Алиса в Стране чудес / Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland - страница 8

There was a dead silence instantly, and Alice thought to herself, 'What will they do next?'

After a minute or two, a shower of little pebbles came in at the window, and some of them hit her in the face. Alice noticed with some surprise that the pebbles were all turning into little cakes, and a bright idea came into her head.

'If I eat one of these cakes,' she thought, 'it'll make some change in my size; it can make me smaller, I suppose.'

So she swallowed one of the cakes, and she became smaller. Soon she was small enough to get through the door. She ran out of the house, and found a crowd of little animals and birds outside. Alice ran away. She was running and running, and finally she saw a large mushroom near her, about the same height as herself. Her eyes immediately met a large caterpillar, that was sitting on the top, quietly smoking a hookah.

The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a sleepy voice.

'Who are you?' said the Caterpillar.

Alice replied, rather shyly, 'I–I hardly know, just at present-at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I changed several times.'

'What do you mean by that?' said the Caterpillar sternly. 'Explain!'

'I can't, I'm afraid,' said Alice very politely. 'I —…'

'You!' said the Caterpillar contemptuously. 'Who are YOU?'

It brought them back again to the beginning of the conversation.

Alice thought that the Caterpillar was in a very unpleasant state of mind, and she turned away.

'Come back!' the Caterpillar demanded. 'I want to tell you something important!'

Alice turned and came back again.

'Keep your temper,' said the Caterpillar.

'Is that all?' asked Alice.

'No,' said the Caterpillar.

Alice was waiting.

'So you think you changed, do you?' said the Caterpillar.

'I'm afraid I am,' said Alice; 'I can't remember some things.'

'What things can't you remember?' asked the Caterpillar.

'Some verses, for example,' Alice replied in a very melancholy voice.

'Repeat, “You Are Old, Father William,”' said the Caterpillar.

Alice folded her hands, and began to recite the poem:

'You are old, Father William,' the young man said,.

'That is wrong,' said the Caterpillar.