Alice and the Little Mouse

Chapter 2

Alice sitting there in the low hall was expecting something usual. And it happened exactly. All of a sudden, some words—Curiouser! Curiouser—escaped her lips. She was crying very loudly. It seemed as if she had no idea of speaking correct English. Soon she started gaining in height. She grew taller and taller. She was growing in height like the largest telescope. She was in a state of shock. She had grown over nine feet in height.

When she looked at her feet, she was amazed. Her feet were nowhere to be seen. She was perplexed. Her head had grown so high that she could not be able to bend properly and have a look at her feet which were getting so far off from her head. To add to her woes, her head had grown too high. So, it struck against the roof of the hall. She started feeling giddy.

She was out of her wits. Now she was unable to adjust herself even in that hall. Not knowing what to do she picked up the golden key which was still hovering in the air. Taking the key in her hand she ran towards the garden door. As she had grown nine feet high, she could lie down on one side. She looked through into the garden with only one eye. Getting through was still not a child’s play for Alice as she had grown too much tall. She repented of being so tall. She cursed her lot.

She looked up and said, ‘O God! Why are you so merciless towards me? Please help me get out of here.

I seek your help. I am in dire straits. Thus Alice sat, sad and depressed. After a while she began to cry at the top of her voice. She cried on and on for hours. She said to herself, ‘O Alice, why are you crying like a small child. Don’t you understand how thing are shaping here? Keep cool. Everything will be all right. Shame on you! A brave girl like you and crying in this fashion.’

But she started crying much more than before. Tears were rolling down her checks. Soon a pool of tears was formed there. It was four inches deep. Seeing the pool, Alice was in a state of shock. She thought, ‘I have shed several tears. If I don’t stop crying, the time is not far when the water in my eyes will dry up. I must stop crying this very moment.’

So, she hastily dried her eyes. She started looking sideways. She was standing there alone with no means of getting out of there. She moved hither and thither in hope of getting some means of getting out of there.

But alas! she did not find any means. She sat on a table covering her face with both her palms. Suddenly, she stood up. She heard some footsteps at some distance. She turned pale with fear as regards who might be there. She kept her fingers crossed. To her utter amazement, it was none other than the White Rabbit whom she had been searching for. Seeing him there she felt as if she had been dreaming.

The White Rabbit was wonderfully dressed. In his two hands, he held a pair of white kid gloves and a large beautiful fan respectively. He was looking very happy and excited. He ran here, there and everywhere.

Seeing Alice there he muttered to himself, ‘O my dear lady! You seem to be waiting for me for quite a long time. Being the duchess you still wait for me. I have kept you waiting. It means you will be savage.’ In order to tease Alice the White Rabbit came forward and took a round around the standing Alice.

Seeing him Alice trembled with fear. Not even a single word escaped her lips. Somehow, she gathered her courage and said to the White Rabbit in a low tone, “Sir, may I ask…” No sooner did Alice speak these words than the White Rabbit got ready to move from there. He dropped his gloves and fan at once and scurried away to be disappeared into the darkness.

Alice ran behind the White Rabbit, but to no avail. The Rabbit had gone. Alice felt sad and disappointed. She sat there on the table, thinking of the ways of escaping from there. All of a sudden, her eyes fell upon the fan which the White Rabbit had left there. As the hall was very hot, Alice picked up the fan to fan herself. She was sweating profusely. The cool wind released from the fan soothed Alice. She started muttering to herself, ‘Who am I? Where from have I come? Some strange happenings are taking place today. What is going on? I have no idea. Where should I go from here? It remains a mystery to me. How can I rid myself of this puzzle?’

Thus she kept thinking on and on. After some time she said to herself, ‘How would be the children? They are my age and height. I wish I could be changed for any of them. How wonderful it would be! They would not be able to recognize me. It would be very exciting and enjoyable. I would ask each of the children who I am. But they would not be able to reveal my true identity. I may be changed to Ada whose hair was in long ringlets. But mine is none at all. So, I can’t be Ada. I may be changed to Mabel who knew little. But this too is not possible. I have a wide knowledge of all sorts of things

whereas Mabel had very less knowledge. What is the use of changing one’s identity? I am happy with self. This is my real identity. I don’t want to be somebody else. Thus Alice kept thinking in the same way.

All of a sudden, she remembered her different academic subjects like Geography, multiplication tables etc. She stated revising multiplication tables and thinking about the important events that took place in History. As regards Geography, he again kept on thinking about the depth of the sea. Soon her mind got clouded and confused.

She became irritated and said to herself, ‘I should be changed to Mabel. I shall say that I don’t know much about anything. I am certain. I can act as Mabel and show that I know very less.’

Saying these words she folded her hands in such a way as she was revising her lessons. She kept on revising her lesions for a long time. She was revising them in a loud shrill voice. But her voice was not clear. It sounded hoarse and queer. Alice herself did not know what she wanted to do. Her lips were trembling. She was not able to pronounce the words clearly. Words were not coming the way as they used to do. She looked puzzled and frightened.

She was out of her wits. Her mind was not sane at that time. Now she was thinking herself Mabel. After some time, she began to recite a poem which Mabel used to recite. By reciting the few lines of the poem she wanted to show that she was none other than Mabel. With single pointed devotion and dedication she recited thus—
How doth the little crocodile,
Improves his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile,
On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin
And neatly spreads his claws
And welcomes little fish in
With gently smiling jaws!

After the poem was over she again thought, ‘I am dead sure that these are not the correct words of this poem. It seems as if I had forgotten the poem.’ Thinking so tears started rolling down her cheeks. She wept inconsolably. But there was none to stop her from weeping. At last, she presumed that she was none other than Mabel. She felt very sad and dejected. She hung her head out of sorrow and loneliness.

All of a sudden, her eyes fell on her hands. She was in a state of shock. She had put on the little kid gloves of the White Rabbit while she was talking to herself. She said to herself, ‘How can it be possible? Am I a fool to do this? I shall become small again. I know there gloves are full of magic. I must check my height. O God! Please help me.’

Thinking so she at once hurried to the table and stood along with it. After the measurement she came to learn that she had grown by two feet. But now, her height was shrinking rapidly. She turned pale with fright. She was sweating profusely. She was on the horns of dilemma. She was puzzled.

She said to herself, ‘How is it possible that my height is shrinking? What can be the cause?’ she thought hard and hard. At last, she learnt that the fan which she was holding in her hand was the cause behind her shrinking height. Without losing any time she threw away the fan. Now she had saved herself from shrinking away altogether. She felt very happy.

She herself patted her back and said, ‘Look what I have done. It is a hair-breadth escape. If I had not acted in the nick of time, I would have been shrunk totally. I thank God, for good sense dawned upon me at the eleventh hours.’ Saying these words she thanked her lot as well. Thereafter she rushed to the little door. Lo and behold! The door was closed again. She felt dejected and shocked. The golden key was lying on the table.

She said to herself, ‘Why are these strange things happening? Things have gone out of control. They are going from bad to worse. I was not so small before. Then what happened all of a sudden? Is some spirit at work or am I seeing a dream? Never did it happen throughout my life.’

Thinking so, she fell into an abyss of dejection and loneliness. She felt somewhat giddy. Her eyes were opening and closing. She was out of her wits. Hardly had it happened to her when her foot slipped. Lo and behold! She fell into the salt water. She was chin-deep in the water. She thought, ‘What is it? It is somewhat salty. It may be the sea. It looks very deep and vast. How will I get out of it?’

Thinking so she began to weep. All of a sudden, she realized that it was not the sea. It was the pool of tears which had formed there, for she had wept a lot some time back. She felt ashamed of her deed. She said to herself, ‘I am a fool to have done this. Had I not cried a lot I would not have formed this pool of tears. Now I myself have fallen into it. How strange it is! It seems that I shall get drowned in my own tears which I shed for no rhyme or reason. What can’t be cured must be endured. Every happening taking place is strange today. Oh my God! Why is this happening to me today?’

Saying these words she lost in herself. After some time she heard a loud splash in the salt water. She got terrified.

There might be some walrus, crocodile or hippopotamus. She thought, ‘Such splash can be caused by big animals only. I must get out of the water quickly or my life will be at peril.’

She swam about in the pool and tried to get out. As she was swimming, she saw a little mouse which had jumped into the water. Seeing the mouse inside the pool of tears she had now forgotten how small she had become. She wished the mouse could talk. She was feeling very lonely there. She wanted to talk to somebody.

So she swam towards the mouse and said to him, “Deer! Do you speak? May you help me get out of this pool of tears? Please do help me. I shall be grateful to you for this kind act of yours. I am at my wits. I am fed up of swimming about in this pool. I beseech you to get me out of this trouble.’ But the little mouse said nothing.

He kept looking at Alice with great curiosity. It seemed as if he had understood what Alice was trying to say to him. Sometime he winked but said nothing at all. Seeing the reaction of the mouse Alice said to herself, ‘I think he does not understand English which is Greek to him. If I am not mistaken, it is a French mouse which has come over here with William the Conqueror. Let me try and see for myself. O God! Please help me.’

Alice was well versed in French as it was in her syllabus. So, she said to the little mouse in French, ‘Ou est ma chatte?’ Alice had read this sentence in her French course book. Hearing the French words the little mouse began to tremble with fear. He was shaking terribly. In one leap he was out of the water, afraid and confused. Seeing the reaction of the mouse Alice was at her wits. She could not understand what had happened to him.

She said to the mouse, “O dear, please forgive me. It seems I have hurt you feelings. I beg you pardon for my mischief. I forgot completely that you didn’t like cats at all.”

Hearing the words of Alice the mouse replied, “O dear, had you been in place of me, would you have liked cats? You know very well that the cat is our sworn enemy.”

Thereupon Alice said, “I know very well. The cat can’t be your friend ever. But be calm anyway. Don’t be so angry about it. Please pardon me. If you don’t get offended, I would like to show you one thing.”

Hearing the words of Alice the little mouse got curious to know about the thing. He observed, “Don’t hesitate a bit. Tell me what you want to show me.”

Alice replied, “My cat Dinah. She is a real beauty. She mews very softly. She sits as well as walks very majestically. She has long whiskers and big eyes. She is very sharp and agile. She washes her face and licks her paws. She is a very shrewd hunter. She catches mice very cleverly.”

Hearing the words of Alice the little mouse got offended at once. He spoke in a shrill voice, “Can’t we talk over another matter? Change the topic. As you know, cats are our sworn enemies. Our family has always hated cats.”

Alice changed the topic at once and said, “O dear, do you like dogs? Are dogs your dear friends? I hope you love dogs very much.”

But the little mouse kept mum. He said nothing. Alice went on and told the little mouse about a little terrier in her neighbourhood. The terrier would kill the rats in the farmer’s field.

Hearing the words of Alice the mouse once again got scared and angry. He swam out of the pool as quickly as possible. However hard Alice tried to call him back but all in vain. While going away the mouse told Alice, “O dear, come to the shore and there I shall let you know why I hate cats as well as dogs.”

By now many more creatures like ducks, dodos and eaglets had entered the pool. Alice thought it wise to leave the pool. So she swam out of the water with all other creatures following suit.

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