted to feed her guest jam for tomorrow. The girl refused, but the queen explained to her that tomorrow never comes, because it already exists now. And the White Queen accurately remembers the details and events of the past and future. And she starts crying over her cut finger, even before it happens. The girl was also surprised that when she tried to cut the pie into pieces and distribute it, it constantly came together in its original form. Lev explained to her that she needed to do everything the other way around, that is, first treat everyone with a pie, and only after that cut it.
Alice was amazed by absolutely everything in the looking glass, and especially by how the inhabitants of this place deftly turned words around, distorting them beyond recognition. So the girl reached the eighth line and felt the crown on her head. Thus, she outraged the White and Black Queens, who were constantly muttering something. And a feast was announced in honor of the new queen, but this event greatly embarrassed the two disheveled queens. And even this holiday went awry, as in principle it should be for this place. The angry little girl attacks the Black Queen with great anger and begins to shake her with all her might.
And then suddenly Alice realizes that she is not shaking the Black Queen at all, but her little black kitten. And at that very moment, the strange journey to the mysterious and unique country of the Looking Glass dissipates and her usual and so understandable world is again in front of her. And there seem to be the same things in the room, but no one else argues, whispers or makes funny faces, everything is as it should be. And whether it was a dream is completely unclear, and if it was, then to whom it belongs. Alice’s journey has ended, but how she would like to visit there again, setting off for new adventures.
About the novel
Lewis Carroll's stunning novel, of course, immerses the reader in a serene flight of fantasy and imagination, but at the same time it awakens the brightest feelings that sometimes find themselves in the depths of human consciousness. The work is filled with genuine childish kindness and a consciousness as pure as spring water, which is incapable of evil and vain acts, and this thereby forces you to reconsider your own self and maybe change something in it.
Picture or drawing Carroll - Alice Through the Looking Glass
Three years have passed since the death of Sherlock Holmes. In the capital of England, the police discovered the body of Ronald Adair. The murdered man was an earl, and also an avid gambler, a member of all card clubs in London.
Current page: 1 (book has 8 pages in total)
Carroll Lewis
Alice through the Looking Glass (Alice – 2)
Lewis Carroll
Alice in the Wonderland
(Through the mirror and what Alice saw there)
The White Pawn (Alice) starts and becomes Queen in eleven moves
1. Alice meets the Black Queen
2. Alice via d3 ( Railway goes to d4 (Tweedledum and Tweedledee)
3. Alice meets the White Queen (with shawl)
4. Alice goes to d5 (bench, river, shop)
5. Alice goes to d6 (Humpty Dumpty)
6. Alice goes to d7 (forest)
7. White Horse takes on Black Horse
8. Alice goes to d8 (coronation)
9. Alice becomes Queen
10. Alice "castles" (feast)
11. Alice takes the Black Queen and wins the game
1. The Black Queen moves to h5
2. The White Queen goes to c4 (catches the shawl)
4. The White Queen moves to f8 (leaves an egg on the shelf)
5. The White Queen goes to c8 (escaping from the Black Horse)
6. Black Knight goes to e7
7. White Knight goes to f5
8. The Black Queen goes to e8 (“exam”)
9. Queens "castle"
10. The White Queen goes to a6 (soup)
DRAMATIS PERSONAE (SETUP BEFORE THE GAME STARTS)
Figures: Tweedledee, Unicorn, Sheep, White Queen, White King, Old Man, White Knight, Tweedledee
Pawns: Daisy, Zay Ats, Oyster, Little Lily, Doe, Oyster, Chick Chick, Daisy
Figures: Humpty Dumpty, Carpenter, Walrus, Black Queen, Black King, Raven, Black Knight, Lion
Pawns: Daisy, Stranger, Oyster, Tiger Lily, Rose, Oyster, Frog, Daisy
Child with a cloudless brow
And with a surprised look,
Let everything change around
And you and I are not close,
Let the years separate us
Please accept my story as a gift.
I only see you in my dreams,
I can't hear your laughter, dear,
You have grown up, and about me,
I probably forgot (*1).
I've had enough for now
You will listen to my story.
It started many years ago
Early July morning,
Our boat glided in harmony
With my story.
I remember this blue path
Even though the years have been saying: forget it!
My dear friend, the days will fly by,
And he tells you: “Go to sleep!”
And it will be too late to argue.
We look so much like guys
That they don’t want to go to bed.
All around - frost, blinding snow
And empty as in the desert,
We have joy, children's laughter,
The fire is burning in the fireplace.
A fairy tale saves you from adversity
Let her save you.
Although there is a slight sadness in the air
In my fairy tale,
Even though summer is over, let it be
Its colors do not fade,
Breath of evil this time too
Don't be saddened by my story.
Since the chess problem given on the previous page has puzzled some readers, I should obviously explain that it is composed in accordance with the rules - so far as the _moves_ themselves are concerned.
It is true that the _order_ of black and white is not always observed with due strictness, and the "castling" of the three Queens simply means that all three end up in the palace; however, anyone who takes the trouble to arrange the pieces and make the indicated moves will be convinced that the “check” of the White King on the 6th move, the loss of the Knight by Black on the 7th and the final “checkmate” of the Black King do not contradict the laws of the game (*2 ).
The new words in the poem "Jabberwocky" caused some controversy regarding their pronunciation; I should obviously give clarification on _this_ point. "Hlivkie" should be pronounced with emphasis on the first syllable; “grunted” - on the third; and “Zelyuki” is on the last one.”
For the sixty-first thousand of this edition, new clichés were made from wooden forms (since they were not used directly for printing, they are in the same excellent condition as in 1871, when they were made); the entire book was typed in a new font. If, artistically, this reissue is in any way inferior to its predecessors, this will not be through the fault of the author, publisher or printer.
I take this opportunity to inform the public that Alice for Children, which hitherto cost 4 shillings without cover, is now sold on the same terms as ordinary shilling picture books, although I am sure that it is superior to them in every respect (for with the exception of the _text_ itself, which I have no right to judge). 4 shillings was a very reasonable price, considering the serious expense this book entailed on me; however, since Readers say: “For a picture book, no matter how good, we _don’t_ want to pay more than four shillings,” I agree to write off my expenses for its publication at a loss, and so as not to leave the little ones for whom it was written without it at all, I am selling it at such a price that for me it is equivalent to giving it away for nothing.
Christmas 1896
1. THROUGH THE MIRROR HOUSE
One thing was absolutely clear: the _white_ kitten had nothing to do with it; It's all the black's fault and no one else's. For half an hour now, the mother cat had been washing Snowflake’s face (and she steadfastly endured this torment) - so, despite all her desire, Snowflake couldn’t do anything.
Do you know how Dina washed her kittens? With one paw she grabbed the poor thing by the ear and pressed it to the floor, and with the other she rubbed her entire face, starting from the nose, against the fur. As I already said, during this time she was working on Snowflake, and she lay quietly, did not resist, and even tried to purr - apparently, she understood that all this was being done for her own good.
Dinah had finished with little black Kitty earlier, and now, while Alice sat curled up on the corner of the spacious armchair, muttering something to herself half asleep, Kitty was having a lot of fun playing with the ball of wool that Alice had shaken in the morning; she happily chased it around the floor and, of course, unraveled it and completely tangled it. The threads were now lying on the rug in front of the fireplace, so tangled that it was scary to look at them, and Kitty was jumping on them, trying to catch her own tail.
- Oh, Kitty, how disgusting you are! - said Alice, catching her and lightly kissing her on the face, - in order, apparently, so that she would better understand that the mistress is angry with her. – Didn’t Dina explain to you how to behave?
She looked reproachfully at Dina and added as sternly as possible:
- _Not good_, Dina, _not good_!
And then she climbed back into the chair, taking the wool and the kitten with her, and began to work on the ball again. But Alice's progress was slow, because she was constantly distracted - either talking to Kitty or muttering something under her breath. Kitty sat quietly on her lap, pretending to carefully watch Alice flail her wool; from time to time she extended her paw and quietly touched the ball, as if wanting to say that she would gladly help if she could.
– Do you know what will happen tomorrow? - said Alice. “You would have guessed it yourself if you had sat with me in the window this morning.” Only you were busy; Dina washed you. And I watched the boys collect wood chips for the fire. You need a lot of wood for a fire, Kitty. It was terribly cold, and then it started snowing - they had to go home! But don't worry, Kitty! Tomorrow we'll go watch the fire! (*3)
Then Alice wrapped a little of Kitty's wool around her neck, just to see if it would suit her; Kitty began to struggle - the ball rolled onto the floor and unraveled again.
“You know,” Alice continued when they settled back into the chair, “I’m so angry with you.” Kitty, when I saw what you did. I almost opened the window and sat you down in the snow! You deserve it, minx! What can you say in your defense? Now listen and don't interrupt me! (Here she shook her finger at Kitty.) I'll tell you everything! First of all, you squeaked when you were washed this morning. Yes, you have nothing to object to, I heard it with my own ears! What are you saying there? (Alice fell silent, pretending to listen to Kitty.) Did she hit you in the eye with her paw? It's your own fault, there was no need for you to open your eyes! If you had closed your eyes tighter, this wouldn't have happened! Don't make excuses, please! Better listen! Secondly, you pulled Snowflake (*4) by the tail from the saucer when I poured milk for her. Oh, that's it, are you thirsty? Haven't you thought about her? And thirdly, as soon as I turned away, you immediately unwound all the wool. Three whole offenses, Kitty, and you haven’t paid for one yet! Well, wait, I’ll punish you for everything at once - in a week!
– What would happen if _me_ were also punished for everything at once? (She thought aloud, more to herself than to Kitty.) What would happen then at the _end of the year_? I should be in jail, no other way! What if I were left without lunch for every offense? Then one fine day I would be left without a hundred lunches at once! Well, _that_ is not so scary yet! It would be worse if you had to eat all a hundred lunches at once!
– Do you hear the snow rustling against the glass, Kitty? How fluffy and soft he is! How he caresses towards the windows! Snow probably loves fields and trees, since he is so gentle with them! He covers them with a white feather bed so that they are warm and comfortable, and says: “Sleep, dear ones, sleep until summer comes.” And having risen from their winter sleep, Kitty, they will put on a green outfit and start dancing in the wind. Oh, how beautiful it is! - Here Alice clapped her hands and dropped the ball again. – It would be nice if all this really were like this! After all, in the fall the forest really is so sleepy. The leaves of the trees turn yellow and he falls asleep.
- Listen, Kitty, can you play chess? Don't laugh, honey, I'm asking you seriously. When we played today, you looked at the board as if you understood all the moves: and when I said “Check!”, you purred! Oh, Kitty, what a _good_ move it was! And I, of course, would have won if it weren’t for that nasty horse! How did he get close to my figures! Kitty, honey, let's play like we...
“I can’t even tell you how often Alice repeated this phrase!” Just yesterday she had a long argument with her sister; Alice told her: “Let’s play as if we were kings and queens,” and her sister, who loves precision in everything, said that this was impossible, because there were only two of them. In the end, Alice had to give in. “Okay,” she said, _you_ will be one king-and-queen, and I will be all the other kings and queens at once!” And one day she scared her old nanny to death by shouting right in her ear: “Nanny, let’s play as if I’m a hungry hyena and you’re a bone!”
But we digress. So Alice said to Kitty:
- Kitty, dear, let's play as if you are the Black Queen! You know, if you sit on your hind legs and press your front legs to your chest, you will look just like the Black Queen. Come on, try it, darling!
And Alice took the Red Queen off the table and put it in front of Kitty so that she could see who to imitate. But nothing came of this idea - mainly because, according to Alice, Kitty never wanted to raise her paws properly. Then, as punishment, Alice brought her to the Mirror over the fireplace - so that she could see how gloomy she looked.
“If you don’t correct yourself this very minute, I’ll put you there, in the Mirror House.” Well, what do you say to that?
“You know, Kitty, if you’ll be silent for just a minute,” Alice continued, and listen to me, I’ll tell you everything I know about the Looking-Glass House. First of all, there is this room that starts right behind the glass. It's exactly the same as our living room, Kitty, only it's the other way around! (*5) When I climb onto a chair and look in the Mirror, I can see all of her except the fireplace. Oh, how I would like to see him! I'm so interested to know whether they have a fireplace in the winter or not. But no matter how you look in this Mirror, you won’t see the fireplace, unless our fireplace starts smoking - then smoke will appear there too. Only this, it’s true, they did it on purpose - so that we would think that they also have a fire in the fireplace. And the books there are very similar to ours - only the words are written backwards. I know this for sure, because one day I showed them our book, and they showed me theirs!
- Well, Kitty, do you want to live in the Looking-Glass House? I wonder if they will give you milk there? However, I don’t know if you can drink mirror milk? Won't it hurt you, Kitty... (*6) And then there is a corridor. If you open the door in our living room wider, you can see a piece of the corridor in that house, it’s exactly the same as ours. But, who knows, suddenly, where he is not visible, he is completely different? Oh, Kitty, how I would like to go through the Looking Glass! There must be so many miracles there! Let's play like we can get there! Suddenly the glass will become thin as a spider's web, and we will step through it! Look, it really does melt away like fog. It's not at all difficult to get through it now...
Then Alice found herself on the mantelpiece, although she herself did not notice how she got there. And the mirror, sure enough, began to _melt_, like silvery fog in the morning.
A moment later, Alice walked through the mirror and easily jumped into the Looking Glass.
First of all, she looked into the fireplace and was very happy to see that the wood was burning hot in it; the fire was real, just like at home!
“So I’ll be as warm here as I am there,” thought Alice. And probably even warmer! No one here will chase me away from the fireplace. But it will be funny when our people see me here - they can’t get me!
She looked around and immediately noticed that the room was in fact not at all as ordinary and boring as it seemed from behind the Mirror. The portraits on the wall near the fireplace were alive and whispering about something, and the round clock that stood on the mantelpiece (previously Alice had only seen it from behind) smiled at her.
“It’s really not the same order here as ours,” thought Alice, noticing several chess pieces in the fireplace ashes; suddenly she gasped and squatted down; the figures walked importantly on the rug in pairs!
“There’s the Black King and the Black Queen,” said Alice (in a whisper so as not to frighten them away). - And there the White King and White Queen are sitting on the edge of the scoop and dangling their legs. And there are two Turas holding hands and whispering about something. I don't think they hear me...
Alice leaned towards the fireplace.
“They probably don’t see me.” It seems that I have suddenly become invisible...
Then something rolled on the table behind her and squealed; Alice turned around and saw that it was the White Pawn who had fallen. She lay on her back and kicked with all her might, trying to get to her feet. Alice waited with curiosity to see what would happen next.
- This is my little one! - the White Queen shouted and rushed towards the Pawn, pushing the King away with such force that he fell straight into the ashes. - Lily, pussy! You are my darling kitten! My royal baby!
And she began to climb up the fireplace grate.
- Royal nonsense! – muttered the King, rubbing his nose, which had been bruised by the fall.
No wonder he was a little angry with the Queen, since he was covered in ash from head to toe.
Alice decided to come to their aid, and since little Lily was screaming at the top of her voice, she bent down, grabbed the Queen and quickly placed her on the table next to her loudly crying daughter.
The Queen sighed convulsively and sat down: she was breathless from such a dizzying takeoff; For a minute she just silently squeezed her daughter in her arms. Having caught her breath a little, she shouted to the King, who was sitting gloomily in the ashes:
- Beware of the volcano!
– Which volcano? - asked the King and looked anxiously into the fireplace, apparently believing that this was the most suitable place for a volcano.
- Which... threw... me up! – the Queen said with emphasis, who still couldn’t catch her breath. - Go upstairs the usual way! Otherwise you'll fly up into the air!
Alice watched for a long time as the King struggled up the fireplace grate, carefully moving from rung to rung, and finally couldn’t stand it and said:
- So you climb all day! Let me help you, okay?
But the King remained silent in response: he, of course, simply did not hear or see her.
Alice took it carefully in her hand and raised it - slowly, slowly, so that he would not lose his breath, like the Queen. But before putting it on the table, she decided to clean it a little: it was covered in ash.
Alice later said that in her life she had never seen such a face as the King made when he felt that an invisible hand stopped halfway in the air and someone began to blow away the ashes from him: he was so surprised that he could not even scream; his eyes and mouth widened and opened wider and wider, although it seemed there was nowhere to go further. Alice laughed so hard that her hand shook with laughter, and she almost dropped the poor king.
- I beg you, darling, don’t make such faces! - Alice cried, completely forgetting that the King could not hear her. “You made me laugh so much that I almost dropped you!” Shut your mouth! Otherwise you will swallow ashes! Well, now, in my opinion, you are clean!
She smoothed his hair and placed him on the table next to the Queen.
The king immediately fell over backwards and froze, so that Alice became alarmed and went to look for water to revive him. However, no matter how she looked, there was no water anywhere; she only found a bottle of ink, but when she returned to the table with it, it turned out that the King had already come to his senses and was frightenedly whispering something to the Queen - so quietly that Alice could hardly make out the words.
“I assure you, my dear,” whispered the King, “I was so frightened that I went cold to the very tips of my whiskers.”
- But you don’t have sideburns! - the Queen objected.
– I will never forget this terrible moment in my life! - said the King.
“You’ll forget,” the Queen noted, “if you don’t write it down in your notebook.”
Alice watched with curiosity as the King pulled out a huge notebook from his pocket and began to write something in it. Then an unexpected thought occurred to Alice - she grabbed the tip of a huge pencil that was sticking out behind the King’s shoulder and began to write herself.
The poor King was completely at a loss; For a minute he silently struggled with the pencil, but no matter how hard he fought, the pencil wrote its own, so that finally the King said, breathless:
- You know, my dear, I need to get a thinner pencil. This one escapes my fingers - he writes all sorts of nonsense that I never even thought of...
- What nonsense? – asked the Queen, looking into the book.
(Alice meanwhile wrote: “_The White Horse is riding down the poker. He’s about to fall_.”) (*7)
– But that’s not what you wanted to write down! - cried the Queen.
There was some kind of book on the table; Alice took it and began to leaf through it, glancing from time to time at the White King. (She was still worried about him and had ink ready in case he got sick again.) She hoped that she would be able to read at least one page of the book, but everything was written in some incomprehensible language.
This is what it looked like (*8).
TOLGAMRAB
ikrosh eikvilh.solakraV
Evan op silyaryP
Ikulez ilatokyurh I
Ovem in ikizmyum kak
Alice was racking her brains over these lines, when suddenly it dawned on her:
“Well, of course,” she exclaimed, “this is the Looking-Glass Book!” If I hold it up to the Mirror, I can read it.
So she did. And this is what she read;
Jabberwocky
It was boiling. Squishy blinkers
We were poking around on the nave,
And the greenhorns grunted,
Like mumziki in mov (*9).
O fear the Jabberwocky, son! (*10)
He's so fierce and wild
And in the wilderness a giant roars
The vicious Bandersnatch! (*eleven)
But he took the sword, and he took the shield,
The lofty ones are full of thoughts.
Into the depths his path lies
Under the Tumtum tree.
He stood under a tree and waited.
And suddenly there was thunder
The terrible Jabberwocky is flying
And it burns with fire!
One-two, one-two! The grass is burning
Calls and calls - shears the sword,
Wow! Wow! And head
He's babbling off his shoulders!
O my radiant boy!
You won the battle!
O brave hero,
I sing your praises!
It was boiling (*12). Squishy blinkers
We poked around on the nave.
And the greenhorns grunted,
Like mumziki in mov.
“Very nice poems,” said Alice thoughtfully, “but they are not so easy to understand.”
(You know, she didn’t even want to admit to herself that she didn’t understand anything.)
- They lead to all sorts of thoughts - although I don’t know what... One thing is clear: _someone killed someone_ here... But, however, maybe not...
Then she came to her senses and jumped to her feet.
- Why am I sitting here? - she thought. – I have to hurry, otherwise I won’t have time to examine everything that is here! Let's start with the garden!
With these words, Alice rushed out of the room and ran down the stairs... actually, she didn’t run, but... how can I explain this? This new way it’s easy and free to go down the stairs, thought Alice: she just put her hand on the railing and quietly floated down the steps, without even touching them with her feet; So she rushed through the hallway and would have flown straight out the door if she had not grabbed the door frame. The flight made her dizzy, and she was glad to set foot on the ground again.
2. THE GARDEN WHERE THE FLOWERS SPEAKED
“If I go up that hill, I’ll see the whole garden at once,” thought Alice. - And here is the path, it leads straight up... No, _not straight_ at all...
(She only took a few steps, but it already became clear to her that the path kept winding.)
“I hope,” Alice said to herself, “she will still lead me upstairs!” How she spins! Just a corkscrew, not a path! Turn - now we will be at the top! Oh no, she turned down again! This way I'll get straight to home again! I'll go back!
And she turned back. But, wherever she went, wherever she turned, every time, for the life of her, she came out again to the house. And once, having made a sharp turn, she ran her nose straight into the wall.
“There’s no need to persuade me,” said Alice, turning to the house, as if he were arguing with her. – It’s still _early_ for me to return! I know that eventually I will have to go home again through the Mirror, and then all my adventures will end!
Here she resolutely turned her back on the house and walked along the path again, promising herself not to turn anywhere until she reached the hill. At first everything was fine, and she was already thinking that this time she would manage to get upstairs, when suddenly the path curved and rose (that’s exactly how Alice later talked about it) - and at that very moment Alice found herself right on the threshold of the house.
- This house again! I'm so tired of him! - Alice cried. - It gets under your feet!
And the hill was very close - well, just a stone's throw away. There was nothing to do, Alice sighed and hit the road again. She had not walked even a few steps when she came across a large flower bed with daisies growing along the edges, and an oak tree in the middle.
“Ah, Lily,” said Alice, looking at the Tiger Lily (*13), swaying gently in the wind. - What a pity that you don’t know how to speak!
“We know how to talk,” answered Lilia. - It would be with someone!
Alice was so surprised that she could not utter a word in response: she was literally breathless with amazement. But finally, seeing that Lily was calmly swaying in the wind, Alice came to her senses and timidly whispered:
– Are _all_ the flowers talking here?
“No worse than you,” answered Lilia, “only much louder.”
“We just think it’s not good to speak first,” Rose intervened. “And I’m just standing there and thinking: will you think of talking to us or not?” “This one, at least, doesn’t have a completely meaningless face,” I say to myself. “True, she doesn’t shine with intelligence, but what can you do! But she has the right color, and that’s already something!”
“The color doesn’t bother me,” Lilia remarked. “If only her petals curled more, then she would be very cute.”
Alice was unpleasant to hear all these critical remarks, and she hastened to ask:
– Don’t you ever get scared? You are all alone here, and no one is protecting you...
– How do you mean “alone”? - said Rose. - What's the use of oak?
- But can he do anything? – Alice was surprised.
“He can beat anyone,” said Rose. - Well, he knows how to bludgeon!
“That’s why it’s called an oak tree,” cried Margarita.
– And you didn’t know _this? – her friend picked it up, and then they all screamed so loudly that the air rang with their shrill voices.
- Well, shut up! - Tiger Lily shouted, swaying furiously and trembling all over with indignation.
- They know that I can’t reach them! - she said, breathless, turning her head, trembling with anger, towards Alice. - Let go, you scoundrels!
- Don't worry! - said Alice and, leaning towards the daisies, whispered:
“If you don’t shut up right now, I’ll tear you all down!”
Immediately there was silence, and several pink daisies turned white as a sheet.
- Right! - said Lilia. – Daisies are the most intolerable of all flowers. As soon as one of them blooms, they all immediately bloom after it! They raise such a cry! Listen to them and you'll literally wither.
- How did you all learn to speak so well? - asked Alice, hoping to soften her a little with praise. “I’ve been to many gardens, but I’ve never heard flowers talk!”
“Put your hand down,” said Lilia, “and feel the flowerbed.” Then everything will become clear to you.
Alice sat down and touched the ground.
“Hard as a rock,” she said. - But what does this have to do with it?
“In other gardens,” answered Lilia, “the flowerbeds are loosened every now and then.” They are soft there, like feather beds - flowers and sleep all day long!
Then everything became clear to Alice.
“So that’s what it’s all about,” she rejoiced. – I didn’t think about that!
“In my opinion, you never think about anything,” Rose remarked sternly.
“I’ve never seen such a fool in my life,” said Violet (*14).
Alice jumped out of surprise: Violet was silent all this time, as if she didn’t know how to speak.
– Should you keep quiet! – Lily shouted. – You’d think you’d even _seen_ anything in your life! You hide under a leaf and sleep there for your own pleasure, but you know no more about what is happening in the world than a bud!
“Are there other people in the garden besides me?” – Alice asked, deciding to ignore Rose’s remark.
“There is another flower here that can walk like you,” said Rose. - I don’t understand how you manage to do this...
(“You never understand anything,” Lilia remarked.)
“Only he’s more spread out than you,” Rose continued as if nothing had happened.
- And for the rest, how am I? – Alice asked with excitement. (“There’s another girl in the garden!” she thought.)
“The same strange shape as you,” said Rose. – A little darker, perhaps, and the petals are shorter...
“Smooth, like Dahlia’s,” picked up Tiger Lily, turning to Alice, “and not as disheveled as yours.”
“Don’t be upset, it’s not your fault,” Rose said condescendingly. “It’s just that you’re already withering, and your petals are frayed, there’s nothing you can do about it...
Alice didn't like this, and to change the conversation, she asked:
– Does she ever come here?
“Don’t worry, you’ll see her soon,” said Rose. “She’s one of those people with nine thorns, you know?”
-Where are her thorns? - Alice asked in surprise.
“On the head, of course,” Rose answered. “And I kept wondering why _you_ don’t have them.” It seemed to me that everything with you was thorny.
- There she comes! - shouted the young Shpornik. - I hear her steps! Top-Top! Only she stomps like that when she walks along the path (*15).
Alice looked around joyfully and saw the Red Queen.
- How she has grown! – Alice involuntarily thought.
And, indeed, when Alice found her in the ashes, she was no more than three inches tall, and now she is half a head taller than Alice herself.
“It’s because of the fresh air,” Rose noted, “we have wonderful air here!”
“I’ll go meet her,” said Alice.
Of course, she was interested in chatting with the flowers, but how can they compare with the real Queen!
- Towards? – Rose asked. - So you will never meet her! _I_ would advise you to go in the opposite direction!
- What nonsense! - thought Alice.
However, she did not say anything out loud and went straight to the Queen. To her surprise, she immediately lost sight of her and found herself again at the threshold of the house.
Angrily, she stepped back, looked around in search of the Queen, whom she finally saw in the distance, and thought: should she go in the opposite direction this time? (*16)
Everything turned out just fine. Not even a minute had passed before she encountered the Queen at the foot of the hill, where she had never been able to approach before.
-Where are you from here? – asked the Queen. - And where are you going? Look in my eyes! Answer politely! And don't wiggle your fingers! (*17)
Alice obediently looked into her eyes and tried to explain that she had lost her way, but now she understood her mistake and was going to continue on her way.
- _Your path? – asked the Queen. – I don’t know what you want to say! All roads are broken here!
Suddenly softening, she added:
- But tell me, why did you come here? While you're thinking about what to say, curtsey! This saves time.
Alice was a little surprised, but the Queen inspired her with such respect that she did not dare object.
“I’ll return home,” she thought, “and try to curtsy when I’m late for dinner!”
- Well, now answer! - said the Queen, looking at her watch. When you speak, open your mouth a little wider and don’t forget to add: “Your Majesty”!
– I just wanted to look at the garden, Your Majesty...
“I see,” said the Queen and stroked Alice on the head, which did not give her the slightest pleasure. Looking around, the Queen added:
- Is this a garden? I’ve seen such gardens, next to which this one is just an abandoned wasteland!
Alice did not dare to contradict her and continued:
– And I also wanted to climb to the top of the hill...
- Is this a hill? – the Queen interrupted her. – I’ve seen such hills, next to which this one is just a plain!
- Oh no! - Alice said suddenly and she was surprised how she decided to object to the Queen. – A hill _cannot_ be a plain. This is absolutely nonsense!
– Is this nonsense? - said the Queen and shook her head. - I have heard such nonsense, next to which this one is reasonable, like Dictionary! (*18)
Here Alice curtsied again, because from the Queen’s voice it seemed to her that she was still a little offended. They walked on in silence and finally reached the top of the hill.
For several minutes Alice stood without saying a word, just looking at the country spread out at her feet.
It was an amazing country. Straight streams ran across, and neat hedges divided the space between the streams into equal squares.
“In my opinion, Through the Looking Glass is terribly similar to a chessboard,” Alice finally said. – Only for some reason the figures are not visible... But, by the way, here they are! – she shouted joyfully, and her heart beat loudly in her chest.
- They play chess here! This whole world is chess (*19) (unless, of course, it can be called a world)! This is one big, big batch. Oh, how interesting! And how I _wanted_ to be accepted into this game! I even agree to be a Pawn, if only they would take me... Although, of course, most of all I would like to be the Queen!
She timidly glanced sideways at the real Queen, but she only smiled graciously and said:
- This can be easily arranged. If you want, become the White Royal Pawn. Little Lily is too young to play! (*20) Besides, you are now standing right on the second line. If you reach the eighth, you will become Queen...
Then for some reason Alice and the Queen started to run.
Translator Yuri Lifshits
© Lewis Carroll 2017
© Yuri Lifshits, translation, 2017
ISBN 978-5-4483-2560-1
Created in the intellectual publishing system Ridero
Introduction
Child looking bright
Dreaming of a miracle
Although many years have passed
And we won't be together
But you came in this time too
In the story given to you.You're not here, I can't hear you
Silver laughter.
Your youth is in full bloom,
And I'm just a nuisance
But if you're at a leisurely hour
Read my fairy tale...It started in the summer when
Colors glowed in the rays.
The sun and water merged
With the flow of the first fairy tale
Years of merciless spite
I remember the summer warmth.The time will come someday
Evening, pre-sunset,
And let my girl fall asleep
A clear voice will command
But we are not children to cry,
When it's time for us to go to bed.It's blizzard and frost outside
And the wind howls fiercely.
And here is the bliss of childhood dreams,
The fireplace is blazing hot
Your baby dreams
Surrounded by fantasy.Even the ghost of my old age
Slides in this story,
And there are no "happy summer days"
Missing with the summer
But the ominous eye did not penetrate
To my new fairy tale.
Chapter I. The Looking-Glass House
One thing was clear: the white kitten was not to blame. The black one got into trouble. For the last quarter of an hour, the white kitten had been carefully washed by his mother, a cat named Dina, and he could hardly lay a paw on what had happened.
Dina washed the kittens every day. It was a funny sight: with her left paw she pressed the kitten’s head to her, and with her right paw she rubbed his face quite firmly. At the moment, Dina, as already mentioned, was washing the white kitten's hair. He didn’t even think of trying to escape, purred from time to time and showed with all his appearance that he was aware of the need for daily head washers.
But the black kitten was already washed, and when Alice took a nap in a large comfortable chair, he started fussing with a ball of wool. Alice had wound up a large ball the day before and, as it turned out, it was completely in vain: what was left of it lay unwound and completely tangled, and the kitten, running along the threads, was catching up with its own tail.
- What a lack of hearing you are! - Alice reproached him, and Not kissed me as punishment. “It seems to me, Dina, that you should pay attention to your son.” It should, Dinochka, it should! Don't argue, please! - she scolded the old cat with all the sternness she was capable of.
Alice collected the wool, sat down in a chair, put the kitten on her lap and began to untangle the threads.
Things were going neither shaky nor slow, because she was not so much working as talking: sometimes with the kitten, sometimes with herself. The subdued kitten sat on her lap, supposedly looking at the ball with interest and occasionally touching the threads - he, they say, could help if he was allowed.
– Do you know, Coal, what will happen tomorrow? - asked Alice. - Do not you know? Same thing. You should have looked out the window with me. Although Dina was just at that time putting you in order. The boys were collecting branches for the fire in the yard. The fire will go up to the skies. It was snowing, it was very cold, the boys froze and left. But don’t be upset, Coal, tomorrow there will certainly be a fire. Will you come watch with me?
Alice threw a thread around the kitten's neck - it would be interesting to see how it would look? He began to fight back, the ball fell and, unwinding, rolled across the floor.
“You can’t imagine, Coal, how you upset me today!” – Alice spoke again, sitting down in a chair. - There was nothing to play pranks on. Say thank you, I didn’t put you out in the cold for your pranks. You will make excuses later, but for now sit and listen. “She shook her finger at the kitten. – I remember everything, you know that! In the morning you squeaked displeasedly twice when your mother washed you - this time. Don't mind, I heard it myself. What? – Alice put her palm to her ear, listening (of course, in pretend) to Coal’s supposed objections. “Are you saying that Dina hit you in the eye with her paw?” Blame yourself. They told you to close your eyes, but you didn’t listen. Secondly, you grabbed Squirrel by the tail. She was the first to run to the saucer of milk. She might have wanted to drink more than you. Finally, a ball. Before I even had time to look back, you unwound it - that’s three. Three whole tricks! And mind you, I didn’t punish you for any of them. But on Wednesday you will answer for everything, okay?.. What would happen if I was punished for everything at once? – Alice asked the question not to the kitten, but to herself. - What would happen to me then? was? They would have been sent to prison, no other way! And if I were left without lunch for every offense, then I would lose at least fifty lunches a year. However, this is not so bad. It's better to miss fifty meals once than to eat them all in one sitting.
“Look out the window,” Alice turned to the kitten again. - Snowing. How softly and silently he falls. And it just sticks to the glass! I think if it was winter Cold If she treated trees and fields, she would not have cared about them at all. You see how carefully she wraps them with her snow-white blanket. “It’s time to sleep, my dears,” Winter probably says. “Rest until spring.” The trees will sleep, put on green dresses and dance merrily in the spring wind. How amazing! - Alice exclaimed, clapped her hands and... dropped the ball. – I wish winter would end soon! When trees are without leaves, they are boring to look at...
“Come on, Coal, I’ll teach you to play chess,” Alice continued after a pause. – There’s no need to laugh, I’m serious. Yesterday, for example, you followed the game with all your eyes. I think you're already starting to understand the rules. When I announced “Check!”, you purred with pleasure. You know, I made a great move then, and if it weren’t for that stupid Horse, I would certainly have won. What if you and I...
To tell the truth, a good half of the phrases spoken by Alice began with the words “what if...”. Yesterday, for example, she suggested to her sister: “What if you and I also become figures, for example, the King and Queen? And let's play a game? My sister refused. “There are only two of us,” she said after much arguing, “and we cannot replace all the figures.” She didn't like such fantasies at all. Then Alice suggested playing differently. “Okay,” she said, “let you be one Queen, and I will be the other, and both Kings at the same time.” That's what! One day Alice scared her old nanny half to death. "Nanny! – she shouted right into the old woman’s ear. “What if I’m an angry dog and you’re a cat!”
But we digress.
- What if you, Sooty, become the Black Queen? - said Alice. - Sit on your hind legs. So. And press the front ones to your stomach. Please don't be stubborn...
She took the Black Queen off the board and showed the kitten what she looked like. It did not help. Sooty didn't want to fold his paws correctly. Alice had to take him in her arms and bring him to the mirror - let him look at himself from the outside!
- Why are you so stubborn? – Alice asked the kitten. “If you don’t listen, I’ll send you to the Mirror House.” I don't think you'll like it very much there... Okay, sit still and listen. I'll tell you about Through the Looking Glass. There is exactly the same room as ours. Only things have been rearranged. The fireplace is not visible in Through the Looking Glass. Therefore, you won’t be able to look at it. I wonder if there is a fire in it or not? When our fireplace begins to smoke, smoke also billows into that room. But maybe Mirror Smoke isn't real? Maybe there's smoke in there just, to guide us through, but in fact the fire is never lit in that fireplace? In Through the Looking Glass there are books very similar to ours, only the letters in them face the wrong direction. Honestly! One day I opened the book in front of the Mirror and examined everything properly. Do you, Sooty, like the Looking Glass House? I don't know if there is milk in there or not. And if there is, will it benefit you? You know, there is a corridor there. When we open the doors of our room, a piece of that corridor is visible through the looking glass. It is also similar to ours, but what will it turn out to be next? Oh, if only I could get through the Mirror! It would be great! Maybe try? I could do it if the Mirror dissipated, like smoke... Wow! It really is covered in some kind of translucent haze... And now it’s not so difficult...
The mirror hung above the mantelpiece. Alice (unexpectedly for herself) instantly climbed onto it. Mirror little by little dissolved and gradually turned into some kind of silvery fog.
Without thinking twice, Alice walked through liquid glass and jumped into the Mirror Chambers. The first thing she did was look to see if there was a fire in the fireplace or not. Her joy knew no bounds: the fire was burning - as bright and hot as on the other side of the Mirror.
“It’s warm here,” she thought. – Just like home, even warmer. Here no one will forbid me to sit right next to the fire. Well, our people will look funny when they discover me through the Looking Glass! That’s why they’re running!”
Alice looked around. On both sides of the Mirror the room looked approximately the same. Only what was not reflected in him from that side was worthy of surprise. The paintings hanging near the fireplace turned out to be alive, the dial of the mantel clock (at home it was reflected in the Mirror only from behind) turned into the face of an old man who was looking at Alice with a smile.
Noticing several chess pieces among the ashes scattered on the fireplace rug, Alice thought: “What a mess! This doesn’t happen with us.” And at that same second she gasped in surprise: the figures were walking in pairs along the rug!
“This is the Black King,” Alice said in a whisper, kneeling down (for fear of scaring him off). - This is the Black Queen. And the White King and his Queen climbed into the coal scoop. Here are the Rooks. They don't seem to hear me. – Alice leaned lower. - And they don’t see it. Am I invisible now?
Suddenly a piercing squeak was heard behind her. Alice looked back. The White Pawn fell from the chessboard onto the table: the poor thing was crying loudly and kicking its legs helplessly. Alice looked at her with curiosity and expected further events.
- Daughter! – the White Queen cried and rushed off, knocking the White King off his feet. - You are my little darling! You are my royal cat! – the Queen shouted hoarsely, climbing up the fireplace grate.
– Tiny, kitty!– muttered the White King. - Royal nonsense, and nothing more!
He lay in the ash, rubbing his nose, which had been hit hard by the fall, and had every reason to express some displeasure to his Queen: because of her, he hurt himself and fell in the ash.
Alice could not remain indifferent. She grabbed the Queen, instantly carried her to the table and placed her next to the Pawn, who was screaming.
The Queen's legs gave way. Gasping for breath, she sat down on the table. The dizzying flight was not to her liking. For a minute or two she clutched her Baby in her arms, unable to utter a word. When the faintness passed, she loudly warned the King, who was sitting in the ashes with a gloomy look:
– Be careful, volcano!
- What kind of volcano? – the King became worried and looked at the fireplace; obviously, only there, in his opinion, could a volcano be located.
“Who... me... monstered...” the Queen said with difficulty (her breathing had not yet fully recovered). - Go up... another way... Otherwise this volcanic monster will do the same to you.
Watching the King slowly, with stops, climb up the fireplace grate, Alice quickly got bored.
“At this speed, Your Majesty,” she said to the King, “you won’t get to the table in 24 hours.” If you don't mind, I'll help you a little.
The king remained silent. Apparently he was unaware of its existence.
Alice carefully took the King and, so that he would not suffocate like the Queen, began to slowly lift him up. On the way, she decided to put His Majesty in order - he was so dirty with ash.
Well, the King made a grimace when Alice blew on him! According to her, she has never seen anything like it. From surprise, the King’s throat tightened, his mouth opened wider and wider, his eyes grew wider and wider... Alice couldn’t stand it, burst out laughing and... almost dropped him on the floor.
– Please stop grimacing, Your Majesty! - said Alice. “Don’t make me laugh, or I’ll drop you.” And close your mouth - the ash will get into your throat. “Okay, now everything is in order,” she added, straightened the King’s hair and placed it on the table next to the Queen.
The king collapsed as if knocked down and froze, showing no signs of life. Alice ran around the room in alarm, looking for water to give the King first aid. When she returned (without water, but with a bottle of ink), the King had already come to his senses and was excitedly whispering something to the Queen. Alice began to listen intently. And that's what I heard.
“Would you believe it, darling,” said the King, “I literally went cold with fear.” From top to bottom.
- That is, from the crown to the shoes? – the Queen inquired sarcastically.
“This is a terrible event,” continued the King, “I will not forget until the end of my days!”
“You will certainly forget,” the Queen grinned, “long before the end.” this day, if you don’t write it down for memory.
To Alice's surprise, the King pulled out a huge notebook from his pocket, a pencil the size of his hand, and began to write. A funny thought came to Alice's mind. She grabbed the pencil and began to help To the king.
His Majesty's eyes just popped out of his head. After observing the pencil, he made a couple of attempts to pacify it. But Alice prevailed, and the King surrendered.
- Nonsense? – the Queen asked, looked into the notebook and read with interest the entry scribbled by the King (with the participation of Alice): “The White Horse saddled the poker. If he falls, he won’t collect any bones!”- Dear, what does your pencil have to do with it and what does it have to do with you does this entry have?
Meanwhile, Alice discovered a book on the table and began to leaf through it, still continuing to glance at the King - was he going to faint again, and would he have to be brought to consciousness with the help of ink? She tried in vain to read anything on the pages.
"This must be foreign language“, she decided.
In fact, it was quite difficult to understand what I read. Judge for yourself:
SPORDO FIGHTERSSupelo. Mop and camel
There were no Dubrags.
The knurlik swung at the lost
An angry rat was growling.
Alice looked at these lines in bewilderment for some time, until it dawned on her.
- This is the Looking Glass Book! And if you bring it to the Mirror, the letters in it will immediately turn in the right direction!
And this is what she read:
SPORDO FIGHTERSSupelo. Mop and camel
There were no Dubrags.
The knurlik swung at the lost
An angry rat was growling.“Son, tigerish Spordodrak!
With its brutality,
Like an echimeric Burdosmak
He torments people.”He took the rapika. Hit the road
Knives on a belt.
Relax under Baobuk
He lay down in the wilderness.Suddenly, from under forest snags
The freak is screaming
Flammable Spordodrak
Savage dracot!But he tempered the enemy's agility
The iron of the blade,
And cut off the head of the beast
The hand did not tremble.“This is the end of the hippomonster!
My brave one, you are a hero!” -
His father screamed
A little alive from happiness
.
Supelo. Mop and camel
There were no Dubrags.
The knurlik swung at the lost
An angry rat was growling.
“Well, poems are like poems,” Alice concluded, “only not entirely understandable (she was lying: the poems were completely incomprehensible to her). “They make you think... though, you don’t know what.” Apparently, someone killed someone, although it is unclear why...
- However! – Alice suddenly remembered something and jumped up. – If I’m not in a hurry to go back through the Mirror yet, why not look at the other rooms? Or no, I’d better go to the garden!
She quickly left the room and ran down the steps, that is, she didn’t so much run as... flew, barely touching the railing with her hand. “Perhaps this is how it is done here,” thought Alice. “It’s both more convenient and easier than walking.” Having passed the hallway, Alice would certainly have flown straight out the door if, from being unaccustomed to flying, she had not felt slightly dizzy. She grabbed the doorframe and was pleased to discover that she could get into the garden on foot.
Chapter II. Garden with talkative flowers
“I’ll climb the hill,” Alice decided. “The garden will be visible much better from there.” Here is the path. And you can climb up without much difficulty... No, perhaps it will be a little difficult... - she added, having walked a few yards. - The path winds in circles. And yet I will reach the top. Well well! This is some kind of spiral, not a path. So, one more turn and I’m at the top... Wow! So much to go and come back! We'll have to look for another way."
Not so. No matter which direction they went, no matter how the paths twisted, Alice, having chosen one or another, invariably found herself at the door of the Looking-Glass House. One of the paths turned towards him quite sharply. Alice almost ran into the wall while accelerating.
- I don’t want to hear anything! - Alice said angrily and covered her ears, pretending that the House had approached her with an offer to enter it. “As soon as you enter, you will immediately demand that I return home.” What about adventures?
She turned her back to the House, chose another path and walked forward with the firm intention of not stopping until she reached her goal. A few minutes later, Alice was delighted:
- Well, finally... - when suddenly the path swerved, shuddered(it was in these terms that Alice talked about it) and in the blink of an eye delivered her to the porch.
- I have no more strength! – Alice was loudly indignant. - Some house stood across my road! I've never seen houses like this before didn't get caught!
She looked at the hillock and decided to try her luck again. This time she's on her way got caught a large flower bed with daisies around the circumference and a lilac bush in the middle. Alice looked at one chrysanthemum, which swayed gracefully from the slightest breath, sighed and whispered:
“It’s a pity that chrysanthemums can’t speak.”
- But they can! – Chrysanthemum responded immediately. - It would only be with someone. And we don’t talk to the first people we meet at all!
Alice was almost speechless from surprise. For a whole minute, without breathing, she looked at the talking flower. The chrysanthemum swayed in the wind as if nothing had happened.
“I didn’t know that flowers spoke,” Alice said in a whisper for some reason.
- How are they worse than you? - Chrysanthemum muttered. “And they speak much louder.”
– Decent“Flowers,” Rose said, “never speak first.” “I was sure that you didn’t know the rules of decency.” It was written all over your face, which, by the way, wasn’t exactly smart. It's good that the color is more or less decent. This gives some hope.
“Color doesn’t matter,” said Chrysanthemum. “If she didn’t have such strange petals, she would look no worse than others.”
To hush up the unpleasant conversation, Alice began questioning:
– Aren’t you afraid to grow up here? You can't stand up for yourself.
- What's the use of lilacs? - said Rose. – Now, I hope everything is clear?
– What can Lilac do if you are in danger? – Alice didn’t understand the hint.
“She can be very frightening,” Rose answered.
- How to howl siren, - one Daisy picked up, - the soul into the roots will leave! That's why it's called Lilac.
– How can you not know such simple things! - another one squealed, and all the Daisies squealed indignantly.
Alice even thought that their piercing screams took her breath away.
- Be silent, damn you! - Chrysanthemum squealed, trembling with indignation, and began to sway excitedly from side to side. “They do what they want,” she added, breathing convulsively and turning to Alice. - Soon they will completely sit on your head.
“Calm down, please,” Alice said sympathetically, leaned over to the Daisies, who continued to strain, and whispered menacingly: “Bite your tongues, otherwise your heads won’t be blown off!”
The daisies fell silent at once and turned white from horror.
- It's good that you cut off,” Chrysanthemum approved of Alice’s actions. - What disgusting flowers! One begins to crack, others pick it up and carry it - the petals wither!
- How well you speak! - Alice admired, hoping with her praise to return Chrysanthemum to her previous mood. “I’ve been to many gardens, but I’ve never seen talking flowers.”
- In those gardens, flowers probably grow among the grass? – Chrysanthemum asked, not without envy.
“That’s right,” Alice nodded, “the grass just spreads around them.”
- On these beds“They sleep,” Chrysanthemum explained. “That’s why they don’t have time to talk.” And look at what we are growing on.
Alice looked: the ground in the flowerbed was without a single blade of grass.
- Who would have thought! - Alice exclaimed, completely satisfied with Chrysanthemum's explanation.
“Anyone, but not you,” Rose grinned defiantly. “It seems to me that you don’t think about anything at all and can’t think.”
“I’ve never seen such a dumbass in my life!” – Violet assented.
Alice jumped up in surprise (until now Violet had preferred to remain modestly silent).
- To whom, it’s better for you to refrain from making comments! – Chrysanthemum turned to Violet. - He stands, you know, in the shade, sleeps without waking up, and then he talks! The buds on the trees are still silent. But they are much smarter than you.
After Chrysanthemum’s words, there was no point in arguing with Violet. Alice continued her questions:
-Are there other people here besides me?
“Of course,” Rose answered. – Growing here's another one walking flower. I don't understand how you can walk!
– What do you even understand? - Chrysanthemum screwed up.
“Only he’s bigger than you,” Rose finished without even looking in her direction.
– But is he the same as me? - Alice became worried.