You can t possibly do that, said the Rose: _I_ should advise you to
walk the other way.
This sounded nonsense to Alice, so she said nothing, but set off at
once towards the Red Queen. To her surprise, she lost sight of her in a
moment, and found herself walking in at the front-door again.
A little provoked, she drew back, and after looking everywhere for the
queen (whom she spied out at last, a long way off), she thought she
would try the plan, this time, of walking in the opposite direction.
It succeeded beautifully. She had not been walking a minute before she
found herself face to face with the Red Queen, and full in sight of the
hill she had been so long aiming at.
Where do you come from? said the Red Queen. And where are you going?
Look up, speak nicely, and don t twiddle your fingers all the time.
Alice attended to all these directions, and explained, as well as she
could, that she had lost her way.
I don t know what you mean by _your_ way, said the Queen: all the
ways about here belong to _me_ but why did you come out here at all?
she added in a kinder tone. Curtsey while you re thinking what to say,
it saves time.
Alice wondered a little at this, but she was too much in awe of the
Queen to disbelieve it. I ll try it when I go home, she thought to
herself, the next time I m a little late for dinner.
It s time for you to answer now, the Queen said, looking at her
watch: open your mouth a _little_ wider when you speak, and always say
your Majesty.
I only wanted to see what the garden was like, your Majesty
That s right, said the Queen, patting her on the head, which Alice
didn t like at all, though, when you say garden, _I ve_ seen
gardens, compared with which this would be a wilderness.
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