Chapter6-page_55-61

Chapter 6 The Queen's Tarts

Alice was very excited because she was in a courtroom for the first time in her life.

She knew that the king was the judge because he had a white wig under his crown and there

were twelve creatures in the jury box.

They were busy writing notes and signing their names.

Alice took a seat next to the doormouse.

The white rabbit blew his trumpet three times and denounced the beginning of the trial.

Everyone became silent and the rabbit read the long piece of paper out loud.

The queen of hearts she made some tarts all on a summer day.

The nave of hearts he stole those tarts and took them all away.

So they think the nave of hearts is guilty of stealing the queen's tarts.

Alice said to the doormouse quietly, but maybe someone else stole them.

Call the first witness, the king said to the white rabbit, and the rabbit blew his trumpet

three times again and called out first witness.

The hatter came as the first witness and stood before the king.

He had a cup of tea in one hand and a slice of bread with butter in his other hand.

I am sorry your majesty, he said.

I was having tea when the soldiers came and got me.

Why didn't you have your tea earlier shouted the king?

Take off your hat.

It is not my hat your majesty, said the hatter.

It is a stolen hat then, said the king, and turned to the jury.

Make a note of that.

The witness has stolen a hat.

I did not steal it your majesty.

I am a hatter.

I keep hats and sell them, the hatter explained, and I don't own any hats.

You must tell us what happened to the tarts, or you will go to prison, the king said.

The hatter was afraid now.

He was so nervous that he bit his teacup instead of his bread.

Then he began to tell a long story about his job, but no one understood it.

The queen and the king looked at each other.

Meanwhile, Alice had a very strange feeling in her body.

She didn't know what it was at first.

Then she noticed that she was growing larger.

She panicked and thought of leaving the court.

Then she decided to stay in her seat for a while.

Don't push me like that.

I am going to fall off my seat, said the doormouse.

I am not pushing you.

I am getting bigger and taller, said Alice.

This is not the right place for growing taller, said the doormouse angrily.

Then he moved to another seat on the other side of the court.

And Alice tried to listen and understand the hatter's words.

The hatter looked miserable while he was trying to answer the king's questions.

He was also very nervous and dropped his teacup and bread.

Then he went down on one knee and begged the king.

Please let me go, Your Majesty.

I am a poor man and you are a very bad witness, the king said.

At this moment, one of the guinea pigs in the crowd clapped its hands

and two guards stopped it and put a cloth bag over the guinea pig

and tied a string around it.

Then they sat on the bag.

Finally, the king told the hatter to leave and turned to the white rabbit and said,

Call the next witness.

The Duchess's cook was the next witness.

She was carrying a lot of pepper with her, so everyone in the court began to sneeze.

The angry cook said that she saw nothing and knew nothing.

The king sent her away and told the rabbit to call another witness.

Alice watched the white rabbit curiously while he was looking at the names on the witness list.

And when the rabbit called out her own name, she was very surprised.

She quickly jumped up from her seat, forgetting how big she was.

She tipped over the jury box by mistake.

The jury men all fell down on the heads of the crowd below.

Alice quickly picked up the jury men one by one and placed them back in the jury box.

She apologized to them.

Then she stood before the king.

Before that, the queen wrote something in a black book.

She handed the book to the king, and the king read a rule from the book out loud.

He said,

Rule 42.

All persons, more than one and a half meters high, must leave the court.

The queen and everyone else looked at Alice, and Alice cried out.

I am not taller than one and a half meters.

I am not leaving.

I will stay and listen to the trial.

You are more than two meters tall.

Leave the court immediately shouted the queen at Alice.

Alice was very angry now and shouted back at the queen.

There is no rule like that.

It wasn't in the book.

You just wrote it down.

I saw you.

The king said,

You are wrong, young lady.

That is the oldest rule in the book.

Then why did you say,

Rule 42.

It must be Rule 1.

Alice shouted.

The king's face became white, and he closed the book.

Then he turned to the jury and said,

There are no more witnesses, and there is no evidence.

The white rabbit jumped up in a hurry.

There was a letter in his hand.

Your Majesty, this letter has just arrived.

It has no name on it.

I think the nave wrote it.

I didn't write that letter, your Majesty, said the nave.

You can't prove it, because there is no signature on it,

and the handwriting isn't mine.

So you copied someone else's handwriting,

and you didn't sign it, said the king to the nave.

That proves he is the tart thief, shouted the queen,

off with his head.

It doesn't prove anything, screamed Alice to the queen.

We haven't read the letter yet.

We don't know anything.

So the king ordered the rabbit to read the letter out loud.

The letter said,

They tell me you have been to her, and mentioned me to him.

She thought I was a gardener, but said I could not swim.

He tells them I have not gone.

We know this is true.

If she decides to go on, what will they do to you?

I gave her one.

They gave him two.

You gave us three or more.

They all returned from him to you, but they were mine before.

There is very important evidence in this letter, said the king.

Then he turned to the jury man and said,

Now you can make a decision about the nave.

At that moment, Alice cried out again.

Does anyone in the jury understand this letter?

It means nothing.

It's all nonsense.

She wasn't afraid of anyone now, because she was much bigger than them,

and they were just cards.

The king read some lines again.

Look, here it says,

But said I could not swim.

And the nave cannot swim, can you?

He asked the nave.

And the poor nave sadly said,

No, I can't swim.

I'm made of paper, you know.

I'm just a card.

The nave's answer pleased the king, and he said,

Is the nave a thief or not?

The jury can decide now.

No, no, cried out the queen.

We must cut off the nave's head first.

The jury can decide later.

You can't cut off his head now, Alice cried out.

First the jury must decide.

Maybe someone else stole the queen's tarts, not him.

Shut up silly girl, the queen rod.

Her face was red with anger.

Off with this stupid girl's head, right now.

Nonsense, you are all cards.

You can't do anything to me, shouted Alice, and laughed out loud.

And then the whole pack of cards flew up into the air,

and then down on Alice's head.

Alice screamed with both fear and anger.

She tried to push the cards away.

Then she found herself lying on the riverbank next to her sister.

Dead leaves were falling down on her head from a tree.

Her sister was kindly clearing them.

Wake up Alice, she said.

You've slept for a long time.

We must go home now, where very late, my mother will be angry.

Oh, I had a very strange dream, full of adventures, Alice said.

I'll tell it to you, on the way home.