Chapter 14
At the head of a large army of soldiers, courtiers and flatterers the king and the Queen of hearts arrived with much fanfare. A great crowd including birds, beasts and all sorts of cards assembled there to have a look at the royal couple.
The knave tightened securely in chains was brought before the royal couple. He was escorted by two soldiers one on either side. The little White Rabbit was also seen there sitting beside the King. It had a trumpet in one had and a scroll of parchment in its other hand. It was feeling very excited and joyous.
All in all, the royal couple held the court in a majestic style. Right in the middle of the court there was a round table whereupon a large dish of tarts was placed.
All of a sudden, Alice who was standing just near the table saw the dish of tarts. Her mouth watered. She loved tarts very much. She said to herself, ‘These tarts are very delicious. It has been a long time since I tasted them. Now the time has come today to taste these tarts. I won’t miss this opportunity. O God! Please help me. May this trial come to a finish soon. Only then will the refreshment be handed round. I shall have to wait for that opportune time.’
The trial got under way. Alice stood motionless waiting for the verdict. It was the very first time when Alice had entered the court of justice. She had heard and read about it extensively. She looked at the judge. He looked very sombre. The judge was none other than the King himself. But he had no hair on his head. He was bald. So, he wore a wig on his head. Upon the wig, the crown had been placed. The King wearing the crown on the wig was looking very majestic.
There were twelve animals and birds in all as the members of jury. Each was more skilled and shrewd than the other. But they all were somewhat forgetful. One of them talked to the other, “Hey! We should pen down the names of the persons who are being tried today. Maybe we might forget their names.”
The other observed, “Yes, you are right. We all had better jot down the names of the persons being tried in today’s court.”
Thinking so all the twelve judges started writing down the names lest they should forget them before the end of the trial.
Seeing the judges busy in their work Alice yelled out, “What a stupid thing it is! How can they be highly skilled when they can’t remember the names even? Shame on them.”
Hearing the words of Alice, the little White Rabbit who was sitting just beside the King observed, “Silence! Silence! Nobody is allowed to make a noise. It will be treated as the contempt of court.”
The King put on his glasses and looked around. He said to the White Rabbit, “Dear! Who is trying to disturb the court? Tell me without any fear. I shall punish the guilty.”
But the White Rabbit kept mum and looked here, there and everywhere. Alice was busy looking at the judges constantly. The judges were engrossed in writing ‘stupid things’ on their slates.
Alice stood aghast when she saw the judges writing the spelling of the word ‘stupid’ wrong. She said to herself, ‘What a stupid thing it is! They all are foolish and have gathered here to decide a case. What an Irony of fate!’
All of a sudden, the King stood from his seat and roared loudly, “Attention everybody! I order Herald to read the case in front of all gathered here.”
Hearing the order of the King the White Rabbit who was Herald blew his trumpet three times. Thereafter, he took the parchment scroll in his hands and unrolled it. He read it in the following manner :
“The Queen of Hearts made some tarts,
All on a winter day,
The Knave of Hearts stole the tarts
And took them quite away.”
The King commanded the judges thus, “I request all of you to decide this case as soon as possible. Please give your respective verdict in this case. One more thing is there. Do it with all honesty and sincerity.”
Before the King could complete his statement the White Rabbit interrupted saying, “Your Highness! I am sorry to interrupt in the middle of your speech. But there is lot to be done before these judges give their verdicts.”
Hearing the words of the White Rabbit the King took the viewpoint of the Rabbit into his consideration. The King said to the witnesses present there, “Dear friends! Each of you is required to appear in the witness box and say his/her viewpoint.
First of all it was the turn of the Hatter. He had a tea cup in one hand and bread and butter in the other. With palms joined in reverence he said to the King, “Your Highness! Please forgive me for bringing these things here. But what could I do at that time when I was sent for. I was taking my supper when your soldiers arrived at my house to take me along.”
Hearing the words of the Hatter the King observed, “It is your headache; you should have finished your supper by then. By the way, can you tell me when you began taking the supper?”
But the Hatter kept mum. He looked sideways. After some time, the March Hare accompanied by the dormouse entered the court. They were looking in good spirits. Turning to the March Hare the Hatter at once observed, “Your Highness! If I am not mistaken, it was the fourteenth of March.” But the March Hare interrupted saying, “No, it was the fifteenth of March.”
Before the King could ask anything the dormouse replied, “Not at all. You both are wrong. It was the sixteenth of March.” The King roared loudly and stated, “O member of jury! Record these three different dates in your slates. They will be of great use to you.”
The judges did as they were told. Moreover, they added the dates up and converted the figure into shillings and pence. Now the King turned to the Hatter. He said to him in a threatening voice, “I order you to take off your hat.”
But the Hatter pretended not to hear the words of the King, who turned mad in rage. He went near the Hatter and gave a slap on his face. Then he said to him, “Now take off your hat at once.” But the Hatter was stubborn. He replied, “This hat does not belong to me.”
The King asked, “Then whose hat is it? If I am not mistaken, you have stolen it from somewhere. Speak the truth or you will face the dire consequences for telling a lie.”
The Hatter spoke softly, “You Highness! My profession is to sell hats! That was why I kept it with me.”
But the King did not see eye to eye with the Hatter. The Queen stood from her seat and put on her glasses. She stared hard at the March Hare, who felt very frightened. She observed, “O dear! Appear in the witness box and give you evidence. If you don’t do so, you will be hanged to death.”
The King too supported the Queen saying, “Very well said. If you want to save the Hatter, give your evidence in plain words. If anything wrong is detected in your words, you will be put to death.”
Hearing the words of the King and the Queen the Hatter was in a state of shock. He turned pale with fright. He got tense and worried. In his restlessness he bit a large chunk out of the tea-cup instead of the bread and butter.
Standing at some distance Alice was observing the proceedings. She was getting curious to know the outcome of the case.
All of a sudden, she realized that she was growing taller. It is very funny. The dormouse who was sitting beside her exclaimed, “I wish you would not grow taller any more. You should remain in your early form.”
But Alice stated, “Dear! I can’t do anything. It is out of my control. I am growing a bit taller. Oh my God! You too are growing. It is amazing. How can it be possible? Look at yourself. You too are growing in height. I am telling the truth.”
The dormouse observed, “Yes, you are right. But I gain in height at a slow pace. I don’t grow like you do. You grow in height in a very ridiculous and strange fashion.”
Saying these words the dormouse raised his eyebrows and shifted to the other side of the court. No sooner did the dormouse take his seat than the Queen ordered her courtier, “Bring the list of the singers who sang in the last concert.”
Hearing the words of the Queen the Hatter started sweating profusely. He was trembling with fright. He was out of his wits. The King came forward and said to the Hatter, “I give you a chance to give your evidence as well. Each of the witnesses has a right to assert his/her viewpoint. Don’t feel nervous. Please appear in the witness box and say whatever you want.”
The Hatter discussed the matter with the dormouse and the March Hare. But no fruitful evidence could be arrived at. The Hatter thought it wise to finish her tea-cup along with the bread and butter. The Queen was busy reading the names of the singers.
The King after a while observed, “Dear Hatter! You are allowed to go, you may go wherever you wish.”
Hearing the words the Hatter took to his heels at once. In his tearing hurry he left his shoes there. After the Hatter had left the court the Queen ordered one of his soldiers, “Go and cut off his head.”
But the soldier returned empty-handed. The Hatter was out of sight and could not be found anywhere. The royal couple ordered, “Call the next witness.”
The next witness was the cook of the Duchess. He always had a box of pepper in his hand. The moment he entered the court, the crowd sitting there began to sneeze terribly. The King said to the cook, “Please appear in the witness box and express your opinion.”
But the cook was haughty as he was the cook of the Duchess. He flatly refused saying, “Your Highness! I am not your servant. My lady is the Duchess. I always bow to her and carry out only her order. I can’t appear in the witness box. I beg your pardon.”
Hearing the words the Queen turned mad in rage, “How dare you talk to the King in such a fashion? Hold your tongue or you will be put to death instantly.”
The White Rabbit turned to the King and whispered, “Your Highness! pen is mightier than sword. Deal with him softly. You had better cross-examine this witness.”
Hearing the words of the White Rabbit the King relented a little bit and asked in a stern voice, “Tell me the answers to some of my questions. My first question is—what are tarts made of?”
The cook didn’t know anything with the exception of pepper. He at once replied confidently, “Your Highness! It is pepper.”
The dormouse spoke at once, “Your Majesty! It is treacle.” The dormouse was feeling very sleepy, So, he did not know what to speak.
Hearing the words of the dormouse the Queen boiled with anger. She ordered her soldier, “Catch hold of this dormouse! He is a trouble-maker. He is a nuisance in the entire court. Off with his head! Turn him out of the court. Quash him; nip him in the bud.”
There was an atmosphere of chaos and confusion. The soldiers were running here, there and everywhere to get hold of the dormouse. But the dormouse was very agile. It was quite difficult to nab him. Taking advantage of this opportunity the cook at once ran away from there.
After some time the King ordered again, “Call the next witness.” Then he turned to the Queen and said, “Dear! You listen to the next witness as my head is going round and round. I want some rest.”
The White Rabbit took out the list of the witnesses and called the name of Alice. Hearing the name Alice was taken aback.
