by Lewis Carroll
Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the
bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister
was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, `and what is the use of a
book,' thought Alice `without pictures or conversation?'
So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the
hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a
daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when
suddenly a White
Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.
There was nothing so VERY remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so
VERY much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, `Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be
late!' (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have
wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit
actually TOOK A WATCH OUT OF ITS WAISTCOAT- POCKET, and looked at it, and then hurried on,
Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a
rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with
curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it
pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.
In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how
in the world she was to get out again.
The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then
dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping
herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well.
Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had
plenty of time as she went down to look about her and to wonder what was going to happen
next. First, she tried to look down and make out what she was coming to, but it was too
dark to see anything; then she looked at the sides of the well, and noticed that they were
filled with cupboards and book-shelves; here and there she saw maps and pictures hung upon
pegs. She took down a jar from one of the shelves as she passed; it was labelled `ORANGE
MARMALADE', but to her great disappointment it was empty: she did not like to drop the jar
for fear of killing somebody, so managed to put it into one of the 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,
thistime, 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 that
she was dozing off, and had just begun to dream that she was walking hand in hand with
Dinah, and saying to her very earnestly, `Now, Dinah, tell me the truth: did you ever eat
a bat?' when suddenly, thump! thump! down she came upon a heap of sticks and dry leaves,
and the fall was over.
Alice was not a bit hurt, and she jumped up on to her feet in a moment:
she looked up, but it was all dark overhead; before her was another long passage, and the
White Rabbit was still in sight, hurrying down it. There was not a moment to be lost: away
went Alice like the wind, and was just in time to hear it say, as it turned a corner, `Oh
my ears and whiskers, how late it's getting!' She was close behind it when she turned the
corner, but the Rabbit was no longer to be seen: she found herself in a long, low hall,
which was lit up by a row of lamps hanging from the roof.
There were doors all round the hall, but they were all locked; and when
Alice had been all the way down one side and up the other, trying every door, she walked
sadly down the middle, wondering how she was ever to get out again.
Suddenly she came upon a little three-legged table, all made of solid
glass; there was nothing on it except a tiny golden key, and Alice's first thought was
that it might belong to one of the doors of the hall; but, alas! either the locks were too
large, or the key was too small, but at any rate it would not open any of them. However,
on the second time round, she came upon a low curtain she had not noticed before, and
behind it was a little door about fifteen inches high: she tried the little golden key in
the lock, and to her great delight it fitted!
Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, not
much larger than a rat-hole: she knelt down and looked along the passage into the
loveliest garden you ever saw. How she longed to get out of that dark hall, and wander
about among those beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains, but she could not even
get her head though the doorway; `and even if my head would go through,' thought poor
Alice, `it would be of very little use without my shoulders. Oh, how I wish I could shut
up like a telescope! I think I could, if I only know how to begin.' For, you see, so many
out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few
things indeed were really impossible.
There seemed to be no use in waiting by the little door, so she went
back to the table, half hoping she might find another key on it, or at any rate a book of
rules for shutting people up like telescopes: this time she found a little bottle on it,
(`which certainly was not here before,' said Alice,) and round the neck of the bottle was
a paper label, with the words `DRINK ME' beautifully printed on it in large letters.
It was all very well to say `Drink me,' but the wise little Alice was
not going to do THAT in a hurry. `No, I'll look first,' she said, `and see whether it's
marked "poison" or not'; for she had read several nice little histories about
children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts and other unpleasant things, all
because they WOULD not remember the simple rules their friends had taught them: such as,
that a red-hot poker will burn you if you hold it too long; and that if you cut your
finger VERY deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds; and she had never forgotten that, if
you drink much from a bottle marked `poison,' it is almost certain to disagree with you,
sooner or later.
However, this bottle was NOT marked `poison,' so Alice ventured to
taste it, and finding it very nice, (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavour of
cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast,) she very
soon finished it off.
`What a curious feeling!' said Alice; `I must be shutting up like a
telescope.'
And so it was indeed: she was now only ten inches high, and her face
brightened up at the thought that she was now the right size for going through the little
door into that lovely garden. First, however, she waited for a few minutes to see if she
was going to shrink any further: she felt a little nervous about this; `for it might end,
you know,' said Alice to herself, `in my going out altogether, like a candle. I wonder
what I should be like then?' And she tried to fancy what the flame of a candle is like
after the candle is blown out, for she could not remember ever having seen such a thing.
After a while, finding that nothing more happened, she decided on going
into the garden at once; but, alas for poor Alice! when she got to the door, she found she
had forgotten the little golden key, and when she went back to the table for it, she found
she could not possibly reach it: she could see it quite plainly through the glass, and she
tried her best to climb up one of the legs of the table, but it was too slippery; and when
she had tired herself out with trying, the poor little thing sat down and cried.
`Come, there's no use in crying like that!' said Alice to herself,
rather sharply; `I advise you to leave off this minute!' She generally gave herself very
good advice, (though she very seldom followed it), and sometimes she scolded herself so
severely as to bring tears into her eyes; and once she remembered trying to box her own
ears for having cheated herself in a game of croquet she was playing against herself, for
this curious child was very fond of pretending to be two people. `But it's no use now,'
thought poor Alice, `to pretend to be two people! Why, there's hardly enough of me left to
make ONE respectable person!'
Soon her eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the table:
she opened it, and found in it a very small cake, on which the words `EAT ME' were
beautifully marked in currants. `Well, I'll eat it,' said Alice, `and if it makes me grow
larger, I can reach the key; and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door;
so either way I'll get into the garden, and I don't care which happens!'
She ate a little bit, and said anxiously to herself, `Which way? Which
way?', holding her hand on the top of her head to feel which way it was growing, and she
was quite surprised to find that she remained the same size: to be sure, this generally
happens when one eats cake, but Alice had got so much into the way of expecting nothing
but out-of-the-way things to happen, that it seemed quite dull and stupid for life to go
on in the common way.
So she set to work, and very soon finished off the cake.
《愛麗絲漫遊奇境記》 第壹章
作者:劉易斯·卡洛爾
愛麗絲靠著姐姐坐在河岸邊很久了,由於沒有什麽事情可做,她開始感到厭倦,她壹次又—次地瞧瞧姐姐正在讀的那本書,可是書裏沒有圖畫,也沒有對話,愛麗絲想:“要是壹本書裏沒有圖畫和對話,那還有什麽意思呢?”
天熱得她非常困,甚至迷糊了,但是愛麗絲還是認真地盤算著,做壹只雛菊花環的樂趣,能不能抵得上摘雛菊的麻煩呢?就在這時,突然壹只粉紅眼睛的白兔,貼著她身邊跑過去了。
愛麗絲並沒有感到奇怪,甚至於聽到兔子自言自語地說:“哦,親愛的,哦,親愛的,我太遲了。”愛麗絲也沒有感到離奇,雖然過後,她認為這事應該奇怪,可當時她的確感到很自然,但是兔於竟然從背心口袋裏襲裏掏出壹塊懷表看看,然後又匆匆忙忙跑了。這時,愛麗絲跳了起來,她突然想到:從來沒有見過穿著有口袋背心的兔子,更沒有見到過兔子還能從口袋裏拿出—塊表來,她好奇地穿過田野,緊緊地追趕那只兔子,剛好看見兔子跳進了矮樹下面的壹個大洞。
愛麗絲也緊跟著跳了進去,根本沒考慮怎麽再出來。
這個兔子洞開始像走廊,筆直地向前,後來就突然向下了,愛麗絲還沒有來得及站住,就掉進了—個深井裏。
也許是井太深了,也許是她自己感到下沈得太慢,因此,她有足夠的時間去東張西望,而且去猜測下壹步會發生什麽事,首先,她往下看,想知道會掉到什麽地方。但是下面太黑了,什麽都看不見,於是,她就看四周的井壁,只見井壁上排滿了碗櫥和書架,以及掛在釘子上的地圖和圖畫,她從壹個架子上拿了壹個罐頭,罐頭上寫著“桔子醬”,卻是空的,她很失望,她不敢把空罐頭扔下去,怕砸著下面的人,因此,在繼續往下掉的時候,她就把空罐頭放到另壹個碗櫥裏去了。
“好啊,”愛麗絲想,“經過了這次鍛煉,我從樓梯上滾下來就不算回事。家裏的人都會說我多麽勇敢啊,嘿,就是從屋頂上掉下來也沒什麽了不起,”——這點倒很可能是真的,屋頂上摔下來,會摔得說不出話的。
掉啊,掉啊,掉啊,難道永遠掉不到底了嗎?愛麗絲大聲說:“我很知道掉了多少英裏了,我壹定已經靠近地球中心的壹個地方啦!讓我想想:這就是說已經掉了大約四千英裏了,我想……”(妳瞧,愛麗絲在學校裏已經學到了壹點這類東西,雖然現在不是顯示知識的時機,因為沒壹個人在聽她說話,但是這仍然是個很好的練習。)“……是的,大概就是這個距離。那麽,我現在究竟到了什麽經度和緯度了呢?”(愛麗絲不明白經度和緯度是什麽意思,可她認為這是挺時髦的字眼,說起來怪好聽的。)
不壹會兒,她又說話了:“我想知道我會不會穿過地球,到那些頭朝下走路的人們那裏,這該多麽滑稽呀!我想這叫做‘對稱人’(19世紀中學地理教科書上流行個名洞,叫“對跖人”,意思是說地球直徑兩端的人,腳心對著腳心。愛麗絲對“地球對面的人”的概念模糊,以為他們是“頭朝下”走路的,而且把“對跖人”錯念成“對稱人”了。)吧?”這次她很高興沒人聽她說話,因為“對稱人”這個名詞似乎不十分正確。“我想我應該問他們這個國家叫什麽名稱:太太,請問您知道這是新西蘭,還是澳大利亞?”(她說這話時,還試著行個屈膝禮,可是不成。妳想想看,在空中掉下來時行這樣的屈膝禮,行嗎,)“如果我這樣問,人們壹定會認為我是壹個無知的小姑娘哩。不,永遠不能這樣問,也許我會看到它寫在哪兒的吧!”
掉啊,掉啊,掉啊,除此之外,沒別的事可幹了。因此,過壹會兒愛麗絲又說話了:“我敢肯定,黛娜今晚壹定非常想念我。”(黛娜是只貓)“我希望他們別忘了午茶時給她準備壹碟牛奶。黛娜,我親愛的,我多麽希望妳也掉到這裏來,同我在壹起呀,我怕空中沒有妳吃的小老鼠,不過妳可能捉到壹只蝙蝠,妳要知道,它很像老鼠。可是貓吃不吃蝙蝠呢?”這時,愛麗絲開始瞌睡了,她困得迷迷糊糊時還在說:“貓吃蝙蝠嗎?貓吃蝙蝠嗎?”有時又說成:“蝙蝠吃貓嗎?”這兩個問題她哪個也回答不出來,所以,她怎麽問都沒關系,這時候,她已經睡著了,開始做起夢來了。她夢見正同黛娜手拉著手走著,並且很認真地問:“黛娜,告訴我,妳吃過蝙蝠嗎?,就在這時,突然“砰”地壹聲,她掉到了壹堆枯枝敗葉上了,總算掉到了底了!
愛麗絲壹點兒也沒摔壞,她立即站起來,向上看看,黑洞洞的。朝前壹看,是個很長的走廊,她又看見了那只白兔正急急忙忙地朝前跑。這回可別錯過時機,愛麗絲像壹陣風似地追了過去。她聽到兔子在拐彎時說:“哎呀,我的耳朵和胡子呀,現在太遲了!”這時愛麗絲已經離兔子很近了,但是當她也趕到拐角,兔子卻不見了。她發現自己是在壹個很長很低的大廳裏,屋頂上懸掛著壹串燈,把大廳照亮了。
大廳四周都是門,全都鎖著,愛麗絲從這邊走到那邊,推壹推,拉壹拉,每扇門都打不開,她傷心地走到大廳中間,琢磨著該怎麽出去。
突然,她發現了壹張三條腿的小桌,桌子是玻璃做的。桌上除了壹把很小的金鑰匙,什麽也沒有,愛麗絲壹下就想到這鑰匙可能是哪個門上的。可是,哎呀,要麽就是鎖太大了,要麽就是鑰匙太小了,哪個門也用不上。不過,在她繞第二圈時,突然發現剛才沒註意到的壹個低帳幕後面,有壹扇約十五英寸高的小門。她用這個小金鑰匙往小門的鎖眼裏壹插,太高興了,正合適。
愛麗絲打開了門,發現門外是壹條小走廊,比老鼠洞還小,她跪下來,順著走廊望出去,見到壹個從沒見過的美麗花園。她多想離開這個黑暗的大廳,到那些美麗的花圃和清涼的噴泉中去玩呀!可是那門框連腦袋都過不去,可憐的愛麗絲想:“哎,就算頭能過去,肩膀不跟著過去也沒用,我多麽希望縮成望遠鏡裏的小人呀(愛麗絲常常把望遠鏡倒著看,壹切東西都變得又遠又小,所以她認為望遠鏡可以把人放大或縮小。),我想自己能變小的,只要知道變的方法就行了。”妳看,壹連串稀奇古怪的事,使得愛麗絲認為沒有什麽事是不可能的了。看來,守在小門旁沒意思了,於是,她回到桌子邊,希望還能再找到壹把鑰匙,至少也得找到壹本教人變成望遠鏡裏小人的書,可這次,她發現桌上有壹只小瓶。愛麗絲說:“這小瓶剛才確實不在這裏。”瓶口上系著壹張小紙條,上面印著兩個很漂亮的大字:“喝我”。
說“喝我”倒不錯,可是聰明的小愛麗絲不會忙著去喝的。她說:“不行,我得先看看,上面有沒有寫著‘毒藥’兩個字。”因為她聽過壹些很精彩的小故事,關於孩子們怎樣被燒傷、被野獸吃掉,以及其它壹些令人不愉快的事情,所有這些,都是因為這些孩子們沒有記住大人的話,例如:握撥火棍時間太久就會把手燒壞;小刀割手指就會出血,等等。愛麗絲知道喝了寫著“毒藥”瓶裏的藥水,遲早會受害的。
然而瓶子上沒有“毒藥”字樣,所以愛麗絲冒險地嘗了嘗,感到非常好吃,它混合著櫻桃餡餅、奶油蛋糕、菠蘿、烤火雞、牛奶糖、熱奶油面包的味道。愛麗絲壹口氣就把壹瓶喝光了。
“多麽奇怪的感覺呀!”愛麗絲說,“我壹定變成望遠鏡裏的小人了。”
的確是這樣,她高興得眉飛色舞,現在她只有十英寸高了,已經可以到那個可愛的花園裏去了。不過,她又等了幾分鐘,看看會不會繼續縮小下去。想到這點,她有點不安了。“究竟會怎麽收場呢?”愛麗絲對自己說,“或許會像蠟燭的火苗那樣,全部縮沒了。那麽我會怎麽樣呢?”她又努力試著想象蠟燭滅了後的火焰會是個什麽樣幾。因為她從來沒有見過那樣的東西。
過了壹小會,好像不會再發生什麽事情了,她決定立刻到花園去。可是,哎喲!可憐的愛麗絲!她走到門口,發覺忘拿了那把小金鑰匙。在回到桌子前準備再拿的時候,卻發現自己已經夠不著鑰匙,她只能通過玻璃桌面清楚地看到它,她盡力攀著桌腿向上爬,可是桌腿太滑了,她壹次又壹次地溜了下來,弄得她精疲力竭。於是,這個可憐的小家夥坐在地上哭了起來。
“起來,哭是沒用的!”愛麗絲嚴厲地對自己說,“限妳—,分鐘內就停止哭!”她經常愛給自己下個命令(雖然她很少聽從這種命令),有時甚至把自己罵哭了。記得有壹次她同自己比賽槌球,由於她騙了自己,她就打了自己壹記耳光,這個小孩很喜歡裝成兩個人,“但是現在還裝什麽兩個人呢?”可憐的小愛麗絲想,“唉!現在我小得連做壹個像樣的人都不夠了。”
不壹會兒,她的眼光落在桌子下面的壹個小玻璃盒子上。打開壹看,裏面有塊很小的點心,點心上用葡萄幹精致地嵌著“吃我”兩個字,“好,我就吃它,”愛麗絲說,“如果它使我變大,我就能夠著鑰匙了;如果它使我變得更小,我就可以從門縫下面爬過去,反正不管怎樣,我都可以到那個花園裏去了。因此無論怎麽變,我都不在乎。”
她只吃了壹小口,就焦急地問自己:“是哪壹種,變大還是變小?”她用手摸摸頭頂,想知道變成哪種樣子。可是非常奇怪,壹點沒變,說實話,這本來是吃點心的正常現象,可是愛麗絲已經習慣了稀奇古怪的事了,生活中的正常事情倒顯得難以理解了。
於是,她又吃開了,很塊就把壹塊點心吃完了。
妳要的是這樣類型的嗎?是的話我吧網址發給妳。