Reading Notes: Alice in Wonderland Part A

Down the Rabbit-Hole

Illustration by Sir John Tenniel

Alice was with her sister who was reading a book, but she began feeling very tired and sleepy, when at of nowhere she saw a white rabbit. She then heard the rabbit say to itself "oh dear! I shall be late" as it pulled a watch out of its waistpocket, which filled her with curiosity. She followed the rabbit and saw it jump in a rabbit-hole, and so she decided to also go into it. She fell through the hole which seemed to go on forever and was lined with cupboards and shelves. She finally fell unto a room surrounded by doors, but they were all locked. She then saw a table where there was a tiny key, but all the doors were too big for it except for a tiny little door only fidteen inches high. She opened the door but saw no use in waiting by it so she returned to the table where she found a bottle labeled "drink me". When she had drank the liquid she shrunk to be only ten inches high, just the right size to fit through the door but she had forgotten the key on the table, which was now way to high for her to reach. Soon her eyes saw a little glass box with a very small cake labeled "eat me" which she did and grew so tall her head struck against the roof.

Story source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865).