Go on with the next verse, the Gryphon repeated impatiently: it
begins _I passed by his garden_.
Alice did not dare to disobey, though she felt sure it would all come
wrong, and she went on in a trembling voice:
I passed by his garden, and marked, with one eye,
How the Owl and the Panther were sharing a pie
[later editions continued as follows
The Panther took pie-crust, and gravy, and meat,
While the Owl had the dish as its share of the treat.
When the pie was all finished, the Owl, as a boon,
Was kindly permitted to pocket the spoon:
While the Panther received knife and fork with a growl,
And concluded the banquet ]
What _is_ the use of repeating all that stuff, the Mock Turtle
interrupted, if you don t explain it as you go on? It s by far the
most confusing thing _I_ ever heard!
Yes, I think you d better leave off, said the Gryphon: and Alice was
only too glad to do so.
Shall we try another figure of the Lobster Quadrille? the Gryphon
went on. Or would you like the Mock Turtle to sing you a song?
Oh, a song, please, if the Mock Turtle would be so kind, Alice
replied, so eagerly that the Gryphon said, in a rather offended tone,
Hm! No accounting for tastes! Sing her _Turtle Soup_, will you, old
fellow?
The Mock Turtle sighed deeply, and began, in a voice sometimes choked
with sobs, to sing this:
Beautiful Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
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