Chapter 13
The Mock Turtle was crying loudly. Tears were rolling down his checks. The Gryphon came forward and consoled him saying, “Don’t weep my dear. Life is full of struggles. I too have seen ups and downs of life. Resume your tale of woes. We both are all ears to listen to your story.”
Hearing the words of the Gryphon the Mock Turtle rubbed his eyes and wiped tears. Then he went on, “I don’t think you happen to have lived under the sea. Neither you have been a lobster. The life under the sea is full of mystery. Many strange creatures live at the bottom of the sea. They sometime come up to the surface for food. The lobster is one of the most extraordinary creatures living under the sea.”
Alice was filled with curiosity. With eyes full of excitement and eagerness she asked the Mock Turtle, “Where can I see the lobster. I want to have a look at it. Please introduce me to it.”
The Mock Turtle gave himself airs and observed, “You must be unaware of the fact that a lobster Quadrille is a very delightful and interesting thing.”
Hearing the words of the Mock Turtle Alice was curious to know something about the lobster Quadrille. So, she said to the Gryphon, “Dear, what sort of dance is the lobster Quadrille?”
The Gryphon replied, “Dear, don’t get too much excited.
In order to learn this dance, get into a queue along the shore of the sea. Only then will you be able to know about it properly.”
The Mock Turtle interrupted saying, “But you will have to form two lines. In one line, there will be salmons, seals and turtles. The other line will be formed by prawns, lobsters and crabs. I tell you briefly about this dance. You have to move forward two times. Each time you will choose a lobster as your partner. Afterwards, you have to change lobsters and retire in the same order. These are the rules of this dance. If you follow them to the dot, you will be able to learn the dance more quickly.”
Hearing the rules of the dance Alice was frightened a little bit. With some hesitation she said to the Mock Turtle, “The dance must be pretty. I am very excited to learn it. What do you say, O Gryphon? You must be equally excited.”
But the Gryphon kept mum. He didn’t utter a single word. After a while or so the Mock Turtle asked Alice, “Dear little girl, I can see that you are very excited to learn this dance. Would you like to have a demonstration of this dance? It is a really beautiful dance.”
Alice who was already excited nodded her head in the affirmative. So, the Mock Turtle ordered the Gryphon and the turtle to demonstrate the dance in front of Alice. Without losing any second both the Gryphon and the turtle began to dance merrily. They went round and round.
Alice who looked extremely happy and excited. Trying to show better, they trod on Alice’s toes. The moment they did so, Alice gave out a loud shriek. But both the Gryphon and the turtle were lost in merry-making. They paid no attention to Alice’s woe. In the middle of the dance, they waved their forepaws to tell the time. The Mock Turtle sitting on a stood it some distance was singing a dull and sad song. He was shedding tears as well.
After the dance was over Alice heaved a sigh of relief. Although she didn’t like the dance at all yet she pretended to admire it. Praising the performance she clapped her hands saying, What a wonderful performance it is! I have never seen such a dance before. You both were fabulous. You danced to perfection.”
Thus Alice praised both the Gryphon and the turtle to the skies. After an hour or so the Gryphon stood up from his seat and came over to Alice. He observed, “Dear, much has been heard and said. But we haven’t heard about you anything as yet. Now we would like to have the narrative of some of your adventures. Please tell us something about your exploits.”
Hearing the words of the Gryphon Alice thought for a while. After a few minutes Alice said, “Dear! I don’t thing it is the opportune time for telling my adventures of past. We are here in present. Yesterday has passed off. I was a different person in the past. So, I don’t see any point in narrating my adventures.”
The Mock Turtle stated, “What kind of explanation would you like to furnish? How were you a different person in the past? I don’t make out what you mean to say. Please elaborate it in detail.”
Before Alice could do anything, the Gryphon interrupted saying, “Come on, Alice. Do narrate us your adventures.” Then he turned to the Mock Turtle and observed, “Dear, her explanation will take a long time. Let us hear some of her exploits.”
Thus the Mock turtle saw eye to eye with the Gryphon. Now Alice had no alternative but to narrate her adventures. She started thus :
“Long, long ago, I happened to visit a garden which was lush green. There, I saw a little White Rabbit. From then onwards my life catapulted into adventurous experiences.”
As Alice was narrating her story both the Gryphon and Mock Turtle drew their chairs towards Alice and listened to her with rapt attention. They focused their attention on Alice. Their eyes were wide open. They were all ears. The listeners were sitting there, spellbound and excited.
After a few minutes their silence broke when Alice repeated things several times. While narrating her adventures she once repeated :
“You are old Father William” to the caterpillar. The words were coming different. The listeners’ concentration was disturbed. Seeing it the Mock Turtle took a deep breath and heaved a sigh of relief. Then he said to Alice, “Isn’t it curious? I appreciate your adventures.”
The Gryphon too supported the viewpoint of the Mock Turtle saying, “Yes, it is very curious. Her story of adventures is full of excitement and curiosity right from its beginning.”
But the Mock Turtle stated, “It all came in a different way. That is boring. I would like you to repeat it in something new style. That will be full of appreciation. Now you can resume your story. But remember, something new should be there.”
Saying these words the Mock Turtle looked at Alice in a dominating manner. The Gryphon turned to Alice and said, “Dear, have you listened to what the Mock Turtle has stated. Get up and say anything you like in the voice of the sluggard.”
Hearing the words of the Gryphon Alice said to herself, ‘They are treating me as if I were at school. They seem to be foolish. But I have no alternative but to accede to their demand.’
Thinking so Alice stood up from her seat and began to repeat it. But she could not repeat it properly as her head was full of the lobster Quadrille. Everything became haphazard in her mind. As a result, she made a mess of the entire verse.
But the Mock Turtle and the Gryphon looked extremely elated. They both said in chorus, “Wow! This sounds somewhat different. Whatever we have heard or known to date about you, it is altogether different and extraordinary. We like it. Well done!”
But Alice said nothing. She kept mum. She thought to herself, ‘O God! What is going on with me at present? They have put me in dilemma. I am out of my wits. I wonder if anything would happen again in a natured manner. What they want from me is still unknown. They have urged me time and again to sing something different and strange. It is beyond my limits. Please help me.’
After a while the Gryphon requested Alice saying, “Dear, stop singing. We don’t want any singing.”
Alice heared a sigh of relief. Her prayer had been answered. She felt very happy. She thanked God. The Gryphon turned to Mock Turtle and observed, “Should we have another figure of the lobster Quadrille?” But the Mock Turtle didn’t utter a single word. Then the Gryphon turned to Alice and stated, “Would you like to have another song form the mouth of the Mock Turtle? He sings very sweetly.”
Hearing the words of the Gryphon Alice stated happily, “Why not? He has a very sweet voice. I shall feel very pleased if he sings a song. It will be kind of him.”
As requested by Alice and the Gryphon the Mock Turtle started singing a song. He was feeling very sad. In the middle of the song he was sobbing as well. His voice seemed to be choked with unhappiness.
After an hour or so, he was about to repeat the song when the following words were heard at some distance—“The trial is beginning.”
The Gryphon was very clear. He did not say anything to the Mock Turtle. He caught hold of Alice’s hand and ran off in the dense woods. They never looked back. They ran on and on until they reached a shady tree. Alice was huffing and puffing a lot. She was very much scared. She asked the Gryphon, “What happened dear? Why did you break into such a sprint?” But the Gryphon said nothing and urged Alice to run faster.
