----------------------------------
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 conversations?"
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 too 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 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 what seemed to be 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 bookshelves: 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 underneath, 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? ...
--------------------------------------------
[from Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll.
orig. pub. 1865. from the edition
printed by Donohue, Henneberry
& Co., Chicago.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This book was read aloud to me, by my mother, I don't know how many times, by request. The images and language are part of my basic brain pattern -- one of my earliest memories and so powerful, maybe because when you're so young there isn't that much else in your brain to compete with anything new coming in. So everything new makes a big impression and stays with you.
Mom. Dad. The cat. The Christmas tree. The yard. The neighbor girl. Cereal for breakfast. Alice in Wonderland.
Such a small amount -- a person can remember it all, easily.
When I look at the "Alice" book, nothing is unfamiliar, even though it's been many years.
"There was nothing so very remarkable in that..."
"Either the well was very deep or she fell very slowly..."
and -- the author threw in poems, such as this --
"You are old, father William," the young man said,
"And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head --
Do you think, at your age, it is right?"
(+ several stanzas more...)
Some people like to claim that Lewis Carroll might have been partaking of dubious mind-altering substances when he wrote the book; but I think those are just the same people who always think everybody's "on drugs."
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment