counting? In a minute there was silence again, and the same shrill
voice sang another verse;
O Looking-Glass creatures, quoth Alice, draw near!
Tis an honour to see me, a favour to hear:
Tis a privilege high to have dinner and tea
Along with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me!
Then came the chorus again:
Then fill up the glasses with treacle and ink,
Or anything else that is pleasant to drink:
Mix sand with the cider, and wool with the wine
And welcome Queen Alice with ninety-times-nine!
Ninety times nine! Alice repeated in despair, Oh, that ll never be
done! I d better go in at once and there was a dead silence the
moment she appeared.
Alice glanced nervously along the table, as she walked up the large
hall, and noticed that there were about fifty guests, of all kinds:
some were animals, some birds, and there were even a few flowers among
them. I m glad they ve come without waiting to be asked, she thought:
I should never have known who were the right people to invite!
There were three chairs at the head of the table; the Red and White
Queens had already taken two of them, but the middle one was empty.
Alice sat down in it, rather uncomfortable in the silence, and longing
for some one to speak.
At last the Red Queen began. You ve missed the soup and fish, she
said. Put on the joint! And the waiters set a leg of mutton before
Alice, who looked at it rather anxiously, as she had never had to carve
a joint before.
You look a little shy; let me introduce you to that leg of mutton,
said the Red Queen. Alice Mutton; Mutton Alice. The leg of mutton got
up in the dish and made a little bow to Alice; and Alice returned the
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