cupboards as she fell past it.
Well! thought Alice to herself, after such a fall as this, I shall
think nothing of tumbling down stairs! How brave they ll all think me
at home! Why, I wouldn t say anything about it, even if I fell off the
top of the house! (Which was very likely true.)
Down, down, down. Would the fall _never_ come to an end? I wonder how
many miles I ve fallen by this time? she said aloud. I must be
getting somewhere near the centre of the earth. Let me see: that would
be four thousand miles down, I think (for, you see, Alice had learnt
several things of this sort in her lessons in the schoolroom, and
though this was not a _very_ good opportunity for showing off her
knowledge, as there was no one to listen to her, still it was good
practice to say it over) yes, that s about the right distance but
then I wonder what Latitude or Longitude I ve got to? (Alice had no
idea what Latitude was, or Longitude either, but thought they were nice
grand words to say.)
Presently she began again. I wonder if I shall fall right _through_
the earth! How funny it ll seem to come out among the people that walk
with their heads downward! The Antipathies, I think (she was rather
glad there _was_ no one listening, this time, as it didn t sound at all
the right word) but I shall have to ask them what the name of the
country is, you know. Please, Ma am, is this New Zealand or Australia?
(and she tried to curtsey as she spoke fancy _curtseying_ as you re
falling through the air! Do you think you could manage it?) And what
an ignorant little girl she ll think me for asking! No, it ll never do
to ask: perhaps I shall see it written up somewhere.
Down, down, down. There was nothing else to do, so Alice soon began
talking again. Dinah ll miss me very much to-night, I should think!
(Dinah was the cat.) I hope they ll remember her saucer of milk at
tea-time. Dinah my dear! I wish you were down here with me! There are
no mice in the air, I m afraid, but you might catch a bat, and that s
very like a mouse, you know. But do cats eat bats, I wonder? And here
Alice began to get rather sleepy, and went on saying to herself, in a
dreamy sort of way, Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? and
sometimes, Do bats eat cats? for, you see, as she couldn t answer
either question, it didn t much matter which way she put it. She felt
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