Speak English! said the Eaglet. I don t know the meaning of half
those long words, and, what s more, I don t believe you do either! And
the Eaglet bent down its head to hide a smile: some of the other birds
tittered audibly.
What I was going to say, said the Dodo in an offended tone, was,
that the best thing to get us dry would be a Caucus-race.
What _is_ a Caucus-race? said Alice; not that she wanted much to
know, but the Dodo had paused as if it thought that _somebody_ ought to
speak, and no one else seemed inclined to say anything.
Why, said the Dodo, the best way to explain it is to do it. (And,
as you might like to try the thing yourself, some winter day, I will
tell you how the Dodo managed it.)
First it marked out a race-course, in a sort of circle, ( the exact
shape doesn t matter, it said,) and then all the party were placed
along the course, here and there. There was no One, two, three, and
away, but they began running when they liked, and left off when they
liked, so that it was not easy to know when the race was over. However,
when they had been running half an hour or so, and were quite dry
again, the Dodo suddenly called out The race is over! and they all
crowded round it, panting, and asking, But who has won?
This question the Dodo could not answer without a great deal of
thought, and it sat for a long time with one finger pressed upon its
forehead (the position in which you usually see Shakespeare, in the
pictures of him), while the rest waited in silence. At last the Dodo
said, _Everybody_ has won, and all must have prizes.
But who is to give the prizes? quite a chorus of voices asked.
Why, _she_, of course, said the Dodo, pointing to Alice with one
finger; and the whole party at once crowded round her, calling out in a
confused way, Prizes! Prizes!
Alice had no idea what to do, and in despair she put her hand in her
pocket, and pulled out a box of comfits, (luckily the salt water had
14