And who is Dinah, if I might venture to ask the question? said the
Lory.
Alice replied eagerly, for she was always ready to talk about her pet:
Dinah s our cat. And she s such a capital one for catching mice you
can t think! And oh, I wish you could see her after the birds! Why,
she ll eat a little bird as soon as look at it!
This speech caused a remarkable sensation among the party. Some of the
birds hurried off at once: one old Magpie began wrapping itself up very
carefully, remarking, I really must be getting home; the night-air
doesn t suit my throat! and a Canary called out in a trembling voice
to its children, Come away, my dears! It s high time you were all in
bed! On various pretexts they all moved off, and Alice was soon left
alone.
I wish I hadn t mentioned Dinah! she said to herself in a melancholy
tone. Nobody seems to like her, down here, and I m sure she s the best
cat in the world! Oh, my dear Dinah! I wonder if I shall ever see you
any more! And here poor Alice began to cry again, for she felt very
lonely and low-spirited. In a little while, however, she again heard a
little pattering of footsteps in the distance, and she looked up
eagerly, half hoping that the Mouse had changed his mind, and was
coming back to finish his story.
CHAPTER IV.
The Rabbit Sends in a Little Bill
It was the White Rabbit, trotting slowly back again, and looking
anxiously about as it went, as if it had lost something; and she heard
it muttering to itself The Duchess! The Duchess! Oh my dear paws! Oh
my fur and whiskers! She ll get me executed, as sure as ferrets are
ferrets! Where _can_ I have dropped them, I wonder? Alice guessed in a
moment that it was looking for the fan and the pair of white kid
gloves, and she very good-naturedly began hunting about for them, but
they were nowhere to be seen everything seemed to have changed since
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