_ever_ met She never finished the sentence, for at this moment a
heavy crash shook the forest from end to end.
CHAPTER VII.
The Lion and the Unicorn
The next moment soldiers came running through the wood, at first in
twos and threes, then ten or twenty together, and at last in such
crowds that they seemed to fill the whole forest. Alice got behind a
tree, for fear of being run over, and watched them go by.
She thought that in all her life she had never seen soldiers so
uncertain on their feet: they were always tripping over something or
other, and whenever one went down, several more always fell over him,
so that the ground was soon covered with little heaps of men.
Then came the horses. Having four feet, these managed rather better
than the foot-soldiers: but even _they_ stumbled now and then; and it
seemed to be a regular rule that, whenever a horse stumbled the rider
fell off instantly. The confusion got worse every moment, and Alice was
very glad to get out of the wood into an open place, where she found
the White King seated on the ground, busily writing in his
memorandum-book.
I ve sent them all! the King cried in a tone of delight, on seeing
Alice. Did you happen to meet any soldiers, my dear, as you came
through the wood?
Yes, I did, said Alice: several thousand, I should think.
Four thousand two hundred and seven, that s the exact number, the
King said, referring to his book. I couldn t send all the horses, you
know, because two of them are wanted in the game. And I haven t sent
the two Messengers, either. They re both gone to the town. Just look
along the road, and tell me if you can see either of them.
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