The Mock Turtle sighed deeply, and drew the

back of one flapper across his eyes.

He looked at Alice, and tried to speak, but

for a minute or two sobs choked his voice.

'Same as if he had a bone in his throat,'

said the Gryphon: and it set to work

shaking him and punching him in the back.

At last the Mock Turtle recovered his

voice, and, with tears running down his

cheeks, he went on again:--

'You may not have lived much under the sea-

-' ('I haven't,' said Alice)--'and perhaps

you were never even introduced to a

lobster--' (Alice began to say 'I once

tasted--' but checked herself hastily, and

said 'No, never') '--so you can have no

idea what a delightful thing a Lobster

Quadrille is!'

'No, indeed,' said Alice.

'What sort of a dance is it?'

'Why,' said the Gryphon, 'you first form

into a line along the sea-shore--'

'Two lines!' cried the Mock Turtle.

'Seals, turtles, salmon, and so on; then,

when you've cleared all the jelly-fish out

of the way--'

'THAT generally takes some time,'

interrupted the Gryphon.

'--you advance twice--'

'Each with a lobster as a partner!' cried

the Gryphon.

'Of course,' the Mock Turtle said: 'advance

twice, set to partners--'

'--change lobsters, and retire in same

order,' continued the Gryphon.

'Then, you know,' the Mock Turtle went on,

'you throw the--'

'The lobsters!' shouted the Gryphon, with a

bound into the air.

'--as far out to sea as you can--'

'Swim after them!' screamed the Gryphon.

'Turn a somersault in the sea!' cried the

Mock Turtle, capering wildly about.

'Change lobsters again!' yelled the Gryphon

at the top of its voice.

'Back to land again, and that's all the

first figure,' said the Mock Turtle,

suddenly dropping his voice; and the two

creatures, who had been jumping about like

mad things all this time, sat down again

very sadly and quietly, and looked at

Alice.

'It must be a very pretty dance,' said

Alice timidly.

'Would you like to see a little of it?'

said the Mock Turtle.

'Very much indeed,' said Alice.

'Come, let's try the first figure!' said

the Mock Turtle to the Gryphon.

'We can do without lobsters, you know.

Which shall sing?'

'Oh, YOU sing,' said the Gryphon.

'I've forgotten the words.'

So they began solemnly dancing round and

round Alice, every now and then treading on

her toes when they passed too close, and

waving their forepaws to mark the time,

while the Mock Turtle sang this, very

slowly and sadly:--

'"Will you walk a little faster?" said a

whiting to a snail.

"There's a porpoise close behind us, and

he's treading on my tail.

See how eagerly the lobsters and the

turtles all advance!

They are waiting on the shingle--will you

come and join the dance?

Will you, won't you, will you, won't you,

will you join the dance?

Will you, won't you, will you, won't you,

won't you join the dance?

"You can really have no notion how

delightful it will be When they take us up

and throw us, with the lobsters, out to

sea!"

But the snail replied "Too far, too far!"

and gave a look askance-- Said he thanked

the whiting kindly, but he would not join

the dance.

Would not, could not, would not, could

not, would not join the dance.

Would not, could not, would not, could not,

could not join the dance.

'"What matters it how far we go?" his

scaly friend replied.

"There is another shore, you know, upon the

other side.

The further off from England the nearer is

to France-- Then turn not pale, beloved

snail, but come and join the dance.

Will you, won't you, will you, won't you,

will you join the dance?

Will you, won't you, will you, won't you,

won't you join the dance?"'

'Thank you, it's a very interesting dance

to watch,' said Alice, feeling very glad

that it was over at last: 'and I do so like

that curious song about the whiting!'

'Oh, as to the whiting,' said the Mock

Turtle, 'they--you've seen them, of

course?'

'Yes,' said Alice, 'I've often seen them at

dinn--' she checked herself hastily.

'I don't know where Dinn may be,' said the

Mock Turtle, 'but if you've seen them so

often, of course you know what they're

like.'

'I believe so,' Alice replied thoughtfully.

'They have their tails in their mouths--and

they're all over crumbs.'

'You're wrong about the crumbs,' said the

Mock Turtle: 'crumbs would all wash off in

the sea.

But they HAVE their tails in their mouths;

and the reason is--' here the Mock Turtle

yawned and shut his eyes.

--'Tell her about the reason and all that,'

he said to the Gryphon.

'The reason is,' said the Gryphon, 'that

they WOULD go with the lobsters to the

dance.

So they got thrown out to sea.

So they had to fall a long way.

So they got their tails fast in their

mouths.

So they couldn't get them out again.

That's all.'

'Thank you,' said Alice, 'it's very

interesting.

I never knew so much about a whiting

before.'

'I can tell you more than that, if you

like,' said the Gryphon.

'Do you know why it's called a whiting?'

'I never thought about it,' said Alice.

'Why?'

'IT DOES THE BOOTS AND SHOES.' the Gryphon

replied very solemnly.

Alice was thoroughly puzzled.

'Does the boots and shoes!' she repeated in

a wondering tone.

'Why, what are YOUR shoes done with?' said

the Gryphon.

'I mean, what makes them so shiny?'

Alice looked down at them, and considered a

little before she gave her answer.

'They're done with blacking, I believe.'

'Boots and shoes under the sea,' the

Gryphon went on in a deep voice, 'are done

with a whiting.

Now you know.'

'And what are they made of?'

Alice asked in a tone of great curiosity.

'Soles and eels, of course,' the Gryphon

replied rather impatiently: 'any shrimp

could have told you that.'

'If I'd been the whiting,' said Alice,

whose thoughts were still running on the

song, 'I'd have said to the porpoise, "Keep

back, please: we don't want YOU with us!"'

'They were obliged to have him with them,'

the Mock Turtle said: 'no wise fish would

go anywhere without a porpoise.'

'Wouldn't it really?' said Alice in a tone

of great surprise.

'Of course not,' said the Mock Turtle:

'why, if a fish came to ME, and told me he

was going a journey, I should say "With

what porpoise?"'

'Don't you mean "purpose"?' said Alice.

'I mean what I say,' the Mock Turtle

replied in an offended tone.

And the Gryphon added 'Come, let's hear

some of YOUR adventures.'

'I could tell you my adventures--beginning

from this morning,' said Alice a little

timidly: 'but it's no use going back to

yesterday, because I was a different person

then.'

'Explain all that,' said the Mock Turtle.

'No, no!

The adventures first,' said the Gryphon in

an impatient tone: 'explanations take such

a dreadful time.'

So Alice began telling them her adventures

from the time when she first saw the White

Rabbit.

She was a little nervous about it just at

first, the two creatures got so close to

her, one on each side, and opened their

eyes and mouths so VERY wide, but she

gained courage as she went on.

Her listeners were perfectly quiet till she

got to the part about her repeating 'YOU

ARE OLD, FATHER WILLIAM,' to the

Caterpillar, and the words all coming

different, and then the Mock Turtle drew a

long breath, and said 'That's very

curious.'

'It's all about as curious as it can be,'

said the Gryphon.

'It all came different!' the Mock Turtle

repeated thoughtfully.

'I should like to hear her try and repeat

something now.

Tell her to begin.'

He looked at the Gryphon as if he thought

it had some kind of authority over Alice.

'Stand up and repeat "'TIS THE VOICE OF THE

SLUGGARD,"' said the Gryphon.

'How the creatures order one about, and

make one repeat lessons!' thought Alice; 'I

might as well be at school at once.'

However, she got up, and began to repeat

it, but her head was so full of the Lobster

Quadrille, that she hardly knew what she

was saying, and the words came very queer

indeed:--

| ''Tis the voice of the Lobster;

| I heard him declare,

| "You have baked me too brown,

| I must sugar my hair."

| As a duck with its eyelids,

| so he with his nose

| Trims his belt and his buttons,

| and turns out his toes.'

| [later editions continued as follows

| When the sands are all dry,

| he is gay as a lark,

| And will talk in contemptuous

| tones of the Shark,

| But, when the tide rises

| and sharks are around,

| His voice has a timid

| and tremulous sound.]

'That's different from what I used to say

when I was a child,' said the Gryphon.

'Well, I never heard it before,' said the

Mock Turtle; 'but it sounds uncommon

nonsense.'

Alice said nothing; she had sat down with

her face in her hands, wondering if

anything would EVER happen in a natural way

again.

'I should like to have it explained,' said

the Mock Turtle.

'She can't explain it,' said the Gryphon

hastily.

'Go on with the next verse.'

'But about his toes?' the Mock Turtle

persisted.

'How COULD he turn them out with his nose,

you know?'

'It's the first position in dancing.'

Alice said; but was dreadfully puzzled by

the whole thing, and longed to change the

subject.

'Go on with the next verse,' the Gryphon