Chapter 9
Both the Hatter and the March Hare were eager to listen to a story. When Alice told them that she did not know any story, they turned towards the dormouse and said, “Hey! Wake up quickly and narrate us an interesting story.”
Saying these words both started pinching it on both sides. The dormouse was fast asleep. In spite of being pinched so hard it did not open its eyes. At last both went very close to the dormouse and shouted hard in its ears.
All of a sudden, the dormouse slowly opened its eyes and muttered, “Hey men! What are you doing? Are you crazy? Can’t you see that I am not sleeping? Why are you shouting in my ears like wild creatures? I can listen and am listening to every word you have said. I am not deaf. Now tell me what you want.”
Hearing the hoarse voice of the dormouse the two stood surprised and dumbfounded. They looked at each other for some minutes. Then the March Hare said to the dormouse, “Do you know a story? We all are eager to listen to a story. Please do it for us.”
The Hatter too requested the dormouse saying, “Yes dear! Please tell us a story. We all are fed up of mundane routine.”
Even Alice pleaded it stating, “Please dear! Do it for me. Make no further delay. We all are very excited and enthusiastic. Be quick, otherwise the time is not far when you will go to sleep again.”
After all the three had requested the dormouse to narrate a story, it began the story as follows :
“Once upon a time, there lived three sisters in a village well. They were named Elsie, Lacie and Tillie.”
As the dormouse spoke these lines, Alice interrupted saying, “O dormouse! Would you like to tell us what they ate for survival. It is very surprising that the three sisters lived at the bottom of a well. I wonder what they ate living there.”
Hearing the words of Alice the dormouse thought for a while and stated, “Dear Alice! You will be surprised to hear that they ate treacle. Yes, they lived on treacle.”
Alice was puzzled and confused, ‘How could they live on a diet of treacle? Didn’t they fall ill?’ With these riddles in her mind Alice said to the dormouse, “One question still pesters me. How could they survive on a diet of treacle which makes one fall sick?”
The dormouse scratched its head for a minute or so and observed, “But they never fell ill. The diet of treacle made them very prosperous. It was very nourishing.”
Alice said to herself, ‘What a wonderful way to live on a diet of treacle! It is very nice of them. They must be very extraordinary and energetic. I appreciate the three sisters.’
But Alice was not a sort of girl who would sit still while listening to a story. It was her nature to pose one question or the other in the middle of a story.
After a minute or so she asked the dormouse another question, “Would you like to tell why the three sisters lived at the bottom of the well. This question baffles me a lot. They could have lived anywhere in the village. But why did they choose the bottom of the well as their place of residence?”
Before the dormouse could reply to Alice’s query the March Hare observed, “Would you like to take some more tea? It is very tasty.”
Hearing the words Alice got offended and said, “How dare you talk to me like this? I haven’t taken any tea. And you say to me to take more tea. It is nonsense on your part.”
The Hatter interrupted saying, “I see. It means that you can’t take less. You had better take more than nothing at all.”
Hearing the words of the Hatter Alice was all the more worse. Her anger knew no bounds. She asked in a irritating tone, “It is none of your business. I have not sought your suggestion.”
Thereupon the Hatter reminded Alice saying, “Now it is you who are making personal remarks. Don’t try to go back upon your word. A little ago, you told me that it was bad to make personal remarks. You yourself are doing this. Shame on you! Heaps of disrespect on you!”
Hearing the words of the Hatter Alice looked confused. Not a single word escaped her lips. She quickly went near the table and had some tea with bread and butter. She relished her breakfast.
After her breakfast was over she turned to the dormouse and asked the same question, “O dear! Tell me why the tree sisters decided to live at the bottom of the well. Please clarify it. Don’t try to evade this question of mine.”
The dormouse looked somewhat hesitant. After a minute or so it observed, “Dear! You will be amazed to know that it was the treacle again which prompted them to live at the bottom of the well.”
But Alice was not impressed with the answer of the dormouse. She stated, “I want to make one thing very clear to you. There is no such thing as the treacle. Why don’t you believe in what I say?”
Thereupon the dormouse got angry and said to Alice in an irritating tone, “Be polite and humble. If you can’t remain so, you had better wind up the story by yourself.”
Both the Hatter and the March Hare too supported the viewpoint of the dormouse. Alice had no alternative but to listen to the story standing as a mute spectator. She apologized to the dormouse saying, “Please go on with your story. I won’t interfere again. If I do so again, you are free to go away from here without completing your story.”
Thus the dormouse resumed the story as follows:
“There lived three sisters at the bottom of a well. They were fond of drawing.” Before the dormouse could go further, Alice forgetting her promise interrupted saying, “What did the three sisters draw? Please tell me, O dormouse. I am very eager to know it.”
After pausing for some time the dormouse stated, “It is treacle again.”
Hearing the reply of the dormouse Alice held her head in both her hands and began to smile in her heart of hearts. The Hatter said in a demanding tome, “Is there anybody to give me a clean cup?”
Looking at the dormouse and the March Hare he said, “Let us move away from here. I am fed up of sitting here for a long time.”
Saying these words the Hatter moved to one place. The dormouse followed suit. Now the March Hare occupied the place of the dormouse whereas Alice grabbed the seat of the March Hare. None seemed to benefit from the change of place. It was the Hatter only who had an advantage from the change of place.
Alice looked more worried and tense than before. The March Hare had poured some milk upon his plate. After sitting quiet for some time, Alice became curious and excited once again. But she did not want to incur the wrath of the dormouse either. So she spoke in a tactful tone, “O dormouse! Don’t get offended this time. Please tell me where from they drew the treacle.”
Before the dormouse could say anything the Hatter replied in a sarcastic manner, “Don’t you know this much? When one draws water out of a water well then one can draw treacle out of treacle well. Foolish on your part! You don’t have this much knowledge. I doubt your studies.”
Hearing the words of the Hatter Alice was out of her wits. She was again perplexed and confused.
After a while she said to the dormouse, “O dear! But the three sisters were at the bottom of the well. How could they draw then? Please answer to my query and to my fullest satisfaction. I am still confused.” But the dormouse kept mum. It was fuming with anger. Seeing the dormouse’s reaction Alice thought it wise not to ask it anything more. She requested it to go on with the story. She said to the dormouse, “Dear! I am very sorry to interfere again. Please resume your story. I won’t interrupt again. I make a promise to you.”
Thus the dormouse resumed the story as follows:
“The three sisters were beginning to draw. They were doing it wonderfully. They were drawing all sorts of things. But they were interested more in drawing the things that start with the letter ‘M’. Such was their craze.”
Saying these words the dormouse opened its mouth wide and yawned. Afterwards it took a deep breath. Soon it fell sleepy. Its eyes were beginning to close. Alice got confused once again. But now, she was in two minds—whether to ask the dormouse or not.
After thinking with a cool minds she posed the dormouse one more question, “Dear! I have a question which needs to be answered at once. I would like to ask you why the three sisters drew only those things which started with the letter ‘M’. Can you tell me the reason behind it?”
The Hatter interrupted saying, “What is wrong in it? It was their choice. They were free to draw anything they like. Why do you look so puzzled every time?”
Even the March Hare supported the viewpoint of the Hatter saying, “Why couldn’t they do so? They were free to draw anything they liked. You always talk rubbish. You had better keep your mouth shut till the story finishes.”
Alice had no alternative but to keep her mouth shut. She thought it suitable to be calm. The dormouse was feeling sleepy. Seeing it the Hatter pinched it, saying, “O dear! Wake up. You haven’t told the complete story as yet. You can’t sleep before finishing the story.”
The dormouse woke up with a start. It shrieked loudly as if it had been put in boiling water. Thus it started the story as follows :
“The three girls started drawing things which started with the letter ‘M’, such as mousetrap, money, magic and so on. Have you ever drawn things in such a manner?”
Hearing the words of the dormouse Alice was more confused than before. She could not understand what the dormouse was trying to say. Turning to the dormouse she observed, “Dear! I fail to understand what you want to say. Please elaborate it carefully.”
Hearing the words of Alice the Hatter interrupted saying, “You need not understand it either. It is none of your business. Please be quiet and don’t disturb us.”
Even the March Hare came forward and expressed his view saying, “You always poke your nose in others’ affairs? It does not behove you. Why don’t you keep quiet and let the dormouse complete the story. You have created an environment of chaos and confusion.”
Now Alice was fuming with anger. She at once got up and walked away, with a promise to return never to that place. Neither the March Hare nor the Hatter tried to call her back even once. By now the dormouse had fallen asleep. While going away Alice shouted at the two and said, “I am going for ever. I shall never come back. Goodbye to all of you!”
After Alice had gone away, the two picked the dormouse up and put it into the tea-pot. Alice was on her way through the dense forest. She had vowed never to come back to that place. She said to herself, ‘The Cheshire cat had rightly told me that both the Hatter and the March Hare were complete idiot-boxes. But I did not see eye to eye with it. This is the worst tea party I have ever had.’
On her way through the forest she noticed a tree. It had a door leading right into it. Seeing the door in Alice grew curious. She became excited to know what was there inside. Without losing a moment she reached the tree and entered the door without much hesitation. Upon entering the door she found herself in a long hall.
There was a little glass table. She at once recollected how she had made a mess of things earlier. But this time, she resolved to carry out things in a systematic manner.
She said to herself, ‘I shall be very careful this time. If I lose this chance once more, I shall be nowhere. I had better keep cool and do things judiciously.’ Thinking so, she unlocked the door with the golden key. She was led into a beautiful garden with bright flowerbeds and cool fountains. The birds were chirping all around. It was a very lovely sight to look at.
Before entering the garden Alice consumed a little bit of mushroom which she had kept in the pocket of her dress. After eating the mushroom she grew one foot in height.
