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!