Lewis Carrol, a known mathematician, logician and linguist.
He created this story during the Victorian age, while taking walks in the vicinity of Oxford, by the river Thames
He made this story up to answer questions little girls- his good friends -asked
This strange fairy tale was written by Lewis Carrol.
Everything in this fairy-tale was as unusual and disimilar to other stories.
Well, Alice was bored sitting by the riverside with nothing to do
She peeked in book, but there were neither pictures nor conversations.
Alice's thoughts were flowing slowly and incoherently. She fervently hoped for sleep
I'm late! Oh God - I'm late! The Duchess will be furious, just furious!
Only now Alice realized that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket or a watch to take out of it
And with a waistcoat in the bargain!
Burning with curiosity, she ran towards him.
-Oh my, how is it I fell into this hole?
After a fall like this I shall think nothing of tumbling down the stairs.
How brave they'll think me back home!
Why, I wouldn't say anything about it, even if I fell off of the top of the house!
Either the well was very deep or Alice was falling very slowly
But she had enough time to grow bored and think about what would happen to her next.
- Forgive me, sir, will you not tell me how far I've fallen?
I imagine I must be getting somewhere near the centre of the earth.
It seems near 4 thousand miles downwards.
Oh my, I wonder if I shall fall right through the earth?
In the end this is all very funny!
The people there walk with their heads downwards. What do they call them?
Anti...pathies,
No... no, antipodes!
Alice was still falling and falling.
"Dinah will be looking for me all evening" she thought .
Dinah was the name of her cat.
Oh Dinah! Dinah, my dear, I wish you were down here with me.
There are no mice in the air but there are quite a lot of bats.
Um, do cats eat bats?
Do cats eat bats?
Uh, do bats eat cats?
Oh!
-Oh, my ears and whiskers!
The Queen will not forgive delays! She will be furious!
Recalling this subsequently, Alice thought she had reason to be astounded.
At the time however, all seemed to her wholly natural.
Alice rushed for White Rabbit.
But the white rabbit was nowhere to be found.
Alice found herself in a long hall
Alice's first thought was that it might belong to one of the doors of the hall.
But, alas!
Either the locks were too large...
or the key was too small...
But at any rate she couldn't open any door.
To her great delight it fit!
How she longed to get out of that dark hall!
But she couldn't even get her head through the doorway.
- And even if my head go through - what would be the point? It would be of very little use without my shoulders
DRINK ME.
Alice knew that children got into all sorts of mischief because they did not follow the three rules.
These rules were quite simple.
If you keep your hands on a hot poker too long, you will burn yourself.
If you cut your finger with a knife then it will usually draw blood.
If you drink from a bottle marked "POISON", sooner or later you will fall ill or even die.
This last rule Alice remembered very well.
Making sure that the bottle was not so marked, Alice took a small sip from it.
- Oh, what a curious feeling!
I must be shutting up like a telescope
EAT ME.
When she looked down at her feet, they were so far off as to be almost out of sight.
- Oh, goodbye legs!
Oh, my poor legs!
I wonder who will put shoes and stockings on you now?
And what shall we do without each other?
Very well!
I will send them a new pair of shoes.
And that is all!
What is this? Whatever am I talking about?
- Forgive me sir!
Oh, when you consider it - today has been quite strange day!
Am I myself? Or am I someone else?
It seems to me, I'm already not quite...
Everything is so very complicated!
So, l need to recall geography.
London is the capital of Paris.
And Paris is the capital of Ri...Rome.
No, no! That's not quite right...
I'm better off trying to read poetry.
Here is the house which was built by the bug.
And this is a singer, who in a dark storeroom is kept, in the house which has built by the bug.
And this is the merry empress,
which often bites singer,
who in dark storeroom is kept,
in the house which was built by the bug.
The words aren't quite right
Am I still myself?
I think I've had enough of this magic fan!
I must be more careful from now on. With some things it's possible to shrink away altogether.
No-no! I have to leave this place
Oh, I need a something to grow
But afterwards I shall try to find the path to that miraculous garden.
The idea was truly excellent.
Moreover Alice knew: if she wanted to grow, it was necessary to eat or drink something.
But there was nothing appropriate around her.
Everything in Wonderland is packed with miracles
Either you are rising to the skies or shrinking to the ground.
Every five minutes your legs will grow like tree trunk,
And whenever they want, to this place they will come, and you'll have to go with them.
In Wonderland there's just one problem, baffling in the extreme,
When you go where you don't want - can you get out or not?
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Chapter 2
Alice had become accustomed to surprises and did not wonder at this meeting at all.
The Blue Caterpillar was quietly smoking a hookah and paying no mind to her surroundings.
- You... Who are you?
- At this moment, I really...
I don't know, madam, I...
I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I feel I must have changed several times since then.
- What are you talking about? Are you out of your mind?
- I don't know... I must be in someone's else mind.
-I don't understand.
- And I can understand absolutely nothing as well.
So many changes in one day!
- As you can see: as people travel something in them changes.
Why does that make you unhappy?
- Well, I'm growing small when it's necessary for me to be big.
It always happens to the contrary and it bothers me so!
- Bite from the one side and you will grow taller.
And bite from the other and you shall grow smaller.
- One side of what? The other side of what?
- Of the mushroom!
Alice stood looking thoughtfully at the mushroom for a bit, trying to figure out which side was which
The mushroom was perfectly round, and Alice was quite confused.
- Now which is which?
Now this most foolish uncertainty will be somewhat lessened!
My dear Cheshire Cat!
Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
- It depends a great deal on where you want to go.
- I don't care - so long as I get somewhere.
Then it doesn't matter which way you go.
You will manage to get somewhere without fail.
It is only necessary to go and never stray fom your direction.
- But what sort of people live around here? - In that direction lives the Hatter.
And in that direction lives the March Hare.
Visit either if you like: they're both mad.
- Why?
- The lord was so obsessed with hats that he went quite daft.
Now his name is Hatter.
And the March Hare, well, he's completely cross eyed,
and not from the early spring sun.
- Why should I want to converse with madmen?
- Oh, you can't help that: we're all mad here.
I'm mad, you're mad.
- Could you not disappear so suddenly, sir?
- Very well.
- Yes...
I have seen a cat without a grin, but grin without cat...
It's the most curious thing I ever saw in my life.
Walking a little further, she spied a house with a table set out under a tree in front of it.
The March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it.
Between them the Dormouse was soundly sleeping.
- No room! No room! All the places are occupied!
- There's plenty of room!
- Have some wine.
- I don't see any wine. - There isn't any.
- Then it wasn't very civil of you to offer it! That's rude!
- It wasn't very civil of you to sit down without being invited. That's rude too!
- It's laid out for a great many more than just three.
- Well, would it really be better if there were many more of us, but far fewer cups?
You should think about what you say!
- I always say what I think and think what I say!
- Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! That's not the same thing at all!
You might just as well say that "I see what I eat" is the same thing as "I eat what I see".
It seems to me you are just wasting time!
- Not at all. We can't lose time. You shouldn't try to insult us.
- Certainly, I apologize.
-I imagine you've never spoken to him? Time that is?
- Maybe I haven't, but I've often thought of how to kill him.
- Time doesn't like that!
- That's right! And time has quarreled with us!
- Now it's always 6 o'clock.
And 6 o'clock is time for tea.
- We don't even have time to wash the dishes.
- Oh, in my whole life I have never seen such a foolish company!
I need to leave this garden as soon as possible.
Would you tell me why you are painting those roses?
- Why, the fact is, Miss, this ought to have been a red rose tree.
But we were fools and planted white instead red.
If the Queen found out, we would all have our heads cut off
"What an escort!" - thought Alice.
This word sounded wrong somehow, but she didn't know how to correct herself.
Perhaps she ought to bow her head at the sight of such a brilliant procession?
However, Alice could remember no rules for an occassion such as this.
But what would be the use of a procession if people all had to look at the ground?
So that they couldn't see it?
- What is this?
- Your Majesty, they wanted... - All quite obvious! Off with their heads.
Don't be afraid, I won't let her to touch us.
- Well, how did it go?
- Their heads are gone, may it please your Majesty!
- Very well! Can you play croquet?
- We shall play! - Get to your places!
Off with her head!
Off with his head! And don't forget to chop off his head!
-This place is so accustomed to chopping off heads - it's a wonder that anyone is still alive.
- Well, how are you?
- Who are you talking to?
- With my friend the Cheshire Cat. Allow me to introduce it
- I don't like the look of it at all! However, it may kiss my hand if it likes.
- Thank you, but I'd rather not.
- Go and fetch the executioner.
Off with his head!
- It's impossible to chop off its head if there's no body to chop it from.
- If there is a head - it means that you can chop it!
I will think on what to do with you but he will be juged by the royal court!!
Not in vain do we have a pair of the hands - without them there's no life, only sorrow
What would you use to swat your brow if a fly landed on it?
On the other hand here's a head, why should that be?
You can't chop wood with just a head and nails don't get hammered.
Although one may empty-headed, the head still has its uses.
One may say they're quite attached and no one would like to lose it!
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Chapter 3
Before the courtroom where Alice has gone, a crowd has already gathered.
- Make way for the Duchess! Make way for the Duchess!
- Oh, my dear!
You can't imagine how I pleased I am to make your acquaintance!
- She's clearly not evil, so why is the White Rabbit so afraid of her?
She's probably so kind because of the cakes she has eaten. Cake makes people kind.
Oh, it seems I have learned a new rule.
Vinegar makes people sour, with mustard people are distressed and onion makes people cunning.
What a pity that no one else knows about this!
If people ate cake all the time everyone would be kind.
- You're thinking about something, my dear, and that makes you forget to talk. And the moral of that is -...
Hm, well I don't know.
Well, nevermind, I shall consider it later.
- Maybe it doesn't have a moral.
- Everything has a moral, if only you can find it.
Flamingoes and mustard both bite. The moral of that is - "Birds of a feather flock together"
- I believe mustard isn't a bird...it's a mineral!
- Right as usual. What a clear way you have of putting things! Of course it is.
And it gives people enormous power - with this mineral people work the mines.
And the moral of it is - "The more there is of mine, the less there is of yours "
Oh, now I've remembered! Mustard is - a vegetable.
How fond she is of finding morals in things!
- I quite agree with you. And the moral of it is - "Be what you appear to be"
And I think it's rather clear that you should never have thought of yourself as another.
Because to be another, in this case, is an impossibility.
- Silence in the court!
Silence in the court!
Alice had never been in a court of law before, but she had read about them in books.
She was quite pleased to find that she knew the name of nearly everything there.
"That's probably the jury-box", thought Alice. "That's the judge", she said to herself, "because of his great wig"
The Duchess saw the Queen and trembled.
But after a moment she regained her composure.
- Town crier, read the accusation!
- "The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts, all on a summer day:
The Knave of Hearts , he stole those tarts, and took them quite away! "
- Consider your verdict.
- Not yet, not yet. It's necessary that everything should be done in the proper order.
"Rabbit was afraid of his own bravery: it was no small thing to say "no" to the cruel queen!
- Call the first witness.
- I beg your pardon, Your Majesty! I... I'm just a little person!
- Give your statement and don't be nervous, or I'll have you executed on the spot.
- I hadn't quite finished my tea when I was sent for. - You ought to have finished.
- I'm just a little person!
I'm still thinking about the past!
About the past ...
- Dumb as a stump. Shouldn't he to be executed?
Well, this is just a waste of time.
- Call the March Hare.
Call the March Hare.
- N-n-nothing! I didn't say anything!
- He denies it at all, does he?
- N-n-nothing! I didn't think anything!
- Strike that from the record.
"Alice had read in the newspapers sometimes: "Attempts at resistance were suppressed".
Now she saw and understood how this was done.
At this point Alice started feeling very strange: she realized she was growing again!
Alice decided to sit in the courtroom until it would be too small for her.
- Call the witness Alice!
- Here I am!
Oh!
Oh! Oh, forgive me, please!
- What do you know about this business?
- Nothing.
- Nothing whatsoever?
- Nothing whatsoever.
- But this is very important.
-Your Majesty means unimportant, of course...
- Of course, unimportant, that's what I meant to say.
Well, it's not important, certainly, it's not important.
- It's important, it's not important, it's not important, it's important...
- There's more evidence yet to come, may it please Your Majesty ...
Just now, one more document was found.
- What's in it?
-I haven't opened it yet but it seems to be a letter, written by the prisoner to somebody
- Who is it addressed to?
- It has no address at all. In fact there's nothing written on the outside.
- Is it the prisoner's handwriting ?
- Not it isn't. This is all quite queer.
He must have imitated somebody else's hand
- Please your Majesty, I didn't write it.
There's no signature on it.
- That only makes matters worse. You must have meant some mischief or else you'd have signed your name like an honest man.
Your guilt is proven!
- Certainly not! You haven't even read what is written there.
- Well, read it.
She's certainly hot tempered - do not argue with me in vain.
Do I really get the first cut?
Yes, do it quickly - abandon caution!
- Cut to the quick?
Will I really cut to the quick today?
(in chorus): - Never!
- I cut the to the bone, rather than to the quick...
It's a pun!
-Let the jury to decide - whether he's guilty or not.
- Let the Jury consider the verdict. But as for the sentence- we'll carry it out immediately!
- What nonsense!
- Hold your tongue!
- I won't!
- Off with her head!
- Who cares what you think?
You're nothing but a pack of cards!
"Oh, I've had such a strange dream!" thought Alice as she ran home so as not to be late for tea.
Someday she will grow up.
And, having kept the simple and loving heart of her childhood, she would tell other children of Wonderland
In future years she would remember her own child-life, and the happy summer days
What game does the queen play all day?
She's never idle, hacks off the heads without delay.
Always ready to execute her obedient servants!
But why hack when everybody's headless?
I told you boldly : "I'm not afraid of you in the least"
After all I must have been sleeping - it's just a dream and nothing else!
Through the Looking Glass
Chapter 1
"It was a calm winter evening.
Snow was falling in great tufts.
It seemed that there, through the glass, it was just as cosy and comfortable as it was here in this room.
Alice was sitting in an ample chair by the fire.
A small kitten was enjoying itself, merrily playing with a ball of wool.
- Oh kitten, what a naughty thing you are!
Listen kitten, can you play chess?
Let's play, just as if we were kings and queens.
You will be the black queen, and I will play with the rest of the pieces.
Oh kitten! It would be ever so nice if you could only sit still for a minute peacefully!
I shall tell you about house in the mirror.
First of all there is this room, which begins right from the mirror...
It's just like our drawing room.
Only there everything is different.
Interesting, will they give you milk?
However, I don't know... is it possible to drink the mirror milk?
Will it hurt you kitten?
Oh, kitten! How I want to go through the looking-glass !
Let's pretend that we can go through it.
"Here Alice found herself on the mantelpiece.
Though she hadn't realized it, she had gone through.
The room here didn't have much in common with how it seemed to be through the mirror".
- Oh, what is this?
They probably can't see me.
It seems like I've suddenly become invisible.
- Oh, my darling!
Oh, Lilly, my beloved kitten!
Lily my royal baby! Oh!
Beware the volcano!
- What volcano?
- The one that flung me upstairs. Go up the usual way.
- You'll be climbing all day.
May I help you ?
"But the king kept silent. He clearly did not see or hear Alice".
- My dear, I was so afraid that I grew cold almost to the tips...of my whiskers!
- You don't have any whiskers!
- I will never forget that terrible moment in all of my life!
- You'll forget it unless you write it down.
"At this moment an unexpected thought came to Alice's came mind.
She took the pencil and began to write."
- But you didn't want to write.
- Well of course, this is a mirror book.
If I take this book to a mirror - I shall be able to read it.
"'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.".
It seems very pretty,
but rather difficult to understand.
So.
So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought.
In flew the terrible Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Heave ho, heave ho, blazes the tulgey woods.
Snicker snack, snicker-snack went the sword, and with its head he went galumphing back.
Why am I still sitting? I must hurry.
I can't examine everything if I arrive too late.
"With these words Alice ran down the stairs.
Actually, she didn't run, but... how can I explain this?
She flew down the stairs without her feet ever touching them.
It was very unusual to move like this, but at the same time strangely pleasant".
- I should see the garden far better - if I could get to the top of that hill.
Here's a path that leads straight to it.
No, not quite straight.
"Wherever Alice went and wherever she moved, I couldn't tell you how to save my life but she was always coming back to the house.
- Again with this house.
Oh, how bored I am of this house.
"She determindely turned her back on the house and once again went down the lane, making herself a promise to go elsewhere..
The hill was very near, quite within reach."
- How can I climb this hill?
Oh Lily, it's too bad that you can't speak.
- We can speak if we have someone worth speaking to.
- Can all the flowers here really talk?
- As well as you can, and a great deal louder.
- We just think it's rude to speak without being spoken to.
- Hm...
Are there people in this garden other than me?
There's one other flower in the garden that can move about like you, and she has the same awkward shape,
- There she is, I can hear her steps.
"Alice turned around and saw the Black Queen.
Certainly, it is interesting to chat a bit with flowers, but how could they compare them with real queen?"
I hear you say: "I'm living a fairy tale!" But see for yourself, how easy is it really?
It's impossible to move through this story without caution
Because this is all so vague and incomprehensible, and everything is upside down
Oh, this is all so complicated, but rather charming for all of that!
You have to watch every step you take.
But who doesn't dream? I dream as well.
Sometimes fairy tales live in our dreams
And now I live in a fairy tale, and in it
everything seems like such incomprehensible, well, incomprehensibilities.
Through the Looking Glass
Chapter 2
"There, on the garden path, the Black Queen strolled along."
- I think I will go and meet her.
I should walk from her rather than towards her and perhaps I can reach her.
- Where are you from and where are you going?
Look me in my eyes, answer me politely and don't twiddle your fingers.
Well, now you need to respond, and don't forget to add Your Majesty to your speech.
- I just wanted to take a look at the garden, Your Majesty.
- Is this a garden?!
I've seen such beautiful gardens, compared to them - this is just a barren wasteland.
- I just wanted to climb to the hiltop.
- Is this a hill?!
I've seen such hills, compared to them -this is just a plain.
- Well... No!
A hill can't be a plain, that's utter nonsense!
- Really, nonsense?!
I've heard such nonsense, compared to them this is - sensible, just like an entry in a dictionary.
- I've been thinking, the world beyond the mirror looks quite like a chess board.
And there are the pieces! Oh! Oh oh oh oh, how fascinating!
And I... I want to join this game.
Even as... even as a pawn.
Though, certainly, I should really like to be a queen.
- That can easily be arranged: stand here and you will be the White Queen's Pawn.
You are presently standing on the second square. When you reach the eighth square you will become a queen.
The Pawn, as you know, is the first to move through the squares.
On the third square you will be moving at the full speed just like a locomotive.
On the fourth you will meet Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
The fifth square is flooded by water.
On the sixth you will find Humpty Dumpty .
Why are you silent?
- Am I expected to say something?
- You should to thank me for the kindly explanations.
Well, I'll assume you did so.
Now the seventh square is completely covered with forest.
But the knight errant will lead you through it.
Well?
On the eighth line we shall meet as equals.
You will become a queen, and on that occasion we will have a grand feast.
Quickly, quickly!
- How far is it, how much further?
- Not further, but back. We ran past it a minute ago
Quickly!
Now you can relax.
- What is this? We didn't move from under this tree?
- Of course! What did you expect?
- In my world, when you run for a long time you will certainly come to some other place.
- Ha-ha-ha, what a backward country!
But here, you know, you have to run with all your might just to remain in the same place!
And if you want to get to somewhere else - you'll have to run twice as fast.
Let's go!
- I'm quite comfortable here, only I have such a strong thirst.
- That isn't difficult to take care of.
Would you like some bread?
"Alice thought that to refuse would be impolite.
Although the bread was terribly dry, and she almost choked ".
- While you are quenching your thirst, I need to leave you. Do not slouch, keep your stockings tidy and don't forget who you are.
So long!
- Oh, what is that?
It hums just like a bee hive.
"Clearly, these were not bees.
To tell the truth, they were elephants, of that Alice soon made sure.
She was so surprised she nearly lost her breath".
- Ha-ha-ha, this is quite amusing!
When they ask me how I like it here, I shall say:
"This is a very pleasant to take a walk, only it's rather hot, and the elephants are a bother."
"At this moment Alice remembered that she was a pawn and had somewhere to go."
- Your ticket.
Where is your ticket, girl?
- Don't keep him waiting, girl. Do you know how much his time costs?
A thousand pounds a minute.
- Unfortunately I have no ticket: There wasn't a ticket office where I was.
- There's couldn't possibly be a ticket office there. Do you know how much that land costs?
A thousand pounds an inch.
- You should have bought one from the engine driver.
- The man that drives the engine. Do you know how much the smoke from a locomotive costs?
A thousand pounds a ringlet.
- I'd better keep quiet.
"And to Alice's great surprise they all thought in chorus:
"It's best to be silent. Do you know how much talking costs? A thousand pounds a word".
- I hope you understand what it means to think in the chorus
Because, to tell the truth, it isn't quite clear to me.
Ha-ha-ha! You're traveling in the wrong direction!
- Oh, what funny hippopotami. Interesting, where have they flown off to?
Oh! That's probably a bough-butterfly!
"But now Alice remembered that she was on the fourth square and still had further to go".
I hear you say: "I'm living a fairy tale!" But see for yourself, how easy is it really?
It's impossible to move through this story without caution
Because this is all so vague and incomprehensible, and everything is upside down
Oh, this is all so complicated, but rather charming for all of that!
You have to watch every step you take.
Strange and queer are the rules in a fairy tale,
everything is different here, somehow not quite right.
Wherever you glance - nothing but riddles!
Wherever you look, well, wherever you look - utter confusion.
Through the Looking Glass
Chapter 3
"Arrows pointed the way forward.
'Apparently', - speculated Alice - 'Tweedledum and Tweedledee live together.'
I have to see them and ask for directions out of this forest".
- If you thought that we were wax figures - shell out your cash.
People pay good money to see those.
Contrariwise, if it was so, it might be; but as it isn't, it ain't.
- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you.
- When meeting someone new, first of all it is customary to say hello
- and to shake each others hands.
Tweedledum and Tweedledee agreed to have a battle.
Because Tweedledee had spoiled the nice new rattle.
Good and new, he went and spoiled the rattle.
Just then flew down a monstrous crow as black as a tar-barrel
Both the heroes ran away, quite forgetting their quarrel.
Tru-la-la-la, Tra-lyu-lyu-lyu, quite having forgotten.. their quarrel.
- Look, have you seen this?
Just as I thought, it's broken!
- No need to worry about an old rattle.
- It's not at all old, it's quite new.
My good rattle!
How about we fight each other?
- Certainly!
Just let her help us get prepared.
Fasten this on firmly, because he's liable to tear my head off.
You know, losing your head... that's no small thing.
- I'm generally quite brave, only today I have such a terrible headache.
Am I paler than usual?
- I have a horrible toothache so I'm clearly worse off than you are.
- Then you shouldn't fight today.
- I demand a mild fight!
-We'll fight until 6 o'clock and afterwards we shall eat.
- What a enormous cloud.
Oh, I believe that those are wings beside it.
It's a crow!
Oh my, it's the White Queen.
- Would you like to come live with me as a housemaid?
Two pence a week and you could have jam for breakfast.
- No thank you, and anyway I don't feel like having jam today.
- But you wouldn't get jam today.
It's after breakfast.
- Everything is so complicated, I don't understand anything.
- You're just not accustomed to living backwards.
-To living backwards?
- Oh, my finger is bleeding!
Blood is flowing!
- Did you prick your finger?
- I haven't yet, but it already hurts. I'll poke it now.
That is why blood came from my finger.
Now do you understand how things here work?
- Well then, does your finger not hurt anymore?
- No, not at all...
Thank you... Baa.
- Do you want to buy something?
- I'd like to buy an egg. How much does it cost?
- For one - ten pence, for two - seven and a half.
- Does that mean that two eggs are cheaper than one?
Well then give me one, please.
- I don't give anything to anyone: if you need it then take it.
"Wait, this is Humpty Dumpty"- thought Alice to herself, - "it's him and no one else."
- Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
- Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. - Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
- All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again.
Humpty Dumpty, Dumpty Humpty, Humpty Dumpty Couldn't put Humpty together again
- How like an egg he looks.
- I'm so tired of this.
Everybody calls me an egg, everybody, without exception.
- Wouldn't you feel safer down here? That wall is terribly narrow.
- Not at all!
Even if I should fall, the king told me... Yes, he promised me that he...
- Will send all the king's horses and all the king's men.
- You were eavesdropping, weren't you? Answer me!
- No, I read it in a book.
Do you think you could you explain the poem "Jabberwocky" to me?
- I can explain all the poetry that ever was, and even some that will be.
Read it to me.
-'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
- That's enough to start with.
All right, that's all for now. It's the eighth hour of the evening, time to dine.
- Do you understand? And brillig?
- This is rickety and deft.
This word is like a wallet, when you open it there are two faces!
So it is here, this word goes in two directions.
- Oh, now I understand. But what are slithy toves?
- That is a hybrid of the mongrel, polecat, badger and the shrew.
- It must be an amusing animal.
- Yes it is.
- But what does "did gyre and gimble" mean?
- Jumped, dove, rotated! Oh!
- But "wabe" - what is it?
- So long.
- In my whole life I haven't ever met someone so disgusting, so very disgusting.
- Sweetheart, did you see someone there? I have sent all the king's horses and all the king's men there.
- There are thousands of them.
- To be more exact, four thousand two hundred and seven people.
I'm waiting quite patiently for my herald. Have a look at the road, who do you see there?
- Nobody.
- I wish I had such vision! To be able to see no one, and at such a distance at that.
Who did you meet on the road?
- Nobody.
- This little girl saw him too. Tell me, what's happening in town?
-It would be better if I whisper this... whisper it in your ear.
- Do so.
- They're at it again!
- Do you think that's a whisper?!
Don't you dare yell like this again or I'll have you burned at the stake!
- Who is doing what again?
- How do you mean, "who"? The Lion and the Unicorn, of course!
They are having a fight to the death for a crown. For my crown, by the by.
Let's go and have a look!
I hear you say: "I'm living a fairy tale!" But see for yourself, how easy is it really?
It's impossible to move through this story without caution
Because this is all so vague and incomprehensible, and everything is upside down
Oh, this is all so complicated, but rather charming for all of that!
You have to watch every step you take.
But in fairy tales we could all meet
A king, or even many kings.
And it's splendid to have a talk with Humpty Dumpty,
And sing songs with Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
Through the Looking Glass
Chapter 4
"While Alice, the King and the herald were running to watch the fight between the Lion and the Unicorn,
Alice recalled the words of an old song:
The lion and the unicorn were fighting for the crown, the lion beat the unicorn all around the town.
Some gave them white bread, and some gave them brown; Some gave them plum cake and then drummed them out of town".
- But who will win and who will get the crown?
- Well, who do you think?
- Would you please stay still for just a minute?
- For a minute?
First it would be necessary to catch this minute, and it's frightfully hard to catch up with time.
A 10 minute break!
- What is that, what is that?
- It's a human child, a live human child.
- Oh! And I thought that children were simply monsters from fairy-tales.
- I thought the same thing about unicorns.
- Well, why don't you believe in me and I'll believe in you. How does that sound?
- That's fine.
- Then give us some cake, monster.
- I don't understand at all. I cut the pie but after a bit it grows again.
- You don't know how to handle mirror cake: first you hand it out then you cut it.
"Alice couldn't figure out where the drumming was coming from.
"If that doesn't drum them out of town" - thought Alice, - "nothing will".
- Check to you! Check! You are my nephew!
- Hey, stop. Check to you, check!
- It was I who took her into captivity. - But then I rescued her.
- Hm, a brilliant victory, is it not?
- I don't know, I don't want to be anybody's prisoner.
I want to be a queen!
- You will be a queen when you cross the next brook.
I will lead you.
- I was wondering: what's the point of the mousetrap there? I find it difficult to imagine that mice can live on horses.
- It's difficult, but not impossible.
If they did I wouldn't want them running all around.
- You must not often ride on horseback, yes ?
- I ride on horseback quite often.
The great art of the equitation consists of keeping your balance.
My intellect is working without cease: the lower my head - the deeper my thoughts.
Why are you sad?
Would you like me to sing you a little song? When I sing it everybody sobs, or...
- Or what? - Or doesn't sob.
Who lives beside me in the forest? The hare, the moose, and the badger.
And old wood grouse, herding the fox, flies off through the thick woodland.
And the hedgehog hurries on the path beside me to have dinner with his dear friend.
But beside me in the forest, the baby elephant doesn't live, the merry baby elephant doesn't live
The merry baby elephant doesn't live.
A hedgehog embroiders a cross on a shirt and the stoat murmurs a song.
The vixens sprinkle my courtyard with sand and sweep my house with their tails.
The tomtit flies above me jingling, and the gopher is my friend and neighbour...
But beside me in the forest, the baby elephant doesn't live, the merry baby elephant doesn't live
The merry baby elephant doesn't live.
And here your last square. Now I shall leave you, my child.
Will you wave your handkerchief when I get to the road? I think it'll encourage me, you see.
"For many years afterwards this scene remained with Alice.
The meek blue eyes and kind smile on the face of the knight, and the setting sun gilding his hair.
And the black shadow of the forest behind it all.
- Oh!
I didn't think that I would become a queen so soon.
- Tell me, please... - Never speak until spoken to!
- You're not a queen untill you pass the exam.
- Well, here it is. This problem is division. Cut a loaf of bread in half with a knife. What will you get?
- Hm, I think... - Sandwiches, certainly!
Here is example on subtraction. Subtract a bone from a dog. What will you get?
- Nothing will remain.
- Not true. A dog's patience will remain.
- How's that?
- Now tell me, what causes lightning?
- Thunder, of course... No-no-no, I meant the reverse.
-We had such a thunderstorm last Tuesday, oh!
On the last set if Tuesdays, I meant, oh!
- We dont have more than one Tuesday a week in my country.
- My, what a pity!
Sometimes we even have seven Tuesdays in a week...
By the way, I'd like to invite you to have dinner with Alice tonight.
- But I invited you!
- I don't know the first thing about making dinner. I only invited people so I could have guests.
We waited so long for youto invite us, but it seems you didn't take lessons in good manners.
- We declined the invitation last week.
Queen Alice declares a holiday, hopes to gather mirror folk soon.
On a high throne in the royal hall, Queen Alice waits in her palace.
A crown on her head, a sceptre in hand, a feast in her honor Queen Alice attends.
- Allow me to introduce you. Alice, this is- a Ham. Ham, this is- Alice.
- May I slice you a bit? - Certaintly not!
It's bad manners to cut anyone you've been introduced to.
Carry the Ham away.
- I don't want to be introduced to the pudding or else I won't get anything to eat at all.
-Pudding, this is-Alice. Alice, this is-the Pudding.
Carry it away!
Long live Queen Alice!
- Here I am!
- Stop it, stop it, it's enough I say! Stop this immediately!
I shall swat you all just like a cat!
"I've had such a wonderous dream, but now I've been woken up by the kitten" -thought Alice
"She was there with me in the mirror country..."
Well, of course! The Black Queen was exactly like the kitten!
But the kitten only purred, pretending that she didn't hear Alice.
All cats have one inconvenient habit: whatever you say to them, they only purr.
I hear you say: "I'm living a fairy tale!" But see for yourself, how easy is it really?
It's impossible to move through this story without caution
Because this is all so vague and incomprehensible, and everything is upside down
Oh, this is all so complicated, but rather charming for all of that!
You have to watch every step you take.
I ran through this fairy tale on a dangerous road,
The faster your race to the end, the sooner you reach it
Well, here's the uncoupling, and it's a bit melancholy.
My fairy tale, my fairy tale, I'll remember when I grow up.
By Viktor for all Americanski