Alice was very anxious to be of use, and, as the poor little Lily was
nearly screaming herself into a fit, she hastily picked up the Queen
and set her on the table by the side of her noisy little daughter.
The Queen gasped, and sat down: the rapid journey through the air had
quite taken away her breath and for a minute or two she could do
nothing but hug the little Lily in silence. As soon as she had
recovered her breath a little, she called out to the White King, who
was sitting sulkily among the ashes, Mind the volcano!
What volcano? said the King, looking up anxiously into the fire, as
if he thought that was the most likely place to find one.
Blew me up, panted the Queen, who was still a little out of breath.
Mind you come up the regular way don t get blown up!
Alice watched the White King as he slowly struggled up from bar to bar,
till at last she said, Why, you ll be hours and hours getting to the
table, at that rate. I d far better help you, hadn t I? But the King
took no notice of the question: it was quite clear that he could
neither hear her nor see her.
So Alice picked him up very gently, and lifted him across more slowly
than she had lifted the Queen, that she mightn t take his breath away:
but, before she put him on the table, she thought she might as well
dust him a little, he was so covered with ashes.
She said afterwards that she had never seen in all her life such a face
as the King made, when he found himself held in the air by an invisible
hand, and being dusted: he was far too much astonished to cry out, but
his eyes and his mouth went on getting larger and larger, and rounder
and rounder, till her hand shook so with laughing that she nearly let
him drop upon the floor.
Oh! _please_ don t make such faces, my dear! she cried out, quite
forgetting that the King couldn t hear her. You make me laugh so that
I can hardly hold you! And don t keep your mouth so wide open! All the
ashes will get into it there, now I think you re tidy enough! she
added, as she smoothed his hair, and set him upon the table near the
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