THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
By LEWIS CARROLL
CHAPTER 1
Looking-Glass house
One thing was certain, that the WHITE kitten had had nothing to
Do with it: – it was the black kitten’s fault entirely. For the
White kitten had been having its face washed by the old cat for
The last quarter of an hour (and bearing it pretty well,
Considering); so you see that it COULDN’T have had any hand in
The mischief.
The way Dinah washed her children’s faces was this: first she
Held the poor thing down by its ear with one paw, and then with
The other paw she rubbed its face all over, the wrong way,
Beginning at the nose: and just now, as I said, she was hard at
Work on the white kitten, which was lying quite still and trying
To purr – no doubt feeling that it was all meant for its good.
But the black kitten had been finished with earlier in the
Afternoon, and so, while Alice was sitting curled up in a corner
Of the great arm-chair, half talking to herself and half asleep,
The kitten had been having a grand game of romps with the ball of
Worsted Alice had been trying to wind up, and had been rolling it
Up and down till it had all come undone again; and there it was,
Spread over the hearth-rug, all knots and tangles, with the
Kitten running after its own tail in the middle.
`Oh, you wicked little thing!’ cried Alice, catching up the
Kitten, and giving it a little kiss to make it understand that it
Was in disgrace. `Really, Dinah ought to have taught you better
Manners! You OUGHT, Dinah, you know you ought!’ she added,
Looking reproachfully at the old cat, and speaking in as cross a
Voice as she could manage – and then she scrambled back into the
Arm-chair, taking the kitten and the worsted with her, and began
Winding up the ball again. But she didn’t
get on very fast, as
She was talking all the time, sometimes to the kitten, and
Sometimes to herself. Kitty sat very demurely on her knee,
Pretending to watch the progress of the winding, and now and then
Putting out one paw and gently touching the ball, as if it would
Be glad to help, if it might.
`Do you know what to-morrow is, Kitty?’ Alice began. `You’d
Have guessed if you’d been up in the window with me – only Dinah
Was making you tidy, so you couldn’t. I was watching the boys
Getting in stick for the bonfire – and it wants plenty of
Sticks, Kitty! Only it got so cold, and it snowed so, they had
To leave off. Never mind, Kitty, we’ll go and see the bonfire
To-morrow.’ Here Alice wound two or three turns of the worsted
Round the kitten’s neck, just to see how it would look: this led
To a scramble, in which the ball rolled down upon the floor, and
Yards and yards of it got unwound again.
`Do you know, I was so angry, Kitty,’ Alice went on as soon as
They were comfortably settled again, `when I saw all the mischief
You had been doing, I was very nearly opening the window, and
Putting you out into the snow! And you’d have deserved it, you
Little mischievous darling! What have you got to say for
Yourself? Now don’t interrupt me!’ she went on, holding up one
Finger. `I’m going to tell you all your faults. Number one:
You squeaked twice while Dinah was washing your face this
Morning. Now you can’t deny it, Kitty: I heard you! What that
You say?’ (pretending that the kitten was speaking.) `Her paw
Went into your eye? Well, that’s YOUR fault, for keeping your
Eyes open – if you’d shut them tight up, it wouldn’t have
Happened.
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